EMG 40DC Help!!!!

[LLTravis]

I bought an ESP B-155DX thinking that I could swap the pickups out for EMG40DC's. So I buy them both and get them home. I've got no problem soldering things or reading diagrams, but something threw a monkey wrench into the mix.

They supplied with the pickups a volume and tone control wired together and said to use them. Well, the bass doesn't have a tone control on it.

The configuration is Volume, balance, Treble, Mids, Lows.

It is a passive bass with a 3 band active EQ. I have no idea what I am supposed to do now lol. If anyone could help that would be fantastic. Thanks.

 

[enemybass]

I did the same thing on my schecter a couple weeks ago
De-solder or cut off the tone pots then if you are using Vol Vol set up then join the output from the neck pickup pot and link it to the same pin on the bridge pot then join your preamp input wire to this
It should be wired the same as your previos set up just now with dc's and 25k pots

 

[SGD Lutherie]

It's not a passive bass if you have an EQ... it's an active bass. Were the pickups passive?

EMG supplies pots because they use 25K. They are assuming you might need them if your bass was totally passive. You don't have to use the EMG passive tone control, that's for basses without preamps. Your preamp is your tone control.

You should pick up new pots for the EMG pickups. You will need a new blend control. You might not need a new volume pot, it depends if it's before or after the preamp. If it's after, you don't need it. If your original pickups were active then you don't need new pots.

In the mean time you can just wire the EMG's up to the blend. You should get the 100K blend pot EMG uses, but it will work with the higher value.

 

[LLTravis]

Sorry, when I said passive bass I meant the pickups were passive.

So you're saying that I need to desolder the tone control from the volume control that came with the pickups and not use the tone control at all?

If I need a new blend control where would I go to find the one I needed?

Can I just put a volume control for each pickup instead of having a volume and a blend? Wouldn't that essentially be the same thing as having a blend, but having to use two different knobs instead of one? (I think that is what enemybass was suggesting, but I'm unsure.)

If so, how would I wire a volume control for each pickup?

Thanks for the help, I really appreciate it.

 

[SGD Lutherie]

Sorry, when I said passive bass I meant the pickups were passive.

So you're saying that I need to desolder the tone control from the volume control that came with the pickups and not use the tone control at all?

Don't use either of the pots that came with the pickups. Just use what you have in the bass already.

If I need a new blend control where would I go to find the one I needed?

Allparts has a 25K dual pot:

Part# EP 4745-000 25K Blend/Balance Pot

The photo doesn't show a dual pot though.

GuitarJonesUSA has a 50K blend:

http://www.guitarjonesusa.com/catalog/store.php?crn=259&rn=487&action=show_detail

BestBassGear has a 25K blend:

http://www.bestbassgear.com/pots.htm#

GuitarPartsResource has a 25K blend:

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Out of those I would use the 50K blend. 100K would be even better.

Can I just put a volume control for each pickup instead of having a volume and a blend? Wouldn't that essentially be the same thing as having a blend, but having to use two different knobs instead of one? (I think that is what enemybass was suggesting, but I'm unsure.)

Yes you can, and you already have the pots that came with the pickups.

If so, how would I wire a volume control for each pickup?

Wire it up like a Jazz bass:

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Or just follow the direction that came with the pickups.

Then instead of wiring in the tone control, you send the output of each volume control to the preamp. You can figure out that connection because it went to the blend pot.

Thanks for the help, I really appreciate it.

Glad to help.