EMG...Is this normal?

C

chamelious

www.thesunexplodes.com
Just got an EMG 81 and put it in my yamaha drop 6, it sounds great but has quite a large amount of noise when theres no noise gate on, see file attached. Is this normal?
 

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No, that's not normal. They are usually very quite. Did you have it installed by a shop, or did you do it yourself? Check all of your solder connections. Without seeing it, I can't say for sure, but if your not experienced with soldering one possibility is that you've got some cold solder joints in there.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
I did it myself, cold solder joint?????

Regrounding? The manual specifically says not to connect the pickup to the ground in the guitar...
 
chamelious said:
I did it myself, cold solder joint?????

Regrounding? The manual specifically says not to connect the pickup to the ground in the guitar...
Click to expand...

I have no experience with active electronics, but I'd assume you'd want to use the negative of the battery as your ground, not the guitar's ground.

If everything is connected the way the manual says, just check all joints, as Light said.
 
Hopefully Light will clear this up if I'm wrong, but as far as I know, cold solder joints can happen if the connection gets moved around while the joint cools, if the components being soldered together were not hot (meaning only the solder itself was hot at the time the connection was being made) and I have even been cautioned not to blow on solder joints to encourage them to make the joint solidify faster.

I've been told that a solder joint should be shinny when its cool and if it looks cloudy or like it has a satin finish on it, you've got a cold joint. That info had me opening up every one of my electrics and re-soldering quite a few joints.

I'd appreciate a correction and even more info if it's there to be had on cold solder joints though.
 
nevome said:
Hopefully Light will clear this up if I'm wrong, but as far as I know, cold solder joints can happen if the connection gets moved around while the joint cools, if the components being soldered together were not hot (meaning only the solder itself was hot at the time the connection was being made) and I have even been cautioned not to blow on solder joints to encourage them to make the joint solidify faster.

I've been told that a solder joint should be shinny when its cool and if it looks cloudy or like it has a satin finish on it, you've got a cold joint. That info had me opening up every one of my electrics and re-soldering quite a few joints.

I'd appreciate a correction and even more info if it's there to be had on cold solder joints though.
Click to expand...

A cold joint is when the solder sticks, but does not create a connection. It will usually result in a cloudy/satin finish as you said, but not always. Always make sure you heat the component and melt the solder against it, not the iron, and you should get it right every time.
 
chamelious said:
I did it myself, cold solder joint?????

Regrounding? The manual specifically says not to connect the pickup to the ground in the guitar...
Click to expand...


It should be grounded exactly like any other electronics, (i.e., the shield, if you have one, needs to be grounded, all the pot bodies need to be grounded, etc.), except you do not ground to the bridge.



chamelious said:
Hmm yeah thats what i read when i looked it up just now, could that cause the high noise floor?
Click to expand...


Potentially, yes.

Cold solder joints can be caused by all manner of issues, but the most common are not getting the parts hot enough before you apply the solder (usually only an issue inside guitars on the back of the pots), or the parts move while the solder is in its gel state. They don't conduct properly, which can cause just about any issue you can imagine with electronics. You wiring should always be neat, tidy, and clean; and the joints should all be smooth, shinny, and clean. DIY causes a LOT of problems. Which is not you say there is anything wrong with wiring your guitar yourself - it's a relatively easy job, and if you are careful there is little chance of your destroying anything - just make sure you take the time to do it RIGHT.



Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Light said:
It should be grounded exactly like any other electronics, (i.e., the shield, if you have one, needs to be grounded, all the pot bodies need to be grounded, etc.), except you do not ground to the bridge.
Click to expand...

Hmm, i connected everything as in the EMG wiring diagram, including wiring a shield to a volume pot. The only thing i didn't do was attach a wire that seems to be attached to the guitar body in a few places, to anything else. Does this need to be connected to something?
 
chamelious said:
Hmm, i connected everything as in the EMG wiring diagram, including wiring a shield to a volume pot. The only thing i didn't do was attach a wire that seems to be attached to the guitar body in a few places, to anything else. Does this need to be connected to something?
Click to expand...


Probably not, and if it goes to the bridge then definitely not.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Oh, one other thing - did you use a brand new fresh battery? I assume you did, but an old battery can make actives noisy as a really good fuck.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
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