Re: Anyone tried the EMG GTV?
If you want lower actual output, you need to check out the "X" series
I've no clue where you got this idea. The X pickups have around 20%
more output on a full strum than the older versions, and for single notes they're the same give-or-take an indistinguishable amount.
There are simply lower-output active EMG humbucker models, such as the 58, 60, and 60A, all available in plain or X versions. If anybody ever wants a lower-output active humbucker, those are the ones to go for.
Of course you can also simply lower the height of any other pickup; active pickups are particularly sensitive to height and their output can drop like a rock or double if you move them just a millimetre or so further from or to the strings. As a general rule the 58, 60A, and all single coil winds are the most height-sensitive; the 60, '66, '57, Hot '70, '77 and 85 are slightly more consistent; and the 81 winds are the most consistent in terms of response at further and nearer distances from the strings. Regular or X doesn't seem to make much difference. Of course the material, size and age of the strings also matters greatly, as does your picking/strumming, so some EMGs might seem more or less sensitive to height depending on those.
In terms of raw output, the 81X is still the most powerful of any EMG active humbucker. The '57, Het, 85 and 85X all 'feel' hotter because they pack more in the mids, especially low-mids, giving you more of a 'thump', but their actual total output across the whole frequency range is lower than the 81X.
The GTV set is basically a couple of 81s that have had the highest frequency peak shifted down a little. The difference is very minimal in practice and is mostly overstated by the marketing fluff. EMG will tell you they had the low-mids reduced slightly too, to keep the wound strings clearer and less compressed-sounding, but I went back-and-forth with them in the same guitar (same strings, same everything; easy testing is the real beauty of the quick solderless connection system) and I couldn't hear any change in the lows. To take my own advice, it could have been I had them at a less-optimal distance from the strings or maybe it's just my strumming style, but they really just sounded like 81s with the tone control rolled back a touch. I didn't keep them for long enough to check the output properly but it didn't sound any louder or quieter than the 81, from what I recall.
If you want a 'beefier' 81 without much of a difference in output or feel then I'd really suggest moving up half a string gauge, or at least going up on the wound strings, and then just raising the 81 slightly. The Het will give you that EQ shift, but with a louder feel. (Again,
technically not more output, but more mids = more perceived volume even if the bass and treble drops.) There's also the SPC which can dial in a little extra thickness for you without changing the output much, if you keep it around 30-40%.
