Emgs vs Duncans

[Metalman_666]

Re: Emgs vs Duncans

well then i cant decide its kinda both ways here, duncans or EMG;s and i was plannin on buying them this week, so, uhh maybe i shudda did a poll haha,
Like i said, i got those UBER High output pups on my charvel, and i find it way too fuzzy for my liking, i like the distortion, but you just never get anywhere close to clean, and i dont got a TUBE amp either,

i think i will be picking up some pups on friday... so i need to kno if some things
-WHats bad about the EMg 81/60 humbuckers
-Shud i get the 85's as that one dude said?
-Why would passives be a good choice if i bought those
-Which would sound better for my taste in music... (metallica still)

hey charvel, how's it hangin?

Anyway, to answer your questions....
-Personally I don't think there are any downsides to that combo (81/60). I think the cleans from the 60 are amazing, and the 81 isnt half bad either!
-You might like the 85, because it's a little more versatile, but if you like metallica, you can go 81 and still get nice tone from those pups.
-Passives take the guitar's wood and such into mind more, and CAN sound better depending on the choices you make
-I say GO FOR THE EMG'S MAN! If you want metal tones, get them

That's my opinion on the subject. Go EMG, and you can always sell them if you don't like them, but I think you will

 

[Metalman_666]

Re: Emgs vs Duncans

hetfield has the 81760 set in the eet fuk explorer and the neck has a really beautifull clean sound .. but they tend to sound the same everywhere.. depends on what you do with the signal too though..

While I agree with your first point (EMG cleans are beautiful in that guitar *drools*) I disagree that they sound the same everywhere. It's not going to be the same tone if you run them through a pedal, or through the amp's distortion. And another thing for Charvel, give the 18 volt mod a shot with those EMG's. It'll surprise you.

 

[joelap]

Re: Emgs vs Duncans

Charvel, I'm in the planning stage of building a guitar and I've decided on EMG's. If you have the money to spend on them, go for it. I have a Distortion/Jazz combo in my Ibanez and although it sounds great and I love its tone, I don't think you'll be satisfied with the distortion as a Metallica-sound. If you want a Metallica sound, get the pickups they use (if you have the money). Plain and simple, you'll be perfectly happy with the EMG's... unless of course you expect Jesus himself to come through the pickups. In that case, you might be a little let down...

My final answer - go for the EMG's if you can afford it. If not, I'd give the Dimebucker a whirl.

Now, the tough part is deciding between an 81 or an 85 for the bridge pickup!

 

[Charvel]

Re: Emgs vs Duncans

EMGS!!!!! im buying friday i hope I shud get professional, installation too right, and all i need is the pick ups installed no other stuff like switches right??( MODEL A CHARVEL)

 

[jeremy]

Re: Emgs vs Duncans

right now you have a pair of metal live wires? a classic in the neck is a much more versitle choice. the metal pair would be like using two 81's on an 18v system.
personally i like the 85 and 60 more than the 81 which is very hot in a narrow frequency range

 

[papersoul]

Re: Emgs vs Duncans

Go 85/60(Alnico model) and you won't be sorry. Huge fat signal! The 85 is warm and harmonically rich, plus I think it definitely lets the wood of the guitar shine through. EMGs are very transprent and have sounded way different in every guitar just like passives. They are more flat in their frequency response where as with passives you have so many EQ curves and you better like the tone of your guitar as is because it will come right through the EMGs. I have played thin sounding guitars with EMGs....and yep...still thin sounding. I've played fat and alive sounding guitars....and yep....still fat with the EMGs. Very versatile. They do not sound the same in every guitar. No two ways about it.

The 85 can be addicting because it is so CLEAR and PUNCHY.

I emailed a guy who wrote a tutorial on the 18v mod and he said it is not as noticable on guitars as it is on bass guitars.

Check these clips....all EMG.
http://thesamhillband.com/

 

[Davey]

Re: Emgs vs Duncans

While I agree with your first point (EMG cleans are beautiful in that guitar *drools*) I disagree that they sound the same everywhere. It's not going to be the same tone if you run them through a pedal, or through the amp's distortion. And another thing for Charvel, give the 18 volt mod a shot with those EMG's. It'll surprise you.

with that i ment they tend to sound the same in every guitar, no matter how it's made. i said it depends what you do with the signal though =)

 

[Charvel]

Re: Emgs vs Duncans

So pretty much all of you say the 85's s0 shud i go with them?? even tho i could get the 81's which is my bands pickups lol???

 

[Charvel]

Re: Emgs vs Duncans

How bout this, a EMG 85 for a neck, and a 81 for a bridge??? cuz then i got both of them

 

[some_dude]

Re: Emgs vs Duncans

I'm installing an 85/81 set, just waiting for them to arrive.

