3 EMG pickup wiring issues

[scuzzy]

Good evening. I just wired up this bass and the &^*#* isn't working as expected.

First, one half of the Precision pickup is dead silent, not working at all. I can't find a wire break, no idea.

The two Jazz pickups are working fine, but the output is really really really low. like, much lower than my lowest output bass. The switches do on/off as expected. The volume and tone are working properly. I swapped the ground/hot wires on the pickups and that didn't solve it. But I've used the same quick connect for the power each time.

This is what I have done to troubleshoot

• checked that no signal is being grounded
• checked the jack that it's wired properly
• checked battery buss for all being connected
• battery is brand new
• swapped black/white wires on pickups, and back again

I am at a loss. I have basically spliced a SPDT on/on switch on the white hot wire of each pickup as an on/off, and i've ran the entire instrument like the original bass VI. individual pickup on/off switches and a master volume tone.

Can anyone please advise? I'm at a loss. hopefully I'll wake to a simple fix.

 

[ctmullins]

This sounds like a case of standard troubleshooting. Take everything out, and start with the simplest configuration- one pickup with a single volume (and maybe tone). Make sure that pickup works well by itself. Do the same with the other two pickups. This will tell you whether or not any of the pickups are faulty.

Only after doing that can you begin to add the other components to the circuit. Add just one component at a time, and test. Being methodical in this way will pinpoint the cause of your issue.

I too have a three-EMG bass, wired differently to yours, but conceptually very similar, and it works well. So I know you can overcome this too!

 

[ctmullins]

One more comment, after zooming in on your photo: You’re mixing X series and original series pickups. There is an impedance difference between X and original that may be problematic. I can’t say for sure. But others here can probably elaborate, and/or an email to EMG Support can get you more information.

 

[scuzzy]

One more comment, after zooming in on your photo: You’re mixing X series and original series pickups. There is an impedance difference between X and original that may be problematic. I can’t say for sure. But others here can probably elaborate, and/or an email to EMG Support can get you more information.

Thanks,
I emailed EMG just now. I am nervous that there is a broken wire on the P, rendering half of it dead. The wires on it are very stiff, brittle, and sections of the cover are cracking.

 

[scuzzy]

One more comment, after zooming in on your photo: You’re mixing X series and original series pickups. There is an impedance difference between X and original that may be problematic. I can’t say for sure. But others here can probably elaborate, and/or an email to EMG Support can get you more information.

I am using Guitar Fetish solderless pots and wires. The tone is not the active tone control that EMG sells. Would the knock off pots be the problem?

 

[ctmullins]

I am using Guitar Fetish solderless pots and wires. The tone is not the active tone control that EMG sells. Would the knock off pots be the problem?

Maybe. What are the pot values? Active EMGs need 25kOhm, not the standard 250kOhm or 500kOhm that passive pickups need.

Omit the tone control altogether at first, then test, the add the tone control, so you can assess its impact.

EMG pickups come with all of the pots included, which means lots of us have bags and boxes full of them lying around. You could probably acquire some pretty cheaply and easily.

 

[scuzzy]

Maybe. What are the pot values? Active EMGs need 25kOhm, not the standard 250kOhm or 500kOhm that passive pickups need.

Omit the tone control altogether at first, then test, the add the tone control, so you can assess its impact.

EMG pickups come with all of the pots included, which means lots of us have bags and boxes full of them lying around. You could probably acquire some pretty cheaply and easily.

They are 25k, made for active. i'll start trouble shooting later this week once my mind clears. if I don't get it out of my brain in the evenings, I can't sleep while thinking about it.

 

[rwkeating]

There is an impedance difference between X and original that may be problematic. I can’t say for sure. But others here can probably elaborate,

I have an X and a non-X in the same instrument. The controls are volume, tone and blend. I don't have any issues.

 

[Eric Huber]

Good evening. I just wired up this bass and the &^*#* isn't working as expected.

First, one half of the Precision pickup is dead silent, not working at all. I can't find a wire break, no idea.

The two Jazz pickups are working fine, but the output is really really really low. like, much lower than my lowest output bass. The switches do on/off as expected. The volume and tone are working properly. I swapped the ground/hot wires on the pickups and that didn't solve it. But I've used the same quick connect for the power each time.

View attachment 4726807

This is what I have done to troubleshoot

• checked that no signal is being grounded
• checked the jack that it's wired properly
• checked battery buss for all being connected
• battery is brand new
• swapped black/white wires on pickups, and back again

I am at a loss. I have basically spliced a SPDT on/on switch on the white hot wire of each pickup as an on/off, and i've ran the entire instrument like the original bass VI. individual pickup on/off switches and a master volume tone.
View attachment 4726818

Can anyone please advise? I'm at a loss. hopefully I'll wake to a simple fix.

 

[Eric Huber]

Call EMG. Their tech guys are great. I just did a J-Bass setup with some issues. I connected the output jack incorrectly. I am curious how did you connect the P-Bass pickups. In series or parallel. Seriously their tech support is first-rate. Have your invoice ready in case they ask for the order number.

 

[scuzzy]

Call EMG. Their tech guys are great. I just did a J-Bass setup with some issues. I connected the output jack incorrectly. I am curious how did you connect the P-Bass pickups. In series or parallel. Seriously their tech support is first-rate. Have your invoice ready in case they ask for the order number.

i have an email going with them right now. the P pickup is old school, hard wired...so it is what it is. I wired per factory recommendations. Each pickup "hot" was going to a SPDT switch, which was working correctly. Ground to ground. Single out from switches to the volume, and into tone ->output and all that was wired correctly and working correctly.

i have a multimeter. how do you test an EMG Solderless pickup? I'm chalking off the P pickup. I'm guessing it's shot.

 

[bowthing]

One thing that took me DAYS to figure out once is that the EMG covers (at least on Geezer Ps) are CONDUCTIVE, to provide shielding, and ONE of the two P units (the one with two conductors) has this cover connected to the coil wire. This means that if you hook them up in series the wrong way you can short the other coil. Not at all obvious or documented.