EMGs vs Blackouts

T

TheAbomb12

New member
After reading many reviews on the Blackout in comparison to EMGs (on harmony central); it seems to me that most people like both pickups about the same, despite their differences.


I guess this question is too the people who have tried both pickups...


What do YOU THINK are the better pickups; and if you could only choose one; Why would someone chose EMGs over Blackouts? And Vice Versa....
 
Re: EMGs vs Blackouts

Well not a lot of people have tried 'em both, being that Blackouts are still relatively new...but I know somebody on this forum had like 6 guitars with EMG 85/81's and he replaced them all with Blackouts after trying them in one of his guitars...for what it's worth, your mileage may vary, and all that.
 
Re: EMGs vs Blackouts

That must have been me. I've used a EMG 81/60 for years and never thought I would replace them with anything else. I was wrong!

By comparison, the Blackouts sound thicker, fuller with a crunchy distortion character as opposed to the EMG's which were thinner with a fuzzy distortion character. As far as distortion tones go, the Blackouts sound MUCh better. They have more gain but ironically, also have more clarity and are quieter. The most awesome surprise was the fact that with the Blackouts, I can actually hear the wood tone come through just like with passives which was something that was always lacking somewhat with the EMG's (the greatest surprise indeed). My Les Pauls and Strats now sound like themselves and not like each other.

The EMG-60 is still my favorite of all for clean tones but the bridge position Blackouts in the neck sound almost identical to the 60 anyway so I'm happy. I use the bridge position Blackout in both the neck and bridge and I've never been happier. I have absolutely no reason to ever go back to the EMG 81/60 combo again.
 
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Re: EMGs vs Blackouts

Man, you're really stretching things there.

I've had completely different axes both loaded with the same EMG's... and what do you know? They both sounded different.

Saying that EMG's make a Les Paul and a Strat sound the same is ridiculous! How much is Duncan paying you?
 
Re: EMGs vs Blackouts

Haha, not a dime, dude. That was a stretch but I still stand on the fact that EMG's tend to sound more similar between different guitars than say, passive pups. You've admitted this yourself in past post.

The point is that the Blackouts really are as good as people say they are. I couldn't care less what anybody else is using, I just think the Blackouts are much better.
 
Re: EMGs vs Blackouts

Thank you, Darth Nihilus. An armored car will pulling up in front of your house later today and the two driver-guards will be delivering many bags of stacks of $100 bills plus a '59 'Burst, courtesy of your friends at Seymour Duncan...



.... NOT!!!
 
Re: EMGs vs Blackouts

Thing is... EMGs were amongst the first. They realized their pickups sold, so they haven't changed the design. Duncan have been able to analyze their pickups, see what worked and didn't, and entirely improve it, or even design some completely different preamp as has been said by Evan. Based on that I'd actually be surprised if the Blackouts weren't quieter, or with more dynamics :D
 
Re: EMGs vs Blackouts

Evan Skopp said:
Thank you, Darth Nihilus. An armored car will pulling up in front of your house later today and the two driver-guards will be delivering many bags of stacks of $100 bills plus a '59 'Burst, courtesy of your friends at Seymour Duncan...



.... NOT!!!
Click to expand...

Haha, so close to that '59 'Burst! Oh well, I'll just have to go back to band practice and fire up my Blackouts instead. All around, not a bad thing at all ;)
 
Re: EMGs vs Blackouts

Pierre said:
Thing is... EMGs were amongst the first. They realized their pickups sold, so they haven't changed the design. Duncan have been able to analyze their pickups, see what worked and didn't, and entirely improve it, or even design some completely different preamp as has been said by Evan. Based on that I'd actually be surprised if the Blackouts weren't quieter, or with more dynamics :D
Click to expand...


That's pretty much it, Pierre. It's like the ADAT. Lots of great records were cut on ADATs, and they are still great units and they sound good. If you put a studio together with ADATs today, you could cut some nice tracks. They're not the latest technology now that we have high spec DAW's, plug-ins, and converters, but to act as though they're total crap is dishonest. I mean, I don't have one, and I'm sure I never will, but so what? I used them in the early 90's, and they were fine at the time. The Blackouts are quiter, and they have more dynamics. I feel they allow more of the guitar and player's nuance through to the amp.
 
Re: EMGs vs Blackouts

Cool. I think since I'm new to active pickups, and that most people consider the Blackouts to be an Improvement (especially to dynamics); I will be getting a set of Blackouts as soon as I get the cash...

Only question now is which guitar to put it in :D

Ibanez RG370DX
Ibanez RGT42DXFM
 
Re: EMGs vs Blackouts

I got a question about actives in general...


My Guitars have 5 way switches-- do I need a 3 way switch for actives? If I used a 5 way switch, would there just be a dead signal on some positions?
 
Re: EMGs vs Blackouts

Are your guitars H-H configs with a 5-way? If so, you can "rig" it to work, but it's just as easy to place an order for a 3-way when you order the blackouts, especially if you order from a dealer on the board.

If you rig it, you end up with:
B
B+N
N
B+N
B
or the opposite.

If they're H-S-H, just get a Livewire Classic Strat for the middle.
 
Re: EMGs vs Blackouts

Just curious, can one make it so that its:

B
B+N
B+N
B+N
N

instead?

MY main problem with my Strat's 5-way is that while playing I can easily go from bridge to neck but I'm never sure if the position I am is the notch I was aiming at or the middle. I find this easier; you slap it up, neck. Slap it down, bridge. Slap it roughly at the middle, both.
 
Re: EMGs vs Blackouts

I think 99% direct (I believe Seymour Duncan doesn't use the quick connect system EMG does...)
 
Re: EMGs vs Blackouts

KeeperOS said:
I believe Seymour Duncan doesn't use the quick connect system EMG does...
Click to expand...
Contrary to Internet rumors, if you have a the EMG Quick Connect system in your guitar, you can dis-connect your EMGs and plug your Blackouts in to the Quick Connect.
 
Re: EMGs vs Blackouts

KeeperOS said:
Just curious, can one make it so that its:

B
B+N
B+N
B+N
N

instead?

MY main problem with my Strat's 5-way is that while playing I can easily go from bridge to neck but I'm never sure if the position I am is the notch I was aiming at or the middle. I find this easier; you slap it up, neck. Slap it down, bridge. Slap it roughly at the middle, both.
Click to expand...

Yes, if your switch has two sides(either 7 or 8 lugs). You want the neck and bridge pickups connected like normal one one side of the switch. You also want the neck connected where the middle would go on one side, and the bridge connected in the middle on the other side. That way you have both for all three center positions.
 
Re: EMGs vs Blackouts

could you explain that again, I really don't understand. Or if you have time could you make a simple diagram of what you mean?


I'm new at wiring pickups, so you have to excuse me...
 
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