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“EMGs make everything sound the same...”

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  • #1

    “EMGs make everything sound the same...”

    Bull****.

    We’ve all heard legions of people claim EMG pickups completely override the natural sound of a guitar. From here on out, every time I see someone post that, I’m going to remember not to listen to any of their advice after that.

    I have a Schecter C-1 Platinum that sounds great with EMGs. 81/81, 81/85, 85/81... doesn’t matter. It’s gnarly as hell whichever way I combine them. I decided to try the 85/81 in my PRS SE CU24 today. First I did it at 18V. Didn’t like it. Swapped to 9V. Still don’t like it. Gonna go back to the stock SE HFS/VB, and it’ll probably go back to being awesome.
    “I can play the hell out of a riff. The rest of it’s all bulls**t anyway,” Gary Holt
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  • #2
    Re: “EMGs make everything sound the same...”

    I've always heard that EMGs make all woods sound the same. Strings, scale, and the bridge itself still make a difference.
    You will never understand How it feels to live your life With no meaning or control And with nowhere left to go You are amazed that they exist And they burn so bright
    Whilst you can only wonder why

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    • #3
      “EMGs make everything sound the same...”

      My experience is that EMGs sound like EMGs. I first started using them in the mid 80s when I worked at American Showster Guitars.

      So when I started building basses I used EMGs; a 40-P5 at the neck, and 40-J at the bridge. They are nice sounding pickups, but what I started to realize is when I played my bass unplugged it sounded very different then when it was plugged in.

      This lead me to start making my own pickups that sounded like the bass. Over the years I find that any instrument I had with them sounded like EMGs.

      So why do they sound that way? They operate sort of like two single coils in parallel. Only the two coils connect to a differential amplifier. This sums the output of the coils, minus any noise they might pickup, but unlike a regular parallel connection the two coils don’t connect electrically. Then they tune the output of one coil to do what they call “tone modeling.

      I like their guitar pickups more than the bass pickups. I have used them in about 20 years, so I’ve not tried any of the new models.

      Also, pickups aren’t where the tone of the guitar comes from. They just reproduce it while changing the harmonic balance in their own way.




      Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
      Last edited by DavidRavenMoon; 09-05-2019, 05:20 PM.

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      • #4
        Re: “EMGs make everything sound the same...”

        The 81 lacks presence, where a lot of the uniqueness of an instrument is evident. Combined with the compression, I could see that they make things sound more similar than more neutral sounding pickups, like a Custom or some PAF variant.

        I think there's pickups with more overpowering voices though. For example, Dimarzios with vocal mids (i.e. the cocked wah sound). See my thread on the Evo vs 81. The Evo is a unique sounding pickup that really changes how a guitar sounds. Far more so than an 81 IMO.

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        • #5
          Re: “EMGs make everything sound the same...”

          My LTD and PRS SE both have 85's in them right now. They sound as different from each other as they did when they both had Black Winters, which is considerable, and it's pretty surprising, because they're both relatively similar guitars. JME.

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          • #6
            Re: “EMGs make everything sound the same...”

            Originally posted by Chistopher View Post
            I've always heard that EMGs make all woods sound the same. Strings, scale, and the bridge itself still make a difference.
            Both guitars are mahogany with set maple necks. The Schecter is 25.5" with a tune-o-matic string thru, strung 10-52 tuned to drop C, while the PRS is 25" with a floating bridge, 11-49 to drop C#.

            With the same pedals and amp settings, the Schecter sounds killer, but the PRS does not. I think this is a (rare) case of the stock pickups being a perfect match for a guitar.
            “I can play the hell out of a riff. The rest of it’s all bulls**t anyway,” Gary Holt

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            • #7
              Re: “EMGs make everything sound the same...”

              The same people don't talk **** about Steve Lukather's tone even though he used EMGs either

              Sent from my ONEPLUS A6003 using Tapatalk
              Originally posted by Myaccount876
              Attenuators are for pussies. Neighbors calling the cops isn't a problem - if the cops can actually still decipher the neighbor's complaint on the phone with the Marshall in the background, you're doing it wrong and it needs to be louder.

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              • #8
                Re: “EMGs make everything sound the same...”

                Originally posted by JB_From_Hell View Post
                Both guitars are mahogany with set maple necks. The Schecter is 25.5" with a tune-o-matic string thru, strung 10-52 tuned to drop C, while the PRS is 25" with a floating bridge, 11-49 to drop C#.

