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Emg Question


killemall8

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and weeks later from when i started, the problem still goes on. i dont know what else it could be. tried 3 different schematics, all 3 that ive used before with perfect results, have done nothing. the only other thing i could think that it would be is the switch. i know i have it wired exaclty right. but even when i dont have one pickup wired, 1 pickup still works on all 3 positions of the switch. 1 isnt as loud, but it is still there. i know by know that no one can help me, so o well. my guitar is done, all i need is this to actually work. figures

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i just cant figure this out for the life of me

Isn't this exactly Crafty's point?

You're not likely to get any additional help I'm afraid. Not because people are unhelpful, but because they've given you all the advice they can, and the next step is for you to take it into trouble-shooting mode. It doesn't matter if you're 100% sure you wired it up according to the diagram at this point in time, because IF that's true, then something unexpected has happened. It might be that somehow (who knows how?) some wire colours got switched around at the factory. It might be because you're shorting out in a place that even you can't see, and you'll need to go point-to-point with a meter. It might be a faulty component that you haven't been able to pinpoint yet. And it could be that even with your 100% certainty, you're wrong. I've been guity of that. For some reason, wiring diagrams are my bugbear and no matter what, I always mess it up the first time around... last time, I swore up and down (to myself, mind you...) that it was correct, I 'verified' it what felt like 1000 times, and then in the end I actually DID have the wires going to the jack in reverse <shrug>. This isn't the time to be proud or feel upset and condescended-to. You asked for help, people tried to provide help, and that's the bottom line. Nobody's intentionally trying to make you feel stupid-- if you're like me, you're probably already punishing yourself for not having figured it out and THAT's what's making you feel "stupid." We're all our own worst critics... just don't project those feelings into other people's posts and you'll come out on top. :D

The short version: at this point in time, all the "outside" advice has been given and if it's not working (for whatever reason), the only person who can actually trouble-shoot it is you. Nobody here has meters and your guitar in-hand, so we're pretty well blocked in terms of providing practical assistance.

Greg

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but there is nothing else to do. i wired it all from scratch. no factory wires. i have checked every single wire, used new wire, siwtched wires around in every single possible combination. there just isnt anthing else i can think of. the reason i diddnt take any advice is because there wasnt any given that i havnt already done.

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Fair enough, but don't get upset when people provide it. Nobody has any way of knowing exactly what steps were taken. If you truly truly believe you've done everything possible for wiring (including testing point to point with a meter and getting a 3rd party with "fresh eyes" to compare your work to the diagram) then it has to be a defective part. Now you just need to figure out which one.

But "no factory wires" is an odd statement. All pickups ship with wires. EMGs have that quick-connect thing since ages ago... I simply meant that those wires (either directly from the pickup or on the quick-connect thingy) might be incorrect as a factory flaw... you just never know. That's why you have to test everything with the meter if the wiring diagram doesn't produce the right results.

And if that's all stuff you've already done, it just proves the point further-- there's nothing anyone can do for you, so don't get mad at them for not providing the solution. We all know the frustration of wiring up a guitar and having it not work... or at least the vast majority of us do... and it's not a pleasant feeling.

Greg

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i dont have a meter, nor know where to get one. and i dont have anyone else to check my wiring for me. i thought you meant the wires around the pots and stuff. ive tried the quick connects both ways, right side up and upside down. niether made a difference.

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i dont have a meter, nor know where to get one. and i dont have anyone else to check my wiring for me. i thought you meant the wires around the pots and stuff. ive tried the quick connects both ways, right side up and upside down. niether made a difference.

You need to take the guitar to someone who has a multimeter or knows where to get one. Hell, even a fresh set of eyes looking at the wiring may see the problem right off the bat! It's happened to me before, so that's why I'm suggesting you do that at this point.

Question: You ARE using 25k pots, right?

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i dont have a meter, nor know where to get one. and i dont have anyone else to check my wiring for me. i thought you meant the wires around the pots and stuff. ive tried the quick connects both ways, right side up and upside down. niether made a difference.

meters are cheap enough at any radio shack, anywhere I guess from $25 on up. your best bet is a meter and time. you'll have test each component to see if any are faulty. back to square one

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i dont have a meter, nor know where to get one. and i dont have anyone else to check my wiring for me. i thought you meant the wires around the pots and stuff. ive tried the quick connects both ways, right side up and upside down. niether made a difference.

You need to take the guitar to someone who has a multimeter or knows where to get one. Hell, even a fresh set of eyes looking at the wiring may see the problem right off the bat! It's happened to me before, so that's why I'm suggesting you do that at this point.

Question: You ARE using 25k pots, right?

i dont know who i could take it too. no one around here does anything guitar related. and yes im using 25k pots. even if i wasnt it shouldnt make a difference. i used active guitarheads with 500k before, and it just gives you the all or nothing effect when you turn the knobs. the only place i know i can take it is to a local music shop, but ive heard they cant look at it unless you pay them first and they diagnose it.

