Connecting new EMG (passive) pickup to Shuriken

[mrmichaelgibson]

Hi all!   I am replacing the stock pickup in my Variax Shuriken 250 and am having some issues.

 

I have a brand new EMG H4 (passive pickup).  I also have a connector that has the following:

 

Red & White wires --> soldered together and covered with electrical tape

Green & Bare wires --> soldered together and connected to W7

Black wire --> connected to W10

 

 

I did this based on the recommendation here in the forums...

 

 

 

 

 

It seems to be wired correctly, but I get a VERY low sound out of it.  When I switch on the Variax, the sound is full as expected.  Switching back to the EMG, it gets a very faint sound (almost no output).  I put this new pickup in another guitar to test and it sounds perfect.

 

Can anyone assist in what I may be doing wrong?

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

 

 

[mrmichaelgibson]

 

Of course right after I post, I figure it out :)

 

So to anyone else looking to do the same, it's well worth it.  The key was the wiring was wrong.  With an EMG H4 (or I would suppose any passive EMG), the wiring for the Shuriken is:

 

Black and white - solder together and tape off (don't connect)

Bare - tape off (don't connect)

Red (hot wire) - solder to W10

Green - solder to W7

 

 

 

 

The key for me was figuring out the the red was the hot wire  (used this diagram for the clue: https://www.emgpickups.com/pub/media/Mageants/h/z/hz_h3_h4_b245_0230-0221rf.pdf)

 

It's sounding amazing.  Much more alive and sounds pretty much like a standard active EMG 81 (which is what I was going for).  So now this guitar really is the best of both worlds - the high output and powerful sound of the EMG and, well, all the rest of the guitars  via the Variax system :)

 

 

A little trouble to get right, but worth it.  

 

Hope this helps someone!

 

 

[psarkissian]

Double check with the wiring diagrams in the Knowledge Base here

for pick-up wiring of 89/89F guitars.

 

Make certain they work together.

 

[mrmichaelgibson]

On 4/7/2022 at 8:45 AM, psarkissian said:

Double check with the wiring diagrams in the Knowledge Base here

for pick-up wiring of 89/89F guitars.

 

Make certain they work together.

 

 

 Yep, that's the one I used and it looks correct.  If you see any issues with how I wired it for any reason, please let me know.  Thanks!

[psarkissian]

Also, use pick-ups with a DCR of between 6k and 8k Ohms, or the tone EQ will sound off.

too high, it will be dark tone, too low it will be thin and tinny.