For Sale EMG DG20 Loaded Pickguard

Travisthedog

So I built my Gilmour strat and it looks ace and plays fab, but i dont think the EMG's are for me, as huge as they do sound

So they are up for grabs on a mint guard with all the associsted gubbins like spc and epx pot tone controls etc This the full Officoal boxed David Gilmour set

 £150

Travisthedog

Price drop to £150 ono

johnnyurq

What colour are the pickups @Travisthedog?

Any pics?

Travisthedog

Ivory is the colour officially mate
- and I wouldn't disagree with that. Would you like a photo?

johnnyurq

It was for this and I was hoping it was a black set.

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i474/johnnyurq/Guitars/CARStrat_zps9dabb188.jpg

But I will have a wee think and get back to you. I suppose I could get busy with a sharpie. 

Travisthedog

It'll be fine!! Not sure if you can change the covers

DrBob

Travisthedog;48216" said:

It'll be fine!! Not sure if you can change the covers

Mate I really don't think you can change covers on EMGs. Well, not if you want them to keep working afterwards...

johnnyurq

@Travisthedog

After researching and checking reviews etc I am afraid I will have to pass, apologies if I wasted your time.

Most folks say that they are good but a bit sterile and not as Stratty as you would hope.

I am after more Stratty if possible so the search continues, good luck with the sale though dude.

ToneControl

Just to avoid anyone else reading this and thinking these are not desirable....

SAs sound excellent, especially with the active controls in the DG20 kit, Sterile? I really don't think so. all my kit is pro level, and these are my favourites. Different to a strat? you can make them different or similar, passives just are a one trick pony in comparison. They can sound as stratty as you like.The DG20 set certainly can be made to sound good with any amp I put them into, which is not true with any passive I have tried. You can build the mids, cut them, scoop, no passive can do this

Before dismissing these without playing them, bear in mind that Dave Gilmour played with these on his main guitars for over a decade - and his opinion counts for a lot more than a few internet reviews. I work on the basis that top players can be trusted - so I bought a set to try, then another set for my main strat. When DG switched back to passives, he still carried on using the DG20 set for Shine on you crazy Diamond live. In Live at the Albert Hall, he uses the DG20 set for this song, whilst the rest of the set is played on the black strat. If he can't do a DG sound for this song without EMGs, what can the rest of us hope for? At this time, he has also started using humbuckers and filtertrons too, this does not imply passive strat pickups are lacking, it just shows he is adding variety.

I have 2 strats fitted with the DG20 set, they are excellent, and anyone without a set is missing a trick. I'd buy them myself but I have no other strat to put them on

 

 

johnnyurq

@ToneControl

Tone is a subjective thing and I didn't just read reviews I listened to audio samples and videos. I decided on balance they were not what I had in mind for a DG type Stratty tone so passed.

Some reviews on Gilmourish also swayed me towards CS69's or similar, plus I did not want to elaborate on why I was passing in case it pissed all over this sale. 

Maybe I should have mentioned it was my subjective opinion but I don't think it warranted such a strong response on your behalf.

If I had meant to slag them off I would have done so. Please think before you jump in the next time.

BTW I also own and have owned pro gear and have been an admirer of DG's tone and playing since the early 70's

@Travisthedog ;

Apologies for the diversion it was not my intention to derail your sale but I did not believe that my reason for not buying would Illicit this kind of response.

This is the kind of shit that I expect at TGP and the like not here and why here is way better than any of those.

ToneControl

Please don't take my post as intending anything other than trying to help the seller. I think 90% of sound examples online are not representative enough, you implied you hadn't tried them yourself, so I thought I'd describe them. They would certainly be perfect for someone wanting 90s DG tones, since it is the exact kit he used

I recommend these, In fact I just bought a related set from this very list - the only reason I didn't buy this set is the newer DG20 board has the 2 active tone controls as one unit, and I needed separate units to be able to fit in something other than a strat

johnnyurq

Fair enough but I am not really after the 90's tones per se because I have a guitar that covers that base.

And yes I have tried the pickups but just the pickups without the extras, but it was a lot of years ago. I was intrigued by the whole package with the extra electronics.

But from memory they were not what I would call a trad Strat sound and had a slightly towards a pseudo humbucker-esque quality IMHO, which on balance is why I never bought these after researching.

The review by the Gilmourish site owner just made me realise that as good as they are it is not the tone that I am after at the moment.

No offense but it did come across as full on, a bit patronising and somewhat defensive. 

But if that was not the intention then fair enough.

Next time start a new discussion so we DG and Floyd fans can discuss the finer points and relative merits of pickups etc without impinging on a for sale ad. 

 

Sorry TTD but have a bump in any case.

ToneControl

I'm trying to help this set find a good home - so as an advocate, I'll give a little review - this is for anyone thinking of buying this:

without the active EQ, they sound like a noise-free thinnish strat pickup, with more clarity than usual. Personally I would not use them or recommend them like this alone - since I like a little more colouring (although I have an Epi LP with EMG humbuckers with no active EQ).

With the active EQ, you can get many tones, my everyday tactic is to have a default starting position with both EQs set to 3, then they sound like a set of Texas specials to me. On my older DG20 the same sound is 7 on one and 3 on the other. With the mid-boost all the way up, it gets a little humbuckery in tone, but always with that SC clarity - never with that slightly broken up sound HBs are famous for.

I find them useful for all strat styles, and although they do 90s DG - I use them for John Mayer, ZZ Top, Robert Cray sounds.

Between pickups, if you whack up the scoop control (the knob in the centre), the effect is stunning. this is the control DG uses for Shine on you... (you can see his settings on lots of videos ),   on the neck pickup alone - this sound is something I have never heard another pickup do. You could get some of it with an EQ pedal, but the SAs have a shimmery extended high end that is a little acoustic-guitar (or EF86/celestion blue) in quality, and the scoop control brings that out,

This set has spoilt me, and sometimes I have to intentionally make myself play passive sets. The only negative thing I have to say is that on a very bright amp, the fact that  there is no way of rolling off the tone means you have to rethink your amp settings. I would prefer a 4th pot - a plain roll-off tone control.

In use across many amps, I can within 5 seconds tune the guitar to each I amp I have bought or tried, e.g. a mid-heavy tweedy amp, scoop a little more - strat clarity returns, a bright or thin amp - boost the mids and it sounds just right (not every amp has full EQ controls). Since owning this set, I have found that some of my guitars just "don't work" with some amps, and that I hadn't noticed that before, I'd just lived with it - now when I try out any amp, I have to take the DG20 guitar, since I can fully check out the sounds

Another trick with this set is that when you are soloing, and drift beyond the 12th fret, a nudge to boost the mids a little more makes a big difference, you can ride the controls like a 335 player, tweaking to always have the best sound for what you are doing.

Anyway - I think the DG20 set would be an excellent purchase for someone