which offers more clarity

[chris_tw21]

Re: which offers more clarity

Passive has more punch and clarity then active.

[metalmachine]

Re: which offers more clarity

Passive has more punch and clarity then active.

I definatly agree with the punch part

[rumblebox]

Re: which offers more clarity

actives sound like distorted keyboards

[Edgecrusher]

Re: which offers more clarity

Passive has more punch and clarity then active.

Spoken like someone who has never used blackouts.

Stop equating blackouts to EMG's

[P.A.Foholic]

Re: which offers more clarity

Spoken like someone who has never used blackouts.

Stop equating blackouts to EMG's

Yeap... people ranting about active pups... majority has never used them or used them right. Blackouts & EMGs are both good. Blackouts are hotter with more grind, EMGs maybe a bit tighter in the low end register.

But seriously guys, try them before you hate 'em. There's clarity in both actives and passives, it's just different and you have to listen which one you like more.

[rumblebox]

Re: which offers more clarity

I havent used blackouts, but EMGs are most definitely not clear. The sound is so artificial, you cant do enough tweaking on any amp to get any natural tone. I used them exclusively for 11 years being close-minded until i finally saw the light and ditched them. Now i wish would have a long time ago and saved myself a lot of time wondering why i couldnt get my **** to sound the way i wanted.

Are the X series any better?

[metalmachine]

Re: which offers more clarity

From the way I understand it, if you dont like emg you won't like x series. Idk though

[John E Rokker]

Re: which offers more clarity

Go for the Duncan Distortion. I know from first hand experience that when coming off of EMG's the Duncan Distortion is the way you want to go.

[Jakek5150]

Re: which offers more clarity

Actives never seem to fully allow the tone of the woods, fingers, and even the amp to be heard all that well. They overpower the sound and don't really "infuse" with the other parts of a guitar player's tone, especially in the case of many high gain players... Having said that, I have not played Blackouts, so they could be a great step forward in the sound of active pickups.

[PRSfan nym 1985]

Re: which offers more clarity

I have limited experience with Blackouts and EMG's since I'm predominately a blues/classic rock guy at heart.

I will say I found the Blackouts to be lightyears better tonally than any EMG's I've ever heard or played over the years.

But I still feel that at the end of the day this guy prefers the tones of traditional passive pickups. Nothing else gives me the clarity, dynamic range, or musicality of a good set of passive pickups.

[Edgecrusher]

Re: which offers more clarity

Actives never seem to fully allow the tone of the woods, fingers, and even the amp to be heard all that well. They overpower the sound and don't really "infuse" with the other parts of a guitar player's tone, especially in the case of many high gain players... Having said that, I have not played Blackouts, so they could be a great step forward in the sound of active pickups.

I always find this sort of sentiment interesting. have you seen all the exotic woods that they use to make basses? Many more than you find in guitars. Yet active pickups are much much more common in basses also with NONE of the sterile or no tone complaints you hear from guitar players.


The thing that rubs me backwards about most peoples rhetoric against actives is they are like rumblebox who has never used blackouts yet hates them anyways and lumps them all into one. If you dont like EMG's fine but EMG's arent blackouts.

My point is not all actives are created equal.

[Edgecrusher]

Re: which offers more clarity

But I still feel that at the end of the day this guy prefers the tones of traditional passive pickups. Nothing else gives me the clarity, dynamic range, or musicality of a good set of passive pickups.

and this makes sense... but wait... What music is this guy playing? Much of this clarity and dynamic range you cherish while playing blues goes out the window the moment you hit it 10 stages of gain from your 5150. The reality is that under high gain actives can actually remain tighter than passives. A lot of the things that add sweetness to a clean tone become mush under high gain. Pickups that are warm through a Fender Deluxe become soupy and indistinct through a Powerball.

Not saying that passives cant work under high gain not saying that at all but the musical territory that a guy named "Metalmachine" plays in can also be covered very well by actives.

In the end you can also do like I've done with my warlock. The bridge is an emg 81 and the neck is an air norton. Works better than you would expect.

[rumblebox]

Re: which offers more clarity

I like actives in basses. Thats a different story.

But you wont convince me that EMGs sound better than the right passive for any style of music or tone, unless you want to sound like metallica on purpose.

[metalmachine]

Re: which offers more clarity

and this makes sense... but wait... What music is this guy playing? Much of this clarity and dynamic range you cherish while playing blues goes out the window the moment you hit it 10 stages of gain from your 5150. The reality is that under high gain actives can actually remain tighter than passives. A lot of the things that add sweetness to a clean tone become mush under high gain. Pickups that are warm through a Fender Deluxe become soupy and indistinct through a Powerball.

Not saying that passives cant work under high gain not saying that at all but the musical territory that a guy named "Metalmachine" plays in can also be covered very well by actives.

In the end you can also do like I've done with my warlock. The bridge is an emg 81 and the neck is an air norton. Works better than you would expect.

I did that once with q 59 and abh1 n

[Metalman_666]

Re: which offers more clarity

and this makes sense... but wait... What music is this guy playing? Much of this clarity and dynamic range you cherish while playing blues goes out the window the moment you hit it 10 stages of gain from your 5150. The reality is that under high gain actives can actually remain tighter than passives. A lot of the things that add sweetness to a clean tone become mush under high gain. Pickups that are warm through a Fender Deluxe become soupy and indistinct through a Powerball.

Not saying that passives cant work under high gain not saying that at all but the musical territory that a guy named "Metalmachine" plays in can also be covered very well by actives.

In the end you can also do like I've done with my warlock. The bridge is an emg 81 and the neck is an air norton. Works better than you would expect.

There was a time when I wanted to try out a passive/active combination in a single guitar, it would probably be a great mix of two worlds.

I've never tried Blackouts before, but I found the Duncan Distortion to be pretty clear overall with all levels of gain. The only thing that stuck out to me was the sizzle on the highs.

Metalmachine, perhaps you should try recording a pair of clips. Get your drummer and bassist to lay down a groove, then double-track a quick rhythm part with some palm muted chords, big open chord smashes (I think an open G or the Rush B chord when I say smash) and whatever else you might play. If you make two different clips, one with Distortions in stereo and one with Blackouts (maybe some minor amp tweaks), you can get a pretty good idea about which one sounds clearer/better to yours and your bandmates' ears.