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warming up emgs

2

22pauld22

Aug 11, 2007
224
1
sydney australia
#1
ok long story short I have a godin bg5 that sits in my hands so nicely It feels like it was customer made for me .. but its one of the emg versions a 40p5 neck and 40cs bridge with the bqc ? preamp .. I have had a million ideas for warming it up (sorry emgs and me don't see eye to eye ) the word that comes to mind is sterile .. I want to like them I know they are good pickups so I'm thinking maybe I can warm then up with a different pre .. i don't want to rely on my amp for this as I often play this pass straight into my audio midi interface (pc) for practicing and writing purposes .. any ideas ?

a few i have had are .. just get some nordstrand fs's or big singles .. maybe try some seymours (don't know much about them) or bartolini classic bass ...

one point is that the godin is all maple so its adding to the brightness .. I use bronze strings and I'm thinking of moving to smooth wound .. i mostly look for a jazz funk booty sound .. even when I slap and pop I don't want that zing sizzle stainless steal sound .. thanks for reading Paul
 
#2
Do as the Jamerson, the Collins, anyone using an old Fender would have... FOAM....
Dampen a pice of foam, medium-density, and place it under the strings at the bridge. You might have to experiment with the thickness, density, placement, but, it will be much cheaper than replacing your pickups or your strings. I do, however, agree that EMG's sound a bit sterile, and changing to groundwounds or possibly flats might be a good change. But, don't forget the foam!!!

Sincerely,

Thumpin_P:bassist:
 
#4
foam .. wow I knew the first electric basses had something dampening the strings to give them that double bass thud thing .. but i didn't think people were still doing it .. I'll try anything once ... well next time i replace the flats on my fretless even though its 4 string and the godin is 5 I think I'll move the strings across for a test drive .. and ground wound half wound thing is also on the cards .. as far as changing the pickups I guess its on the cards sooner or later .. I was just hoping that a preamp change might get me there hahahah .. no such luck huh .. oh well out to get some phone and then if that doesnt' quite do it for me I guess its .. should I stay or shoudl I go nortstrand or bart ... thanks for the opinions guys and I will try the foam .. you would loose some sustain no matter how good the placement was though woudln't you ? thanks again Paul
 
#5
EMGs tend to carry their tonality through pre's. If you don't like them, try something else.

Edit: lost the last line when I posted. For clarity and some warmth, but not EMG sound, try Villex.
 
#9
thanks people .. I think I have a few ideas to try before finally giving up and moving the pickups on .. anyone want some emgs ? ahahaha .. I remember once that one bass player rubs a hamburger on his strings .. gets them nice dead and dirty .. I think I'll give that one a miss though .. oh well while I'm trying these ideas I guess I'll do a bit of research into barts villex and nordstrand .. thanks again for your help everyone .. I almost got the sound I want once when I owned an ebs microbass 2 (amazing little box).. I just don't like to many links in the chain as mentioned above if you don't like emgs you don't like em get rid of them .. so I'll foam up tomorrow ... the bridge that is .. and also swap my flats over to the godin .. i can imagine what those two are going to sound like and I don't have high hopes I must admit .. so out with the old in with the new .. thanks again .. Paul
 
#11
well I wound the pickups all the way down and I must admit there was barely any change must admit I can't get them too far from teh strings .. I possibly lost a little definition but its still quite cold sounding .. gonna go pull the flats off the maton fretless .. also had a thought .. the pre is only running on 9v .. but I think setting it up for 18 volts would only make things worse ? ... any recomendations on a particular bart pickup .. I'd like something that gives a nice fat modernish sound and then coil taps to a jazzish sound .. and I'd like a car that doesn't use petrol and a job that pays alot that I don't ever have to go to ?
 
#12
A couple of fixes come to mind for EMG's. First off try a set of coated DR's. Black Beauties will calm down the honk and smooth out the highs for sure. Plus they feel great and look, uh, cool. :cool: Secondly, something that always worked for me was a Sadowsky outboard pre. It seemed to warm up the low end just right. The beauty of the Sadowsky is you can use it on multiple instruments if you so choose, and if for some reason you find it's not your thing, an easy sell is just around the corner. You can often find one used and sell it for exactly what you paid for it if you decide to move it.
 
#13
Based on a lot of building of pre's, swapping pickups etc, it's my belief that EMGs sound like EMGs because of their particular design of inbuilt pre. To get a substantially different tone, you'll need to look elsewhere. Good thing for you is, once you find it, you shouldn't have much difficulty moving the EMGs.

Have you read the comparison threads stickied at the top? Might give some ideas.

Another option apart from Barts and Villex may be the SD SSB's for about $115/pr from Warmoth.
 
#15
hey Jerry I have never tried a sadosky pre .. I used to have an ebs that really helped but I don't really like having too many different boxes .. I like to just plug in and go .. very rock and roll huh ahhaha .. thats why I was hoping someone was going ot say .. hey get rid of that emg preamp and get a (fill in blank) and you'll be back in booty town .. just put a flat on just the g string .. and it is getting closer but I'm not sure close enough .. thats with the pickups wound right down as well .. I listened to a sound clip of one of the guys on here playing a 7 string with nordstrand fat stacks .. I think I might just have to get me some ... but I'll try a few more things before I go that road .. thanks again for everyones opinions .. cheers Paul
 
#17
now we're talking .. I have always wanted to try a OBP Aguilars in my maton to see how it changes the dimazios but never really needed too .. so here is my excuse .. I'll get one to try with the emgs .. if it doesn't work off to the maton it goes ..

SD SSB's for about $115/pr from Warmoth these seem like a steal in comparison to the nords and barts anyone have a set ? what do they lean towards ? p j musicman .. I'm guessing they are warmer being passive ... thanks everyone ... off to look for an obp .. any tonal difference between the 2 and the 3 ? as I don't think I'm gonna be able to fit 18v under the hood ... nice torana a9x .. do you own one or just dream of days gone by ? thanks all Paul
 
#18
As for as the comment about the mix goes .. when your playing with two guitars a keyboard and a loud drummer you could be playing a bassoon if you really wanted too .. but I'm reallygetting into playing a fair bit of chordal work and play with just one guitarist when I do .. and am hoping to possibly start something singing and playing bass lines chords etc maybe with a horn player or a guitarist .. so I really want THAT sound as its gonna be WAY out there and will never reach the hands of the dreaded sound engineer who only knows one bass sound .. I must admit the extra clean of the emgs really isn't at all bad for chordal work but as soon as I do a little soloing or drop into a groove .. well .. blah
 
#19
Not knowing your tastes exactly, it is hard to make a suggestion. My own experience with the harsh sterility of EMGs led me to Lane Poor, then Q-Tuner. Both are clear-sounding pickups, but more natural and transparent in nature. IMO, the EMGs tend to impose an undesirable coloration on to the instrument. At the moment, Q-Tuner would be my suggestion for a sound which is very clear, natural and extended, but not sterile and artificial like EMGs. If you are curious, I started a Q-Tuner thread some months ago with sound clips.
 

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