                With the same pedals and amp settings, the Schecter sounds killer, but the PRS does not. I think this is a (rare) case of the stock pickups being a perfect match for a guitar.
                My LTD and my PRS SE are both mahogany set necks in mahogany bodies, built in the same factory, even. Yet, they sound pretty different from each other. The only times I've had the same pickups in both were when I had Black Winters, and now EMG 85's in the bridge, and the difference carried on to being the same. Both sound good, though. Just different. I'd say the 85 is probably a better match for the PRS SE, though, but I really like how it sounds in the LTD as well.

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                • #9
                  Re: “EMGs make everything sound the same...”

                  I'll also add that it makes sense you hear this from people who don't like EMGs. If you like them, you appreciate the differences between the guitars. If you hate EMGs, you just hear the part that annoys you.

                  Think of a genre of music or artist that annoys the crap out of you. Have you ever thought about how similar it all sounds? People are like that with everything.

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                  • #10
                    Re: “EMGs make everything sound the same...”

                    ^ this is very true.

                    In the last couple years, I’ve had Duncan Distortions in two guitars. Though I used to love that pickup, they made an Epiphone Les Paul Standard and a Legator 27” 7 string with a bolt-on all maple neck sound like twangy ice picks to me.

                    This makes a lot of sense, and put the whole thing in perspective. Thanks.
                    “I can play the hell out of a riff. The rest of it’s all bulls**t anyway,” Gary Holt

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                    • #11
                      Re: “EMGs make everything sound the same...”

                      Well, if you play the same stuff, it is going to sound the same. I am not a fan, but there are enough diverse players who use them to think that there is something there, and you can find it if you want to put the time in.
                      Administrator of the SDUGF

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                      • #12
                        Re: “EMGs make everything sound the same...”

                        My experience is that EMGs sound like EMGs.
                        Thank you. High five, man. I like 'em in basses, but never liked them in guitars at all. But that's just me.


                        I first started using them in the mid 80s when I worked at American Showster Guitars.
                        You worked at American Showster? WOW! For awhile I thought those were pretty dang cool.... Then after awhile they seemed like just another novelty axe.

                        What was your experience, and your assessment of them at this date?
                        aka Chris Pile, formerly of Six String Fever

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                        • #13
                          “EMGs make everything sound the same...”

                          Originally posted by ICTGoober View Post
                          Thank you. High five, man. I like 'em in basses, but never liked them in guitars at all. But that's just me.




                          You worked at American Showster? WOW! For awhile I thought those were pretty dang cool.... Then after awhile they seemed like just another novelty axe.

                          What was your experience, and your assessment of them at this date?
                          I worked there when they were still in a little storefront in Maplewood, NJ. Then he closed the store and we moved into a factory space in Palisades Park.

                          The guitars were cool. They had a great tone. It was a combination of the basswood body and the aluminum parts bolted on. Rick, the guy that started the company was a bit shady though. I ended up leaving after he was having trouble paying us (he used business loan money to buy a house and a vintage Ford T-bird). Then he stole my designs for the Kramer Showster guitars, which he had rejected at the time, after I left.

                          The current American Showster is a different company and they altered the design of the guitar. The new ones don’t look as nice.

                          Here’s one I built. I might start making them at some point. I still have an unfinished one in my workshop.



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                          • #14
                            Re: “EMGs make everything sound the same...”

                            I met Rick in Chicago at a NAMM show back in the Stone Age. Didn't take him for a crook then, but success, money, and power sometimes change people for the worst. Sorry you were caught in the crap storm.
                            aka Chris Pile, formerly of Six String Fever

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                            • #15
                              Re: “EMGs make everything sound the same...”

                              Originally posted by ICTGoober View Post
                              I met Rick in Chicago at a NAMM show back in the Stone Age. Didn't take him for a crook then, but success, money, and power sometimes change people for the worst. Sorry you were caught in the crap storm.
                              He was never successful. He had a great opportunity but blew it.

                              From what I gather, he owed investors money, so they got his patents on the guitar.

                              He was a nice guy in general, but he told tall tales.

                              I found a blog a few years ago with him telling the Showster story and half of what he said was lies. Me and another guy that worked there started commenting pointing out the stuff he was changing to make himself look good. Like he tells people he invented the cutaway on acoustic guitars because he worked at Guild, and claims it was his idea. That’s ignoring the fact that there were other acoustic guitars with cutaways made 100 years ago!




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