Ideas why one of my guitars is way louder than the other one

[GJgo]

So I have two guitars that are set up very similarly, but one is way louder than the other one when A/Bing them. I'd like to know why, checking in with you guys for ideas. Here are the details-

The loud one is a LTD JH-600. The quieter one is an ESP KH-2. The JH has so much gain that it really doesn't need to be boosted, and I have to dial back the volume to get really clean cleans. The KH is more of a normal pickup output sound, I have to boost it say 5-10 dB to get the same angry output as the JH.

Things they have in common:
25.5" scale
EMG 81 pickups
New 9v battery
PU height is as high as possible with each
Knob setup is volume / tone / EMG Afterburner
Same strings
Alder body
Maple neck

Things that are different:
Neck through (JH) vs. bolt on (KH)
Ebony (JH) vs. rosewood (KH)
The JH is a lot heavier (but the KH has better tone)
Kahler (JH) vs. Floyd Rose (KH)
The JH electronics are factory soldered in where the KH electronics are all the newer EMG PnP style with a distribution board (updated from stock)
The KH has a passive tone knob. This does color in a different way than the tone knob in the JH.

Any ideas? My only thought is that I need to double check the wiring sequence in the KH to make sure the tech didn't wire a throughput backwards. Having played lots of EMG guitars, I feel like the JH is more normal & the KH is somehow being held back.

 

[Pushead]

I'd pull the tone knob out of the KH circuit and see what effect that has on the overall volume.

 

[Oblivion DC]

I'd review the wiring of the afterburner on the quiet one.

Question: on the quiet one does the gain change when you dial the afterburner knob up and down or does it stay the same no matter how its dialed??

 

[ElectricVoodoo]

Could it be that one of them has a higher pot value and it appears to be louder when it is just a higher freq ?

 

[GJgo]

Those are good suggestions, thanks. I'll check them out.

On both guitars the Afterburner knob dials like it's supposed to. On the KH the +20dB is a bigger kick in the pants than it is on the JH.

 

[Pushead]

Yeah, that was my initial thought. If by "passive" tone control, you mean a potentiometer from a passive guitar wiring circuit. The EMGs only use 25kOhm resistors, and most passives want 250-500kOhm.

 

[Hey_bert_whtcha_doin_bert]

You may just be hearing a perceived spike in volume because of the ebony having much greater upper mid attack... Makes a big difference because it's right in the ears sensitivity range. I would almost bet on this being the case. If you had said the other guitar was maple or ebony as well it wouldn't matter but Indian rosewood and any ebony species are drastically different tonaly. Especially in the upper mids and the way ebony natural compresses them.

 

[Hey_bert_whtcha_doin_bert]

Basically I'm saying the JH is way more mid heavy which is where most tube screamers would hit

 

[GJgo]

It's not a perceived bump in volume, the JH is way freakin' louder with the pickups at the same height.

I don't have any other guitars with EMG active Pups, so let me run this by you guys & tell me which you think is the normal mode for a guitar with these?

-With the KH, I can set the guitar's volume pot at max, I can run the pickups right up close to the strings, and on the clean channel I can chord away with no breakup. Then, on the lead channel, when I hit the boost pedal it makes a solid bump in aggression.

-With the JH, I can set the guitar's volume pot at max, I can run the pickups right up close to the strings, and on the clean channel when I chord away there's lots of breakup. Only way to get good cleans is if I roll the guitar's volume pot back some, or if I run the pickups down to being close to flush with the body of the guitar. Which, BTW, kills my sustain. Then, on the lead channel, with the pickups close to the strings when I hit the boost pedal it doesn't really make a difference- more fizzy, but not really any more gain. When I have the pickups down close to the body of the guitar & I hit the boost pedal however it makes a solid bump in aggression.

In a nutshell, the KH with the Pups up at the strings reacts like the JH with the Pups down at the body.

 

[RockyStar]

Pickup height could be part of it as well.

 

[Pushead]

Take the passive tone pot out of the circuit. It has higher resistance and therefore reducing the volume of the pickup.

 

[SpiderWars]

With a lot of gain the amp is compressing the hell out of the signal so it won't sound much louder just a bit more distorted. With a clean setting you'll hear the volume jump. As for why one guitar is louder than the other, I don't know. If you have a multi-meter maybe check resistance from tip-to-sleeve of a cable plugged into each guitar. See if it measures the same.