L
Lewguitar
Guest
I've been playing my Strat with these EMG's almost exclusively since installing them a few weeks ago. I've plugged in my Strat with the Surfer/Surfer/Texas Hot Custom, my Strat with the Duncan Custom Shop 78 bridge humbucker and my Tele with the Joe Bardens a few times - mostly to compare the tones between the four guitars.
At first I didn't know what to think about the EMG's. They sounded really good for overdriven tones and for getting humbuckerish tones out of a single coil size pickup but didn't nail the classic paf tones of Clapton, Duane Allman, Mike Bloomfield, Van Halen, etc.
And the EMGs got very nice clean tones and got close to but didn't nail the classic Strat tones I've loved for forty years.
Well a few weeks have passed and I've got the hang of using these pickups with the highly interactive volume, treble/bass boost, and midrange boost tone controls and I have to say that although the vintage tones are good but not quite 100%, the EMGs do have their own thing going for them and it's pretty cool.
The key is getting the hang of the guitar's new volume and tone controls.
To get the "best" Strat tones and the maximum jangle and clarity I find that I have to keep the guitar's volume down to less than 7, the mid boost down close to zero and the treble/bass boost low as well. That setting yields nice Strat tones that are still a little thicker and less glassy than my Antiquitys but very nice.
Then I can fatten up the tone if I like by adding more mids or adding more treble/bass...but if I want to keep it clear I have to lower the guitar's volume control as I boost the mids or treble/bass.
All three controls are highly interactive.
I've learned I can set my amp (Deluxe Reverb or Princeton Reverb) with the volume at 5, treble at 7, bass at 4 - 6 and reverb on 2 1/2) and get really nice clean tones as well as "almost as good as a humbucker - but not quite" tones all by adjusting the controls on my guitar.
Keeping the two tone controls set low, I get nice crystalline "Bell Bottom Blues" or "Sultans of Swing" tones from the middle/neck pickup and middle/bridge pickup settings.
Then I crank the mid boost and the volume on the guitar, and boost the treble/bass control some and switch to my bridge pickup and get a decent paf tone for solos.
I can get most of the pick squeels and "burning rubber" honk I'd expect from a bridge paf - but not quite all of it.
The tones are never exactly vintage. The EMGs always lack some of the transparency and edgy glassy tones of the Surfers. And the EMGs get some of but not all of the tone of my Strat's with real bridge humbuckers. But the EMGs get close and the set is hum free and silent.
I'm really looking forward to comparing the new Duncan Livewire Classics when they arrive. I'm hoping for an even more authentic Strat tone from the neck and middle pickups because the Livewire Classics have exposed pole pieces. We'll see.
I don't see either the Livewires or EMGs replacing my love for vintage pickups and the Duncan Antiquitys in my MIJ Teles and Strats or the Joe Bardens in my old Tele - but the EMG DG20's are pretty darn good after all and are a good choice for a player like me who doesn't use pedals and wants to get Strat-ish tones and Les Paul-ish tones from one guitar and do it without the hum.
From what I understand though, the EMGs are especially suited to guys who DO use a lot of pedals because they're so quiet.
Again: the Strat with the EMG DG20 set doesn't nail the tones of my Strats with the Antiquitys or my Strat with the 78 - but it's close enough to have a lot of fun playing and to be getting all those tones ( sort of...) from one guitar.
At first I didn't know what to think about the EMG's. They sounded really good for overdriven tones and for getting humbuckerish tones out of a single coil size pickup but didn't nail the classic paf tones of Clapton, Duane Allman, Mike Bloomfield, Van Halen, etc.
And the EMGs got very nice clean tones and got close to but didn't nail the classic Strat tones I've loved for forty years.
Well a few weeks have passed and I've got the hang of using these pickups with the highly interactive volume, treble/bass boost, and midrange boost tone controls and I have to say that although the vintage tones are good but not quite 100%, the EMGs do have their own thing going for them and it's pretty cool.
The key is getting the hang of the guitar's new volume and tone controls.
To get the "best" Strat tones and the maximum jangle and clarity I find that I have to keep the guitar's volume down to less than 7, the mid boost down close to zero and the treble/bass boost low as well. That setting yields nice Strat tones that are still a little thicker and less glassy than my Antiquitys but very nice.
Then I can fatten up the tone if I like by adding more mids or adding more treble/bass...but if I want to keep it clear I have to lower the guitar's volume control as I boost the mids or treble/bass.
All three controls are highly interactive.
I've learned I can set my amp (Deluxe Reverb or Princeton Reverb) with the volume at 5, treble at 7, bass at 4 - 6 and reverb on 2 1/2) and get really nice clean tones as well as "almost as good as a humbucker - but not quite" tones all by adjusting the controls on my guitar.
Keeping the two tone controls set low, I get nice crystalline "Bell Bottom Blues" or "Sultans of Swing" tones from the middle/neck pickup and middle/bridge pickup settings.
Then I crank the mid boost and the volume on the guitar, and boost the treble/bass control some and switch to my bridge pickup and get a decent paf tone for solos.
I can get most of the pick squeels and "burning rubber" honk I'd expect from a bridge paf - but not quite all of it.
The tones are never exactly vintage. The EMGs always lack some of the transparency and edgy glassy tones of the Surfers. And the EMGs get some of but not all of the tone of my Strat's with real bridge humbuckers. But the EMGs get close and the set is hum free and silent.
I'm really looking forward to comparing the new Duncan Livewire Classics when they arrive. I'm hoping for an even more authentic Strat tone from the neck and middle pickups because the Livewire Classics have exposed pole pieces. We'll see.
I don't see either the Livewires or EMGs replacing my love for vintage pickups and the Duncan Antiquitys in my MIJ Teles and Strats or the Joe Bardens in my old Tele - but the EMG DG20's are pretty darn good after all and are a good choice for a player like me who doesn't use pedals and wants to get Strat-ish tones and Les Paul-ish tones from one guitar and do it without the hum.
From what I understand though, the EMGs are especially suited to guys who DO use a lot of pedals because they're so quiet.
Again: the Strat with the EMG DG20 set doesn't nail the tones of my Strats with the Antiquitys or my Strat with the 78 - but it's close enough to have a lot of fun playing and to be getting all those tones ( sort of...) from one guitar.
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