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EMG Club!

#1,081
Hi there!

I have this old cheap Harley Benton 6-string bass that I have fitted with EMG pickups a few months ago, a pair of 40DCs which I would very much like to like, but the sound they give is too scooped for me. I used to have an EXB bass expander in there, replaced it with a plain passive tone, I like it better now but still not what I want.

After listening to a few comparisons, I think replacing them with a 40P (neck) and and a 40CS (bridge) would give me a warmer sound with more mids, correct? I may add an EQ, not sure yet, any advice on those?

If these pickups can get me closer to what I'm looking for, does anyone know where to find these in Europe (preferably either in or around Paris, or mail order from within the EU)? I can only hope to get the 40CS in late february / early march from some place in Germany, and I have been unable to find the 40P anywhere so far.
 
#1,082
I put a pair of EMG Geezers on my Player P, soon will add a 40HZ on the bridge position.

IMG_4527.jpeg
 
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#1,083
nono said:
Hi there!

I have this old cheap Harley Benton 6-string bass that I have fitted with EMG pickups a few months ago, a pair of 40DCs which I would very much like to like, but the sound they give is too scooped for me. I used to have an EXB bass expander in there, replaced it with a plain passive tone, I like it better now but still not what I want.

After listening to a few comparisons, I think replacing them with a 40P (neck) and and a 40CS (bridge) would give me a warmer sound with more mids, correct? I may add an EQ, not sure yet, any advice on those?

If these pickups can get me closer to what I'm looking for, does anyone know where to find these in Europe (preferably either in or around Paris, or mail order from within the EU)? I can only hope to get the 40CS in late february / early march from some place in Germany, and I have been unable to find the 40P anywhere so far.
Click to expand...

Hi nono! Yes, the 40P will have lots more mids - but less treble - than the 40DC. I like to pair a 40P with a 40DC at the bridge, because the two different tonal profiles overlap pretty well, and fill in nearly the entire tonal spectrum.

I have an EXB in another bass with a pair of EMG active P pickups. On their own, the pair of Ps has a ton of fat, juicy mids, but the EXB helps to scoop some of that out when I want to. I don't think the EXB would be the best choice to pair with a DC pickup for that reason.

I can't help you with sourcing them in Europe; sorry.
 
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#1,084
ctmullins said:
Hi nono! Yes, the 40P will have lots more mids - but less treble - than the 40DC. I like to pair a 40P with a 40DC at the bridge, because the two different tonal profiles overlap pretty well, and fill in nearly the entire tonal spectrum.

I have an EXB in another bass with a pair of EMG active P pickups. On their own, the pair of Ps has a ton of fat, juicy mids, but the EXB helps to scoop some of that out when I want to. I don't think the EXB would be the best choice to pair with a DC pickup for that reason.

I can't help you with sourcing them in Europe; sorry.
Click to expand...
Thanks! I finally found and ordered a 40P at sollerguitars.com (in Slovakia), I will try it with a 40DC in bridge position and see where to go from there.
 
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#1,093
fibz said:
+1 for BTS/BTC. Although it may seem limited bc it's main purpose is to boost bass and highs, you won't end up with a scooped sound as it slightly boosts around the 1k Hz frequency which makes the bass sound stand out and the bass pot is not too boomy. Very well balanced.
Click to expand...

I sometimes forget, but it's worth mentioning: The EMG BTS/BTC/BQS/BQC have a pair of DIP switches that let you choose one of four different treble frequency contours. A very cool feature!
 
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#1,094
ctmullins said:
I sometimes forget, but it's worth mentioning: The EMG BTS/BTC/BQS/BQC have a pair of DIP switches that let you choose one of four different treble frequency contours. A very cool feature!
Click to expand...
I really like the BTS, I have the BTS system on a 5 string J bass with the classic J5 set.
The BTS treble response is set to the biggest, widest shelf-type curve (dip 1 off, 2 on). It mostly stays at the 'flat' middle detent, but small boosts add a nice presence, and cutting is very similar to the extreme roll off of a passive tone control. Rarely use the bass control out of 'flat' except for those rare occasions where I solo the bridge pickup and use some bass boost to fill it out. It's a cool, fat, supportive tone, yet has a pointed mid cut.
Great stuff.
 
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#1,096
bigtone23 said:
I really like the BTS, I have the BTS system on a 5 string J bass with the classic J5 set.
The BTS treble response is set to the biggest, widest shelf-type curve (dip 1 off, 2 on). It mostly stays at the 'flat' middle detent, but small boosts add a nice presence, and cutting is very similar to the extreme roll off of a passive tone control. Rarely use the bass control out of 'flat' except for those rare occasions where I solo the bridge pickup and use some bass boost to fill it out. It's a cool, fat, supportive tone, yet has a pointed mid cut.
Great stuff.
Click to expand...

