Larry emg pickups

[pazzo63]

Hi, Please does anybody know what kind of EMG pickups Larry Carlton is using in the first video on a valley arts strat?does have the ebony freatboard that guitar?i m sure Great Mr Ayan knows the answers sorry for my english Thanks in advance

[ayan]

Hi, Please does anybody know what kind of EMG pickups Larry Carlton is using in the first video on a valley arts strat?does have the ebony freatboard that guitar?i m sure Great Mr Ayan knows the answers sorry for my english Thanks in advance

Hi,

Great?! Oh, no chance, but thanks anyway. The pickups were the SA version and Larry had a passive tone control + a "Presence" (which is a midrange boost) installed. I bought one such set from eBay back in 98 or so and used it for a year. I'm afraid I didn't like it at all, and my primary complaint was that positions 2 and 4 on the Strat were just too dark and honky (they always tend to be, but the EMGs made things much worse in that respect). The boost was usable, more musical than the boost in the Clapton Strat, for example, which I find to be undesireable. Remember that Larry used to have the AudioArts parametric EQ n his rack when he used the EMGs... and that is a very powerful unit. I have one and can say that it's a great contributor to the sound he used to get back then.... probably as much as the amp itself.

I have tried a number of Strat pickups in the decades I've been playing Strats and I think by far, the best I have found are Kinmans. They can sound almost like a true single coils in terms of preserving the high end, and then they sound smooth and sweet with overdrive on top of that... And, of course, they are dead quiet too.

Hope this helps,

Gil

[greiswig]

I have tried a number of Strat pickups in the decades I've been playing Strats and I think by far, the best I have found are Kinmans. They can sound almost like a true single coils in terms of preserving the high end, and then they sound smooth and sweet with overdrive on top of that... And, of course, they are dead quiet too.

Hope this helps,

Gil

My experience with the EMG's was a bit better than Gil's: the EMG's seem to favor very close adjustment to the strings to get that sweet 2 & 4 sound out of those positions. The Presence Control is a nice way to get a psuedo-humbucker sound out of the bridge pickup in particular. I think I still have a set of the original EMG-SA's...let me know if you want to purchase.

I'll second Gil's nomination for Kinmans, although I have a Tele build with Bill Lawrence pickups in it that I really like, which makes me wonder how he does with a set of Strat pups...

[ayan]

I'll second Gil's nomination for Kinmans, although I have a Tele build with Bill Lawrence pickups in it that I really like, which makes me wonder how he does with a set of Strat pups...

Please take what I say with a grain of salt... I had a set of Bill Lawrence pickups (and we're talking about the real McCoy ourchased directly from Becky and Bill that come with the hand-written Hendrix wiring, etc., right?) and they are very economical, quiet, etc., but they can't touch the Kinmans with a 10 ft pole IMNSHO.

Gil

[greiswig]

I'll second Gil's nomination for Kinmans, although I have a Tele build with Bill Lawrence pickups in it that I really like, which makes me wonder how he does with a set of Strat pups...

Please take what I say with a grain of salt... I had a set of Bill Lawrence pickups (and we're talking about the real McCoy ourchased directly from Becky and Bill that come with the hand-written Hendrix wiring, etc., right?) and they are very economical, quiet, etc., but they can't touch the Kinmans with a 10 ft pole IMNSHO.

Gil

Good to know, Gil. Have you heard either of their Tele pickups?

[butwhatif]

The kinmans are very quiet, good sounding pu's. And the kinman SCN is a
beast unlike most strat pu's in that it has a thick sound that'll keep up with a
standard gibson hb pickup if you have one next to it.

[Tavda3172]

+1 on the Kinman's. I have them in my Strat and absolutely love them.
-Kevin

[scotto]

I've got a Hamer T62 with the SAs in it and I 'm getting nice strat . sounds with the bright switch on. I use amp mid boost with the bridge PU and it sounds alot like Larry's sound from those days. EQ in the loop helps. Kinsmans are on my "to be tried" list.

