EMG Pickups Good/Bad?

[SylentCommando]

I have never owned active pickups, so I am just interested in what people think of them. I have always used passive Dimarzio pickups,and I had a DXMG Dinky with EMG HZ pickups and I thought they sounded great. I know their is a lot of hate on the HZ's. I can get a EMG 81/85 set for $120, I want to upgrade my newly acquired Jackson DR3 guitar which has Duncan Design neck and bridge. I was going to get a Dimarzio Super 2 for the neck and Super Distortion for the bridge. I know a lot of people either dislike EMG's or Love them. Any help would be appreciated Thanks.

[diablomozart]

i prefer passive pickups personally, but if you've had good experiences with emg's by all means...plenty of people use them and get great tones out of them, i'm just not one of them lol...d.m.

[Tetsuo]

I like them for certain things. The 81 is the most popular in the bridge but try an 85

[Big Al]

+1 on the 85 in the bridge position. In fact, I just finished swapping around an 81/85 in a DK1, moving the 85 to the bridge.

[SylentCommando]

Never had emg's before that's why I was asking. How's the battery life with them? Also what do you do about the ground wires that are in the pickups cavities, and the ground on the spring claw? I was going to order the solderless kit and it comes with everything to install them. I got the guy down to $80 bucks for the pickups 81/85, he upgraded to Duncan Black outs and just used the EMG wiring for the Black outs.

[xenophobe]

85 in the bridge is my favorite. My second favorite would probably be a Super Distortion. Then the SH-5. I also like the J-50bc which is a lot like an EMG 81 but with a little less gain.

For contrast, I hate the JB and the Invader.

[paranoid]

Emgs are my fav. They compress the signal a little, but noise and feedback are very low. The batteries in my emg guitars seem to last as long as my mid boosted Charvels, I just change them yearly and have no issues. But you do have to remember to unplug the cable when not in use. I have never used the pre wired kits though, I always cut that stuff off and solder them direct. I leave all the grounds connected even though the directions say not to. I have also mixed them with passive combos and every thing worked fine except that emgs are pretty hot so they are louder them many passive pups. be careful buying used though, I bought a guitar once that I thought had emg pups, got it home and it was a squeeling pig. I corresponded with emg and we discovered they were fakes(they looked almost exactly like the real deal). Emg told me they had seen this many times, some china company is making nock offs. Emg is also real helpful when you call for tech, I have phoned them a few times. I really like a company I can talk to.

[DRM]

Give them a shot. I'm experimenting with passive pickups and magnet swaps right now, but I've had a few guitars over the years with EMGs and they can sound pretty savage.

If you think that EMGs aren't your thing, at least you got to try them. Don't buy into the hype of them being sterile and unresponsive, it really comes down to your amp and playing style in that case. The 85/60 combo is what I would recommend, I find the 81 is too thin in the bridge of a strat type guitar.

On a side note: if you decide you don't like the EMGs, pick up a Duncan Custom (whichever of the varieties you can find used for a good price) and drop an Alnico 8 magnet in it. It will blow your fucking mind.

[BenoA]

Hey guys, I have a EMG 85 in my parts bin. I got it when I bought an Iby RG750 for cheap. The seller still had the original bridge PU so I have put back the guitar to it's stock setup.

So, what would you pair it with? And where would you put it? Bridge or neck? Xenophobe sounds to like it in the bridge.

I'm thinking installing it in a single humbucker LTD Laiho (the cheap version) I got in a trade but open to other options.

I've never experimented with EMG or active PU, may be it's time to give it a go. Let me know.

[Dog Boy]

I've got a few guitars with EMGs. I really like the SAs in strats...they have a sound you simply cannot get with passives. The tele set is outstanding too especially the bridge pup. I'm less a fan of their humbuckers but I really want to try the 89 ( thats the splitable 85 model). I'll echo what Paranoid said about customer service, EMG will take care of you.

[toejam]

I have never owned active pickups, so I am just interested in what people think of them. I have always used passive Dimarzio pickups,and I had a DXMG Dinky with EMG HZ pickups and I thought they sounded great. I know their is a lot of hate on the HZ's. I can get a EMG 81/85 set for $120, I want to upgrade my newly acquired Jackson DR3 guitar which has Duncan Design neck and bridge. I was going to get a Dimarzio Super 2 for the neck and Super Distortion for the bridge. I know a lot of people either dislike EMG's or Love them. Any help would be appreciated Thanks.

You can't go wrong with a Super D and a Super 2 paired up. For EMGs, I also like the 85 bridge and 81 or 60 neck setup.

[Force]

Get em, im an EMG fanboi & whike ive been trying out passives recently, i find EMG still tick all the boxes for me. Battery lasts forever & the solderless kit is a breeze to install. You still need to solder the input jack but that's a nothing. Just tape off or remove the ground wire.

[xenophobe]

So, what would you pair it with? And where would you put it? Bridge or neck? Xenophobe sounds to like it in the bridge.

A fair number of people here prefer the 85 in the bridge. It has a lot of unique tone... really moody, growly and dark. Even though it might sound counterproductive, I love it the most in mahogany bodied guitars. It just adds so much character.

In contrast, the 81 is a very clinical flat and eq curve... it's really best suited for highly processed signal chains, like rockstars with huge racks of DSP gear, IMO.

[Hellraiser6502]

IMO, and 30 years of experience with them.....EMG's are GREAT for certain applications. They are certainly a TOP QUALITY pickup (TRUE USA EMG's not the Hz's) ....and I agree with MOST here the 85 bridge and the 60 Neck is the best combination ....the 85 is an awesome pickup. If you have an guitar with a single-hum setup....you might also consider the EMG 89, which is an 85 but splittable to give you a little more 'choices' ...just use a push-pull pot instead of altering a guitar with an extra switch, not needed

[FunkyApocalypse]

I've had EMGs in three guitars now (coincidentally all Jackson); an 81 by itself, 81/SA/SA set, and 81/85, and I would definitely recommend them. They always sounded great (especially the SAs). Only regret is not trying the 85 in the bridge.