Members azzzy Posted December 13, 2004 Members Share Posted December 13, 2004 I have a Charvel Model A Pro with Semour Duncan Live Wires active pu's. I am not particularly attached to these pu's and was thinking or replacing them with something else. Since the guitar is already wired for active electronics, EMG's seem like a natural choice. I heard there is an 18-volt mod people do to their EMG setup. My Charvel is already wired with 18-volt setup, so I wonder if I could utilize that with the EMG's. Anyway, what does 18-volt mod do to EMG's? Do they become hotter? Do they change their sound? Which do you prefer: 9 volt or 18 volt? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RockGuitarDude1 Posted December 13, 2004 Members Share Posted December 13, 2004 I heard that gives more dynamic range... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members azzzy Posted December 13, 2004 Author Members Share Posted December 13, 2004 What exactly does that mean? Do they stay clean at higher levels? The opposite? Also, is there any harm to the pickups? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kevin_FL Posted December 13, 2004 Members Share Posted December 13, 2004 I use a 18v set up when I'm installing tone circuits along with the pickups. A system with a Fishman system & EMG pickups sound better on 18v. The pickups dont pull much voltage, but the EQ circuits do. Just going to 18v changes the tone very little, but the batteries will last a lot longer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members azzzy Posted December 13, 2004 Author Members Share Posted December 13, 2004 So do you think I could utilize the existing wiring of the SD Live Wires in my Charvel for the EMG's? (I'm thinking 81 and 85). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members VanR Posted December 13, 2004 Members Share Posted December 13, 2004 I run my EMG's at 18 volts. It doesn't seem to give you any more gain as much as it seems to open up the sound of the EMG's more. More dynamic range I guess. Not as compressed sounding. I haven't made up my mind whether I like it or not, I may go back to 9 volt. You can run 2-9 volts in parallel (still at 9 volts) and the batteries will last twice as long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members yabba Posted December 13, 2004 Members Share Posted December 13, 2004 from the EMG site: "Can I use multiple batteries? Yes. If you've got room for multiple batteries in your guitar, you can use two batteries wired in series to power your onboard circuitry at 18 volts. The output level will not appreciably increase, but you'll have increased headroom and crisper transients. This is especially useful for percussive/slap bass styles where you can generate enormous instantaneous power levels across the entire frequency spectrum. You can also wire two batteries in parallel to provide a regular 9 volt supply but with much longer lifespan between battery changes. Although most of our products are rated for 27 volts, we recommend a maximum of 18 volts. The additional benefits of 27 vs. 18 volts are negligible." (I'd agree with their assessment of what it does for the sound) What value pots do the livewires use? (EMGs take 25k pots, if the livewires use the same, then you'd probably be able to just swap the pups) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members azzzy Posted December 14, 2004 Author Members Share Posted December 14, 2004 I am definitely not looking for hotter pickups. In fact, the reason I'm thinking of changing the pu's is the Live Wires are way too hot. On the other hand if 18-volt adds treble, I'm not sure if I'd like that either. I really don't want my heavy metal tones to sound ice-picky or twangy. As hard as it is to believe, I have never opened the cover on the Charvel. So I don't know what value pots are there. But I will take a look soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sigel_TTD Posted April 24, 2005 Members Share Posted April 24, 2005 Anyone have a schematic for the wiring of the 18-volt mod? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ghastlyone Posted April 24, 2005 Members Share Posted April 24, 2005 Seems to be much more common on basses. I've never played (or seen from what I know) an 18v emg guitar setup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ashasha Posted February 14, 2009 Members Share Posted February 14, 2009 Anyone have a schematic for the wiring of the 18-volt mod? I am almost positive that you just put another battery in series with the one you've got in there. Basically get another 9V connector, cut the existing red wire from the one that is in there, connect the new connector's red wire to it (the end going into the guitar). Then wire the old 9V connector's red wire to the black wire of the new connector and then figure out how you are going to jam another battery in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PanaDP Posted February 14, 2009 Members Share Posted February 14, 2009 Anyone have a schematic for the wiring of the 18-volt mod? Yabba's post with the snippet from EMG's site + this wikipedia article= answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members axegrinder Posted February 14, 2009 Members Share Posted February 14, 2009 I will also post up this cool tutorial thread from smorgdonkey. http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2052627 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members smorgdonkey Posted February 14, 2009 Members Share Posted February 14, 2009 I will also post up this cool tutorial thread from smorgdonkey. http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2052627 Thank you my friend!! I was just about to post that up for the fellas. On an additional note: the batteries won't last longer with 18 volt. If you wire it wrong the batteries will last longer but they will still be in 9 volt!!! HA! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dom1412 Posted February 14, 2009 Members Share Posted February 14, 2009 What does the 18 volt mod do? It makes EMGs truly worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members smorgdonkey Posted February 14, 2009 Members Share Posted February 14, 2009 What does the 18 volt mod do?It makes EMGs truly worth it. HAHAHA!!! GREAT STUFF!