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EMG Users. I have an old 89. Reasonable as a bridge pickup?

TonyFlyingSquirrel

TonyFlyingSquirrel

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I was gifted one with the multi wire setup, no quick connect, and the 25k Push/Pull pot to split it.

Anyone have any experience with this as a bridge pickup?

Any feedback you'd care to share?
 
I have 81x and 85x in my VIP and I find them wonderful.  The 89 is a combination of SA and 85 so you're getting some deliciousness right there.

You'll be well off if you pair it with an 81 in the neck or an SA or two (or just by itself if that's your bag).
 
I ran an 89 in the bridge of an SG for years and years. Really loved it. Never bothered splitting it as there wasn't room in the body for a push/pull pot. But the humbucker mode was fantastic.
 
I'm considering pairing it with and SAV or SLV in the neck.
I tend to favor either single coils, or higher output PAF'ish voiced humbuckers for the neck.
 
In that case how abour another 89. Or move tue 89 to the neck and put aomething else on the bridge
 
I like being able to split the bridge from time to time, and combined with a single in the neck gets me closer to some Tele'ish types of tones that I can use for my cleans.  I rarely split a neck pickup, would rather just have an SC over there.
 
Jumble Jumble said:
The 89 is definitely a PAF-voice pickup with more output. I was using it for AC/DC type tones.
Click to expand...

Nice, so the SAV or SLV will pair up nicely with it.  I imagine the SLV will be a bit closer in volume.  I hope so.  I like both my pickups to be relatively even with each other volume wise since I solo on the neck pickup quite a bit too.

Thanks for that bit of insight.
 
When in hum mode, the 89 is closest to an 85, which many claim is a better choice than the 81 there.  I had a pair in (one was an 89r) in a Strat.  I liked them.
 
I've got an 89 in the bridge and an 89R in the neck of my Koa Carvin Bolt+.

I find the 89 to be clean, not sterile, so it's a pretty good base for any style. Splitting it thins it out as you'd expect, but it doesn't get weedy. Some say they are 'soul-less' compared to passives, but I don't feel that way. I just like their predictability really. Very quiet, easy to hook up [I use full solderless connects].

I've also used S, SA, and SLV single coil EMGs in middle and neck positions and prefer the SLV's as they're fatter sounding, SA's are the standard sound which is middly, and the S's are much thinner - ideal in middle for mixing with SA or SLV in neck for those Strat tones 'duck quack' I think it's called.

I also have a Yamaha Pacifica 412V which I've dropped a 81TW in - better for high gain and shreddy stuff, but remarkably usable for cleaner stuff too in my experience. The 81TW is a deeper size than the 89 so may not fit without addtional routing if you go for one of those...

You may get more headroom with an 89 if you do the 18v mod and add a second battery, which I've not tried yet, so not sure how it alters output whether clean or distorted.
 
frown said:
I've got an 89 in the bridge and an 89R in the neck of my Koa Carvin Bolt+.

I find the 89 to be clean, not sterile, so it's a pretty good base for any style. Splitting it thins it out as you'd expect, but it doesn't get weedy. Some say they are 'soul-less' compared to passives, but I don't feel that way. I just like their predictability really. Very quiet, easy to hook up [I use full solderless connects].

I've also used S, SA, and SLV single coil EMGs in middle and neck positions and prefer the SLV's as they're fatter sounding, SA's are the standard sound which is middly, and the S's are much thinner - ideal in middle for mixing with SA or SLV in neck for those Strat tones 'duck quack' I think it's called.

I also have a Yamaha Pacifica 412V which I've dropped a 81TW in - better for high gain and shreddy stuff, but remarkably usable for cleaner stuff too in my experience. The 81TW is a deeper size than the 89 so may not fit without addtional routing if you go for one of those...

You may get more headroom with an 89 if you do the 18v mod and add a second battery, which I've not tried yet, so not sure how it alters output whether clean or distorted.
Click to expand...

Thank you, this is very helpful.

Regarding the SLV, do you find that its Fatness takes away from its "quack" character, like a PAF or Alnico II retains, or does it just get full on creamy like many overwound neck pickups? 
I want to retain the quack, have fatness, but at the same output as the bridge so when I go to solo back & forth in either pickup under high gain applications, that I don't experience volume drops.
 
Like I say, the SLV is nowhere near the output of the 89 in humbucker mode. You'd have to use some heavy compression to even them out.

Better to just get another 89 in the neck really, that's what I had in that SG and it was brilliant.

As for those people who say EMGs are "sterile". Sorry, but no, your playing is sterile. EMGs put out exactly what you put in. If your playing is sterile, that's what will come out of the jack. Who wants to rely on gear to put character into their playing anyway?
 
Does EMG have a SC voiced/sized pickup that will have a similar output level to the 89?

I'd rather not add a bunch of compression.

Perhaps I could just lower the height of the 89 to compensate?
 
I tried that, but no dice. We're seriously talking like 2x as loud.

I don't think EMG do a single-coil voiced pickup with that amount of output.

Seymour Duncan, however, do a Blackout Single Coil, which has an optional jumper on it. If you put the jumper on, the output is boosted to match up with a Blackout Humbucker, which is close enough the same level of output as an EMG humbucker. They're compatible with EMGs (just plug the quick connect cable into the back of the Blackout and you're done). Maybe that would be a good option for you.
 
Jumble Jumble said:
I tried that, but no dice. We're seriously talking like 2x as loud.

I don't think EMG do a single-coil voiced pickup with that amount of output.

Seymour Duncan, however, do a Blackout Single Coil, which has an optional jumper on it. If you put the jumper on, the output is boosted to match up with a Blackout Humbucker, which is close enough the same level of output as an EMG humbucker. They're compatible with EMGs (just plug the quick connect cable into the back of the Blackout and you're done). Maybe that would be a good option for you.
Click to expand...

That sounds perfect, time to do some innynet shopping.  Thanks Jumble!
 
Are you referring to this one? http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/electric/stratocaster/medium-output/livewire_classi_1/

I wasn't able to find the jumper wire in this one: http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/electric/stratocaster/high-output/blackouts_singl/
 
TonyFlyingSquirrel said:
Are you referring to this one? http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/electric/stratocaster/medium-output/livewire_classi_1/

I wasn't able to find the jumper wire in this one: http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/electric/stratocaster/high-output/blackouts_singl/
Click to expand...

The latter. Read the available mods section at the bottom.

Don't forget that when you split the 89, its output will drop down to single coil level. You might want to make it so that the same switch drops the blackout to the lower output level at the same time, although you'd need a 3p2t switch for that. A fender s-1 switch would do nicely, but that does limit your knob choices.
 
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