EMG BQC Troubleshooting

[Rusty the Scoob]

I've got a new BQC with an issue.. it pops when I touch the metal knobs of the treb/bass stack, as if it doesn't like my finger. Strings are ungrounded since I have EMG pickups but the cavity is shielded from a previous preamp installation in the body. The preamp worked fine until I mounted it in the body and then it didn't work at all until I unmounted it and cut away enough copper shielding that the body of the mid stack and treb/bass stack pots don't touch ground. Now it doesn't really work anymore, comes out weak and lifeless and distorted until I touch the pot when it pops real loud. I unplugged all the EQ shaping and ran it as Blend > Active Tone (didn't come with the BQC but I had it lying around from a pickup purchase and got it working perfectly before I mounted everything) > Master Vol and it works just beautifully, so I think the BQC system itself might be bad or at least misbehaving. Any ideas?

 

[lokikallas]

Your grounding something against the side of the cavity most likely. Try a little electrical tape to act as insulation. Even the bare wood can cause a partial short.

 

[drewfx]

Make absolutely sure you don't have any of the wires reversed.

 

[2liveis2die]

Make sure the one wire that is reversed that should be.

 

[Rusty the Scoob]

Yeah, only the correct one is reversed and I have a good electrical-tape barrier around everything. Seems to still pop when I touch the Treb/Bass control pot's knobs even when it's not mounted with the backplate off. I'm leaning toward an issue with the BQS control module since it works great if I bypass that.

 

[2liveis2die]

Id say get on to emg customer care. Theyre great. I was missing parts from my pjx set and they sorted it asap. Even couriered the missing parts and some spares to me.

 

[JWRocko]

I'm having a similar issue. Best bass gear just sent me a replacement unit because the bass/treble pot isn't working right. Everything is connected properly, the pot even halfway works. It's fine if I boost the treble and/or bass but it distorts and eventually cuts out if I cut either frequency. All the electronics are outside the bass and it's still distorting. If I remove the BQC and just wire pickups->blend->volume, no distortion. Again, this is the second BQC I've tried (still have both of them currently).

 

[Rusty the Scoob]

That sounds exactly right! I talked to EMG and they referred me to BBG for a quicker replacement, I'll be sending mine back tomorrow. Tempted to go with the simpler BTS if it's more reliable, I don't really need the sweepable mids all that much, the BTS in my cheapo Steinberger copy is perfect.

 

[JWRocko]

I called EMG last night and they're having me send them all my electronics. They're going to fix them and send them back to me.

 

[Argassab]

I have the BQC and took me a while to get a likeable tone from the Mid Q. It is nice that you can tweak it onboard. The only problem I had was low output on the high strings, so, I had to adjust the pickup height. I thought I had wired the BQC in the wrong way. Other than that, it is working perfectly and love it. Rick Hunt always answered my queries. As well as BBG. Hope you get it all sorted out.

 

[Rusty the Scoob]

Yeah, Rick was great and I'm sending it back to BBG because they're awesome too and Rick says it will be quicker. If I were doing it again I might just get the BTS because I'm not that crazy about the mid Q either. I suspect I'll be leaving it flat most of the time but it'll still be nice to have it.

 

[Argassab]

Mostly, Mid Q is flat but when used boosted at 400/450 or 1k. You would less likely need if used with PJ since to my understanding they are already midsy.

 

[Rusty the Scoob]

Yeah, I'll probably use it to cut mids more often than boost them. Sometimes I need a decent Phil Lesh tone while I'm playing it, so I like having at least one good setting that's not obviously a P. It's not ideal but between the soapbar bridge pickup and some EQing it gets close enough for a song or two.

 

[JimmyM]

You will learn to love the BQC's mid control, trust me!

 

[Doc Mojo]

I had a problem with an EMG install and it was a grounding problem. I have a 2 piece pickguard (P bass ) with a metal control plate. Drove me crazy trying to figure it out and my backup guard was a gold anodized aluminum guard. Double trouble.

 

[Rusty the Scoob]

Update... I got a whole new BQC system and it's not much better than the 1st one. There's no headroom, I can distort it pretty easily even running off of fresh 9V alkalines that read 9.5 each, and if I cut either the treble or bass it gets super quiet, distorts like crazy and cuts out. This is exactly what you described, JWrocko, any luck with yours? Did you get a 3rd system? I'm tempted to just go bass/treble, I have a BTS in my Steinberger Spirit and it's perfect.

 

[Doc Mojo]

The one connection has to be reversed. They also recommend 18volts but that one reversed connection did it for me. Look at the installation sheet and I believe its the one coming from the volume/ balance to the tone control.

 

[Rusty the Scoob]

I'm running 18V and have one connection reversed, from the blend to the BQC is exactly the one that is and needs to be reversed. What symptoms did you have before you reversed that?

 

[Doc Mojo]

No output/ low distorted output. When I connected direct from the pickup to the output I had sound.

 

[Rusty the Scoob]

That makes sense for a reversed connection. I think my unit is just faulty again like JWrocko's.