.FAQ
Question:
I have some Evans pickups but there is no label under
them.
How do I know if my pickup is a lead or a rhythm pickup?
Answer:
If the wiring clip on the back of the pickup is in the center, you have a lead
pickup.
If the wiring clip on the
back of the pickup is on the side, you have a rhythm pickup.
Question:
How do I know if
they are classic or hot pickups?
Answer:
Use a VOM (multi-meter) at X10K and test the outside pins.
Rhythm pickups have the following ranges:
10K = Classic … 12K = Hot
Lead pickups have the following ranges:
15K = Classic … 18K = Hot
Question:
Why should I never use an Evans LEAD pickup in a
RHYTHM position?
A set of Evans Eliminators
consists of two pickup designs, each for a specific function. The Lead pickups
are designed with higher output to match the lower string movement that occurs
in the bridge position. For the two coils in this design to work correctly, the
strings have to be directly over the rod magnets, (one for each string).
In the neck position, and to some extent in the middle position, strings can be
bent between the D and the G string. If a lead pickup was used in the neck
position some fade out would occur at this point. The rhythm designs have twice
as many magnets and have overlapping magnetic fields so no fade out occurs. This
gives a lower output than the lead designs but creates a compensated set as far
as performance goes. The greater string movement in the forward positions
requires a lesser output pickup to come up balanced with the bridge sound.
Question:
Are you using bar or rod magnets?
Answer:
Evans uses alnico 5 rod magnets in all Eliminator pickups.
Question:
To provide noise-free operation, do you use multiple coils like Duncan and
DiMarzio, or is it done through shielding?
Answer:
For noise free operation, the pickups are made with multiple coils but they are
in a left/right configuration, unlike anyone else’s design.
Question:
Since I don't want a humbucker sized p/u, can I wire 2 E1HL's in series and in
phase to produce a higher output, fuller and more powerful sound?
Answer:
The pickups can be wired in series with a special wiring harness that has the
ground lifted on one pickup. The switching could be any dpdt switch., a toggle
or a push pull on a control (pot).
This switching would be before
any 3-way switch or any pickup selection. Of course when the switch is on, any
pickup selection would have no effect. Sort of like a preset switch.
The sound
would be louder than the parallel setting of the two pickups but would also be
more humbucker-like with much less top end (due to the signal having to pass
through so many turns and so many feet of wire). It would not sound like a
bridge position humbucker, however, because the coils (pickups) are so far
apart. Some frequencies will cancel and some will add. All in all, it will be
another sound, dead quiet, of course with good possibilities for jazz or more
drive.
I would
not recommend two Hot leads but rather a Hot lead and a Hot rhythm , or a Hot
lead and a classic rhythm. for a more balanced sound overall. My Hot lead
Humbucker has the equivalent coils of two Eliminator Classic coils in series.
I’m
assuming this is a two pickup instrument. If it's a three pickup guitar then it
gets too complicated in the wiring and selection.
Also, if
these pickups are two mounted next to each other, like an E2 then I do not
recommend it because of magnetic interference in that configuration.
Question:
Regarding E1HL series wiring, my guitar holds 2 single coils. For magnetic
interference, the distance or spacing between my 2 p/u's is 1/2 inch... purely
for visual aesthetics. I was intending to use only 1 mini toggle on-on-on switch
to be configured as follows:
position 1 bridge p/u
position 2 bridge p/u and neck p/u wired in series
position 3 neck p/u
As noted in your brief, a special dpdt switch
would be required.
Is it possible to do my configuration without
the use of a second dpdt switch? Or, what about wiring the 2 p/u's in series
with on-off switches for each p/u?
Answer:
First off, if your pickups are only 1/2 inch apart, then you really have a
humbucker arrangement with the two coils slightly more separated than normal.
Not a setup like on a Melody Maker with one pickup in the bridge and one in the
neck position.
If this
is the case then you will have one louder setting and two lower settings, both
of which will not sound much different from each other (because each coil is
only 1/2 inch apart). So in essence you will have really only two distinctively
different sounds. Using regular single coils, two settings will be noisy and one
humbucking. The switching could be done with a mini toggle (3 position dpdt).
If you
want three different sounds, I don’t think you will be happy with this
arrangement. If the pickups were separated (like on a Les Paul Melody Maker)
then you would have 3 different sounds.
Getting
back to your arrangement, Evans Eliminators (E1's) will not work this close
together due to magnetic interaction. I would not recommend it.
