EMG pickups - general experiences? (Active guitar pickups discussion)

ToneControl

http://www.sonic.net/~emgman/pdf/1 89 1 EMG 2v only.pdf

guitarfishbay

Really loving the sound of the het bridge with no tone pot. Crunchy. It is very loud now though. Good thing the Axe FX has an input trim!

guitarfishbay

I thought I'd just add that re: the no tone pot thing, it has sorted out my issues with feeling the 85 doesn't have enough top end relative to a loose low end.  I've got it in the bridge right now of my SC and it sounds crunchy and actually pretty tight.  More bass than the 81 for sure but still tighter than my Les Paul with PAFs.  With the tone pot it seems to have a bloated low end for dropped tunings, without it seems to have more snap.  It feels quite balanced now, sounds like a nice meaty pickup.

Interestingly @drew_fx found the same with his bass guitar, removing the tone pot from the circuit cleared up some low end bloat.  It is definitely worth trying if you're a 9v user.  I'm not sure if it will have the same effect for people who run EMGs at 18v.  

My guess is the small amount of current drawn by the tone pots affects the headroom of the pickup, thus making it feel slightly more bloated.

SquireJapan

Interesting - might be with a try. When you say you removed it, what did you do exactly? I quite like having a tone control, but might appreciate being able to switch it out.

guitarfishbay

Well I think you have the X series and I don't know if it will have the same effect but I'd be interested to know if it does. Wiring was different on each guitar I did due to different control layouts, but you can just unplug things and leave the pots installed. It is really easy to do and easily reversible if the quick connect wiring has been used.

IIRC you've got 2x 81TWX and two pots - so I think you need to wire as 2 volumes because each pickup needs its own pot to split. So follow the bottom diagram 11 here but ignore the tone pots - instead of plugging the cable from the top right of the volume to the tone plug it straight in to the buss board.

http://www.emgpickups.com/media/productfile/8/1/81twx_0230-0133rc.pdf

There might be little point in the X series though as the headroom is already increased in theory.

guitarfishbay

Or alternatively if my explanation isn't clear ask EMG to help - their support team is good and usually reply within a working day.

http://www.emgpickups.com/contacts

SquireJapan

Awesome - that makes sense. I'll have a play this weekend and see what happens.

Well remembered BTW

I'm still getting used to the EMGs at the min, both in the way they respond to playing as much as how to setup the amp.

There's an interesting "hifi" element to their sound which is in the same ballpark as the Bareknuckle Black Hawk pickups Ive tried.

Tempted to block off the trem and see how that affects things as well.

guitarfishbay

Blocking the trem will make a difference to feel as much as tone.  Be aware with teh PRS trem you don't want to mess with the screw height, there are specific indents on the screws and they should've been setup correctly at factory.  It works fine to put on enough springs to deck the rear of it I think, at least that's what we did with my bandmates trem SE.

I've not tried the X series - how close to the strings are your pickups (if you want to measure, hold down the string at the last fret when measuring) and do you feel like they compress and/or distort with strong pick attack on a clean channel?

SquireJapan

I'm in two minds about it - I might just dampen the trem springs; I just find the ringing a bit annoying, plus I never actually use the trem I'll check the height etc this weekend and report back with findings

guitarfishbay

Dampening the strings is standard for high gain players. I've got them dampened on my Strat. A cheap source of foam can come from cutting down a fresh kitchen sponge.

guitargeek62

Thread revival! This seems to have the most users and info so far, so rather than make a new one I thought I'd dust this off.

I've not had actives in a guitar before but like a lot of music that's (apparently) made with them. I tried an LP with an 81/85 set recently and really liked their response and tone, so I'm thinking I might try some out in a new LP that I'm having made. I might pre-empt this too and try a set in my SG until the LP is finished. I almost never play clean, there's always a little crunch/OD in my sounds, and I use the volume pots a reasonable amount to control the gain.

Q - now that they've been around for a few years, how has everyone found the JH, 57/66, X sets etc? Still enjoying them?

Maynehead

guitargeek62 said:

Q - now that they've been around for a few years, how has everyone found the JH, 57/66, X sets etc? Still enjoying them?

To be honest, I had a super strat with the JH set installed, and have gone back to the standard 81/60 set.

Why? Too much output! The JH set is just ridiculously hot, and across the entire spectrum. Lots of bass, lots of mids, and lots of treble. It was just too much for me, and make the tone too bold and in-your-face when they're wide open.

However, if you like to use the volume control a lot (I don't), they may be just the pickups for you. With the volume rolled down, they suddenly take on a really nice vintage character, but without losing their treble and attack. With good volume control, they will give you a very wide range of tonal options, more than any other pickups I've tried.

Having said that, I'm still a fan of the classic EMG 81. They do one thing only, but they do it really well... you know exactly what you're going to get with them. No fuss, no messing around, just turn the volume up to full and riff away!

I've not had first hand experience with the 57/66 so can't comment. I will however suggest that you consider the Seymour Duncan Blackouts (standard version). They're more warm and meaty sounding than the EMG 81 and I really rate them.

guitarfishbay

57/66 sound amazing but similar to the JH set they’re high output.  The 57 sounds like a slightly crunchier 81 with a warmer low end, but still tight.  