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the only place i know i can take it is to a local music shop, but ive heard they cant look at it unless you pay them first and they diagnose it.

And?

That's called running a business. You can either keep spinning your wheels and have a couple hundred dollar paperweights in EMGs or pony up for a multimeter or have a guitar tech check it out.

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the only place i know i can take it is to a local music shop, but ive heard they cant look at it unless you pay them first and they diagnose it.

And?

That's called running a business. You can either keep spinning your wheels and have a couple hundred dollar paperweights in EMGs or pony up for a multimeter or have a guitar tech check it out.

i have literaly no money. $0.00

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ok this is gonna take some sodering but it will help you track down the problem just remove as many elements out of the cuircit as possible wire one pick up at a time so that it is directly to the output jack and then check to see if it works then add in the switch and check every thing with both pickups going then add in the volume and then lastly the tone. it will take a little time to go througth this but you will work out any bad parts that way.

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i actually kind of tried that already. look at this pic. this is wired directly to the jack. i tried 3 different jacks. none worked, with both pickups tried. so you guys might actually believe me, here is a pic of it wired directly to the jack. then i wired a passive pickup to a brand new jack and that diddnt work either. its like nothing in my whole house will work no matter what.

emg.jpg

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i actually kind of tried that already. look at this pic. this is wired directly to the jack.

So THAT is one pickup wired directly to the output jack? Okay, it LOOKS like you've soldered everything to the right lugs, I'm assuming that the red wire is soldered to the red on the battery clip, fresh battery, good mono instrument cable going into a good amp...

Is the amp good?

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What that pic can't show is whether or not you have a good solder joint and if there's continuity throughout the circuit. It's hard to tell from the pic, but it looks like some bad soldering going on there. The grey one seems to be connected with solder only. The bare wire looks like it's likely to short out to something and also looks like it's merely "tacked" onto a blob of solder. I dunno dude. Pictures are funny.

I'm not being intentionally harsh... it's just that you're swearing up and down that you have the tools and know-how, but you don't have a meter. And your solder joints look questionable from that photo.

But I understand what it's like to have $0.00. You probably even mean that you have LESS than $0.00, if you're in the sort of spot in your life that I've been a few times... so I definitely understand that a technician might not be an option. But one thing that's theoretically free is patience... if you can manage to find some more in you (I can tell you've already used a lot of it up!) you might have to go one more time. If you're bound and determined to do it yourself, I don't know how it'll be possible to do the right job (assuming that trouble-shooting is required rather than just rewiring) without a meter. Mine was $10 and had those pokey-sharp connectors/terminals/probes(??) only... add a pair of alligator clips for $0.25 each, and you're off to the races. I know you don't have $10 right now, but just wait until you do... if you don't have the tools to trouble-shoot the problem, the only thing you can do is makeshift and/or rewire from scratch again.

Greg

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yes red wires soldered together. brand new batteries(tried 2 different brands) i dont know if my amp is good, i dont have a guitar to test it with. but i do have another small amp and it does the same thing in that amp. that soldering isnt that bad. sheesh. i have wired this thing 6 times a day for the last 2 weeks and i am getting tired of doing it perfect every time, especially when it being perfect and just a little off make no difference. and that wire is on there good. it just doesnt look like it. even if it wasnt a good connection, it would still work just by toutching. you can hold a wire with your hand to a lug and it will still go through.

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Yeah, pictures can be funny. But don't be so sure about the soldering... I actually suspect that even if it IS 'bad' soldering, it'll work fine for now; but then again, since it's the longterm that'd be an issue, and that's not what you're worried about at the moment, it was perhaps a premature criticism.

In any event, I'm sure I have nothing more to add, so I'll let you take it from here. :D

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if you've wired it straight from the battery to the stero jack and the pickup, with no pots in between, and then changed the jack and your still getting the problem, there is one of 5 things going on:

1. You ruined the pickup doing something

2. The pickup came to you broken(Which happens, there is an accepted ratio of good product to bad product at any factory)

3. something from the guitar to the amp is messed up (See: Cable, input jack on amp)

getting distracted, someone watching attonement on the PC next to me.. I love Keira...

ANYWAY

4. Something inside the amp is broken

5. Nothing is broken, and the Entire World is out to get you...

Anyone who knows electronic troubleshooting(car mechanics included) will tell you the best way to test fault is either to have the entire correct setup, remove a item, and retest untill the signal clears showing the issue. Or remove everything but the bare esentials and add until failure.

If you keep buying batteries and electronic parts you have allready spent as much as a cheap meter. You can get one at home depot, Lowes, menards, Radio shack, HEB, etc. for about $15

one with a Tone is best IMO because you dont have to read it, just hear when the signal is clear, but any will work.

