Anyone ever tried AHB-3 EMTY neck in the bridge?

[Darth Nihilus]

Re: Anyone ever tried AHB-3 EMTY neck in the bridge?

When a tube amp has non-adjustable biasing like on all Mesa amps, they require you to use a certain grade of tubes to insure you don't use a set that's either too cold or too hot.
If you have an amp like this and you buy your tubes directly from Mesa/Boogie, they sell you a set that'll work with whatever model you own and that's enough for most people. If you use Groove Tubes, they use a number system that rates their tubes from 1 to 10. Mesa recommends using a set that's between 4 and 6 if you're going to use Groove Tubes and once again that's enough for most people but not me.

The truth is that Mesa sets the bias on a lot of their amps on the cold side and others on the frozen side. They do this to make the amps idiot proof just in case someone who doesn't know what they're doing accidentally puts in a super hot set of tubes so they don't damage the amp.

Without getting too technical, what I do is use a set of tubes that are hotter than what Mesa recommends because that way, I can get the bias to where it should be and the amp's tone comes alive. The way to increase the bias on a non-adjustable amp is to simply use a hotter set of tubes and being careful to not use too hot a set. That's why I call the guys at Eurotubes. I tell them the amp I have and the tubes I want to use and they tell me if it'll work or not. I love KT88 tubes and wanted to use them in my Mark lll so they sent me a set that would work and wouldn't damage the amp.

 

[Metalmaster]

I decided to do some pickup swaps after being dissatisfied with the EMG 81 which sounded hollow and undefined in the bridge of my ESP LTD Arrow guitar. (Mahogany body, maple set through neck, rosewood fingerboard).

I tried the Seymour Duncan Ahb-3 EMTY Neck pickup in the bridge today and was underwhelmed. Being an Alnico pickup, I was hoping it would be like the EMG 85 in the bridge, but it's very different.

What I liked: The tightness in the low end, It's almost as tight the Ahb-3 bridge pickup. The output is perfect, slightly less output than the bridge version so you can raise it higher towards the strings and it won't be crazy hot. The palm mutes are punchy and tight. Great harmonics.

What I didn't like: Although it has less treble, there's a brightness somewhere in the high end that makes it harsh and unpleasant. The mids feel almost unnatural. Just feels like it belongs in the neck as intended.

What I'm undecided about: The low mids are more pronounced, nothing too over the top, but I prefer the overall sound of the AHB-3 bridge pickup in the bridge as the treble extends further making it more cutting with better pick attack, and without the harsh brightness.

Conclusion: The EMG 85 and especially 85X sound better and more natural in the bridge than the AHB-3 N. It may not be as tight but it sounds full, beefy, and the mids are more pleasing to the ear for riffing.

So far, the pickups that sound best in the bridge of this guitar from best to worse are:
1. AHB-3 Bridge (Tight, punchy palm mutes, balanced mids, cutting top end)
2. EMG 85X (Slightly tighter bass and more high mids/treble than the 85)
3. EMG 85 (Fullest mids, more low mids, deeper bass, rolled off treble)
4. EMG 81X (Slightly more open mids and more dynamic than the Emg 81)
5. EMG 81 (Very tight, scooped low mids, pronounced high mids, hollow sounding, poor note definition)
6. AHB-3 Neck (Tight, punchy, harsh brightness, unnatural mids)​

 

[Mincer]

Welcome to the forum!

While we don't have a ton of EMTY users here, your thoughtful review will help people considering it. Thanks for contributing!