EMG 81 Distorts/clips on its own + low output.

[Perdikament]

It definitely sounds to me like it's the wiring...
Make sure that you are plugged into the right slot on your switch. (That's most likely the problem & sounds like what you're describing). Try pulling the guitar jack out 1/2 way or so and see if it gets louder, sometimes this is an indication of bad wiring.
Anyway, you may be off one slot on the pickup selection switch.
And then there's the jumpers on, I believe, the volume pot, they're blue & they route the signal thru to the tone pots.

Edit: after reading your OP I'd be willing to bet the farm it's a wiring issue. I bet you're thinking something is broken or ya have a bad part..
Go back through and really check everything.

What's your pickup setup on your guitar?

 

[Perdikament]

One thing - I recorded directly through my Focusrite Saffire through an instrument input with zero gain added to exclude the Axe as the culprit, and the signal is SO much louder than when coming from the Axe!

How come?

Probably some obvious answer I can't think of.

the focuseite has preamps.

 

[Perdikament]

And btw, I have an 89x in my bridge and it's hotter than the 81, but still not hotter than other passive Humbuckers I've had in this guitar in the bridge. So you'll be fine as far as input level goes. I play .11-.52 (6 string) tuned down 1/2 step & the 89x is as close as I can get it to the strings without it touching while playing. Just remember to leave a little extra room for when your palm muting or playing hard. Nothing worse than hearing a string hit the pickup when someone is playing, especially at volume. ~POP!~

 

[Pelikanen]

It definitely sounds to me like it's the wiring...
Make sure that you are plugged into the right slot on your switch. (That's most likely the problem & sounds like what you're describing). Try pulling the guitar jack out 1/2 way or so and see if it gets louder, sometimes this is an indication of bad wiring.
Anyway, you may be off one slot on the pickup selection switch.
And then there's the jumpers on, I believe, the volume pot, they're blue & they route the signal thru to the tone pots.

Edit: after reading your OP I'd be willing to bet the farm it's a wiring issue. I bet you're thinking something is broken or ya have a bad part..
Go back through and really check everything.

What's your pickup setup on your guitar?

Sorry for answering late - yes, according to tech at EMG it is the wiring. I've dropped the guitar off at a tech now, these kinds of technical things isn't my game yet. But it kinda is like that, like the first second of plugging in I have higher output but then it drops just as fast.

It's an EMG 81 in the bridge and an EMG 60 in the neck. Running it with one 9-volt battery.

the focuseite has preamps.

Yes, that makes sense then!

And btw, I have an 89x in my bridge and it's hotter than the 81, but still not hotter than other passive Humbuckers I've had in this guitar in the bridge. So you'll be fine as far as input level goes. I play .11-.52 (6 string) tuned down 1/2 step & the 89x is as close as I can get it to the strings without it touching while playing. Just remember to leave a little extra room for when your palm muting or playing hard. Nothing worse than hearing a string hit the pickup when someone is playing, especially at volume. ~POP!~

Okay, then I should definitely be fine, yes.
When I fiddled with the height of the pickup trying to trouble shoot I adjusted it back way too high and the strings got caught in it haha.

 

[Perdikament]

Sorry for answering late - yes, according to tech at EMG it is the wiring. I've dropped the guitar off at a tech now, these kinds of technical things isn't my game yet. But it kinda is like that, like the first second of plugging in I have higher output but then it drops just as fast.

It's an EMG 81 in the bridge and an EMG 60 in the neck. Running it with one 9-volt battery.



Yes, that makes sense then!



Okay, then I should definitely be fine, yes.
When I fiddled with the height of the pickup trying to trouble shoot I adjusted it back way too high and the strings got caught in it haha.

They'll get it sorted out for ya in no time.. It can be a bit confusing if you've never done it before. I'm loving the EMGx's & I've had a lot of different pickups in this guitar. Fender Custom shop, Fralin's, Duncan's, a EVH Frankenstein.. These are some of my favorites.

 

[lysergene]

Glad you got it sorted out. Get the tech to tell you what the problem was man.

 

[Pelikanen]

Ok, so my tech just got back to me. Looks like bad news, I'm afraid (or good, depending on how you look at it)!

He couldn't find anything wrong with the pickups/wiring. He had a tube amp to try everything out on and he made sure to plug it in to a low input to not get any break up. His thoughts on it is that it has to do with them being active pickups and the clipping comes from plugging into an input made for passive pickups, some kind of impedance issue. And I told him about the pickup didn't matter and all that, the clipping is still there. But he might have a point since both of my EMG equipped guitars do the same thing through the Axe. So maybe it isn't the EMG's after all?

Have I perhaps missed something in the settings in the Axe where you can optimize for active/passive?

