• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

low output from EMG active J's

M

Mekanic

Dec 22, 2009
151
0
43
New Port Richey, FL
#1
I have no idea if it's a pot, the pickups or what, but I'm getting low output from my EMG J's

My yamaha fretless with a single assive P has about 3x the output, setting the volume on the bass below half makes for almost no output at all.

Changed the battery 5 minutes ago with no change.

Any tips?
 
#2
I had that phenomenon for a long while but my j bass with EMGS is now as loud as anything else I have.

I couldn't explain it, it was tonally OK, but the output was low. had to turn up the gain to twice what is was, but it is fine now. Strange. (And I am not inexperienced.)
 
#3
You've really gotta slam EMG pickups against the strings. They don't have the giant magnetic field of a passive pickup, which is both a blessing and a curse. Try raising the pickups, and maybe think about going 18v.
 
#4
Could be pickup height, and I was on my way out the door to go get some snaps to do 18v and see how she does heh.

Thanks much synaesthesia, thats exactly what's going on with mine, tonally they still sound great, but I'm having to crank them, and turn my amp up as well.
 
#5
18V improves the headroom and dynamics, but doesn't change the actual volume. (still worth doing, i never install EMG bass stuff at 9V anymore).

+1 to getting them up close to the strings (as close as you can get without hitting, actually), but they really are not that loud of a pickup.
 
#6
Soldering iron is still cooling off and I can say 18v is the way to go for sure. Output didn't improve much, but the dynamics are sooo much cleaner. Also picked up some battery clips to get rid of the foam that was in there when the bass was built.

Now to just get a 25k concentric volume pot to get some more control and electronically I'll be set... for a while
 
#8
+1 on putting EMG's close to the string. There's no reason not to run them high, they're made to be used that way, and compared to passive pickups, there's much less "string pull" from the magnets.

That said, the active J's do have the lowest output of all the EMG pickups I have tried. There are passive P-bass pickups out there that are louder. When I tried mixing the J's with other EMG pickups in the soapbar format (DC, CS, TW, and P5), I couldn't get a good level balance without adding a booster.

Adding EMG's PA-2 booster amp is quite simple, and if you still need more level after raising the pickups, that's a good option. You don't have to drill holes in your bass- I set the switch on mine to be always on, taped it up, and stuffed it into the control cavity.

On the other hand, if you're using the J's in matched pairs, why worry about it, unless you need more level to drive a tube amp into distortion? The EMG's are extremely quiet, so RF noise and hiss shouldn't be a problem.

BTW, one of the upsides that I noticed with the low output, was that it left lots of headroom. With high-gain amps like the Orange Terror Bass, that can actually be an advantage...
 
#9
Good to know, hey are the LJ5/SJ5 pickups, was just really surprised how much I have to turn the amp up going from my passive P yamaha to this bass, (ala 2 to 5) to get the same volume.

The PA2 looks like a good solution, but my pickups are pre quick connect so I have no idea how to wire it up.

ALso getting some hiss, notice it goes away when turning the tone knob down, wondering if my pots are going, been meaning to replace my VOL with a VOL/VOL , may as well replace the tone while I'm in there
 
#10
The output on the Js shouldn't be that low. I used to use the Js in my Ibanez and they were louder than some other basses, such as a friend's Pedulla with Barts and a Bart preamp.

They also shouldn't hiss. If the preamps in the pickups are hissing, than changing the tone control wont fix that.

Does the bass have 25k pots? I have found that changing them for 100k pots opened up the tone and produced a little more volume from the Js. The reason is that their output impedance is 10k, which is too high to use with 25k pots.
 
#12
Mekanic said:
It has 25k pots, thought that's what EMGs had to have. I'll try the 100k and see if it helps, if not then I recon I need new pickups
Click to expand...

They do come with 25k pots. But back in the 90s I hooked up some pots to a rotary switch to A/B different values, and 100k sounded better.

Check your output jack and battery clip to see if all the connections are good.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back