emg/stock wiring mix

[nauroticdax]

ok this is gonna seem like alot of questions all piled into one so if its unclear ill try and clear it all up upon request

basicly about 2 years ago i baught myself an emg 81 with the intention of putting it in one of my experiment guitars (not important but its been wired to death with all sorts of things) and back then i couldent get it to work one of the reasons at the time was it seemed like i was trying to mix my stock humbucker pickup with the emg and the stock pickup only had 2 wires to it

i did an experement once with the intention of running a third wire out of my pickup the result of which was one of the spare humbuckers out of said experiment guitar was coil tapped and still only had 2 wires so i gave up in the end

recently i have found the guitar and from what i can tell all of the wireing is more or less intact the only problem i am having is there is as yet no switch for the battery so i can cut the power down and it again recently came to my attention that the reason for the third wire is because it has a powered circuit inside the pickup which forgive my nooby-ness is completely new to me im used to having to cut out cavities in guitars to wire in a preamp and that one kinda took me by suprise

so as it stands now i wired the pickup up as best i could figure out from numerous wiring diagrams and the problem i seem to be having is with the 3 way toggle switch i have wired it forwards and backwards based on the pinout i was given but as yet i cant get just one of the pickups working on its own

so thats my first problem

my second problem is that it buzzes alot i suspect that is something to do with the wiring so im gonna have another crack at it and see if i get anywhere

basicly i just want some help in understanding where i am going wrong and essentially if its even feasible to wire in a stock pickup alongside an emg because looking at all these diagrams (and i have researched the hell out of it...it made a bit of difference clarity wise but im still pretty stuck) arent really helping me in any way

its a 2 humbucker 3 way lever switch 1 vol 1 tone

[nauroticdax]

ok its a freaking mess but i have got the switch working....turns out the diagram i was looking at was waaaaaaaay off and the solution actually made alot of sence

this basicly solved everything for me to do with the switch http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-afdDFTwIZY...600/wiring.bmp

[soundguruman]

We can't tell what you are doing wrong unless you post several good clear closeup pictures.

[nauroticdax]

its ok when i got the switch working everything just kinda fit together after that

however it does keep buzzing whenever i take my hand off the strings...i thought humbuckers didnt suffer that problem

[soundguruman]

its ok when i got the switch working everything just kinda fit together after that

however it does keep buzzing whenever i take my hand off the strings...i thought humbuckers didnt suffer that problem

You have no ground on your electricity, or the ground in your amp is defective.
If there was a proper ground connection, the guitar would not need your hand on the strings, to get a ground.

EMG is one of the many companies, that are discouraging people from grounding the strings to the amp. The strings should not be grounded, it's safer.

Why is "not" grounding the strings safer?
When you are grounded, and you touch a hot wire by accident, you will be shocked.
If you are not grounded, and you touch a hot wire by accident, you will NOT be shocked.
(how do you think birds can sit on electrical wires all day? because they are not grounded)

The reality is, if you ARE grounded, you CAN be shocked. Being grounded DOES NOT protect you. Please do not confuse the two.
AND so, now you see WHY manufacturers are trying to move away from grounding the strings on the guitar. It endangers you.

MAYBE it does "stop" the buzz, when you touch the strings. Your body IS the ground connection...BUT it's UNSAFE.
A. Your electricity needs a good ground. Get one of these: http://www.delcity.net/store/Stop-Sh...Fap_QgodJRkAtg
TEST ALL your power outlets for a GOOD ground, no matter WHERE you are playing. BUY A TESTER, SAVE A LIFE!!! $20 to make you safer is worth every penny.
B. The amp chassis should be grounded. The amp power cable should be 3 wire, grounded type. If not, have one installed by a technician.
C. Your strings should NOT be grounded. Disconnect the ground inside the guitar, that connects ground to the bridge of the guitar.

AS I said, EMG is only ONE manufacturer that is disconnecting the string ground. There are MANY others following.

[nauroticdax]

oh dont get me wrong here i use a di box for that reason anything i plug directly into an amp circuit (my 2 main stage guitars) arent grounded to anything that im in contact with i do know about all that

aaaand i tried to probe around inside my guitar and find a decent ground to use but it still keeps buzzing till i touch something and ground it on myself

i know its really vague but any ideas?

as it stands going into my di setup on my pc it works really well and im really happy with it but its still a bit annoying i cant use it straight to amp

[soundguruman]

oh dont get me wrong here i use a di box for that reason anything i plug directly into an amp circuit (my 2 main stage guitars) arent grounded to anything that im in contact with i do know about all that

aaaand i tried to probe around inside my guitar and find a decent ground to use but it still keeps buzzing till i touch something and ground it on myself

i know its really vague but any ideas?

as it stands going into my di setup on my pc it works really well and im really happy with it but its still a bit annoying i cant use it straight to amp

Like I said, buy an outlet tester, make sure you have a GROUND on your amp. I think you don't.
Stop assuming, start testing.

[David Schwab]

You can't mix active EMGs and passive pickups. It doesn't work well. The passive pickups need to be run through a preamp first.

[soundguruman]

You can't mix active EMGs and passive pickups. It doesn't work well. The passive pickups need to be run through a preamp first.

Other than the active is 8 times louder than the passive, it's still possible.

[nauroticdax]

funny you say that...they arent
apart from being alot more bass bias on the passive pickup (but thats because they both run through the same tone pot and its the tone pot for the emg) its not alot difference volume wise tbh preamp maby but thats it they are the same volume and everything

i did get them working in the end thanks for the help it was the amp that was the problem