EMG question

[Pelagaard]

So I've got a slightly screwball thought going through my head, and I wanted to see if there was any technical problem you guys could find while I wait on a formal answer from EMG.

As some of you might remember, I made this a few years ago, and I think its time to change up the pickups.  There's nothing "wrong" with what's in there, I'm just not really feeling the combo anymore.  What I'm looking to do is replace the neck pup with this and the bridge with this, and remove the middle pickup completely.  I'd use a standard toggle to switch between the pickups and master volume (push/pull for the 89), and master tone with a single output.  From a purely technical standpoint, is there any reason you guys can think of why this wouldn't work?

 

[drewfx]

The HBCS is a P style PU in an HB housing. I would be worried about the gap between the coils not giving enough coverage of the middle two strings.

I put a 35P4 in the neck of my Schecter 8-string and the 2 middle strings of the 8 are a little quiet (which is not a problem for me, but it's there).

I'd take a close look at the coil picture in the PDF and make sure the measurements give will you adequate coverage.

 

[Pharos]

Very nice looking!

One other thing to note is that the EMGs are active pickups so you'll need space for the batteries. That also means you would have to remove the pickguard to change them with front routing.

 

[Re-Pete]

I've tried fitting EMG89 pickups into 2 guitars. I found you have to compromise the pickup height for one or the other settings.

It's a dual sound pickup, and if you set the height perfectly for the single coil sound, it will sound muddy in the humbucker mode. If you set it for the humbucker mode, you find the single coil sound is quite weak.  :dontknow:

I guess I ran out of patience twiddling the height around to try & find the perfect setting. I was trying two x 89s per guitar  (an 89R in the neck position too) so I was making the job hard for me trying to find a perfect height for 4 settings per guitar. YMMV of course.

 

[Pelagaard]

Thanks for the input. 

Since I won't be using it for its intended purpose anymore, I was planning to use the cavity that currently houses the 3 little switches as my battery compartment.  All I'll need to remove to swap the battery is that little plate.

I looked at the spacing of the magnets and I think it should be fine with the string spacing.  It might not be 100% coverage, but, since they are blades not poles, I'm not too worried.

Very useful pointer about the pickup height for the two modes, I hadn't considered that.  That definitely makes me think a 57 might be more what I'm looking for.

 

[swarfrat]

Just FTR, it makes it easier on people to know what you're talking about if you say Bass VI  and thinking about putting in a EMG HBCS and EMG 89, instead of making us go click on links to know what the ____ you're talking about.

 

[Pelagaard]

Thank you for that valuable information.  I'll make sure to do that next time so no one has to strain themselves.

 

[drewfx]

I looked at the spacing of the magnets and I think it should be fine with the string spacing.  It might not be 100% coverage, but, since they are blades not poles, I'm not too worried.

That's what I thought on my 8, but it turned out to be a factor. As I mentioned, it's not a problem for me - but on an 8 you're (generally) plucking both strings of a course together so if one is quieter it's not as big a deal as it might be with a VI.

If you want I'll check the distance between the affected strings over the PU and you can compare to yours.

 

[Pelagaard]

That'd be great, thanks.

 

[drewfx]

I get roughly 1cm between the inside edges of the affected strings at the center of the PU.

 

[Pelagaard]

Sorry for the delayed response drewfx, I get the same measurement. 

Got an "official" response from EMG earlier today, and they gave the green light (even said I can order the HBCS with a chrome cover even though it isn't listed as an option on the site).  Now I just need to decide if I really need the dual mode of the 89, or if I'm better off just getting one of the standard humbuckers...

 

[Ace Flibble]

The 89 is an odd beast. The wide/humbucker mode is like an 85 with very, very slightly less power (though given how powerful it still is anyway, you likely won't notice) and the stacked/single mode sounds like a P-90 or a really smooth Telecaster neck pickup. That's in guitar, though. I've never heard of it being used in a bass VI before. Based on my experience with damn-near every pickup EMG makes in damn-near every common type of guitar, I would expect the 'split' 89 to give you a very Cure-like tone.

The bigger problem I see is with your neck choice and getting that to balance with the 89. The HBCS has a little more power than the wide setting of the 89 and over twice the power of the stacked mode; that's without taking into account the natural output difference of the neck and bridge positions and the problem of getting the pickup heights right.

If you really think you'll need that bridge stacked coil sound, there are a few other options which I think would balance a little better. The 81TW would at least match the HBCS in power, though its tone will also be that bit brighter. The 89X will give you a little more power in both modes, though also slightly less compression and the X pickups need an active tone control, which is included with them but is an additional consideration, anyway. The 89RX is probably your best choice, as that moves the stacked coils towards the north side and thus the stacked mode retains very slightly more power and is very slightly smoother-sounding. You could also use an 85 in the neck, in place of the HBCS, as their tone in that position will actually be fairly similar.
Personally, I'd either go for the 89RX in the bridge or I'd use the 60AX—the lower-output cousin of the 85—and a VMC mid control or SPC control to dial in the lighter sound when I wanted it. Those drain the battery much faster, though.

 

[frown]

Note: If you do opt for an 81TW for your final choice, be aware that it's a taller height and may require a deeper hole than an 89!

 

[Ace Flibble]

Ah, good call, I'm too used to carved tops with huge deep routes, I always forget the height problem with flat tops.

 

[Pelagaard]

My thought was to have the neck pickup for doing more of the bass functionality, and the bridge pickup for more guitarish stuff, hence the choice of pickups. 

I definitely want to keep the HBCS, but I don't need to keep the stacked coil in the bridge if there's a humbucker that will better suit that purpose.  This will most likely be an either/or situation with regards to pickups, I don't plan on having the selector switch in the middle very often.