 

[FiendN]

Re: Emgs vs Duncans

Guys, I can't believe what I'm hearing!! I mean, like 15 years ago when I was in high school I was into metal and the like, so I am not putting your taste in music down (although I PROMISE you if you stick with guitar your tastes WILL change as you get older). BUT EVEN METAL has clean guitars on a somewaht regular basis. You mean to tell me that you would totally sell out the natural sound of your guitar just to go for that ONE hot tone??? What really kills me is that there are sooooo many good p'ups out there that do both well enough. DiMarzio's TONE ZONE is GREAT cranked up and not terrible clean (when split, that is). When I was playing for a living I chose the TONE ZONE because it cut through the mix and was versatile enough to cop all the top 40 stuff that i was forced to play (unfortunately for us Jazz guys there aint much money in our kinda groove, so if you want to eat you have to do the club scene, or at least here in philly you do :{ ). When playing the heavier rock cover gigs I often thought how much I would like that pickup if I were a metal head. In addition to the TONE ZONE, I hear the JB is very similar and if anything better. But from what I understand the JB does better in a mahogany/basswood or set-neck than it does in an alder/ ash bolt-neck. And with either of these p'ups you have the option of actually playing clean! Remember, even the big metal ballad has clean guitars in it. In fact I would say that at least 50% of metallica's songs have some clean in there.

Let me turn you guys on to some cool tunes...
Say you like agressive music? I did too. About 12 years ago my friend, who I thought was a total "jazz geek", was trying to get me into more complex, melodic music. Knowing that I liked distorted guitars and funky beats etc, he let me borrow a couple of Mahavishnu Orchestra and Return to Forever records. One listen to "The Inner Mounting FLame" by Mahavishnu and I was hooked for life!!! I had just never heard anything like "The dance of Maya" or "Vital transformation" or "Meeting of the Spirits". That was the record that sparked me into opening my mind to different styles of music. No single event has had more positive impact on my playing than realizing that there was more to music than just different kinds of rock/ metal.

Had I persisted down my narrow-minded course I'm sure that today I would still be pretty much the same 4 scale knowin'-bar chord playin'-harmonic pinchin'- pentatonic lovin'- power chord maniac that I was 12 years ago.

Another thing... I was also soooooooooo into gear back then. I knew every single piece of gear of all types that was available. i spent all my time looking through catalogs or in music stores or gossipin' about gear or whatever. I should have been spending that time PLAYING!!! I'm sure that there are many objections, so don't anyone take offence, but I get the feeling that for many of you guys here are a lot more into gear than you are into playing!!!

See, you can BUY your way to sharp gear and great sound, but you cant buy skills. Those take years of passionate and persistent practice and study. YES I SAID "STUDY"!!! Another thing is that before that I thought I was to good to take a lesson or to open up a book and learn some theory. I was really afraid to learn new things because I was afraid to fail. i was afraid that this Identity that I had invented of myself as a great guitar player would be shattered.

It was shattered, but it was the best thing that eveer happened to me musically or otherwise!!

Sorry for the looong rant, but this was the soundest and most influential piece of advice I've ever heard. If just one person reads this and because of it picks up one record that he wouldn't have otherwise then this was worth it for me.

 

[papersoul]

Re: Emgs vs Duncans

FiendN,

Good stuff bro. I am also in Philly and would love to see you guys play. Let me know.

I love all types of music and will look into some of those pieces you had mentioned.

Also, I understand your thoughts on EMGs and the JB, etc. I personally started using the Rio grande BBQ because to me it is a perfect marriage of the JB and C-5 and does clean to mean, blues to metal.

I also have to defend EMGs a little. They are very transparent and do allow the guitar to shine through at least to my ears. They are designed to be very transparent and fairly even in EQ. I have had them in a few guitars back in the day and I definitely heard the difference between guitars. The 85/60 is actually a very versatile combo for clean, jazz, blues, metal and you name it.

I know a local small shop owner who swears by EMGs and he is the one who has been pushing me to use EMGs. He happens to be a Jazz/blues/folk player.

That said, I am very happy with my current Rio pickups.

 

[Kokopelli]

Re: Emgs vs Duncans

I agreed with Fiendn - I too spent a lot of $$$ and wished I hadn't. It's not the "specific" Pup or equipment. It's just basic rules and skills. The following are the 2 rules I came up with after thousands of dollars were spent needlessly.

1) Nothing beats the clean vintage-type pups sound IMHO. I've been telling the kiddies when they ask for advice to stick with the Paf-type and let the amps and effects do their jobs to get a heavier sound.

2) For the metal-heads, just go for something that's mids heavy to cut through the mix (but not too bassy because it can get muddy and sloppy in a hurry if you're not careful).

Just my 2 cents.

 

[StringSlinger77]

Re: Emgs vs Duncans

Try a Lawrence 500XL in the bridge. It can do anything. As far as EMG's go I think it's stupid to say that they are only good for metal. The 81's and 85's can do cleans if you control your volume. Both of these pickups are very versatile you just have to work to pull the different tones out of em. I also have a Seymour Duncan 59/Distortion combo and think that they rock too. It's all about your ears. Don't ask other people what they would put in their guitars just try different combos out for yourself. I think the duncans are more versatile for other styles but if you want a metal sound the EMG's have more balls. As stated previously I would just get one axe with EMGs and one with Duncans then you wont have to make a decision. I don't think one brand is better overall but, each one has an area where it excels. Just my 2 cents.


Keep it Metal

 

[papersoul]

Re: Emgs vs Duncans

I think the EMG 85 is extremely versatile, warm, thick, and yes...does good clean!