Help needed.Anyone with experience with EMG SA actives?

[Timex]

Here's the story

I recently bought an emg humbucker equiped guitar. Although the guitar was not majorly to my liking, i found the 81 and 85 pickups to be awesome especially with distortion and not to mention they are super quiet.

Being a strat player, i would thus like to find out more about the single coil option of the SA set.

1. Are they clean as single coils?
2. Do they act well under distortion?
3. Where does the 9V battery go?

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

 

[hydrogencynide]

i am using SA in neck and middle position. can say that its a totally different sounding pickup with respect to the typical strat pickups. the cleans to me are not fantastic but not to shabby either..( u get my meaning?)
being an active pickup... u will expect good response to distortion... to me... it sounds heavy enough that i use the SA in neck position as a rthym pickup for metal songs...

speaking about 9v batteries, it will be the same as ur 81/85 pickup. if u guitar already has a battery cavity, chances are the battery will go there.if ur guitar has a back routing like mine, i put it together at that cavity.
however, if u have a pickguard, ur battery will have to go under the pickguard if i am not wrong. unless u route another cavity.

hopes this helps

 

[Timex]

Thanks for the response.

Is it possible to place the battery in the trem cavity cause its quite a pain to remove the pickguard in the case of a strat

 

[unsane]

Thanks for the response.

Is it possible to place the battery in the trem cavity cause its quite a pain to remove the pickguard in the case of a strat

yup done it before. run the battery clip wire through the same hole as the ground wire. depends on the guitar and your use of the trem though.

 

[Timex]

so how u stick the 9 V in place. Do you use foam to squash it in between the springs?

 

[unsane]

i placed the battery in the space between the trem block and the cavity itself,wrapped in some foam to keep it in place and prevent any contact between the battery/trem block.

of course this would probably affect the movement of the block and thus your whammy capability, but for my case i always block floating trems anyway so its a plus point for me..

i'm not positive on this,but i think there MIGHT be enough space (dependent on guitar) to fit a battery right on top of the block itself..YMMV

 

[Timex]

Thats the answer i was hoping to get. Now all i have to do is wait till Jan when the next shipment comes.

 

[Lifehouse]

I don't really like them. Not enough articulation and harmonics for my taste. I had them in my Parker Nitefly SA last time. If given a choice, I would have paid abit more at get one of the Fralins, Lollars, WCR etc.. But your mileage might differ.

 

[Timex]

Well lets just say i am aiming for a Dave Gilmour sound. I already have a strat with lace sensors. The SAs are meant for a side project.

 

[Lifehouse]

Ok. Then that would serve your purpose well.

 

[hydrogencynide]

hmmm.... ic what u are doing... haha... its all preference though... do remeber to get sound samples first....

 

[thor666]

there're those metal clips for 9V batteries. you can consider that.

 

[Timex]

Do u happen to noe where i can find those clips?

 

[mamemo]

try DIY stores, i've seen a few