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EMG BQC/JAX/MM5TW-X Install Hell

B

BigKD

Apr 19, 2014
347
203
#1
HALP!

Anybody familiar with this install? I can't get any sound of the bass, and the single 9V battery is getting really hot when I have it connected...

I've gone over the install diagram over and over and over. Everything looks correct to me. The only part of the install that is sorta hazy is connecting the MM5TW dual/single coil push pull put as the master volume.
 
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#2
If the battery is getting hot you probably have shorted it out and no power is getting to the components. Don't leave the battery connected that way. A shorted batter can be dangerous.

Have you seen the video on the BQX Invalid Link Removed

You might want to try leaving some components out and only add them back in if things work in the previous steps. When things stop working, you've found the area that the problem is in. Without seeing clear pictures of exactly how things are connected it is hard to offer any help.
 
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#3
rwkeating said:
If the battery is getting hot you probably have shorted it out and no power is getting to the components. Don't leave the battery connected that way. A shorted batter can be dangerous.

Have you seen the video on the BQX Invalid Link Removed

You might want to try leaving some components out and only add them back in if things work in the previous steps. When things stop working, you've found the area that the problem is in. Without seeing clear pictures of exactly how things are connected it is hard to offer any help.
Click to expand...
I watched those videos like 10 times and checked over my entire setup multiple times. I even got the reversed connector part correct on the main control board. So I'm stumped. Maybe I've got a bad preamp or something...
 
#4
What is not covered as well is using the MM5TW push/pull pot as a master volume. As I understand it, this how to set it up:

MM5TW
=> push/pull/master volume (to serve as push/pull)
=> active balance control (JAX pickup goes directly to this...no dedicated pot)
=> BQC main control board (has the midrange pot on it and is prewired connected to treble pot
=> push/pull/master volume (this time to serve as master volume)
=> output jack
 
#7
rwkeating said:
The more I think about it I feel you have shorted out a positive (red) battery connection to ground. Do you have a volt/ohm meter to check with? I would focus on all the connections coming off of the red battery wires.
Click to expand...
I'll see if I can track one down. I just wired the humbucker straight to the BQC module and then took the module output to the output jack and it works!

So the BQC main board and the humbucker are functioning...I'll keep plugging in more stuff to see where the problem is...
 
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#9
Actually, I was wrong. ONLY the JAX pickup is working lol. When I attempted to take the output straight off the MM5TW push/pull pot (you have to use the pot to get the output of this pickup), I get crickets.

I found my mistake, though. I had the connector that connects directly into the MM5TW upside down. You want the arrow side to be facing up at you!
 
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#12
Got it all back together and...crickets. Lol. I'll see if I can track down a meter. Hey at least now I know that the following is functional:

BOTH pickups
midrange stack
treble/bass stack
main preamp board
MM5TW push/pull (not sure tho about it functioning as master volume)

So right now my suspicion is the active balance control...
 
#13
Contact EMG suport - they are extremely helpful. I am also 99% sure you can't use the TW with the balance cotnrol..... have to run two volumes.

Actually - I am 100% sure - see this:

Invalid Link Removed

Pertinent point (bolded for emphasis):

When using two of TW Pickups in the same instrument it is not recommended that our BT or BQ Systems be used. Each pickup requires a push/pull pot for switching from single coil to humbucker, so the balance control included with the system can'’t be installed. If you want to use the balance control, consider switching single/dual coil outputs with a DPDT toggle switch(s) instead.
 
#14
Jamie_Funk said:
Contact EMG suport - they are extremely helpful. I am also 99% sure you can't use the TW with the balance cotnrol..... have to run two volumes.

Actually - I am 100% sure - see this:

Invalid Link Removed

Pertinent point (bolded for emphasis):

When using two of TW Pickups in the same instrument it is not recommended that our BT or BQ Systems be used. Each pickup requires a push/pull pot for switching from single coil to humbucker, so the balance control included with the system can'’t be installed. If you want to use the balance control, consider switching single/dual coil outputs with a DPDT toggle switch(s) instead.
Click to expand...
I'm only using one MMTW. The other pup is a JAX, so it seems this is not relevant to my situation.
 
#15
Ok it's all working now...had the pickup power connectors off by one peg on the active balance control.

I'll post a more detailed review later, but this is clearly an upgrade over the stock MEC stuff that was on this Warwick Thumb. What amazes me so far about the EMGs is how close they sound to the unplugged tone. That may not be what everybody is looking for in their pickups, but it's certainly what I wanted, and I feel that my extensive research correctly identified active EMGs as the best fit for this guitar.
 
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