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members axegrinder Posted February 14, 2009 Members Share Posted February 14, 2009 It only makes them twice as sucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tim my Posted February 14, 2009 Members Share Posted February 14, 2009 I did the 18v mod to my 81 and it did open it up, but then I put my 85 in the bridge where my 81 was and oh my god, the clearest cleanest high gain sound ever. Worth a try considering they plug in and out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zwgarmon Posted February 14, 2009 Members Share Posted February 14, 2009 idk why you dont like the seymour duncan live wires but from the guitars iv played EMGs with the 18v mod seem to have a better tone than the 9v Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members axegrinder Posted February 14, 2009 Members Share Posted February 14, 2009 idk why you dont like the seymour duncan live wires but from the guitars iv played EMGs with the 18v mod seem to have a better tone than the 9vWithout goin back to read all the posts, I am pretty confident that the gist of this thread is making EMG's sound their best. Other brands are kind of irrelevant since nobody here seems to know what their voltage capabilities are. Did anybody actually say something negative against the SD actives? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members azzzy Posted February 14, 2009 Author Members Share Posted February 14, 2009 Hm... This is a thread I started over 4 years ago. I no longer have neither the guitar in the original post, nor the SD Live Wires that came stock with it. But to answer the questions raised in the last two posts (if those were in fact questions): I did not like the Duncan Live Wires because they were way too hot. Hot as in it is impossible to get clean sound out of them. Play through a clean channel on a Fender HRD and it sounds like "A Whole Lotta Love". Roll off the volume completely and you still get a sound! That's how hot those pu's were!!! And they didn't sound that great even for metal. Too "middy". I play through a Soldano X88R and a Bogner Uber - there's plenty of gain for even the whimpiest vintage humbuckers to make them sound like Godzilla. The Charvel was a great guitar but I never got around to switching out the pu's for EMG's and just sold it. I think I may have a short clip of the Charvel with the Live Wires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StratDriver Posted February 14, 2009 Members Share Posted February 14, 2009 I dropped a set of 81/85's into my epi LP cause I was looking for the Gary Moore - "The Stumble" tone (I wish I knew what model EMG's he uses). I really did not care for the compressed sound I was getting from them and they did not give me what I was looking for. I decided before getting rid of them to try the 18 volt mod just to see what it did (it takes about five minutes to do) and now I would not trade the pups for anything else in this particular guitar. EMG should offer the mod as their standard for these pups. They sound so much better. I am still looking for the Gary Moore tone but it will have to be in another guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members linthat22 Posted February 14, 2009 Members Share Posted February 14, 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PanaDP Posted February 15, 2009 Members Share Posted February 15, 2009 According to EMG, the pickups would take it. They say the pickups are rated to 27 volts, though they also say they recommend no more than (I think) 20. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Wargasm Posted July 21, 2009 Members Share Posted July 21, 2009 Before I got the mod, I loved my emg 60 & 81 just the way they were. The 60 was already beautiful through my JC-120 (best clean channel on earth), and the emg 81 handled my Mark IIC+ (best lead channel on earth) better then anything else I'd tried. Couldn't imagine how "perfection" could be improved upon, but I decided to give a $5 ebay-bought, non-permanent, "snap-in" mod kit a shot. First impression, I thought it sounded great but I wasn't really sure if there was an "improvement," per say. The 18 volt tone was definitely brighter and crunchier. I wasn't really blown away though, not until I plugged the 9 volts back in. That's when it was fully apparent my 9-volt tone seemed tame and dull in comparison! Switching from 9 to 18 volts is akin to changing out dull, old strings for a brand new set, and costs roughly as much, too. With 18 volts, the elevated high frequencies (no twang or tinniness) are a definite improvement, both clean and dirty, allowing me to cut through the mix easier at full band volumes and providing even more defined articulation than with 9 volts. The lows have tightened up very nicely, eliminating excessive boominess while paving the way for greater articulation, as well. Also, because the 18-volted 81 is less gainy, the mids naturally scoop out in a way that doesn't actually thin the tone at all. All this amounts to a much crunchier and meaner sounding distortion out of the 81 that is perfect for a riffer, such as myself, and the 60 rings like a friggin bell. These percieved improvements in tone hold true despite choice of tuning, too. The 18 volt mod sounds just as great in drop C as it does it standard E tuning, if not more so. Seriously, if you have active emg's, give this mod a try. It's CHEAP! ...by far, the most cost effective investment you'll ever make for your rig. And if you're one of the few who don't like it, hey, you're out like $5 bucks. P.S. Instead of insulating your batteries with the bulky foam that comes with emg pickups, wrap each 9 volt in electrical tape, then tape them both to the inside of your back plate. This achieves the same purpose while saving a lot of space for comfortably fitting two batteries in your controls compartment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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