Identifying Old EMG Pickups

[Cagey]

I bought some old EMG-58 pickups some time back to install in a VIP build, and I'm wondering about the markings on them.

They both have a sticker that says "EMG-58" on the back, but one has an additional sticker that says "IJD" while the other is marked "IJE". I've about worn out Google, the EMG site and the EMG Users forum, but no joy.

Does anybody know what those designations are, or can guess what they might mean? I'm thinking it's a bridge/neck thing, and I don't want to put them in backwards.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

Most of their hums are designed to fit either position.  If they are multi conductor, it might denote that when splitting, they are opposite coils, for instance 89 and 89R.  These are just guesses however.  If you're set on the idea that they're for different positions, ohm it out and put the higher in the bridge.  It sounds like you've exhausted the obvious resources, so give them a call.

 

[Cagey]

They're not multi-conductor, but I hadn't considered checking the resistance to see if there's a difference. I figured since they were active, I wouldn't get a coil reading. But, I'll give that a shot and see what there is to see. Thanks!

 

[Cagey]

Well, that's not it. They both measure 59K in either direction.

 

[swarfrat]

They are active, ohm meter will only see the output or feedback resistors, depending on whether its an inverting or non inverting amp. Even if you could measure the coil, i think EMG tends to use similar coils for hum cancel and tweaks the eq in the preamp

 

[Cagey]

Yeah, I figured about as much. Worth a try, though.

Maybe there's no difference and I'm worried about nothing. Maybe they're just date codes or production run codes or something.

 

[AutoBat]

It's probably either a date & run number, or something similar. You probably have two sequential pups that came off the line that day.
8-10-4 & 8-10-5 perhaps?

 

[Jumble Jumble]

I've had lots of EMGs, and they always have some kind of weird two- or three-letter code on a sticker on the bakc. Never had any clue what it meant. I wouldn't worry about it.

They don't do bridge and neck versions of the same pickup; if they're different in any way, they'd be a different model number.

 

[Cagey]

Very well. I shan't worry about it.

Thanks, all!

 

[swarfrat]

Ima Jean Daniels - then she got married and became Ima Jean Ericson. You heard it first here folks! Sell it on ebay for a bazillion bucks now.

PS - she did better work when she was single.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

If she needs batteries, she don't need you.

 

[Cagey]

Aww! You didn't need to remind me about that!

I hate batteries in guitars.

But, we'll give these a shot. Who knows? Maybe I'll fall in love, and be able to overlook the downside. Lord knows the Floyd proponents have managed to master the art of the cognitive disconnect. If they can do it, so can I.

Worst thing that could happen is I replace them with the JB and a Jazz that are already sitting here and call it a love story. I know that'll work.

Besides, I have an Axe Fx II. I can make anything sound like anything.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

Just have one of everything. 

The battery thing isn't a big deal, especially if these aren't gigging instruments.  Strings break, pots get dirty, cables need replacing, tubes go out.  I don't know why battery replacement is such a deal breaker for many.

I wasn't that familar with the 58.  I looked it up.  It seems to be styled after a hotter PAF.  While that may be fixing what ain't broke, they seem like the active pickup for people after a passive sound.  It's compared to an 81 with more bass. 

 

[swarfrat]

If you flip the jack upside down you can fit a 9v in the strat jack route - no carving needed.

 

[Jumble Jumble]

You can fit a 9V in a Strat just fine anyway.

 

[Cagey]

The battery thing isn't a big deal, especially if these aren't gigging instruments.  Strings break, pots get dirty, cables need replacing, tubes go out.  I don't know why battery replacement is such a deal breaker for many.

I know; you're right. It's a personal prejudice with little basis in fact. Considering modern battery technology, it would take years of neglect to make a mess of a battery compartment.

I wasn't that familar with the 58.  I looked it up.  It seems to be styled after a hotter PAF.  While that may be fixing what ain't broke, they seem like the active pickup for people after a passive sound.  It's compared to an 81 with more bass. 

I've read the same thing. I hope it's true.

 

[stubhead]

What are you going to do for a preamp? I have this old EMG 45DC pickup with three little wire rods poking out, and an EMG cable with five spaces.... I suspect it'll still be in my "effects" when they carry me away. What happens if you just hook one of these babies up "normal?" Does anybody know what's in there? Just magnets, right?  :icon_scratch:

 

[Cagey]

I'm not sure what's in one of these things, but I suspect it's a typical dual-coil reverse wound reversed polarity pickup wired for common mode rejection like a traditional 'bucker but is dramatically underwound and uses weak magnets, whose product is then fed into an op-amp to get the levels back up for output from the pickup. Makes it less sensitive to environmental noise and ends up a low-impedance device that drops a lotta signal at the amp's front end. If the battery goes soft due to age/consumption, you start to lose headroom and get that blocky, kukka distortion that solid state amps are known for until the battery goes tits-up completely and you get no output at all.

So, I wouldn't think there'd be any advantage to hotting one up, but not the other, at least not in normal situations. Of course, guys have been known to do all sorts of weird things to their fiddle for reasons that aren't obvious to the rest of us.

In any event, I play through an Axe FX II, so there's nothing to be gained by beating up on the input stage with a wicked hot signal like there is with a typical tube amp.

Back when I was a grasshopper, we didn't have high-gain amps or master volumes or any of that fun stuff, so the only way to get Jimi Hendrix grade distortion was to wrack everything up to 11 and/or use overwound pickups to try and teach the input stage a lesson about excessive voltage. These days? Not so much. You have hyper-sensitive inputs, extra gain stages, master volumes to wreck the pre/power amp ratios, and a plethora of pedals to twist your signal into an unrecognizable shape. Fun stuff, for some things.

 

[drewfx]

I believe that EMG's are more or less normal PU windings with the 2 coils fed into a differential op amp.

 

[line6man]

The battery thing isn't a big deal, especially if these aren't gigging instruments.  Strings break, pots get dirty, cables need replacing, tubes go out.  I don't know why battery replacement is such a deal breaker for many.

I've personally never understood why so many players FREAK OUT over the concept of batteries. They are terrified that the battery is going to die, when the chance of that happening is no more concerning than any other thing that could go wrong. And then they make excuses that batteries are a big hassle and cost too much. The reality is, you pop a battery in and forget about it, then replace it once a year or so to be safe.

Some people will go as far as to wire up an elaborate external power supply so that their 85uA opamps won't have to deplete batteries. Isn't that far more likely to fail? What if you forget to take the power supply with you, or don't have any spare TRS-TRS instrument cables?