xbonez182 Posted October 21, 2006 Report Share Posted October 21, 2006 Hey, I just finished installing my EMG 81/85 into my westfield les paul. But when I play through my amp, the sound keeps cutting, wont play with any gain whatsoever and when I touch the 85, which is in bridge position, it buzzes. It was my first installation, so I'm completely at aloss to what is wrong. Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted October 21, 2006 Report Share Posted October 21, 2006 Check the connectors on the back of the pickups to make sure they're plugged in the right way, then check the connections on the output jack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xbonez182 Posted October 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2006 Check the connectors on the back of the pickups to make sure they're plugged in the right way, then check the connections on the output jack. Hey daft question, which ways do the connectors go on the back on the pickups, they seem to go on either way. With the 85, which seems hte problem pickup, it doesnt go all the way on, and I'm unsure about forcing it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donbenjy Posted October 21, 2006 Report Share Posted October 21, 2006 not exactly an expert with EMGs, but I thought they would only plug in one way...try flipping the connector round and it should slip right in! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted October 21, 2006 Report Share Posted October 21, 2006 The connector is not keyed and will slide on the wrong way. Look on the last page of these instructions: http://www.emginc.com/downloads/wiringdiag...kers_active.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donbenjy Posted October 21, 2006 Report Share Posted October 21, 2006 can't see anything about them ot being keyed! maybe there's just something stopping it going on all the way - indicating that it's reversed? anyway, we all agree to try switching it the other way round yes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xbonez182 Posted October 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2006 can't see anything about them ot being keyed! maybe there's just something stopping it going on all the way - indicating that it's reversed? anyway, we all agree to try switching it the other way round yes? Hey, just tried switching it round the other way and it still doesn't go all on, and doesn't sound completely right. Though it is only about a millimetre away from going on completely. The distortion still isn't right and it still buzzes when I touch the pickup itself or any of the mounting screws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted October 22, 2006 Report Share Posted October 22, 2006 Donbenjy--I use EMG pickups. I know that the connector can be reversed. Xbonez--You need to make sure the connector is on all the way. Some of the pins may not be making proper contact with the plug if they're not installed all the way. Also, did you wire this up yourself or did you get a set with a prewired harness? If you followed the EMG diagrams to the letter then there shouldn't be anything wrong. Sounds like you're having a grounding problem more than anything else. If the grounds aren't all connected then the system won't get power, the internal preamps won't function, and the pickups will buzz when you touch them. If there's a short to ground in the system before the pickups, then you will experience cutting and buzzing from the pickups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xbonez182 Posted October 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2006 Hey, I got the connectors on all the way. Just a case of bad planning. Now the sund is perfectly clear, but when I go straight to my amp with it, its not driving the amp, the overdrive channel, although it has full gain, which works with my duncan equipped jackson, is almost completely clean. I'm thinking this may have been too big a project to do for a newbie? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sambo Posted October 24, 2006 Report Share Posted October 24, 2006 Go back to basics and check every wire goes to the right place and has good continuity (with a multi meter... you shouldn't think of wiring anything without one ). Work from the pickup to the output jack. Also check you're battery isnt dead S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted October 24, 2006 Report Share Posted October 24, 2006 Definitely check the battery! I think you also have either a short to ground somewhere or the pickups just aren't getting any power. Being that the sound is really clean means that the internal preamps aren't switching on to boost the power from the relatively low-powered passive section of the pickup. I really wish EMG would use color diagrams because it seems every few weeks there's a noob on here who can't make sense of their stupid black and white PDFs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xbonez182 Posted October 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2006 Definitely check the battery! I think you also have either a short to ground somewhere or the pickups just aren't getting any power. Being that the sound is really clean means that the internal preamps aren't switching on to boost the power from the relatively low-powered passive section of the pickup. I really wish EMG would use color diagrams because it seems every few weeks there's a noob on here who can't make sense of their stupid black and white PDFs. Hey yeah the schematics don't seem the same as the Duncans/Dimarzios I looked at installing and kinda wish I had gone with. Then again I think I should have got some more knowhow under my belt before trying to do this. The multimeter, I didn't get, will have to look into getting one, just brought a soldering iron and jumped right in. (Prepares self for flaming lol) Cheers lads I'll let you know how things go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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