[noodles]

Originally Posted by Jan

Well, today I had the opportunity to try out a guitar equipped with Seymour Duncans and I have no more doubts - I'm getting rid of my shitty active EMG 707.

Frets on the Net is your friend. Allow me to demonstrate. Before:



After:



The pickup rings hide the larger EMG route. You'll need to use a Dremel tool (or something similar) to widen the route to make the Duncan's mounting tabs clear.

[le_ackt]

I still dont understand why EMG made their 707 pup size not compatible with other regular 7 string Pup size ~ really ve to take a plunge to install EMG 707 from a 7 string that have regular size 7 pup

[Jan]

Thanks Noodles! So it seems like I'm not the only person disappointed with EMGs... What pickup rings should I order? And what's a dremel tool? And route? I'm not a native English speaker... Sorry...

Oh, and someone suggested DIMARZIO EVO7 for me instead of the SD SH-5... What do you guys think?

[ohio_eric]

I to wish EMGs weren't a different size than passives pickups.

Don't worry Jan I'm not an EMG fan. I greatly prefer passives. A Dremel tool is small hand tool that you can use to widen the route. It grinds away the wood so you can fit a dofferent pickup in those odd sized EMG routes.

[noodles]

Originally Posted by le_ackt

I still dont understand why EMG made their 707 pup size not compatible with other regular 7 string Pup size ~ really ve to take a plunge to install EMG 707 from a 7 string that have regular size 7 pup

Their 7-string guitar pickups use the same housing as their 5-string bass pickups. Orginially, Stephen Carpenter asked them for a 7-string EMG, and their custom shop simply used longer coils and shoved it all in a bass pickup housing. Of course, other players wanted what SC had, so they began ordering it from the custom shop. Demand eventually led EMG to make the pickups production. So, R&D on them was extremely short, as they opted to get the pickups to market rapidly, rather than eat up the time and money required to create and entirely new design. Remember, a new pickup would mean all new tooling and templates to create them in the volume required, at the price point desired.

The new EMG 808 (in the Ibanez 8-string) is actually in the 6-string bass housing. EMG is a small company, and while I don't like it, I can understand how they have to do things like this to stay competitive in the marketplace.

Originally Posted by Jan

Thanks Noodles! So it seems like I'm not the only person disappointed with EMGs... What pickup rings should I order? And what's a dremel tool? And route? I'm not a native English speaker... Sorry...

E-mail Dave, the owner of Frets on the Net, at the address listed on the site. Tell him you want an 7-string EMG to passive conversion ring, just like the one he made for me (there are actually pictures of my guitar on his site). They aren't cheap (~$20-25), but you'll soon see why when it arrives. His pickup rings are cut out of solid billets of plastic, so they will never warp, bend, or break.



Dremel tools are great for a variety of tasks. I used a sanding drum to remove wood from the pickup route to make the Duncan fit. The pickup route is the cavity the pickup sits in:



Notice the "bumps" at the side of the route? This is where the mounting tabs for the pickup go. EMG 7-string pickups use a perfectly rectangular route (no "bumps"), so a passive pickup won't drop right in without modification. You need to open up this area on your pickup routes. The best way to do this is to place the pickup over the route, center it, and trace around the mounting tabs with a grease pencil or crayon. This will show you where you need to remove wood. I recommend using blue painter's tape on the sides of the route. That way, when you start removing material, the tape will keep the paint from cracking and flaking off:



Your completed work will be hidden by the ring, of course.

Oh, and someone suggested DIMARZIO EVO7 for me instead of the SD SH-5... What do you guys think?

You obviously already love the Duncan sound, so I'd suggest sticking with that. Dimarzios sound drastically different, and as a general rule, most guitarists prefer one or the other brand.

[Jan]

Nodless, I'm honestly impressed with your post - dude, thanks for such an indepth answer!!! It's not often that you meet such nice and competent people as you. I will definitely use some of your suggestions. You're right, I think I will stick to Seymour Duncans. But I'm still hesitating bewteen SH-4/5/6. Or rqather between SH-4 and SH-5. Do you have any experience of these pickups in basswood? I've read many posts and some people say SH4 just won't work in basswood (but they are mainly people who have a mahogany guitar and have never really tried putting a SH4 in basswood) but I've also read two or three posts where people were satisfied with SH4 in basswood. I gueas it heavily depends on what kind of music you play. Since I play metal (gothic/hardcore/death metal) I NEED the seventh string to sound powerful and hence my fear SH-4 won't be able to deliver enough bass for the low B... Do you think SH-5 will be a better solution for me? But does it have the same natural quality and wideness of sound as SH4? AAARGH...

[The Dark Wolf]

I thought it was Dino who first asked for 7-string pickups.

[zimbloth]

Originally Posted by The Dark Wolf

I thought it was Dino who first asked for 7-string pickups.

It was. Stephen Carpenter came way later. I'm sure he just meant Dino.

[The Dark Wolf]

I mean EMG, of course.

[noodles]

Originally Posted by The Dark Wolf

I thought it was Dino who first asked for 7-string pickups.

I'm not a fan of either guitarist, or EMG, so I just get it all confused sometimes.