EMG Pickups & Lithium Ion Batteries

[Geo]

Tried using a 9 volt lithium ion battery with my 89/SA/SA and it sounded very weak and thin.

I was thinking that this application would be a perfect fit for lithium ion, but it sure wasn't.

Can anyone expand on this?

Also, EMG says it's not necessary to run a ground wire to the bridge, I very much disagree.

 

[2Strats]

Something is amiss.
EMGs don’t require a grounding wire and I’m almost positive a lithium ion battery would work perfectly with them.
I’d unsolder/disconnect everything and start over.

 

[Geo]

It's a solderless system. I put a regular Duracell in and it made a big difference.

Also, without the ground wire, there was noise that would go a`way when I touched the pickup mounting screw.

Problems solved but curious.

 

[Chase42147]

What lithium ion battery did you try? I have a set of EMG's, maybe I'll give it a shot and see if it sounds different in mine. Also, did you try multiple of the same lithium ion battery? Maybe that one was shot

 

[Geo]

 

[Chase42147]

That is really weird... I'm gonna see if I can find one of those this weekend and try it with mine

 

[Geo]

That is really weird... I'm gonna see if I can find one of those this weekend and try it with mine

https://www.batteryjunction.com/products/titanium-cr9v-1pk

 

[dave74]

You don't need a ground wire with an EMG, they are internally grounded and are about as quiet as can be possible, but you can certainly still get noise from things up the chain. I suppose you could have a defective pickup though, or possible it's plugged-in incorrectly (solder less connections).

 

[Geo]

You don't need a ground wire with an EMG, they are internally grounded and are about as quiet as can be possible, but you can certainly still get noise from things up the chain. I suppose you could have a defective pickup though, or possible it's plugged-in incorrectly (solder less connections).

The noise was way more evident with some gain. Grounding to the bridge solved the problem.

 

[pipelineaudio]

Weird, I use lion batteries in mine, used to be the 9v type but now I use the Fishman which I think is lion as well

 

[Geo]

Weird, I use lion batteries in mine, used to be the 9v type but now I use the Fishman which I think is lion as well

You may want try try a/b'ing them.

 

[pipelineaudio]

You may want try try a/b'ing them.

I know they are putting out the same level as the conventional 9v or sure as that is something I'm constantly testing for other reasons, but the tone could possibly be different, not enough or me to notice, but could be. If the batteries are measuring the same (not just voltage), what could the mechanism be that would make them different?

 

[Geo]

I know they are putting out the same level as the conventional 9v or sure as that is something I'm constantly testing for other reasons, but the tone could possibly be different, not enough or me to notice, but could be. If the batteries are measuring the same (not just voltage), what could the mechanism be that would make them different?

Current? Sure it's 9v but does it dish it out the same?

 

[pipelineaudio]

Like I said above “not just voltage”. Current is the same. The fishman can put out more current but the pickups only draw what they draw and all three batteries can put out more current than the pickups need. At a super crazy zoomed in level, the rechargeable have a more consistent output wave, but we’re talking like Micro volts of deviation

 

[Geo]

Like I said above “not just voltage”. Current is the same. The fishman can put out more current but the pickups only draw what they draw and all three batteries can put out more current than the pickups need. At a super crazy zoomed in level, the rechargeable have a more consistent output wave, but we’re talking like Micro volts of deviation

There's only one way to see if it makes any difference for you.

 

[BABMusic]

I'm kind of foggy on this, but I think there is some reason why EMG doesn't recommend using a ground. I, like you, intentionally grounded my EMG pickups because I too noticed it took away some noise. I think the reason might have something to do with microphone and playing live? Maybe I'm wrong.

 

[pipelineaudio]

I'm kind of foggy on this, but I think there is some reason why EMG doesn't recommend using a ground. I, like you, intentionally grounded my EMG pickups because I too noticed it took away some noise. I think the reason might have something to do with microphone and playing live? Maybe I'm wrong.

Safety
"Because active EMGs are already internally shielded and low-impedance, grounding the bridge provides no extra noise reduction—it only introduces an unnecessary shock risk."

 

[Geo]

I have been using EMG pups for about 35 years and the only time I had a problem is when I didn't ground them to the bridge. Go figure.

 

[Geo]

76 Strat, been like this since 1990.

 

[Rackman]

Safety
"Because active EMGs are already internally shielded and low-impedance, grounding the bridge provides no extra noise reduction—it only introduces an unnecessary shock risk."

This is the correct answer in terms of the ground wire.

In terms of the Li battery, circuits can't tell what kind of cell their power comes from. And EMGs pull very little current so the internal resistance of the battery (voltage sag due to current draw) is largely irrelivant. Plus Li batteries generally have lower internal resistance than alkaline.

Something's wrong with the circuit or components. Get a multimeter and check voltages on the power supply, and then ohm out the circuit and make sure the connections are correct.