Thoughts on PRS 513's pickup system

[David Schwab]

The split-able active EMGs actually contain two separate pickups, a stacked "single coil" and regular humbucker. Unless they changed them, they have separate outputs you can use at the same time.

Look at the PRS pickups; they are single coil size, not humbucker size. You probably need taller bobbins. Try stacking the bucker bobbins and winding with 42 gauge wire.

[verhoevenc]

Sorry if I didn't explain it well. My intention indeed was to have a tap on one coil and not the other. That way when in single coil mode you get the full bobbin, yet when you activate the other coils in any way, it removes that extra portion of wire to make the two coils closer to one another in DC and more like a traditional bucker.

instead of using standard parts I plan to build up my own using flatwork. I kind of like this idea because for the single coils I can get the true height of an SC, and with a 3rd piece of flatwork in there I can segregate the tap to the bottom of the coil so that when you lose that extra wire... You're back to having the coil be true Humbucker height too
Chris

[Peter Naglitsch]

The split-able active EMGs actually contain two separate pickups, a stacked "single coil" and regular humbucker.

Not really. Acccording to this;
http://www.emgpickups.com/content/wi...0230-0118D.pdf
the 81TW are made like this:

and the 89 and 89R are made with what seems to be magnets inside the coils and a magnetic base plate (?), a bit like a full size firebird pickup:
http://www.emgpickups.com/content/wi...0230-0114D.pdf

Sorry if I didn't explain it well. My intention indeed was to have a tap on one coil and not the other. That way when in single coil mode you get the full bobbin, yet when you activate the other coils in any way, it removes that extra portion of wire to make the two coils closer to one another in DC and more like a traditional bucker.

And that's exactly what I did but I didn't like the HB nor the SC sound. Maybe it just need a bit more experimenting to get the formula right.

[David Schwab]

Not really. Acccording to this;
http://www.emgpickups.com/content/wi...0230-0118D.pdf
the 81TW are made like this:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]24258[/ATTACH]
and the 89 and 89R are made with what seems to be magnets inside the coils and a magnetic base plate (?), a bit like a full size firebird pickup:
http://www.emgpickups.com/content/wi...0230-0114D.pdf

I've seen that. That wasn't how they used to show it, but unfortunately I no longer have that document. They might have changed it, but the pickups did, if not still do, have two separate outputs. You don't switch between coils so much as switch between pickups. But they might have changed the design since then. With the TW bass pickups you could use both at the same time.

The original idea was they had two differently voiced pickups, like an 85 and SA in the same case.

From Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMG_81

The 81TW version features two separate pickups and preamps in a single pickup housing, allowing for single-coil and humbucking tones

Thats they way they used to advertise it.

The SA does had a bar magnet in the coils, so they might be doing it that way. probably easier to use two of these bobbins.

[geetarfreek82]

You just hafta use the correct doppelspuligen cartridge!