emg pickups for peavey cirrus bxp?

atman · #1 12-15-2010, 08:04 AM

Hello, I'm a new member here.
I've looked through a few threads but can't find anything which would relate to my situation...at the moment i have a peavey cirrus bxp and the pickups seem to be giving off a lot of hiss and even sometimes a very off putting distorted sound when turned up which leads me to believe that the pickups may have been damaged. possibly moisture related...

anyway i want to get some new pickups until i can afford a nice new bass. i was looking at emg pickups but i've been told that they may not be suitable for the bxp...i really like sound of emg pickups so if it is possible i want to go with them. any suggestions for an alternative if it it turns out i can't have my EMGs?

MNAirHead · #2 12-15-2010, 08:33 AM

I trust you've changed your batteries......

There are no known direct replacements for the VFLs.. peavey does sell them ...

A sound is not the brand, but the model and preamp.

SGD Lutherie · #3 12-15-2010, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by atman

...at the moment i have a peavey cirrus bxp and the pickups seem to be giving off a lot of hiss and even sometimes a very off putting distorted sound when turned up which leads me to believe that the pickups may have been damaged. possibly moisture related...

Your pickups are active. They are sealed in epoxy, so they can't be damaged by moisture.

I think your battery is almost dead. Get a nice fresh alkaline battery and it should be fine.

Low voltage makes op amps hiss and distort.

atman · #4 12-15-2010, 12:00 PM

thanks guys, but i have changed the batteries...i'm new to the site, not earth

to David from SGD:
the hiss only occurs with this particular bass...i've got an old yamaha here, plugged that into the amp and there's no hiss. even plugged a guitar in just to see if the amp was struggling with high frequencies...and again there was no sign of any hiss. the amp is a fender rumble 100 if that clears anything up...

to MNairhead:
thanks for the info...i probably should have looked into it a bit more before i bought the damn thing. didn't know peaveys couldn't be tinkered with...

SGD Lutherie · #5 12-15-2010, 12:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by atman

to David from SGD:
the hiss only occurs with this particular bass...i've got an old yamaha here, plugged that into the amp and there's no hiss. even plugged a guitar in just to see if the amp was struggling with high frequencies...and again there was no sign of any hiss. the amp is a fender rumble 100 if that clears anything up...

I assume you mean white noise hiss? OK, I'm guessing the Yamaha isn't active. If you have the treble control cranked, you will hear hiss out of most preamps. In fact if you turn your amp up loud and crank the treble, you will hear hiss.

If it's actually high pitched buzzing, that's a grounding or shielding problem.

Also if you have the bass' bass tone control cranked, you may get distortion on loud notes. It could also be that your amp can't handle a loud active bass. Even some expensive amps like some Edens I have played, clip with some of my basses.

How does the bass sound with the controls set flat?

Either way, it's likely the preamp, and not the pickups. EMGs through that preamp would sound exactly the same as far as hiss.

So maybe you want a new preamp and not new pickups. The EMG preamps are pretty quiet.

MNAirHead · #6 12-15-2010, 01:35 PM

A bit of the "hiss" is dependent on the sound levels created --- active basses commonly will have the output and tones cranked.

Tim

atman · #7 12-15-2010, 02:16 PM

David:
That's the thing...i never crank the tone controls. At the moment i have the treble all the way down on the bass' control pot and it's neutral on the amp. The hiss is still clearly heard and as for the distortion i also have the bass tone pot turned all the way down on the bass and it's at -15 dB on the amp. Needless to say the distortion is still there.

I tried leaving the controls set flat like you asked and to be honest it sounds terrible...if i play with any moderate attack on the strings it instantly becomes distorted.
also the yamaha is active too.

I appreciate the fact that you've taken the time to reply!

darkstorm · #8 12-15-2010, 10:40 PM

You may have defective pups then. Since you dont crank the preamp tone levels either. I once had a bad set of dimarzio P's. Sound was kinda like your describing. Id suggest contacting Pevaey about this under the warranty that peavey gives with their gear. They may have you take it to closest authorized peavey repair center. If its the pups theyd probably replace them for you no charge as a warranty covered issue.

If you just bought the bass within the stores return policy period, take it back for trade for another one.

MNAirHead · #9 12-16-2010, 06:12 AM

Dark is right..

Please note.. call them on the old fashioned telephone.. you'll be happier than trying to email....

mech · #10 12-16-2010, 06:24 AM

If it makes the hiss with either PU, ten to one the prob is with the preamp in the bass, not the pickups. ICs can go noisy.

mech

MNAirHead · #11 12-16-2010, 07:04 AM

IC meaning integrated circuit?

Learning question (if the above is correct).. BXP have a heat shrink pack ===same potential condition?

atman · #12 12-16-2010, 06:29 PM

Mech:
Yeah, David from SGD mentioned that, he suggested trying the emg preamp so i'll look into that. I'm goin to call a luthier tomorrow and see if he can take a look at it...i'll get a better idea of what action to take from there. if the problem persists i might ask him to rout it and just get the EMGs installed...but for now i'll take the advice i've received and go with the preamp. As for my warranty...i've got it for about a year and a half, so i'm not sure if it's still covered. (not sure about their policy)

genstormbringer · #13 12-16-2010, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by atman

thanks guys, but i have changed the batteries...i'm new to the site, not earth

to David from SGD:
the hiss only occurs with this particular bass...i've got an old yamaha here, plugged that into the amp and there's no hiss. even plugged a guitar in just to see if the amp was struggling with high frequencies...and again there was no sign of any hiss. the amp is a fender rumble 100 if that clears anything up...

to MNairhead:
thanks for the info...i probably should have looked into it a bit more before i bought the damn thing. didn't know peaveys couldn't be tinkered with...

buy a Millennium preamp from Peavey costs $50 and you will solve the problem

mech · #14 12-16-2010, 06:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MNAirHead

IC meaning integrated circuit?

Learning question (if the above is correct).. BXP have a heat shrink pack ===same potential condition?

IC = Integrated Circuit

Active PUs have ICs in them that form the active buffer and/or gain stage. The sealed preamp PCB also has ICs and they can go noisy. Rare after the "infant mortality" stage but not unheard of.

mech