Identifying Old EMG Pickups

[line6man]

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

Yep, contrary to popular belief, most EMGs do not have low impedance windings.

 

[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'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?

STOP MAKING SENSE!

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

What's funny too, said guys that don't want the battery hassle come to me because one of their pedals died.  Guess what they need?  A 9v battery.

 

[Cagey]

I'm not sure why they even bother to spend the money to design in a battery compartment on many modern effects. Most of them draw enough current that the battery's life rivals that of a fruitfly, so unless you own stock in Eveready or Ray-O-Vac, you'd be foolish to try and live on batteries anyway.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

I'm glad they're in tuning pedals.  When playing through backlined gear, it's a crap shoot what they're gonna provide.  "You need a tuner?  You need electricity?  You're such a diva." It's nice to give it a tune sidestage or walk right up to a rig and just go."

 

[stubhead]

And depending on the funky electricity supplies and one's skill with ground loops and the crosstalk that can launch between pedals of different designs that share even a good power source, separate battery power is the one guaranteed hum-killer in a tight spot. Half the places I play, I don't even want to get there early for a "soundcheck" - it's demeaning enough to play for minimum wage. Or free.... maybe if they paid in batteries! :sign13:

 

[Dan025]

yeah guitar players tend to like the coloring they get from passive electronics. there is some funky stuff going on with the lrc networks that people can hear. changing cables, and using different amp has big results so guitar players can mix and match gear to get different sounds. i think it's an excuse to have more gear. the active stuff tends to be engineered to have less coloring, tight deep bass and have less of a peak in the response. on a guitar this is often described as sterile. on a bass it is desireable, else the sound might get muddy. you could certainly build an active system that has the coloring of a passive one if you put a passive tone before the preamp and not after but it would be more fixed. but it would certainly not respond exactly the same with different gear that way.

try 'em out but if you are a traditionalist you might be biased towards a muddy low fi tone. not that active garentee the alternative.