You know,
an E2 will give you two humbucking sounds, one like a humbucker and one like a
single coil with only a simple spst tapping switch. Since your arrangement will
give really only two sonically different sounds you might want to consider it.
Question:
I own Evans Pickup (3 single coils, The hot ones I think). What potentiometer do
you recommend for Volume and tone. 250k or 500k?
Answer:
The Eliminators (E1's) were designed to work with the regular 250K pots even
though they are high dc resistance. If you go to 500K pots, the sound will be
slightly brighter and a tiny bit louder. Raising the control values allows the
circuitry to be more effected by the pickups natural resonance and this can be
good or bad. It's really a matter of preference. If 500K's are used I would
recommend a .001 cap and a 150K resistor in parallel on the volume control.
Without the 150K resistor, the sound can go thin when you turn back the volume
control.
Question:
I've been using a set of your pickups for years in my Squire, lost the
instructions before I became aware it matters and have never determined if I
should have a 250k or 500k volume and tone pots in there, I've tried both and
like them both in difference ways, I think I have about a 100pf bypass cap on
the volume.
Your pickups are excellent, exceptionally tonefull
for a non-traditional type, quiet and absolutely impossible to make squeal.
Answer:
You are right about it being simply a person's choice. I would ,however change
the 100 pf cap to 100 pf. or .001 mfd. and also put a 150k resistor across it.
The .001 capacitor on the volume control effectively bypasses highs when the
control is turned back. It doesn't, however, bleed the mid range which is needed
to get away from that thin sound. A 150K reistor lets these frequencies through
and warms up the sound. It should be wired in parallel with the capacitor.
Also, thanks for the nice comments.
Question:
Do you have spec's for the humbucker. I wanted to know if I could get the dc res
and resonant peak of the lead humbucker.
Also do you have a tonal chart of 1-10 for the
bass, mid and treb freq's? My concern is that I have never used your humbucker
before (just the singles) and I was going to use it in a maple bodied guitar and
was concerned that the pickup's tonality might not be a good match for the sonic
characteristics of the body wood (ie too bright).
Answer:
The resonance of the humbucker(lead) is around 5k but is a flatter peak than
the singles. The pickup works well on resonant guitars. I don't think it will be
too bright on a maple guitar. Sorry, no response curves are available at the
moment.
Question:
I have just recently re-installed my pickups on my strat and they do not work at
all. They sound very thin and weak. Second of all I need a good set of pickups
that have a lot of guts like the Dimarzio rails. Do you have anything to offer
like this.
Answer:
Have the control values been changed since the beginning? For instance if active
pickups were installed, then the controls would have been changed to 25K from
250K and these would short out the pickups and result in a poor tone and volume.
Another
common mistake is to have the pickups too low. Make sure they are close to the
strings when the strings are depressed at the last fret on the neck. The volume
changes dramatically when the height is adjusted.
The
pickups output should be in the same range as classic Fender single coils, the
same with the tone. If one is comparing them to a rail pickup with a ceramic
magnet e.g. hot rails, cool rails, OBL rails, there will be quite a difference.
Rail pickups are
actually slim humbuckers and give a thicker sound and more volume. Anyone who
likes these pickups will find regular strat pickups as being "thin" and "weak".
It is
difficult for the pickups to change unless they magnets have been damaged or the
coils have gone open (no resistance). this is very unlikely, especially since
all three have been effected.
A persons
perception of pickups can change especially if they have changed to other
pickups in the process. (using rail singles for instance) Rails sound quite
different from classic strat sounds (two different worlds).
Question:
I've been using a set of Evans Eliminator pickups on my Strat for many years now
and I have a question about the plug-in, 3 prong, jack on the back of these
pickups.
If I reverse the 3 connector female jack on these
pickups will it reverse the phasing? For that matter, it would be great to know
just what each of those 3 male leads on the back of each pickup is for.
Also, I didn't see my pickups listed on your
site. My lead pickup just has "Eliminator 1 Lead" written on the back and it is
white in color. My other two Evans pickups are similarly labeled, except they
don't say Lead on them.
Answer:
You have 1 E1CL and 2 E1R. The labeling is just different than our current
naming convention. The clip is off to the side on the rhythms whereas it’s in
the middle on the leads.
The three
pins are:
center
pin (no connection)
left pin (coil output start)
right pin (coil output finish)
If the
clip is turned over, the phase will indeed be reversed.
