duncan or emg? or?

[krautstyle]

so after years of feeling there was not much difference in higher end humbuckers i have changed my mind - i think. i think i dont like seymour duncan as much as emg. is it me or do they not have the same quality low end response that emg has? seem to "bright" for my taste. duncans have beautiful high end tone but the low end seems brassy to me. i suppose this is well known in the community but i missed that day in class? i dont want muddy. that sucks. emg bring better clearly defined low end it seems...
i never have played dimarzio's so?
what ARE the best low end responding humbuckers? and yes this is just my opinion. if you feel i am entitled to your opinion, try to be nice...

[etepbbb]

I like them all, I have a set of Blackouts in a dinky that sound great, but sounded muddy in my Kelly. The Emgs sound better then the SDs in the Kelly but not quite right, I have an X2N that'll go into the Kelly soon and I'll see how I like that. The point is sometimes you'll have to swap them around until you find the right combo pickup and guitar.

[Nightbat]

so after years of feeling there was not much difference in higher end humbuckers i have changed my mind - i think. i think i dont like seymour duncan as much as emg. is it me or do they not have the same quality low end response that emg has? seem to "bright" for my taste. duncans have beautiful high end tone but the low end seems brassy to me.
~
and yes this is just my opinion. if you feel i am entitled to your opinion, try to be nice...

Personally, if you ever decide to give SD's another try, I think you should give the "Customs" a run
(Custom, Custom 5 and Custom custom)

And Etepbbb is right, some guitar/P'up combos simply will not work while other sound like heaven

[Sunbane]

This depends a LOT on what music you're playing. For high-gain styles with lots of palm muting, EMGs are great, and are hard to beat. Nothing has a tighter low end than an EMG-81.

But take 80's style heavy metal, like Judas and Ozzy, for instance; Then suddenly those EMGs aren't superior at all (even though Zakk uses them), and you can often coax sweeter tones out of some nice passive pickups.

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

Actually, I'm pretty sure that EMG's suck ass, and the Duncan Custom is the greatest pickup ever invented.

Seriously, what Sunbane said. If I'm playing some thrash or something, the EMG's really have "the perfect tone" and the compressed tone and lack of dynamics makes for a really great sound.

If I'm playing about anything else, I hate them. They sound lifeless and dull. :dunno:

[sully]

the Duncan Custom is the greatest pickup ever invented.

true story!

[krautstyle]

ok ya i see what you guys are saying. i like to play dark stuff in standard D or drop C so that may be why i like the emg's so much. and if it didnt seem so, i do realize SD makes a quality product. it just may not be what i need for "my" sound. tho i am interested in playing a soloist w a SD invader in the bridge...
seems i am blessed with a emg equipped dxmg that i love the sound and feel of. it will most likely for now remain in standard D or Drop C while the SD equipped soloist will stay in standard E where it sounds best. at least until i make up my mind on swapping p/u's or buy a 81/85 equipped les paul lol...

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

Yeah, if you are chugging away in D or C with mega distortion then EMG's could be the best pickup for your sound.

Now, I see you say that you're talking about a Soloist?

Is this the stock pickup?

Because if it is, then I will say that I think the JB is awful for a really super-heavy tone.

I put a Custom in mine (SL1) and it's a bit darker than it is in my bolt-on Charvels and I'm still not 100% sold on it, but it beats the hell out of the JB, which is kind of... Twangy and farty on the low-end if you push the distortion a lot.

[Dred]

How about the Bareknuckle route? They're definitely dead, but they seem worth it. What's your take?

[krautstyle]

Yeah, if you are chugging away in D or C with mega distortion then EMG's could be the best pickup for your sound.

Now, I see you say that you're talking about a Soloist?

Is this the stock pickup?

Because if it is, then I will say that I think the JB is awful for a really super-heavy tone.

I put a Custom in mine (SL1) and it's a bit darker than it is in my bolt-on Charvels and I'm still not 100% sold on it, but it beats the hell out of the JB, which is kind of... Twangy and farty on the low-end if you push the distortion a lot.

well thats good to know. yes it is the stock JB in the soloist. i too feel it is twangy - tho it gets better at high volume from my solid state crate 120. i feel changing to a HZ or 81 (yes there is room for a battery in there) in the bridge while retaining the hot rail singles will afford me the flex i want in tone...

again while i save my pennies for that active emg equipped les paul copy, they do growl so sweetly...

[Newc]

Duncan Custom, CC, or C5. I get good tight low end from a Distortion as well. Then again, EQ is your friend.

[nafe]

Personally i love EMG's for their actives, and DiMarzio's for their passives, but I never really got into Seymours for some reason.
I just installed Bill Lawrence's in my PS4 (although i havent wired them up yet) so i'm keen to see how they sound.

Also, just for a laugh i installed a set of those Dragonfire Power Rails (X2N knockoff) pups in my Rhoads mutt, and for the money i gotta say i'm pretty impressed. Obviously for 40 bucks a set they're not gonna be as good as the real thing, but hey, when they're going in a guitar that's never gonna leave the house, who cares? If you're after a cheap alternative, give 'em a try

[Riffmeister]

This depends a LOT on what music you're playing. For high-gain styles with lots of palm muting, EMGs are great, and are hard to beat. Nothing has a tighter low end than an EMG-81.

But take 80's style heavy metal, like Judas and Ozzy, for instance; Then suddenly those EMGs aren't superior at all (even though Zakk uses them), and you can often coax sweeter tones out of some nice passive pickups.

I gotta totally agree with Sunbane here. I jsut got a guitar with EMg's in it and while at first they sounded great to me, when I started playing some older 80's stuff, as he said, they jsut didn't cut it anylonger.

Every Duncan I have ever tried just seemed to be to bright to me in any Jackson I have put them in. I am a Die hard Dimarzio fan having used the Tone Zone ,Breed and Super Distortion Pups. Soon to be trying out a Crunch lab and Liquifire.

[krautstyle]

Personally i love EMG's for their actives, and DiMarzio's for their passives, but I never really got into Seymours for some reason.
I just installed Bill Lawrence's in my PS4 (although i havent wired them up yet) so i'm keen to see how they sound.

Also, just for a laugh i installed a set of those Dragonfire Power Rails (X2N knockoff) pups in my Rhoads mutt, and for the money i gotta say i'm pretty impressed. Obviously for 40 bucks a set they're not gonna be as good as the real thing, but hey, when they're going in a guitar that's never gonna leave the house, who cares? If you're after a cheap alternative, give 'em a try

this is all good stuff. it seems i know jack about pup's! anybody ever try any kind of "universal" connector? so you could easily change pup's? like all emg style plug connectors?

i guess i am going to become one of those people who DOES post alot? i keep coming back here. its addictive...

anyways im still learning and trying not to spend a lot in the process. so when i get to play something different i pay attention. im catching the tinkering bug bad...

[Chad]

When that big pickup shootout happened recently (documented on several forums....but don't think it got posted on here), it appeared they wired a 9-volt battery connector from the pot to the pickup cavity, then they also wired a 9-volt battery connector to each pickup they tested. This way there was no soldering involved when they started comparing the pickups. Probably overkill unless a person is a hardcore pickup freak, but just an idea.