Telecaster Guitar Forum - View Single Post - EMG's into a Bassman

appar111 · June 29th, 2009, 12:03 PM

I was helping a friend tweak our most recent build; a relic strat using a Charvel flamed 2-piece maple neck, a heavy, cheap no-name sunburst body and a set of SA-SA-85 EMG pickups.

I plugged straight into my 59 Bassman RI and was astounded at the great sounds I was getting. I have been looking at the idea of swapping out the speakers in my amp because I had been unsatisfied/restless, and this completely made me rethink things.

The clean sounds were SO good out of this setup-- full, chimey, super-clean but not sterile. Even the EMG85 in the bridge sounded killer played clean-- perfect for funk riffs and the like. And oddly enough, I really, really dug the sound of the middle SA pickup by itself. The in-between positions also sounded very stratty.

I added a dirt pedal to the mix and was floored even more. I've tried EMG's before in a couple guitars, but with this setup, I think I'm fast becoming an EMG convert.

I got a used EMG-RT for the bridge position of my esquire, and snagged a used EMG85 for cheap for the bridge of my single bridge humbucker equipped tele. I'm going to try to scout out a used set of SA's for my strat too.

Seems like this shot-in-the-arm came at just the right time. Not only do I not want to swap the speakers in my amp, I'm more psyched about picking up the guitar and playing it, instead of tweaking all the time!

June 29th, 2009, 12:03 PM	#1 (permalink)
appar111 Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Ohio Age: 34 Posts: 1,678	EMG's into a Bassman - nice! I was helping a friend tweak our most recent build; a relic strat using a Charvel flamed 2-piece maple neck, a heavy, cheap no-name sunburst body and a set of SA-SA-85 EMG pickups. I plugged straight into my 59 Bassman RI and was astounded at the great sounds I was getting. I have been looking at the idea of swapping out the speakers in my amp because I had been unsatisfied/restless, and this completely made me rethink things. The clean sounds were SO good out of this setup-- full, chimey, super-clean but not sterile. Even the EMG85 in the bridge sounded killer played clean-- perfect for funk riffs and the like. And oddly enough, I really, really dug the sound of the middle SA pickup by itself. The in-between positions also sounded very stratty. I added a dirt pedal to the mix and was floored even more. I've tried EMG's before in a couple guitars, but with this setup, I think I'm fast becoming an EMG convert. I got a used EMG-RT for the bridge position of my esquire, and snagged a used EMG85 for cheap for the bridge of my single bridge humbucker equipped tele. I'm going to try to scout out a used set of SA's for my strat too. Seems like this shot-in-the-arm came at just the right time. Not only do I not want to swap the speakers in my amp, I'm more psyched about picking up the guitar and playing it, instead of tweaking all the time!