That's how I have mine set - I have the BTC (concentric BTS) and I run it on my 32" scale Spector with the bass slightly cut and the treble slightly boosted... Surprisingly detailed sound!
 
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#1,097
Okay... so I have a 4-string G. Gould PJ bass that I just switched from the stock EMG Geezer passive pickups to the active EMG PJX. Overall, I definitely like the sound of the PJX over the Geezers. Although it is super bright, I just run it with the VLPF (stock "tone" control) rolled back a little.

Meanwhile, I have another 5-string Gould bass with the EMG soapbars and BTC control. This bass is definitely more "ballzy" sounding and has more "booty." However, the VLPF on the PJ bass definitely cuts the highs more like a "regular" tone control than does the BTC (no matter the positions of the internal switches).

So here is what I am thinking of doing to the PJ bass: leaving the VLPF control (since I like what it does with cutting the highs more so than the BTC) and just adding a BTC to the circuit (mainly to be able to increase the lows, since I'd never really want to boost the highs as it is plenty bright already). Is there any wiring diagram that shows specifically how to plug the EMG non-solder connectors to do that?

It would be Vol - Vol - VLPF(tone) - BTC or Vol - Vol - BTC - VLPF(tone)

I'm not looking for the theoretical "here is what you need to do" from an engineer's point of view, just the actual way I plug those connectors together to get this layout (assuming it is possible). Just a diagram like EMG supplies with their pickups.


(of course, I could just replace the VLPF with the BTC, but I'd like to just try this and see how it works out. Maybe it will just be redundant -- the treble control and the VLPF control -- but I'd still like to try it just to see)
 
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#1,098
Christcr said:
It would be Vol - Vol - VLPF(tone) - BTC or Vol - Vol - BTC - VLPF(tone)
Click to expand...

I would do Vol/Vol/VLPF then BTC last, and I know a few guys who run them that way. Generally, the EMG docs show the BTC (or BTQC) last in the chain expecting to output to a jack.

But you can probably run it the other way and see if you like it. It's possible the BTC could overload the VLPF if it's last in the chain.
 
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#1,099
Christcr said:
Okay... so I have a 4-string G. Gould PJ bass that I just switched from the stock EMG Geezer passive pickups to the active EMG PJX. Overall, I definitely like the sound of the PJX over the Geezers. Although it is super bright, I just run it with the VLPF (stock "tone" control) rolled back a little.

Meanwhile, I have another 5-string Gould bass with the EMG soapbars and BTC control. This bass is definitely more "ballzy" sounding and has more "booty." However, the VLPF on the PJ bass definitely cuts the highs more like a "regular" tone control than does the BTC (no matter the positions of the internal switches).

So here is what I am thinking of doing to the PJ bass: leaving the VLPF control (since I like what it does with cutting the highs more so than the BTC) and just adding a BTC to the circuit (mainly to be able to increase the lows, since I'd never really want to boost the highs as it is plenty bright already). Is there any wiring diagram that shows specifically how to plug the EMG non-solder connectors to do that?

It would be Vol - Vol - VLPF(tone) - BTC or Vol - Vol - BTC - VLPF(tone)

I'm not looking for the theoretical "here is what you need to do" from an engineer's point of view, just the actual way I plug those connectors together to get this layout (assuming it is possible). Just a diagram like EMG supplies with their pickups.


(of course, I could just replace the VLPF with the BTC, but I'd like to just try this and see how it works out. Maybe it will just be redundant -- the treble control and the VLPF control -- but I'd still like to try it just to see)
Click to expand...
The BTS/C controls have the bass control set at a pretty low frequency, like 40Hz or so.
Another option might be a VMC control? It's the variable mid, but the lowest frequency setting is 100Hz. If that's not low enough, I get it, but it would keep redundancy to a minimum?
 
#1,100
bigtone23 said:
The BTS/C controls have the bass control set at a pretty low frequency, like 40Hz or so.
Another option might be a VMC control? It's the variable mid, but the lowest frequency setting is 100Hz. If that's not low enough, I get it, but it would keep redundancy to a minimum?
Click to expand...

Actually I meant the redundancy on the high end (cutting the high end)--so the active tone control (VLPF) vs the BTC treble control.

EDIT: Nevermind! I get what you are saying now after thinking about it for a minute. Yes, that could be an option. It would actually be cool if they did just a single "bass boost/cut" control at a lower frequency (like 60 or 40).
 

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