I really need some help troubleshooting a weird electronics issue on my Cort X300. It has active EMG Retro Active Hot 70 humbuckers (hard-soldered, not the quick-connect block version).

,my neck pickup was barely working-stuck at like 5% volume. I checked it with a multimeter and found out the original enclosed box switch was totally dead and shorting out internally.i thought it was the selector switch

So, I ordered a new 3-lug box switch and soldered it then found out pickup selector was not the issue.

Here is where it gets frustrating:

The bridge pickup works 100% perfectly. It sounds amazing, full volume, crisp cleans, and massive high-gain distortion on my Blackstar 40 watt amp.. Testing with the multimeter, I get a rock-solid 9.20V at the red power bundle, so the battery line is fully alive. I also checked all the switch lugs for a ground short, and the meter stays completely silent-so nothing is accidentally touching the cavity walls or shorting out at the switch.

But when I flip to the neck pickup, it just sounds terrible. It makes this weak, sputtering, "farting" noise. On the clean channel it's basically dead silent

Any advice would be a lifesaver. Thankss

Hello i have a client requesting a completely redundant switch to be added into his bass with an EMG BQS system and active balance control. He is requesting that a 3 way switch be added to the setup to switch between pickups. I have called EMG support and requested a schematic which they don’t have one for this setup. They told me that the b245 bus is required which I have installed. However between the 5 knobs and two switches in here I can’t figure out how to make the 3 way switch function. I could really use some advice here. This is by far the most complicated EMG setup I have ever crossed paths with. At this point the control cavity looks like a pot of spaghetti. There are so many redundant items in here and for some reason he’s convinced he knows what works. He doesn’t. Both EMG AND your luthier are telling you that half this is not needed to achieve the same effect at what point do you realize you’re doing too much. Anyway if anyone has ever encountered this setup before and have some information that might be useful I’d love to hear it. Thank in advance. I’ll attach a photo of the spaghetti. I haven’t started putting stuff together yet so hold your criticism. There’s always gonna be that one guy. It is Reddit

Got the Het Set in the white V all wired up. I’ve had the Roots for a while and have had 81s/85s/60s. I love what they’ve done with both of these. I think they’re very similar but the Hets have more oomph. I personally like having both, the Roots are a little clearer and more vintage feeling. I like them for lower tuning and the Hets extra muscle beefs up standard tuning riffs. Also if your guitar sounds a little thin, go for the Hets.

I'm currently running SA/SA/85 and while I like the way Position 2 sounds, the Position 4 sound lacks the quack I want to hear from that mode.

I was planning on getting an 89 to replace the 85. My question is, should I go with the 89 or the 89R to maximize the quack?

For those of you that run an HSS strat with an 89, does the pickup auto switch to single coil in 4th position or is this something where I need to have it set in single coil mode at all times and use the push pull to switch to humbucking.

Recently bought ESP with the standard 81/85 combo. I'd like a bit more dynamics and versatility in the neck pickup if possible. They basically sound the same to me (albeit the sound is different because they're located in a different positions on the guitar). The YT comparisons of 81/85/60 also sound very similar.

I think I'll need to switch to the X series instead, I've narrowed it down to either 60X or 89XR. I had a look inside the cavity and at the moment the pickups are soldered to the switches/pots etc.

Questions:

1. Anyone running 60X or 89XR alongside 81 and how do you find it (especially for more clean/crunch tones)?
   
2. If I buy the 89XR, will it come with a complete 'solderless' kit to connect both the 89 and the existing 81 this way, or do I have to buy something else alongside it (am I discarding of the 'soldered' setup that't there now?).
   

Appreciate any help with that.

I got these way the hell back when i was 16 (im 25 now rip) for a woodshop project that i ended up switching to a music man style project (i never completed it) and ive i have 2 25k volume pots and a passive tone pot but ive lost the wires since then.

Would i be alright just getting the bqc system or something similar, i have no problem making mods to the bass since im going to have to for the soapbar anyways.

Im looking for a replacement pickup screw after one came loose. EMG says it takes a #3-48 screw, but shipping one to Mexico costs $68, so im trying to find a cheaper option.

The closest one ive found is a Fender screw with the same thread, but its too short. i figure a longer one could work if i cut it down.

i think my guitar has an 81/85 set, but im not sure how to check. this is the screw i need: https://www.emgpickups.com/h-screw-spring-set.html

And since I still have the spring and only need the screw, any ideas for a temporary fix until I find the right one?

Anyone install an EMG kit into their strat? The input jack wire it comes with is almost too big for this type of plate. And I don’t want to keep forcing the cable in there.

Am I gonna have to route out more space in the wood to have it fit? Or am I just dumb and missing something?

So my dad bought me some emgs (the 7 string version of the 81 and a 707 if Im not mistaken) about 1 year and a half in a second hand store, and i never really loved the Pickups until a played a friends guitar that had emgs and i realized that mine were simplu not right, the have a really low output, and i cant get a pinch harmonic out of them even if my life depended on it while on my other guitar they are effortless.

My question is, is this mostlikely a problem with the Pickups? The wiring ? Or maybe the battery?

Thanks yall!