What I found was in low tunings I prefer the standard 81/60, or 81/81 sets.  I actually think the 57/66 set arguably sounds the nicest, but I clip them so easily at 9v in drop B, and don't really like the extra high end that seems to come with running them at 18v.

Since I generally don't like the 18v mod I've never bought the X series pickups as that's roughly how I understand they'd sound at 9v.  YMMV - a lot of people prefer EMGs at 18v.

I've also tried the Retroactive sets.  I sold the ceramic super 77 set, they weren't my thing but to be honest it's been a while and I can't remember exactly what I didn't like about them.  I like the Fat 55 set and that's currently what's in my main guitar.  They're like a PAF but with some EMG flavour, so not quite as sparkly a top end as a passive pickup but also a more controlled low end.  A purist might still find them sterile but as far as EMGs go they're the most 'passive' like set by far.  The nice thing with them being actives is that you can run a long cable without worrying about treble loss.  They also have quite nice clarity to them.  It's kind of like mixing in 25% EMG tone to a PAF.

I've also had a couple of sets of Fishman Fluences.

Devin Townsend Set - the bridge kind of reminded me a bit of the JH, but again it's super hot and clips too easily for my playing.  I was pretty gutted as when they're not clipping they sound immense.  Again I play in low tunings and pick hard, I bet most people wouldn't have any issue.

Classics - Very bright.  I only really like them with the hf tilt engaged.  Super clarity but it sounds a bit hifi in comparison to passive pickups.  I don't find them to have as much guts as a passive nor the rawness of other actives I like.  But they're pretty versatile.  The second voice of the bridge pickup sounds hot but doesn't seem as punchy as the first voice if you match them for level.

Modern Ceramic - Really nice pickup, I like both voices.  In voice 1 it's like a tamer but more dynamic EMG 81.  Not as outright aggressive to me but with the benefit of a bit more balance to the tone.  Voice 2 sounds like an angry passive pickup, really changes the character a lot.  Also sounds good in the neck (both voices).

Modern Alnico - Not really convinced by it for my tastes.  It's warmer and fatter in the bridge but I do like a bit of aggression.  Voice 2 only really works in the neck and is lower output and brighter IIRC.  But again saying this I know some people love it in the bridge, it's kind of got the extra brightness an 85 can lack in that position.

Can't remember if I've reviewed Blackouts I've tried

Original Blackout set - Comparable to EMG 81/85 but less tight and more dynamic.  The less tight factor doesn't really work for me as it means I need to always use an overdrive/some kind of tightening thing, and I'd like to have the option to not need that.  But if you want a bigger sounding pickup than the 81 the Blackout Ceramic bridge does that very well.

Mick Thompson blackouts - They didn't work for me.  It just feels like they chopped off some bass and boosted some treble on the original blackouts, but the result is they're a bit harsh and I'd rather just use EMG 81s.

The TLDR version ...

81 bridge still the king for drop tuning IMO.  One trick pony but I've found nothing out does it at that.  I always run mine with no tone pot.

Fluence Modern Ceramic very good and more versatile than the EMG 81.

EMG Fat 55 for a more classic sounding option when needed without needing to rewire the whole guitar.

MLten80

81 neck & 85 bridge sounds way better to me lately
 
the 85 is (mostly imo) flabby & overly hench sounding at the neck & the 81 is too icepicky at the bridge

I've got one like so ^^ & one with 24v mod 85neck/81 bridge... (bit much sometimes for anything except grungepunkmetal, imo)
 24v mod is a good sound though, it makes the guitar sound almost like a mastered track to me... so punchy

so, in conclusion I like emgs & sometimes dislike them

guitarfishbay

I’ve also found the 85 too much in the neck. For something similar but better balanced the 89 works plus adds a single coil
sound.

sweepy

thomasross20 said:

81/85 yeah.

I wont buy active pups or anything with a Floyd again, I reckon.

EMG's and Floyd's go together perfectly, run them at 18v and NO string pull makes radical dropping so much better and.in relative tune

guitargeek62

@maynehead and @guitarfishbay thanks, that's really useful! Sounds like I should either stick to the "normal" EMGs, Blackouts, and/or those Fluence Modern Ceramics too.

Maynehead

guitargeek62 said:

@maynehead and @guitarfishbay thanks, that's really useful! Sounds like I should either stick to the "normal" EMGs, Blackouts, and/or those Fluence Modern Ceramics too.

Yes ,although James Hetfield would beg to differ

guitargeek62

Update time!

So I've had the Epi Bjorn for a little while now with its EMG 81/85 set and I have to say, I really like them. They've been making my SG (490/498 set) sound quite dull and lifeless in comparison, The only real downside I've noticed is that they don't seem to respond to rolling off the volume pots like I'm used to.

I'm now left wondering if I can find something similar in the passive-world that splits well too, thoughts?

ToneControl

guitargeek62 said:

Update time!

So I've had the Epi Bjorn for a little while now with its EMG 81/85 set and I have to say, I really like them. They've been making my SG (490/498 set) sound quite dull and lifeless in comparison, The only real downside I've noticed is that they don't seem to respond to rolling off the volume pots like I'm used to.

I'm now left wondering if I can find something similar in the passive-world that splits well too, thoughts?

best split I've heard is on my Suhr standard, SC mode sounds very convincing
@octatonic might know the pickup model I am talking about