ex-250
Riffologist Extraordinaire
i went to GC & sam ash today looking to get a new bridge pickup for my LTD laiho V. the main ones i was looking for were the PATB-1, EMG85, and EMG81. neither store had the PATB-1, and i couldnt justify spending $100 on an 85 if my heart is really set on a PATB-1 (which it is). and as ill explain, the 81 got knocked out of the running.
anyhow it turned out that sam ash had a bunch of guitars with various stock duncans ive never played before. and on top of that, they had a XXX halfstack set up, which is a good indicator of how these would sound through my amp. bear in mind though, mine is a 2x12 combo, with EL34s instead of stock 6L6s. but on to the pickups....
EMG81- i tried 3 guitars with this in the bridge position. the first two i didnt like at all. it had a weird quality in the mids...kind of a gritty sound like (and i hate using generalizations, but this one applies) a wah pushed all the way forward. the first was in a washburn ET idol, second in a washburn X-series. the third was in an LTD EC400. this one sounded a good bit better. had a nice thickness going on, and that quality in the first two that i didnt like wasnt as pronounced at all. both of the others had maple tops (all 3 have mahogany bodies IIRC), so im thinking maple top + EMG81 = bleh. just a guess though. still, based on all of these i determined this isnt what i want in my alder winged maple neckthru ebony board guitar. you get the picture. maybe in an all mahogany guitar later on down the road. oddly, i remembered the 81 sounding a lot better in past experiences with it. kinda weird. i guess theyre really dont sound the same in every guitar as many say.
custom- this was in a washburn silverburst idol. it sounded really good, and in like with what everyone describes it as (PAF on steroids). thick, and with a lot of character. as it turns out, and to be honest i was expecting this fully, the custom with 500k pots through a XXX with 6L6s sounds startlingly similar to my JB with a 300k pot through a XXX with EL34s. both in mahogany guitars. id like to get one of these sometime to see how it sounds through my setup.
dimebucker- i wasnt able to get a real great idea of these because the guitars they were in (dean dime models) had the worst setups ive ever witnessed in my entire life, no joke. the strings were flat against the fretboard for the most part. still, what i could get out of em (generally on the higher up frets) sounded good and chunky, though a bit scooped. itd be nice to try these again with a properly setup guitar.
full shred- holy ****....i didnt see this one coming! it was in that new single-bucker ibanez with the binding on the body, and it sounded fantastic. nobody seems to be talking about this pickup, but it sounded great to me. definately underrated. its on the bright side, but not piercing at all. the treble is overall really pleasing. it had a nice palm muted chunk, and the leads screamed. great clarity too. im definately buying one of these in the somewhat near future. edit- after reading some reviews of it on HC, i remembered one of the things i really liked about it- the vocal/vowel quality of the mids. i didnt like the 81 cause it sounded like a wah all the way forward, but i like this cause it sounds kinda like a wah laying flat in the middle. in a good way.
JB- just for comparison's sake, i figured id see how this was compared to mine. it was in a fender showmaster. basswood body, maple top i think. as expected, it was brighter and a bit looser with 500k pots and 6L6s than my setup. the guitar was inherently brighter to boot (mines in a mahogany explorer). still, it had that JB character i really like and sounded good and crunchy.
i wouldve liked to try some dimarzios, but the higher end ibanez's were all locked up and i didnt feel like getting somebody to take em down for me.
so i had a pretty fun day at the store. if anything, it convinced me of how much i really want a PATB-1 in my V, cause my others options were right there and i didnt go for em. i also definately wanna try a fullshred and custom in my guitars sometime.
anyhow it turned out that sam ash had a bunch of guitars with various stock duncans ive never played before. and on top of that, they had a XXX halfstack set up, which is a good indicator of how these would sound through my amp. bear in mind though, mine is a 2x12 combo, with EL34s instead of stock 6L6s. but on to the pickups....
EMG81- i tried 3 guitars with this in the bridge position. the first two i didnt like at all. it had a weird quality in the mids...kind of a gritty sound like (and i hate using generalizations, but this one applies) a wah pushed all the way forward. the first was in a washburn ET idol, second in a washburn X-series. the third was in an LTD EC400. this one sounded a good bit better. had a nice thickness going on, and that quality in the first two that i didnt like wasnt as pronounced at all. both of the others had maple tops (all 3 have mahogany bodies IIRC), so im thinking maple top + EMG81 = bleh. just a guess though. still, based on all of these i determined this isnt what i want in my alder winged maple neckthru ebony board guitar. you get the picture. maybe in an all mahogany guitar later on down the road. oddly, i remembered the 81 sounding a lot better in past experiences with it. kinda weird. i guess theyre really dont sound the same in every guitar as many say.
custom- this was in a washburn silverburst idol. it sounded really good, and in like with what everyone describes it as (PAF on steroids). thick, and with a lot of character. as it turns out, and to be honest i was expecting this fully, the custom with 500k pots through a XXX with 6L6s sounds startlingly similar to my JB with a 300k pot through a XXX with EL34s. both in mahogany guitars. id like to get one of these sometime to see how it sounds through my setup.
dimebucker- i wasnt able to get a real great idea of these because the guitars they were in (dean dime models) had the worst setups ive ever witnessed in my entire life, no joke. the strings were flat against the fretboard for the most part. still, what i could get out of em (generally on the higher up frets) sounded good and chunky, though a bit scooped. itd be nice to try these again with a properly setup guitar.
full shred- holy ****....i didnt see this one coming! it was in that new single-bucker ibanez with the binding on the body, and it sounded fantastic. nobody seems to be talking about this pickup, but it sounded great to me. definately underrated. its on the bright side, but not piercing at all. the treble is overall really pleasing. it had a nice palm muted chunk, and the leads screamed. great clarity too. im definately buying one of these in the somewhat near future. edit- after reading some reviews of it on HC, i remembered one of the things i really liked about it- the vocal/vowel quality of the mids. i didnt like the 81 cause it sounded like a wah all the way forward, but i like this cause it sounds kinda like a wah laying flat in the middle. in a good way.
JB- just for comparison's sake, i figured id see how this was compared to mine. it was in a fender showmaster. basswood body, maple top i think. as expected, it was brighter and a bit looser with 500k pots and 6L6s than my setup. the guitar was inherently brighter to boot (mines in a mahogany explorer). still, it had that JB character i really like and sounded good and crunchy.
i wouldve liked to try some dimarzios, but the higher end ibanez's were all locked up and i didnt feel like getting somebody to take em down for me.
so i had a pretty fun day at the store. if anything, it convinced me of how much i really want a PATB-1 in my V, cause my others options were right there and i didnt go for em. i also definately wanna try a fullshred and custom in my guitars sometime.
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