NOT THE FULL (E)SP?
I’m a longterm owner of an ESP Eclipse. It’s one of the Japanesemade models and it’s been a brilliant guitar to play over the past 10 years. When I got the guitar, I was looking for a heavy sound, something along the lines of Metallica’s James Hetfield and Black Label Society’s Zakk Wylde. Clean sounds? I didn’t bother with that kind of thing. It was all about distortion.
Now I’m a bit older, and hopefully wiser, I’d like something with more versatility and vintage warmth. I don’t want to ditch my ESP. This thing has become a part of me. So my only other option is to replace the pickups.
As you may have guessed considering my influences back in the day, my Eclipse is fitted with a pair of EMG active humbuckers. I have the classic setup of an EMG 81 in the bridge and an EMG 85 unit at the neck.
Can I just plumb in some traditional passive pickups or do I need to stick with active stuff? I’m assuming regular pups will fit my guitar without any chiselling. Bob Adams, via email If you think you can just tear out your old pickups and whip in some new ones, you’ve got another thing coming. We get what you’re thinking. Active EMGs are indeed the nuts for heavy stuff, but not everyone thinks they play so nice when you back off the filth.
Problem is, the wiring loom in your guitar is designed for active EMG pickups. The pots are the wrong value for passive ’buckers; the input jack engages the onboard nine-volt battery when you push your cable in. If you want to go passive, then you’ll need to gut the Eclipse first.
Before you do that, you might want to consider this option. Aware that some punters were nixing its wares because they weren’t so great clean, EMG unveiled the 57 and 66 humbuckers. Available as a set, these pickups are every bit as active as your 81/85 pups, but they feature Alnico V magnets.
You see, what gives your EMGs sharper clarity and brute strength is their ceramic magnets. By switching to vintage-style Alnico V mags, EMG gave its 57/66 models more of a classic Gibson PAF tone. You still get the welldefined output and noiseless performance of a classic active EMG, but the clean sound will slap a big smile on your chops. The 57/66 set comes with solder-less wiring, which makes it quick and easy to fit.
Another EMG option is the newer Retro Active ’bucker, effectively two passive coils with a preamp – old-school meets new technology. We’ve used the Fat 55 set (bridge Alnico V magnet; neck Alnico 2) and said, “These don’t sound like active pickups: imagine Duncan’s ’59s but without zero noise and volumes that adjust level without altering the voice plus no capacitance roll-off or loading on the way to your pedalboard or amp.”