EMG HZ replacements?

search will help a fair amount on this topic. kryal something or other has a youtube with just about every style emg (p, dc, j, cs maybe) loaded into his schecter to give you an idea of what they sound like. seymour duncan has a drop in replacement (at least for the 4 string, can't see why not for a 5). kent armstrong, bartolini, a couple others, and even tb'r davidravenmoon have direct replacements for the emg40 sized pickups.

 

You can use actives with your bass' existing preamp. I have two ESP LTD basses that came with HZ's. I changed out the HZ's in one of them to active EMG's, (a 35-P4 at the neck and 35-CS at the bridge) and Seymour Duncan Basslines Phase II SSB-4 Soapbars in the other. Both sound awesome in those basses. The EMG's are great for slapping and aggressive-type playing, while the Basslines are more suited to old-school rock and blues tones, IMO.

 

kyral210

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=437557

 

I've owned the Schecter Stiletto Elite-4 string for about 3 - 4 yrs. I like the pick ups, but I dislike the pre amp. The preamp is the EMG BTS. I've actually asked Schecter about the hissing, and they said the issue is with the preamp. I'm looking to replace my pre amp soon, but not sure which one to go for. Anyone has specific recommendations that go well with the EMG-HZ pick ups?

 

the 4 wire type!! The 4 wires means you can isolate each of the coils in these dual coil HZs. I had a Schecter C4 that I added push/pull coil tapping pots at both of the volume controls. One position would activate the rear most coil and pulling up on the knob would activate the front most coil. To this day I regret selling that bass, however I did find another set of HZs that I'm dying to put into another bass. If you decide to sell yours, drop me a PM.
I would invest in the push pull pots before giving up on them though. Like you, I didn't care for the stock wiring either. The preamp is cool though; don't forget to experiment with the little micro switches on the circut board either. Between those switches and the coil tapping swithches, that Schecter and any 4 wire HZ pickup bass can be an absolute tone MONSTER!!
Like I said, if you dont like the set-up, I'll buy it from you - yea, it's that dramatic of a tone change!!!

 

... experimenting with the micro switches on the circut board? These are frequency cut/boost controls. There are like 7 different switch settings between the two switches. I would start there befor swapping out such a nice preamp (assuming its the EMG BTC). Again, add those coil tap switches as well. I'll buy that preamp and/or pickups if you decide against them!!

KT

 

I have this exact setup in a Cort, barring the coli tapping, and a blend instead of vol - vol, I love it!

Any chance of a diagram, or schematic for modding for coil tapping, and will this in any way change the un-tapped tone?

 

I went through the same thing. LOVE the bass... hate the pickups.


So I gutted it and went with custom Kent Armstrong pickups. Here's a thread explaining what I did.

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=439074&highlight=Schecter+reborn

 

I beleive guitarnutz.com can help with the modification; they have the EMG wire color codes and all wiring configurations.



"...will this in any way change the un-tapped tone?"

Yes, changing the tone IS the point of the modification, right?
You can wire it so one switch position will retain the current "Series" coil configuration and then you can use the other switch position to isolate the coil of your choosing. You can even go with a three position switch to isolate either of the coils within the pickup AND retain the factory coil configuration. I LOVE THESE PICKUPS AND PREAMP!!!

KT

 

I'll be adding some three way switches then!
I like having the factory settings and the option of either coil.

Although to avoid drilling, I might just keep it push/pull, for single or humbucking.

Edit, reading up on it, Series - Single - Parallel sounds like a better idea, and should also be possible.

 

AllParts has everything!

Wireing can be found at:

guitarelectronics.zoovy.com

 

quit complaining and start practicing.


if i end up gutting my stilleto elite-4, i'll post a brief how to here. at the moment, i'm thinking about making my own pre, but i'm waiting to see if a pcb mill will be available.