EMGs way too dark

[therealting]

Hey folks,

I took my rejuvenated Strat to a gig last night and of course wanted to play her all night. I noticed though, that the EMGs seem really, really dark... I had to boost the highs on my amp and multi-FX unit in the effects loop just to give it some cut. AB-ing with my MXG Strat (with Tom Anderson pickups) showed that it was clearly the guitar. Kind of odd, given that with the stainless steel frets, new strings and Callaham bridge, I was expecting it to be brighter and zingier than the MXG... and acoustically it still is.

I wonder if the tech may have made a booboo when partially rewiring the EMG harness (he cut me a new battery box and replaced some of the shoddy wiring that the previous owner had done), has anyone experienced this before? I'd like to have a look at this before taking it back to him, as it's a 3 hour round-trip.

Any advice appreciated... thanks!

[EADGBE]

Could you solder the pickup(s) directly to the output jack bypassing the tone control(s) just for test purposes? Most people would not describe EMGs as dark.

[JPF]

"Dark" doesn't sound right for EMGs - are they SAs? If anything, I tend to boost the lower and mid ranges to overcome what is normally a very bright high end. EADGBE's suggestion should help determine if something's wrong with the wiring.

[Mike9]

Did he install the correct 25k pots?

[rich-96db]

I have EMG S's in my Strat, and they're anything but dark.

In addition to the suggestions everyone else gave, try a fresh 9v battery.

[Lucidology]

The EMG SA's are the darkest sounding single coils set...
(In comparison to the others)..
I've never been able to achieve
the kind of quack I love in the 2 & 3 postions
But it might be appropriate to say they are the most like Humbucker's..

As mentioned, the EMG-S's are much brighter... quack to spare...

[therealting]

These are the SAs. I took the pickguard out this evening to take a look at the wiring, compared it carefully to the wiring diagram on the EMG website, and everything looks clean and correct. I haven't had the opportunity to plug it in yet to AB with another guitar but I will do so come morning.

[oxtone]

I had EMG SA's in my Walnut "The STRAT" for many years, and they were anything but "dark". I always got good comliments on my tone
with those, and my Boogie Studio Pre/Simul 2:90 rig.

However, since then I've switched to using Pete Biltoft's fabulous Vintage Vibe SP-90 pickups, and now I get many more compliments
on my tone with these killer pickups!

[landru64]

Did he install the correct 25k pots?

this would be my first question too.

[therealting]

The volume and tone are joined by a metal bar sort of like a rigid wire, and the shielded connections from the pickups are soldered to the volume pot. The second volume knob is connected to the SPC circuit.

Hence, I believe they are the correct pots that came as a part of the set...

[walterw]

SA's my be dark compared to say, S's, but they're bright and hi-fi sounding compared to normal pickups.

are you listening with the spc all the way up, or all the way down? remember, all the way down is your "flat" setting on the spc, so start there to set your sound. otherwise, it would sound kinda midrange-y and unclear, due to the mid-boost, which is usually used for leads.

is this a 2 knob or a 3 knob arrangement? if 3, what's the third knob doing?

[therealting]

I've tried it with all the possible different knob settings. The SPC all the way down, all the way up, the tone knob all the way down and all the way up. The tone knob definitely works, it just doesn't seem bright enough all the way up. The SPC also definitely works, and the volume definitely works.

[walterw]

I've tried it with all the possible different knob settings. The SPC all the way down, all the way up, the tone knob all the way down and all the way up. The tone knob definitely works, it just doesn't seem bright enough all the way up. The SPC also definitely works, and the volume definitely works.

ok, now that all the dumb questions have been answered, this is becoming a real mystery. how close are the pickups to the strings? you're supposed to set emg's as close as they can get to the strings without hitting them.

have you heard other sa sets to compare the sound?