Your post are very confusing, and I dont think anyone means to insult you, but you are posting multiple times in the same hour going back in forth.

from your first post, the capacitors I use have 1.5 inch legs, so when bent, it almost reaches 3" from wherever I have it soldered, my pots are usually less then this. If a instance occured, I would just extend one leg using a wire.

now the problem seems even wierder. all wired up, and you only hear feedback, even when it isnt plugged into the amp. but when i plug it in, it will only pickup the strings when my finger touches the output jack on a certain lug. it doesnt make sense to me. actives arnt meant to be grounded, so why is it doing this? i just cant figure it out.

this is a confusing statement. The amp sounds like feedback, even when the guitars not attached?!?!? Theres your problem. sounds like the wire is using YOU as a ground, DANGEROUS AMPS ARE HIGH CURRENT!!

OH SNAP! She just jumped into the fountain...

anyway..

THEN you wrote that you tested using a passive pickup, and get the same issue..

either your amp is busted, or your doing something wrong if the PASSIVE wired straight to a jack is bad.

one thing you could test, is bypass the stereo jack and wire the battery directly, this will keep it "on" but take it out of the circut, then see if it outputs signal. If not, then its time to Call EMG.

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if you've wired it straight from the battery to the stero jack and the pickup, with no pots in between, and then changed the jack and your still getting the problem, there is one of 5 things going on:

1. You ruined the pickup doing something

2. The pickup came to you broken(Which happens, there is an accepted ratio of good product to bad product at any factory)

3. something from the guitar to the amp is messed up (See: Cable, input jack on amp)

getting distracted, someone watching attonement on the PC next to me.. I love Keira...

ANYWAY

4. Something inside the amp is broken

5. Nothing is broken, and the Entire World is out to get you...

Anyone who knows electronic troubleshooting(car mechanics included) will tell you the best way to test fault is either to have the entire correct setup, remove a item, and retest untill the signal clears showing the issue. Or remove everything but the bare esentials and add until failure.

If you keep buying batteries and electronic parts you have allready spent as much as a cheap meter. You can get one at home depot, Lowes, menards, Radio shack, HEB, etc. for about $15

one with a Tone is best IMO because you dont have to read it, just hear when the signal is clear, but any will work.

Your post are very confusing, and I dont think anyone means to insult you, but you are posting multiple times in the same hour going back in forth.

from your first post, the capacitors I use have 1.5 inch legs, so when bent, it almost reaches 3" from wherever I have it soldered, my pots are usually less then this. If a instance occured, I would just extend one leg using a wire.

now the problem seems even wierder. all wired up, and you only hear feedback, even when it isnt plugged into the amp. but when i plug it in, it will only pickup the strings when my finger touches the output jack on a certain lug. it doesnt make sense to me. actives arnt meant to be grounded, so why is it doing this? i just cant figure it out.

this is a confusing statement. The amp sounds like feedback, even when the guitars not attached?!?!? Theres your problem. sounds like the wire is using YOU as a ground, DANGEROUS AMPS ARE HIGH CURRENT!!

OH SNAP! She just jumped into the fountain...

anyway..

THEN you wrote that you tested using a passive pickup, and get the same issue..

either your amp is busted, or your doing something wrong if the PASSIVE wired straight to a jack is bad.

one thing you could test, is bypass the stereo jack and wire the battery directly, this will keep it "on" but take it out of the circut, then see if it outputs signal. If not, then its time to Call EMG.

and the reason i post multiple posts within the hour is becuse i do my wiring right on my bed 2 feet away from my computer. i wire it, see if it works, then go to the computer. i dont see why thats bad.

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come on guys, i really need help here. ive never had trouble wiring like this before . and now i think there is something wrong with my amp as well. but i have no way of telling wich it is because i dont have a finished guitar, and only one amp. now the problem seems even wierder. all wired up, and you only hear feedback, even when it isnt plugged into the amp. but when i plug it in, it will only pickup the strings when my finger touches the output jack on a certain lug. it doesnt make sense to me. actives arnt meant to be grounded, so why is it doing this? i just cant figure it out.

When I finished wiring my son's guitar I had massive hum and a weak signal. I had inadavertatly wired the output jack backwards. The terminal that carries the signal in to the amp was grounded and the ground was going into the amp. Check it out.

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come on guys, i really need help here. ive never had trouble wiring like this before . and now i think there is something wrong with my amp as well. but i have no way of telling wich it is because i dont have a finished guitar, and only one amp. now the problem seems even wierder. all wired up, and you only hear feedback, even when it isnt plugged into the amp. but when i plug it in, it will only pickup the strings when my finger touches the output jack on a certain lug. it doesnt make sense to me. actives arnt meant to be grounded, so why is it doing this? i just cant figure it out.

The picture you have does it show three terminals that can be soldered to or is it my imagination?

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yes there are 3. its a stereo jack. you need one for active pickups. the extra lug is for the ground for the battery. and i did try switching the other 2 around, and nothing worked.

Yeah I went to the EMG site and I saw that. OK eliminate the plug. Unsolder the jack from the amp to the guitar and connect the shield to the black wires that goes to the battery and to the circuit common. Connect the center wire from the amp to the signal wire (hot wire ) from the EMG circuit.

Plug the cable into your amp and turn it on. What happens??

By the way are you using a stereo plug to plug into your guitar because it won't work..

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