papersoul
New member
This is a few words on EMGs and actives in general from a guy I know and have been in contact with through email. He is a great guy and very knowledgable....I'd love to hear some feedback from the Duncan board.
"I find passives to be a little "dry" sounding and prone to percussive "spikeyness" if a guitar isn't played very lightly. Passives with a more even frequency response are difficult to come by due to the nature of their design (unless a very weak pickup is used). EMGs have a more even frequency response because they use weaker magnets and coils which aren't wound as much. Some people hear this as "compression" but in reality it's "less inductive spikeyness" they're hearing, not a compression. The pickups just don't make certain frequencies jump out more than others--it's not like they're compressing it though. At higher volumes, the effect is quite amazing--with the more even EQ response, the amp doesn't seem to suffer "woofy lows" or "glassy highs" as easily.
With passives, the resonant frequencies of the guitar and the pickups interact and it can be tricky finding "the right pickup for the guitar". EMGs generally don't have that problem (I imagine that's why there aren't a whole lot of EMG designs). As long as your guitar sounds good, the EMGs should let the guitar sound good. If the guitar isn't that great, then you'll get what people refer to as the "lifeless sound" which they look to passives to cure. Given that passives have that inductive spikeyness, they can make a less lively guitar sound more lively.
The 81 is probably what makes a lot of people think EMGs are overall "not very natural sounding" because it's more aimed at focus and aggression. I want a classic sound, so the 85s are going in. Although they still have high output, they have alnico magnets and a warmer overall sound. I'll probably use the volume turned down somewhat--with EMGs, this results in a naturally lower output compared to when you turn the volume down on passive pickups. And I am going to put in an EMG-RPC to tame the lows and add more "twang" to the highs when I want it."
"I find passives to be a little "dry" sounding and prone to percussive "spikeyness" if a guitar isn't played very lightly. Passives with a more even frequency response are difficult to come by due to the nature of their design (unless a very weak pickup is used). EMGs have a more even frequency response because they use weaker magnets and coils which aren't wound as much. Some people hear this as "compression" but in reality it's "less inductive spikeyness" they're hearing, not a compression. The pickups just don't make certain frequencies jump out more than others--it's not like they're compressing it though. At higher volumes, the effect is quite amazing--with the more even EQ response, the amp doesn't seem to suffer "woofy lows" or "glassy highs" as easily.
With passives, the resonant frequencies of the guitar and the pickups interact and it can be tricky finding "the right pickup for the guitar". EMGs generally don't have that problem (I imagine that's why there aren't a whole lot of EMG designs). As long as your guitar sounds good, the EMGs should let the guitar sound good. If the guitar isn't that great, then you'll get what people refer to as the "lifeless sound" which they look to passives to cure. Given that passives have that inductive spikeyness, they can make a less lively guitar sound more lively.
The 81 is probably what makes a lot of people think EMGs are overall "not very natural sounding" because it's more aimed at focus and aggression. I want a classic sound, so the 85s are going in. Although they still have high output, they have alnico magnets and a warmer overall sound. I'll probably use the volume turned down somewhat--with EMGs, this results in a naturally lower output compared to when you turn the volume down on passive pickups. And I am going to put in an EMG-RPC to tame the lows and add more "twang" to the highs when I want it."
