Zakk Wylde? Pickups

[442w30]

I have seen lots of reference to Zakk Wylde pickups being EMG-81 in the Bridge, 85 in the neck. This is backwards from the way my Jackson Concept V was configured and I believe the old Master of puppets era Metallica among many others. Is this a misprint, or is 81 in the bridge the 'new' thing(you gotta realize I'm way out of the loop on this)?

[toejam]

Re: Zakk Wylde? Pickups

As far as I know, Zakk's always used the 81 in the bridge and 85 in the neck. Kerry King also has them that way, as well as a lot of other people... it seems to be the most popular. Jeff Hanneman and Kirk Hammett use two 81s. Personally, I've had guitars with them configured both ways, but I prefer the 85 in the bridge and 81 (or 60) in the neck. And Metallica didn't use EMGs until at least And Justice For All. James used two 81s, then he went with a 60 in the neck. I believe James used a Duncan Invader in one guitar on the MOP album, not sure what else he used, but definitely not EMGs.

[442w30]

Re: Zakk Wylde? Pickups

Wow I was almost, nearly, kind of half right. Oh well, I liked the 85 in the bridge myself, but I traded it for a seven string LTD H-207 + cash, dumb, dumb, dumb! I never tried the 81 in the bridge, just always assumed or though I read 85B +81N is the way to go, then I see what Zakk's been peddling.. got the wheels turning.

[toejam]

Re: Zakk Wylde? Pickups

Well, the 81 has a ceramic magnet and sounds a little brighter with more bite. The 85 has an alnico magnet and sounds a little warmer. There's no wrong position for EMGs, it's just whatever sounds better to you. A lot of people here seem to like the 85 better for the bridge, but plenty of people still use it the other way around. I just think the warmer/darker pup should be in the bridge and the brighter one in the neck. I no longer own my Dinky that was 81/85, but now I've got one that's 85/60, and my Hamer's got 81/81 which sounds nicer since it's a mahogany body and neck. EMGs rock either way!!! [img]graemlins/headbang.gif[/img]

[Boxcar Willie 84]

Re: Zakk Wylde? Pickups

Hey Toejam-Kirk had a Fernandes strat with EMG S pickups on the RTL tour, and his Rhoads that he got then and used all over MOP had an 81 in the bridge and an H or whatever the humbucker-sized single coil was in the neck.

[toejam]

Re: Zakk Wylde? Pickups

Oh yeah, Kirk had EMGs earlier, but I didn't know he recorded with them that early. Though, they would only be on solos, as James did all the rhythm guitars himself, and he didn't start using EMGs until AJFA, I believe.

[Boxcar Willie 84]

Re: Zakk Wylde? Pickups

You're right about that!

[axeman81]

Re: Zakk Wylde? Pickups

All the big shots in metal that I can think of use the 81 in the bridge, and 81/85/60/nil in the neck.

However, you should check out this thread before you decide to move it [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

- Rune.

[1trussell]

Re: Zakk Wylde? Pickups

I've got a pair of EMG 89's in my 750 XL (89's are the same as the 85 combined with the SA single for splitting). The 89 in the bridge is a very, very nice pickup. I usually slap Duncans in all of my guitars, but after hearing the sound of the EMG's, I decided to keep them. The 89 offers a nice beefy tone with a good balance of mids and highs. I've heard some people say that the 81's are a little shrill at times. It is all about preference. If you like the setup you have, keep it. If you feel like experimenting and switching the two, by all means do it and see if you like that sound better.

[slayer]

Re: Zakk Wylde? Pickups

I prefer the 85/81 combo myself or 85/SA as the case of my Archtop Soloist. I have only heard 1 guitar that I liked the 81 in the bridge and that was an all beefy mahogany Hamer Vector, but all in all, I think the 85 has much more charctor than the 81, which to me sounds kinda shrill and sterile, but everyones different. My favorite pickup for all around use is the Duncan JB, but for straight ahead metal, I like the 85 or Distortion. Jack.