One of the last things I can think of would maybe be that the electricity I'm using isn't grounded? But that seems farfetched to me.

 

[Perdikament]

Ok, so my tech just got back to me. Looks like bad news, I'm afraid (or good, depending on how you look at it)!

He couldn't find anything wrong with the pickups/wiring. He had a tube amp to try everything out on and he made sure to plug it in to a low input to not get any break up. His thoughts on it is that it has to do with them being active pickups and the clipping comes from plugging into an input made for passive pickups, some kind of impedance issue. And I told him about the pickup didn't matter and all that, the clipping is still there. But he might have a point since both of my EMG equipped guitars do the same thing through the Axe. So maybe it isn't the EMG's after all?

Have I perhaps missed something in the settings in the Axe where you can optimize for active/passive?

One of the last things I can think of would maybe be that the electricity I'm using isn't grounded? But that seems farfetched to me.

I can assure you it's not an active/passive input selection issue. There are passive pickups that are just as hot if not hotter.

 

[AdmiralB]

i thought it was common knowledge that emgs internally clip with just a 9 volt

Huh?

They'll only clip when the input signal begins to approach the supply rail voltage, i.e. 9V. Which guitars simply cannot do (basses can, but even that's uncommon).

If you 'scope an EMG guitar setup, 9V versus 18V, you'll see (and hear) no difference.

 

[Pelikanen]

I can assure you it's not an active/passive input selection issue. There are passive pickups that are just as hot if not hotter.

What about not having ground in my electricity? That's all I can think of? Or maybe cables?? But I have tried with different cables.
I'm gonna check with my Les Paul that has a passive yet hot pickup (Seymour Duncan Distortion) to see if there is perhaps something wrong with the Axe which I really hope it isn't!

i thought it was common knowledge that emgs internally clip with just a 9 volt

This was one of my initial thoughts and I read somewhere that guys like James Hetfield and Zakk Wylde use the 18 volt mod (don't know if they do though).

Huh?

They'll only clip when the input signal begins to approach the supply rail voltage, i.e. 9V. Which guitars simply cannot do (basses can, but even that's uncommon).

If you 'scope an EMG guitar setup, 9V versus 18V, you'll see (and hear) no difference.

So you can actually "hit the red" within the pickup itself?

What is the 18 volt mod for btw? More headroom?

 

[Pelikanen]

Ok, so my LP with a Duncan Distortion has the dynamics it's supposed to have, it does however clip just a tad when it hit it really, really hard, harder than what you would normally do. But this is nothing compared to the EMG's. The waveform in my daw of the EMG's didn't look spiky and dynamic when zoomed out, it just looks completely straight.

Maybe I need an 18 volt mod for more headroom because of a heavy right hand?

 

[Perdikament]

EMG's don't use a ground wire. Essentially you become the ground, so that's not it.

The 18v mod supplies 18v to the EMG' s preamps giving it more headroom, you can run them up to 27v. More headroom in this case means more dynamics, but it's not what you are describing. There's something else going on.
Didn't you say that the output was quiet but distorted sounding? That would account for the clipped waveform in your DAW. If the waveform is off the grid then it's too hot but not if its clipped prior to going in. Something is clipping it prior to hitting the daw so therefore not a hot output level. If you're going directly into the DAW then it's clipping within the EMG preamp, which would be a bad preamp or a bad tech (probably a bad tech) but then again you said you had 2 guitars that are having an issue with EMG's? Did you just replace both guitars with EMG's?

 

[AdmiralB]

So you can actually "hit the red" within the pickup itself?

What is the 18 volt mod for btw? More headroom?

Pickups themselves don't clip. Nor do they compress. However, the preamp inside EMGs can do both, but only if the voltage the pickup is trying to generate begins to approach the supply voltage.

Guitars don't generate anything near 9V; 2V-3V is about it. I've seen basses that go higher; the old Gibson mudbucker could do 6V or so, for example.

Basses usually use two 9V in series for 18V, for the extra headroom. It's a waste of time on guitars, although you do get more useful battery life.

 

[BillyZeppa]

The EMG battery is connected by the jack when it is inserted. It is a low pressure contact that can get gritty and lose conductivity. Since you indicated that the sound is OK for a second when you plug it in, it's a likely culprit to ckeck. I'd start by wiggling the jack at the guitar, or use a conductive spray and grime buster. also make sure the female jack in your guitar is pressing hard on the sleeve of the male jack.
I have EMGs and am about to do the same right now.

 

[Pelikanen]

Pickups themselves don't clip. Nor do they compress. However, the preamp inside EMGs can do both, but only if the voltage the pickup is trying to generate begins to approach the supply voltage.

