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Help with pickup installation?

M

mstone564

Dec 14, 2009
66
1
#1
Hello, I recently bought an active EMG 45DC to put in my 6-string Spector Legend Classic bass.
It currently has the stock pickups (that I believe are passive) in it and all I want to do is replace the bridge pickup, but have no idea where to start, which diagrams to use, or what all I need (solder gun, ect.) to replace it.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, I'm a pickup n00b.
 
#2
Active or passive. Either/or. Not both. They both have to be the same to work properly. If you want to go active, go back and get another EMG to do complete active. A 45CS in the neck position will go well with a DC in the bridge position.

There is a good FAQs section on the EMG website that explains why.
 
#4
nope, the active pickup may not even be louder.

what happens is the active pickup "takes over" the sound when they're both on, so you only hear it, and don't hear the passive pickup at all.

also, the pots that sound right with the active pickup make the passive sound dull and weak.

you could wire it up with separate volumes and a switch to use one pickup or the other, but they will not mix.
 
#6
How do you want to wire it? The EMG website has various wiring diagrams. If you like the way the "knobs work" on the stock configuration, you can find the EMG wiring schematic that is closest to your stock configuration and go for it.

I'm not familiar with how the stock wiring works on the OP's bass. If someone could post what each knob does on the stock wiring, I can help find the EMG diagram that would correlate.
 
#7
Um, I just now google'd your bass. Did you know it already has EMG pickups in it? The only functional difference bewteen EMG active soapbars and what is already in the bass is that with the EMG active soapbars the preamp is integrated into the pickup instead of as a separate outboard unit that you already have.

In other words, you're not gaining anything. Any chance of returning the pickups you purchased?
 
#8
i gotta disagree here, the lower-line passive HZs are nothing compared to "real" EMGs; he should get a big improvement doing what he's doing.
 
#9
iiipopes said:
How do you want to wire it? The EMG website has various wiring diagrams. If you like the way the "knobs work" on the stock configuration, you can find the EMG wiring schematic that is closest to your stock configuration and go for it.

I'm not familiar with how the stock wiring works on the OP's bass. If someone could post what each knob does on the stock wiring, I can help find the EMG diagram that would correlate.
Click to expand...
I'd like to keep the knobs the way they are, literally just wanting to switch out the pickups.
My bass has two volume knobs (one for bridge and one for neck) and two "boost only" treble and bass knobs.
I also run off 18V.
Thanks for the help. Anything else you need to know?
iiipopes said:
Um, I just now google'd your bass. Did you know it already has EMG pickups in it? The only functional difference bewteen EMG active soapbars and what is already in the bass is that with the EMG active soapbars the preamp is integrated into the pickup instead of as a separate outboard unit that you already have.

In other words, you're not gaining anything. Any chance of returning the pickups you purchased?
Click to expand...
The pickups in my Legend are the stock Stuart Spector pickups, which are passive. The ones I bought are surely better...? (or at least I would hope...)
I've heard tons of people replace these pickups and notice a huge difference.
Oli Pinard of Cryptopsy has the same exact bass/pickups combo that I will and I dig his tone, I use this bass in a metal band
 
#10
you would run each new pickup to its own new volume pot (included in the boxes), then jump the outs of the two volumes together and run that into the existing pre. you can clip in the pickups to their volumes and clip those volumes together, but you'll need to solder all that into the input of the old preamp.

it could very well be that the old pre won't sound so great with the EMGs; you might do better removing it entirely and just running the EMGs by themselves.
 
#11
Walterw said what I was going to say. If you don't like the sound of your bass at all, then you might have to dump the preamp as well. Now, to replace it with an EMG BTC, as well as the pickups you have already purchased, starts getting into the cost of a new bass altogether.

Seriously, research the threads. It might just be that an inexpensive pair of EMG HZ's, which are the passive version of a CS, which will work with your preamp, may be the most cost effective upgrade, since the threads talk about a difference in midrange response between the SSD pickups and the HZ pickups. A pair of HZ's will probably cost no more than what you paid for either of the EMG actives.

To recap: serious doubts whether the EMG actives are compatible with your current onboard preamp, and to change everything out, including the preamp, may not be cost effective. Can you return the EMG actives and get your money back and rethink your project?
 
#12
iiipopes said:
To recap: serious doubts whether the EMG actives are compatible with your current onboard preamp, and to change everything out, including the preamp, may not be cost effective. Can you return the EMG actives and get your money back and rethink your project?
Click to expand...
Here's a couple quotes from Spector's customer service:
"Both the Neck and the Bridge Pickups can be replaced with a 45DC or any of the active EMG 45 series pickups."
"The Volume Pots would need to be changed to 25K Pots. The Preamp that is currently in the bass can stay as is."
"I have done this upgrade on my personal Legend 6 Classic so feel free to respond back with any further questions."

I THINK I'm good..
 
#13
there you go.

it's just a question of whether the preamp might clip with the outputs from the real EMGs; if not, then you're all set.

i might still be inclined to eventually ditch the stock mystery pre for an EMG pre, which is definitely able to handle EMG pickup outputs and is also a nice transparent preamp, especially with the whole thing at 18V.

i don't see the need for bass-cut, but a system where i couldn't turn down the treble from "flat" just seems useless to me. the EMG pres all have center-notched controls for boost and cut.
 
#14
If Spector says it's compatable, then good. If cost is not the issue, then I'd go for the whole enchilada with the EMG BTC system.

Make sure that if you keep the stock preamp in the meantime, you do EXACTLY what it says to do, especially the volume pots. That is the point on which most preamps are not compatible. But since Spector says it can be done, then do it as they say.
 
#15
Preamp should be the Spector Tonepump Jr. which is what is stock in all the Spector Legend Classic series, which is the current lineup of Legends. It can be used with active or passive pickups. My $.02, you will like this upgrade as I have done this similar upgrade in the past. It wasn't a simple drop and go type thing; it was some work but I managed well and was able to do it myself. You might want to stop by the Spector Club and ask a few ?'s there, surely someone will chime in.

walterw said:
...i might still be inclined to eventually ditch the stock mystery pre for an EMG pre, which is definitely able to handle EMG pickup outputs and is also a nice transparent preamp, especially with the whole thing at 18V...
Click to expand...

+1. The EMG preamps are real nice with the EMG actives. That's what I have in my main Spector bass. 18v too.
 
#16
I ended up going all out with both the 45DC and 45CS and got an EMG BQC system as well, has a blend, master volume, bass/treble stack, and mid/mid freq selector stack.
Should be a solderless and overall easy install.
 

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