Is anyone here experienced with EMG?

[CarlosG]

Hi!
I've come to bother you again with my questions and my adventures with pickups.

I'm building another pickguard for my Strat and I'd like to give EMG a chance.
From the comparison demos on YouTube they seem to have a much more open sound and don't have the resonance peak like the passive ones, especially the SA graph shows them to be totally flat.
I only have experience with an 81 under the bridge, it sounds great for thrash metal, but it is very dry, I preferred the thickness of the JB.
Compared to JB, 85 sounds good and that's where I was thinking about it.
Is there also a volume drop with the HSS in EMG pickups?
Some opinions:
I was talking to a guy about SA and he said they were very dynamic.
I have also heard opinions that positions 2 and 4 sound bad with SA, SA and it is better to put S in the middle.
On the other hand, I'm concerned about the 85 model's high compression and higher volume.
That's why I considered the 89XR. Sound similar to 85x (with less compresion in theory, so lower volume, and bettter balance with hss?) and I can split on 2 position with middle pickup.
I was also considering the 58 model, but I heard that they are susceptible to interference, but I don't know if that's a myth.
I was generally thinking about the 89XR, S, SA or 89XR, S, 89XR.
Will this be a universal set?
Can I get the Strat sound from position 2 (humbucker split with middle single coil) like in Whitesnake's "Is This Love"? With my JB and FS-1 in the middle, I can achieve that sound.
With JB, using a treble bleed cap only with a logarithmic potentiometer, I can clean the signal from high gain to clean.
I know that active ones don't need treble bleed, but I wonder if I'll be able to clean the tone as well as with passives?
Can I create an HSH setup (89xr S 89xr) with autosplit in positions 2 and 4, and manually on the switch or push-pull to create SSS? I've often done this with passives, but I have no experience with actives.
Best Regards.

 

[CarlosG]

On the other hand, I'm not sure if the 89R option wouldn't be better. It seems like the 85x sounds thin compared to the 85, and the 85 has more beef and body.
Why 89R, supposedly it's an 85 and an SA in one, except that the R version has a working SA coil closer to the neck (it turns out the 89 version had it closer to the bridge).

 

[Coma]

I have the 89 and what I think is SA/SA in one of my superstrats. No volume drops between either one, or with the 89 in split mode (or not enough that I've taken note anyway). I don't really ever play that guitar clean, but if you want me to record some clips for you I could do that. Then you can put them in a DAW and run them through whatever amp sim you've got or even reamp them if you've got the gear for it.

Also, the 89R is for the neck position. I don't think you want to go 89XR - S - 89XR for an HSH setup, you'd want the regular 89 or 89X in the bridge.

 

[uOpt]

EMGs are plentiful on the used market. I recommend you get one of each and sell what you don't like later.