Re: best active neck pickup for cleans
The 89 doesn't actually have a coil split. It's two separate pickups - the single coil SA and the stacked version of the 89. The switch merely swaps which preamp goes to the output. They cannot be run simultaneously, according to EMG's customer support (I inquired some years ago about using it with the TripleShot and that was the reply).
However, there is a drastic volume difference between the two coils, in my experience.
Even on a single-knob guitar, the 89 and the push-pull it comes with can still be used. You would simply run the hot output of the push-pull switch to the pickup selector instead of the pot directly, or pick which tone you like best and wire that one to be active (no pun intended).
The 60 is like a mini-humbucker (Lil/Jr) in a humbucker housing. The H and HA are the single-coil-in-a-humbucker models.
The 60A is the 60 with an Alnico magnet, which means the 60 has a ceramic, so it's going to be a bit harsh.
Then there's the 58.
I'd suggest backing the 60 off the strings a little more than what EMG recommends so it's not so harsh and doesn't break up, though I can't say I've had that problem with the 89.
Then again, I've not run one without a compressor of some sort in the front to control the incoming signal.
