What would you do if your EMGs did not fit?

[vultures]

So I tried to install EMGs into my RGA121, and they do not fit the route cavity by the slightest little hair on each corner. I'm not sure if I want to sand down the sides of the EMGs a little bit, if that could fuck them up or what.

What would you do?

 

[Random Hero]

Thank my lucky stars, and buy some passives.

 

[Ancient Alien]

I'd take out my Porter Cable mini router and slightly shave the wood.
It depends on what your abilities are really.
But, if the pickup is that tight, chances are that you will pick up a lot of body vibrations with them squeezed in there.
May sound good, may sound bad, I dunno.
I wouldn't shave down the pickups just in case you don't like them and want to re-sell them.

 

[Ancient Alien]

Thank my lucky stars, and buy some passives.

Me too
Me don't likes da EMG's at all

 

[racerevlon]

Yeah--get yourself a set of Dimarzio D-Activators, and if you still MUST have the EMGs, rout out the cavity a little. I had to do this with my Washburn 7-string and it's not that big a deal. I'm mechanically inept and I was able to get enough sanded out to get the pickups in, and the pickup rings cover the cavity expansion, so it's all good. (Dimarzio X2N7, Blaze Neck).

Cheers,

 

[glpg80]

put masking tape on the pickup outer perimeter, grab a dremel with a soft wood grinding tip, and take off little by little.

 

[Erocku]

I took a dremel to my RGA121.

 

[chunktone]

Thank my lucky stars, and buy some passives.

Me too
Me don't likes da EMG's at all

This!

 

[petejt]

As soon as I got my second guitar, I ripped the EMG-81s out of it and put in some Suhr aldrich passive pickups instead. Such a big improvement in the sound quality!

I intend to use the EMG-81s to make a 'pipe-bomb mic'- seal them in a copper pipe to use as an odd type of microphone.

 

[supersonic]

Thank my lucky stars, and buy some passives.

This is the best advice.

 

[glassjaw7]

This happened to me and I ended up just moving the screw holes a bit so they would fit. But if the guitar would require routing or something severe like that, I'd just get some passives. Check out Dimarzio D-Activators (ones with the rails) They destroy EMG's IMO.

 

[lolzgreg]

Route the guitar, or bring it to someone who knows how to.

Screw Ibanez for not making the pickup cavity a reasonable size.

 

[Ayrton]

The Seymour Duncan Blackouts will drop right in if I am not mistaken.

Routing the body is what it usually done for EMGs, but that is a "no going back" solution.

 

[Devilinside]

Thank my lucky stars, and buy some passives.

ABSOLUTELY!!