emg's for a Les Paul


Flynnstone
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Joined: 10/25/01
Posts: 2
Flynnstone
New Member
Joined: 10/25/01
Posts: 2
10/25/2001 3:05 am
Greetings - I have purchased 2 EMG 89's, with the intent of installing them in a Gibson LP Std. The pickups did not come with any other controls / hardware. I will be needing a battery unit/input jack, 2 volume controls with push/pull switches (to get the coil split on both pickups), and I would like to install an SPC and EXG (active tone circuits from EMG). Questions:

1.) the LP requires long shafts on all the controls; does anyone have experience with emg's and Les Pauls? what parts do I need (the emg webpage does not specify) that will fit the guitar properly?

2.) anyone have tips how to wire it such that the stock switch selects between the pickups as normal, but the signal THEN goes through both the EXG and the SPC ? In other words, I want BOTH active tone circuits to operate all the time, no matter which pickup (or both) is selected.

Any relevant thoughts, comments, tips, appreciated.

Thanks,
RF



# 1
Skull Dragon
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Joined: 12/01/01
Posts: 21
Skull Dragon
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Joined: 12/01/01
Posts: 21
12/02/2001 12:32 am
Why on earth would you want to split the coil, especially on a LP?

# 2
Lordathestrings
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Joined: 01/18/01
Posts: 6,242
Lordathestrings
Gear Guru
Joined: 01/18/01
Posts: 6,242
12/02/2001 7:07 pm
If you insert the active cicuits between the PU selector and the output jack, they will always be in the signal path.

Check out Guitar Nuts http://www.guitarnuts.com for some Strat-related tips that you can adapt to an LP.

Check out StewMac http://stewmac.com for more tips and any hardware you might need.

Skull Dragon; An LP with split humbuckers wired in parallel instead of series yields a sound fit to make Fat-Strat players weep in frustration! Check out http://www.dimarzio.com for the schematics.

[Edited by Lordathestrings on 12-02-2001 at 02:13 PM]
Lordathestrings
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www.GuitarTricks.com - Home of Online Guitar Lessons
# 3
Flynnstone
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Joined: 10/25/01
Posts: 2
Flynnstone
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Joined: 10/25/01
Posts: 2
12/04/2001 1:50 am
Thanks L.A.T.S. for the URL's, I'll check it out (haven't gotten around to this project yet). And yes, with this set-up, I will be able to get standard LP dual coil tones, plus that awesome "single coils in parallel" tone, as well as some interesting colors from the mid-boost (SPC) and the expander (EXG) controls. My goal is to have a truly versatile LP to cover a wide range of tones / gigs. I hear Jimmy Page uses something like this, but not with active electronics.


# 4
Lordathestrings
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Joined: 01/18/01
Posts: 6,242
Lordathestrings
Gear Guru
Joined: 01/18/01
Posts: 6,242
12/04/2001 4:33 am
If you dig around a bit, you can find all sorts of good stuff right here on the Guiitar Tricks site.

My own 'Brand X' is a Yamaha SBG-1000 LP type with a DiMarzio Super Distortion in the bridge position and a DiMarzio SCHB at the neck. I've never felt the need for active pickups, but that's entirely up to you.

You might want to consider adding a phase switch to your setup. By balancing the volume controls to adjust the amount of cancellation, you can create some amazing sounds, without adding any flangers and such to your rig.
Lordathestrings
Guitar Tricks Moderator

www.GuitarTricks.com - Home of Online Guitar Lessons
# 5

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