EMG 707 Volume Cleanup

[jforsythe]

Sorry if this topic has been addressed in previous threads. In my experiences with EMG 81's (and I assume the 81-7 as well), they do not clean up well when rolling the volume knob back while playing with a distorted sound compared to a passive like the Evo7, which cleans up nicely. I get an buzzy tone. In anyone else's experience, does the 707 react in this way as well?

 

[dpm]

I'd have to say that EMG's clean up very well, which is probably what you don't like. Come to think of it, I don't like it either and I'm an 81 fan
Because they are low impedance they are unaffected by cable capacitance and the pots don't interact with the coils like a passive unit. I'm assuming by 'buzzy' you mean a bright, harsh kind of sound? Like the ass end drops out of it? Passive pickups with a standard volume pot wiring (no high pass bridge) will warm up a little as the pot is rolled off.
If you're getting an electronic buzz, like interference, then there is some other issue.

 

[nitelightboy]

I think he may mean that the sound distorts a bit when he tries to clean it up. I've had that problem with most of my EMG's...but if you use a volume pedal and just barely pull back on it, then it'll clean right up. You just have to bring the signal down a tad for a lush clean sound

 

[jforsythe]

"I'm assuming by 'buzzy' you mean a bright, harsh kind of sound? Like the ass end drops out of it?"

That's exactly what I mean. Will that only happen with the 81 and 81-7 since these two pickups are known for having more high and and less bass than EMG's other pickups, or do all EMG pickups (especially the 707, since this is the one I'm interested in) clean up with a harsh tone?

 

[dpm]

I'm thinking the 707 will show similar traits, maybe a little better because of the increased bass output. The only method I can think of maybe helping would be to use a dual gang pot (one knob controls two pots) which has a tone control on the second pot. It would need to be 20k - 50k for use with EMG's and I have no idea what value cap to use for the tone part - I doubt you'd want to roll off as much high end as the standard tone. Best to take that to an audio electronics guru unless you want to do some experimentation.

 

[eviltoaster]

you could wire the voltage to 18 instead of 9 volts! (second battery..)

 

[dpm]

Won't do a thing for this problem.