Guitars don't generate anything near 9V; 2V-3V is about it. I've seen basses that go higher; the old Gibson mudbucker could do 6V or so, for example.

Basses usually use two 9V in series for 18V, for the extra headroom. It's a waste of time on guitars, although you do get more useful battery life.

Ok, could there be some sort of "impedance" problem with the preamp inside? Because my tech described it as an overmatched transformer, (like if you would set the Xformer Match at 2.0 in the Axe, I guess it's like plugging the amps 8 ohm into the cabs 4 ohm) and that it's caused by the pickups being active and being plugged into an input made for passive pickups, like overloading the input (I think it sounds strange myself, the Axe can handle any pickup).

 

[Pelikanen]

EMG's don't use a ground wire. Essentially you become the ground, so that's not it.

The 18v mod supplies 18v to the EMG' s preamps giving it more headroom, you can run them up to 27v. More headroom in this case means more dynamics, but it's not what you are describing. There's something else going on.
Didn't you say that the output was quiet but distorted sounding? That would account for the clipped waveform in your DAW. If the waveform is off the grid then it's too hot but not if its clipped prior to going in. Something is clipping it prior to hitting the daw so therefore not a hot output level. If you're going directly into the DAW then it's clipping within the EMG preamp, which would be a bad preamp or a bad tech (probably a bad tech) but then again you said you had 2 guitars that are having an issue with EMG's? Did you just replace both guitars with EMG's?

If a guitar has a ground wire then that's a wire connected to the wood of the body right? My baritone looks like it has that.

Yeah the output is lower than that of the Ola Englund DI I'm comparing to. My other EMG guitar (LTD F-500) has just a little more output but still clips. That's the only thing that could make me think it's not the pickups, because I had Seymour Duncan actives in the F-500 before and I went back yesterday and looked at DI's from those aswell, clipping there too. So maybe it's the Axe (fingers crossed that it's not)?
It is clipped prior to going in to the DAW though. If I record into the looper in the Axe the clipping is there. But if I go directly through the Focurite instrument input there's clipping too, and not because the signal is boosted to the point of above max, it's just amplified/louder.

Both of these guitars come stock with EMG's, but the F-500 had Seymour Duncan Gus G actives in it when I got it and they clipped aswell.
So on all of these active pickups/guitars I get low output and clipping.

 

[Pelikanen]

The EMG battery is connected by the jack when it is inserted. It is a low pressure contact that can get gritty and lose conductivity. Since you indicated that the sound is OK for a second when you plug it in, it's a likely culprit to ckeck. I'd start by wiggling the jack at the guitar, or use a conductive spray and grime buster. also make sure the female jack in your guitar is pressing hard on the sleeve of the male jack.
I have EMGs and am about to do the same right now.

I'll mention that to my tech today when I go pick the guitars up! (I'll mention everything in this thread haha).

While I come to think of it, when I plug in it sort of makes this strange white noise too that then goes away. I know that I hear it if I'm using a distorted preset in the Axe but I don't remember if the white noise comes when the volume on the guitar is turned on full or completely off. But I guess that if I strum the string during this white noise then there's that spike in volume that then goes away.

 

[Perdikament]

Ok, could there be some sort of "impedance" problem with the preamp inside? Because my tech described it as an overmatched transformer, (like if you would set the Xformer Match at 2.0 in the Axe, I guess it's like plugging the amps 8 ohm into the cabs 4 ohm) and that it's caused by the pickups being active and being plugged into an input made for passive pickups, like overloading the input (I think it sounds strange myself, the Axe can handle any pickup).

Get a new tech, he hasn't got a clue.
I still think it's a wiring problem. What you described originally I had happen when I had mistakenly plugged into the wrong spot on the volume pot & I also had one of the blue jumpers (which are for tone pot send & returns if I remember correctly) in the wrong spot.
I had barely audible distorted signal. However when I first would plug in, it'd be loud for a second then fizzle out to the clipped barely audible state. The volume pot on the guitar made no difference if I recall correctly, it'd do the same thing regardless of where the vol was at. Then I tried pulling the guitar cable 1/2 way out and if I got it just right it'd be loud. Which led me to believe that it had to be that I most likely missed something in the wiring. Which I did, I had, I think the output jack one slot up too high. And missed one of the jumpers for the tone pots.
The directions can be a bit misleading between the ones online and the ones in with the pickups, I forget which one had the exact one that was right for my set up.

 

[MSS]

I've been following this thread. I have a prs with an emg 81/85 setup and it works fine with the axe Ii and axe 8. I tnink its a wiring issue as well.

 

[AdmiralB]

It's either a wiring problem or a bad pickup. I've had several EMGs go bad on me over time (actually, now that I think about it, the symptoms pretty much matched yours).

They've usually been pretty good about replacing them.