[Fischerman]

I used/gigged with the EMG David Gilmour set for years. The David Gilmour set is merely 3 SAs with a Volume, active Mid-boost (SPC), and active Hi-Lo boost (EXG)...it has no regular passive tone control.

I agree with Gil, the notch positions were too dark. With the two active controls you could usually get a decent tone from any pickup switch position...but you had to tweak those controls everytime you switched pickups and it was usually still a compromise. IMO EMG SAs can be decent 'bedroom' pickups but they just don't have the cut for live use. They also have a bit of hiss (no hum though). If you have the original Crossroads DVD...listen to Vince Gil play his Tele with regular pickups and it sounds great...then listen to the Strat with EMGs...no cut.

Never tried Kinmans...tried a number of Lace models as well as most of the current Fender stuff, Vintage Vibe SP90s, Fralin Vintage Hots...ended up with DiMarzio Area pickups and I'm happy with them.

EDIT: Those active tone controls work on the output signal...you can't 'assign' one of these active tone controls to a pickup. I think it would be nice if you could.

[ayan]

I'll second Gil's nomination for Kinmans, although I have a Tele build with Bill Lawrence pickups in it that I really like, which makes me wonder how he does with a set of Strat pups...

Please take what I say with a grain of salt... I had a set of Bill Lawrence pickups (and we're talking about the real McCoy ourchased directly from Becky and Bill that come with the hand-written Hendrix wiring, etc., right?) and they are very economical, quiet, etc., but they can't touch the Kinmans with a 10 ft pole IMNSHO.

Gil

Good to know, Gil. Have you heard either of their Tele pickups?

Have not heard the Tele pickups. I have one Tele which I seldom use -- although it's a very nice guitar -- and it came, as a gift, with Fender Vintage Noiseless. Now, I hated the FVN in my (Clapton, which later had its active stuff gutted out by me... and with the addition of the Kinman's and jumbo frets, that is the nicest playing and sounding Strat I have ever owned) Strat, but the Tele ones a simply incredible on that guitar, so I never looked for anything different.

Gil

[pazzo63]

REALLY THANKS FOR THE SUGGESTIONS.the pick ups are not for me but for a nice friend .THANKS AGAIN FOR YOUR KINDNESS BEST REGARDS

[ayan]

EDIT: Those active tone controls work on the output signal...you can't 'assign' one of these active tone controls to a pickup. I think it would be nice if you could.

Fischerman, you can assign the controls to specific pickups, if I am not mistaken. In the diagram taht came with the set I bought, there was a picture that showed a couple of alternate connections. Still, I agree with the way you put it, the thing was a series of compromises and didn't cut it (literally).

Gil

[Fischerman]

Thanks Gil. Maybe they changed something or were just mistaken when I spoke with EMG over the phone about it. I specifically asked if I could 'assign' the SPC to the bridge p'up and the EXG to the other two and they said no can do. This was before I had ever heard of a Superswitch or Megaswitch...maybe with one of those it can be done.

FWIW, on the early DG sets the SPC and EXG were on separate boards but they later married those two boards to one board spanning both pots (premounted to the two tone pots...this set was always prewired to a pickgaurd).

Still...I would prefer that they weren't 'boosts' and just affected the tone. Having all your tonal tweeks affect the output is yet another compromise imo.

And in the end...it was still the whole battery PITA that got me motivated enough to swap. Everytime my tone seemed just a little off...gotta check that damn battery buried under the pickguard. Of course the battery was usually >8v.

[bluesfendermanblues]

Thanks Gil. Maybe they changed something or were just mistaken when I spoke with EMG over the phone about it. I specifically asked if I could 'assign' the SPC to the bridge p'up and the EXG to the other two and they said no can do. This was before I had ever heard of a Superswitch or Megaswitch...maybe with one of those it can be done.

.

Checkout page 3 on below mentioned pdf "3 pickups, 5 way switch, 2 eq"

http://www.emginc.com/downloads/wiringd ... PC-EXG.pdf

And you'll be fine

[Fischerman]

No bluesman...that's just the regular installation. That doesn't do what I'm talking about.