Correct resistance for pots with EMG pickups? Not 150k and 500k?

ToneControl

ICBM said:

ToneControl said:

the volume pot goes up a bit in resistance at the centre of travel, I assume the circuit preceding it is having an effect

Actually, I missed this post earlier - if you measured the resistance in circuit from the jack output to ground, then in fact a high reading of 135K is what you would expect with a 500K pot (a quarter of the pot resistance, plus the pickup resistance of about 10K - the EMG circuit output might be 25K or more), so that in fact sounds like they've used two 500K pots, which would be more what I would expect since they might have just seen it as a 'humbucker guitar'.

Either way, it's wrong and changing them to 25K should fix the problem.

could this also be the reason that my EOB strat has a tone pot that has the same problem?
It's an active preamp in the sustainer circuit, then a 500k pot

FelineGuitars

Hardwired pots are way preferable to the annoying and unreliable quick connect pots.

EMGs went from being a joy to wire up to a right royal PITA and the push connects can have other issues.

Designed to make it easier for the home installer but frankly far worse for anyone who knows which end of a soldering iron gets hot.

FelineGuitars

Seriously if they have agreed £50, take it , find a local tech with parts in stock (we always have them) and get it sorted  if you like the guitar and want to keep it.

ICBM

ToneControl said:

could this also be the reason that my EOB strat has a tone pot that has the same problem?

It's an active preamp in the sustainer circuit, then a 500k pot

Maybe. I'm not familiar with the exact circuit or what taper of pot has been used though.

ToneControl

ICBM said:

ToneControl said:

could this also be the reason that my EOB strat has a tone pot that has the same problem?

It's an active preamp in the sustainer circuit, then a 500k pot

Maybe. I'm not familiar with the exact circuit or what taper of pot has been used though.

ah, found the old thread now

EOB strat tone control problem - Guitar Discussions on theFretBoard

Looks like you were thinking this way

I haven't had the scratchplate off, vendor offered to pay for fix, but it's been lockdown since then

Fender_Ed_O_Brien_Stratocaster_0140192305_SM_REV_A_11-08-2017.pdf (fmicassets.com)

PetGerbil

FelineGuitars said:

Hardwired pots are way preferable to the annoying and unreliable quick connect pots.

EMGs went from being a joy to wire up to a right royal PITA and the push connects can have other issues.

Designed to make it easier for the home installer but frankly far worse for anyone who knows which end of a soldering iron gets hot.

I'm not disputing this (as i am the home installer of which you speak, of the 3 EMG loaded guitars i have, 2 are single pickup humbuckers and one is a 2 pickup tele copy..and none have a tone control, so I'm hardly a "power user",) but what problems do they have ? (not being a dick,genuine question.)

Funkfingers

FelineGuitars said:

Hardwired pots are way preferable to the annoying and unreliable quick connect pots.

EMGs went from being a joy to wire up to a right royal PITA and the push connects can have other issues.

My chief objection to the EMG Solderless block connector cabling is the amount of space they manage to occupy. Any surplus cable run has to be tucked in somewhere.

FelineGuitars said:

Designed to make it easier for the home installer but, frankly, far worse for anyone who knows which end of a soldering iron gets hot.

The one genuine advantage of the block connectors is rapid interchangeability. As ICBM points out, pickups can be changed in minutes. 

Bored of the -81/-85 pair? Try other models. Maybe, even, have mounting rings with each of your different pickups so that their height adjustments are preserved.

I am in the habit of constructing hybrid circuits via the EMG 157c PCB Buss Board. On a two pickup bass guitar, this provides the option to configure the controls as vol/vol/tone, vol/balance/tone or anything else that appeals.

Strangely enough, the Fishman Fluence approach is a mixture of block connectors where they help and good, old-fashioned hard wiring everywhere else.

ICBM

PetGerbil said:

I'm not disputing this (as i am the home installer of which you speak, of the 3 EMG loaded guitars i have, 2 are single pickup humbuckers and one is a 2 pickup tele copy..and none have a tone control, so I'm hardly a "power user",) but what problems do they have ? (not being a dick,genuine question.) 

Trying to fit the vastly excessive amounts of cable and the quite large connection assemblies into small control cavities, and occasional unreliability.