EMG 57/66 set - thoughts?

oneblackened

oneblackened

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I'm getting an Ibanez RGA121 (mahogany body/carved maple top/maple neck/rosewood board/hardtail) fairly soon with stock pickups - Ibanez V7/V8. These will just not do. I'm considering picking up a 57/66 set, if they're good. I hear they behave a lot like a passive but with the good active characteristics of wide frequency response and low noise, so I'm very much considering them. Anyone tried these?
 
Re: EMG 57/66 set - thoughts?

They are great if you want the PAF tone with the power of actives. Just be aware the Ibanez routing might not fit the pickups without some mods
 
Re: EMG 57/66 set - thoughts?

+1

Some of those Ibanez models have very little spare space in their control cavities for an onboard 9v PP3 pile. On recent Solderless EMG wiring harnesses, the "excess" pre-cut cable can also take up a surprising amount of space.
 
Re: EMG 57/66 set - thoughts?

I remember the V7 wasn't too bad. Scooped and trebly, kinda like John Petrucci's lead tone in Dream Theater's Awake album.
The V8 in the other hand is very bad. Not much oomph, crunch or sizzle at all. Just mud.
Good luck with the replacements.
 
Re: EMG 57/66 set - thoughts?

Check the pickup rout depths and shapes. It is possible only DiMarzio-inspired humbuckers will directly retrofit without modification.
 
Re: EMG 57/66 set - thoughts?

Funkfingers said:
Check the pickup rout depths and shapes. It is possible only DiMarzio-inspired humbuckers will directly retrofit without modification.
Click to expand...

If it's anything like the RG1570 I used to own, the tabs are duncan shaped. Not sure on depth - I'll check that.
 
Re: EMG 57/66 set - thoughts?

Haven't had the pleasure of trying them personally yet, but I'm definitely replacing the Blackouts in my Schecter Blackjack SLS with them. From all of the clips I've seen, they are much more dynamic and versatile than any other active I've come across.
 
Re: EMG 57/66 set - thoughts?

I loved the 66 neck but the 57 bridge didn't do too much for me. I've got an AHB-3 set in my Les Paul at the moment and the bridge is sweet, think I'm going to swap the neck with a 66 for the best of both worlds. As far as mounting I'd imagine you'll be able to drop them in (though I did have troubles getting anything other than the "V" pickups into my RGD2127, but that was a 7 string) and there's nothing that says you have to use all of the solderless hardware.
 
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Re: EMG 57/66 set - thoughts?

My fav set from emg, I own every model my only fav combinations are,
1. 57/66
2. 85/HA

Not very fond of the 81,60,JH-B,JH-N. I just recently discovered my hands are made for pickups with alnico v magnets.
 
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