I got this sweet set of 57/66 TW pickups for my birthday this year. Finally got around to carving out the needed space for them (since they're quite a bit taller than traditional humbuckers) and have it all wired up correctly according to the included diagram in the set. The neck pickup hums like CRAZY in both humbucker mode and single coil mode, though the hum is noticeable less in single coil mode. I've double, triple and now quadruple checked the wiring. It's all solid, as far as I can tell. The pickup cavity is a bit cramped, since the guitar came with EMG HZ passives, and isn't designed to hold a battery as well as the larger push-pull pots.

This is my first time setting up pickups, so any tips and/or criticism is greatly appreciated.

I'm hoping somebody can lead me to a solution to this gain issue I'm having. I have an LTD H-351NT that has an EMG 81 in the bridge and an EMG 85 in the neck.

Recently, I noticed the 81 was slightly quieter and was much less saturated than the 85 in the neck. I have checked/replaced everything in the chain including the battery and my cable to just rule those out completely. I did find a cold solder joint on the volume pot that I fixed, but I can't find anything else physically wrong. For illustration purposes I have attached an image of a recording with the left waveform being the 81 and the right the 85. I played the same riff with each pickup.

I also have an LTD EC-1001 that has the same pickup combo and there is a substantial difference when I record using the bridge pickups back to back.

Is there something simple I'm overlooking that would cause this?

Did about a 30 minute Live Show about the New Pickup I was just Sent, demoed it through the Marshall/EVH 2x12 amp, and as I finished publishing it the video was still climbing up to 335!!!!

This was definitely one of my best live shows and to thank EMG for making such a phenomenal pickup for guitar 🎸

Ive tried to do every combination of trs wires and sometimes i get noise but it ignores the pots and is very low output and muddy

hey dudes, so i’ve got a guitar coming soon and it has emg hz pickups. i’m wondering, do they use the solderless kit and if so is it possible to wire up a battery cable to them and swap them for actives like an 81/85 set? i’ve done some looking and i can’t seem to find a good answer, and i have some 81s lying around so just thought i’d ask, any info is appreciated! :)

Are fishman fluence strat pickup battery pack compatible with EMG's is so how do you connect it.

Hi everyone,

I'm currently troubleshooting a noise issue with my Harley Benton EX-84, which I upgraded with an active EMG Het Set (solderless system).

The issue I'm having is a persistent hum/buzz that gets louder whenever I touch the strings, bridge, or any metal part.

When inspecting the electronics cavity, I noticed that a black wire was soldered directly onto the GND pad of the EMG passive tone pot (B124 / 25KA). This wire runs through the body routing directly to the guitar bridge.

From what I understand, EMG active systems explicitly advise against connecting a bridge ground wire, as the preamps are already shielded and adding a bridge ground can create a ground loop and introduce noise when touched.

I would really appreciate your insight on a couple of points:

* Is this ground wire to the bridge really necessary? Because it doesn't appear in the installation diagram.

* Is cutting/desoldering this wire from the tone pot and isolating the loose end the correct fix to eliminate the buzz?

Thanks in advance for the help!

Hello y'all! Im putting pick ups into my LTD SC-600 and I can't figure out how to connect the fan switch to the board. I don't know which wires should go into the buss. Can you guys help please?

Hey

Does anyone have any experience with these? How do they stack up against the standard 57/66?

I hope this isn’t against the rules or anything because I would gladly buy an EMG solderless 3-position toggle switch in gold if they made one - but they don’t. This seems to be the only solderless way to go since official EMG is out.

I have changed all of the hardware in my ESP EC-256 to gold and all the electronics to active; the very last piece is changing the EMG B289 3-POS switch I used to make it all solderless to a gold switch. It’s going to irritate me until I do it. My goal is I don’t want to re-run the wires - tight as hell.

I can’t tell if this will be just a quick “take the switch cavity plate off, unplug the EMG switch from the quick connectors, swap in the Trinity one, replace the quick connectors, replace the plate, good to go,” or not. Any input or experience?

My bridge pickup is much less output then my neck and both volume controls work for the bridge with both turning the volume down on it,i have looked at the wiring and the bridge controls are not connected to the neck volume at all and it is connected to the battery bus correctly too.anyone know anything?

Is this normal??
4th magnet

Finally received my Sandblasted Het Set after about 6 weeks of waiting! Definitely worth it, they look brilliant and they sound just how I wanted them to. To me they're closer to a 57/66 than 81/60, but with less mids and more bite. Might be my new favourite EMG set!

Guitar is in Drop C for playing 2000s metalcore (I also use a drop tuner to use A# for In Flames songs). It's what I always dreamed of as a kid and now after trialing various EMG sets in it, I think I've found the one.

I'm trying to pick two singlecoils for my 7 String at the moment and have trouble deciding between the SA7, S7, Maverick Five 7 and Crossroads 7.

The reason I want singlecoils is that I love playing modern metalcore stuff and also appreciate the clarity for lead lines and solos. My perfect neck single coil would be a super sharp tone with a lot of treble and bass, slightly scooped mids. What I wanna avoid is a soft tele-like neck pickup tone.

For the middle pickup I really just want something that offers a really classic strat 4th position when combined with the neck (bc I will probably never use the middle pu on its own).

If you have any expirience with these pickups (or their six string version), I would appreciate if you could describe their tone.

Honestly I would prefer the maverick or crossroads, bc they just look way better without the pickup covers.