EMG Mod:both 18v and 9v possible ?

Alchemist

Alchemist

New member
I am thinking of switching between the 18v and 9v EMGs via a push pull toggle for diff tonal options. but is it dangerous?

was reading up on this( http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1274835 ) and it seems like some pple did manage to do the mod but there was a guy who asked the techs from EMGs and they advised against this cos changing voltage could harm the preamp board:(

Jus wondering if any techs can shed some light on this?:)
 
but why do you want to switch between the 2 voltages though? I modded my emgs to 18v and havent gone back since.
 
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From wat i read so far, going to 18v loses the compressed sound EMGs have but gain other stuffs as well of cousre. i do wannna keep the compressed sound for simple brutal riffing ( think metallica's "battery", jus wouldnt be the same without the mushed up compressed tone) and have the 18v option for more complex riffing (megadeth) / leads where note clarity is important. Always better to have more tonal options for diff use IMHO.:)
 
Erm... I don't think there's much difference actually...
There's alot of people advocating to the 18v mod, but on the other hand, there are many that said not much difference...

It's not like by hitting the switch you'll have the difference of having a compressor in your sound...
 
don't bother. either stick to 9V or 18V.

whats with guitarists and multiple switches?

if your riffing is good enough, passive, 9v or 18v will not matter.

lulz. kthxbai.
 
there IS a noticable and audible difference between 9/18v, and theres been a test done that clearly shows less clipped peaks on the 18v waveform..

i dont think there's any point having a switch unless you're hell bent on doing it mid song, but for recording and such the easiest way is do just bridge one of the battery clips with another battery clip to switch to 9v. only takes a few seconds if you leave your backplate off.
 
Yes there is a difference, but IMHO, not much...
And can't really tell the difference between the two though, and as you've said it yourself, it's only being tested through tests.

There are two clips in the link below, clip 1 & clip 2, one of them is the 18v mod, the other one is a normal 9v EMG, can you tell the difference?
http://www.4shared.com/dir/2255471/63beb6e/sharing.html

Although they have difference settings, if the difference between the two is so much (that one actually needs to switch between them during/between songs), anyone should be able to have heard the difference between the two.

:D
 
Thnks for replying so far. :)

My guess is clip 1 =18v (tt's marty stuff rite??) and clip 2 = 9v. am i rite? lol seem tt way 2 me.

No i don play live or do recording. i'm just a guy who plays at home and veri interested in exploring the gear "doors" i have in front of me. As for the 18v/9v tonal diff, i'll let my ears decide for me when i plug it into the amp and play. if no diff, my loss. i have 2 change my vol pot aniways.kinda of kuku now lol

and so ....

any techs may shedding some light on if changing voltage via a push-pull pot on could harm the preamp board? pls don turn this into a 18v / 9v tonal issue . thnks :(
 
wah lao! STICK TO TOPIC LEH.

i alreadi have the EMGs tt y i wanna try the mod. PLUS i wanna the 9v choice as well. if i were to go for the "mustaine" sort of tone,i'll rather to go back 2 the "rust in peace" days with passive the SD jbs.:)
 
Alchemist said:
wah lao! STICK TO TOPIC LEH.

i alreadi have the EMGs tt y i wanna try the mod. PLUS i wanna the 9v choice as well. if i were to go for the "mustaine" sort of tone,i'll rather to go back 2 the "rust in peace" days with passive the SD jbs.:)
Click to expand...

i doubt it'll damage the board but i dunno what IC opamps they're using and if they're robust enough for a sudden "surge" in voltage.

next thing I'll anticipate is POPPING each time you change voltage. anticipating but may or may not happen.

do it at your own risk. :cool:
 
hmm i think not worth it..
anyway u hav room for the switch or push pull pots?are u gonna yank out the tone pots for the 18/9v switch?

its possible but u might encounter problem when the bat are weak...
think u can hear noise,pop things like that..

just do it la..let us know :)
 
If you need more compression at 18V, dial in more gain.

You're only limited by your amp's ability to reproduce the sound.

I'm not sure if I'm correct here, but wouldn't a empty 9V with a full 9V on a 18V circuitry produce the same effect?
 
Rossie: no worries :). btw wat my guess rite lol?

Edder:Thnks for the heads up.

penguin: jus change the batts i guess . 5 mins job lol

i believe the mod is possible cos some guy on a forum had this to sae after he modded( i edited all the "Woah,EMGs shld have /every shld blah blah" away haha :

"i've never done this 18v mod before. took me all of 1 hour to complete, that includes getting in my car, driving over to GC to get a battery terminal, getting home taking the cover off the back of the guitar and soldering the stuff in. took me about 5 minutes to actually do the mod if that. I wrapped the 2nd battery up in foam and taped it up with electrical tape so it didn't create shorts in tone pots or volume pots.

I have a push pull tone knob now to go between 9v and 18v, definitely a big difference, at loud volumes you can really hear the difference big time. I like 9v as an effect, but i use 18v at my primary sound for the guitar. 9v is noticeably muddier and notes aren't on fire like they are at 18v. IT is cool for adding a bit of compression and adding a bit of a darker fatter sound going down to 9v. Power cords are noticeably less fun with 9v. Each string is not defined like it is at 18v"

I intending to bring my guitar to a tech( think KC is up 2 it?hehe ) to do. i noe nuts abt these stuff and my handy work suck haha.

i'm wondering will bringing this diagram> "http://mywebpages.comcast.net/mgollihur/emgmod.html" help him in anyway ???
 
It's a waste of time for electric guitar.

An 18v powered EMG system has slightly higher headroom that you can see in a waveform or possibly hear if you are playing clean, through an amplification stage that can accomodate the miniscule difference in headroom and reproduce that difference with a full range speaker system; and also if you do not want to intend to clip or modify the waveform in any way.

A bass guitar might benefit from this, but your typical electric guitar amplifier does not have this sort of headroom capability, - as a matter of fact many are designed with lower headroom so you can clip the signal and get an 'electric guitar' , let alone a distorted tone. Even the legendary clean stage of Carvin amps clip. If you have any signal box in series between your 18v EMG and your fully whisper to scream capable amplification stage, such as a Neve console, you've killed any potential for appreciable headroom gain anyway.
 
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Alchemist said:
As for the 18v/9v tonal diff, i'll let my ears decide for me when i plug it into the amp and play. if no diff, my loss.
Click to expand...

i can say "1" ,they can say "2" and you can say "3".tt's y i have stop asking abt tonal stuff. everyone has diff amp,cables,guitar pickups and etc. the onli way is to pray tt it'll work for you when you get back home.

I asked nicely IF the mod can be done without the risk of ruining my pickups. didnt ask if it would be a gd/bad idea to do the mod due blah blah blah

thnk you.
 
imho only

just go ahead and do it, instead of more wondering

If it works, the one benefit is you, if it doesnt work, what wud be the worst case, other then

1) blown preamp
2) quiet non working pickup

the guitar still be ok, just needing overhaul only.

anyway, what ovid and edder said are more to the technical side of it and actually make much sense if you understand. If not, just take the risk, go ahead to do it and listen to see if theres any new thing that you might learn.
 
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