Help me please EMG installers

[Brother Jones]

I'm thinking of putting EMGs (either regular ones or JV-Xs) in my 2012 US Standard Jazz. I do like the sound of the CS pups that it has now, but the room where I practice is beset with RFI and electrical noise, and I'm keen to be hum free.

You can guess what's coming next. The control cavity rout is 3cm deep. A 9V battery is 2cm deep. The existing pots are 1.5cm. So I'm short by 0.5cm.

Can anyone tell me how deep the pots that EMG supply with their pups are, before I start routing?

Thanks.

[BassBod]

From memory, they are mini pots...quite a lot smaller than standard. I've put EMG's in a few Brandoni/Japanese bodies and although a bit tight, its always worked fine. Worst case is getting the cavity deepened a mm or two, which wouldn't cost much to have done. You may also find that if you ask a luthier to supply and fit, he doesn't really charge for the fitting.

There are also some very good passive humbucker versions around..Aguilar, Nordstrand etc which don't need a battery and would be pretty quiet in use.

[tonyf]

I know it's a bit off piste here but as a massive #fanbois, you could run them at 24v. And no, that doesn't involve 2 and a half 9vs ;-)

You can get A23 12v cells which are really small. Think a third of the size of a AAA in length and thinner in diameter. You can get these from anywhere, they're the type of battery used for remote controls etc and I get mine from the local supermarket or DIY store. Then search eBay, you'll be able to pick up some A23 double carriers, some 9v connectors and a bit of heatshrink. A bit of soldering and you've got a resusable 24v cell which is considerably smaller than a standard 9v battery. The EMGs will run up to 27v so you'll get loads of headroom which will really open them up.

Everyones a winner. You don't have to route out your bass and you'll be able to increase the headroom on your EMGs.

Here's a pic.....

http://instagram.com/p/jE4LDhgvYQ/

PS. I know I've wired them up wrong. This was the first go, forgot that red had to go to black on the connector. lol

[Brother Jones]

Thanks chaps. The attractions of the EMGs for me are (a) the self-install thing and ( the option of self-installing at a later date their BTC preamp with a pan pot. I do like Nords and Ags though.

Tony - that's a very interesting idea. Mind you, it would mean soldering, which I've never done before. Hey, how hard can it be?

PS BassBod your WT300 is still going strong.

[BassBod]

Thanks Brother...the WT300 is a lovely thing...I'm pretty much back to SWR these days, not so different.

[Brother Jones]

Quick update on this for owners of recent US Jazzes. The EMG pots, wiring and a 9V battery will fit the cavity - [i]just[/i]. I had to take the lock washers off the tone pot and experiment quite a bit with the wiring placement and pot orientation to do it though.

[iiipopes]

Yes, a tight sqeeze but, they barely do fit. This is the same as they did 30 years ago. Good to see they are still the same.

[zero9]

Excellent, hope you're enjoying your new hum-free EMG's (I really dig mine too).