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.

 

[CarlosG]

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.

There is no volume drop also in the humbucker option (without split) when do you switch to singles?
89 with r has active coil closer to the neck, so in bridge should sound better. All humbuckers on bridge has active coil closer to the neck.
I would like the active single coil to be closer to the neck in both cases.
And yes, I would love to have some raw recordings, both clean for each pickup and some riffs on the bridge and solos on the neck.
It would be great if you could also compare the 2 position, with the humbucker split and normal. I love this position on my guitar for playing cleans.

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

Not in my country, actually. But I can buy a few new ones and try them out.

 

[Coma]

89 with r has active coil closer to the neck, so in bridge should sound better. All humbuckers on bridge has active coil closer to the neck.

I think you've got that wrong, mate. A quick look at EMG documentation says that for the standard 89, when you're running it in split mode, the active coil is the stacked one, which is closest to the bridge.

Either way, I just realised my EMG loaded guitar is actually tuned to C standard, so it isn't going to sound exactly like it would with brand new strings and in E standard. Let me know if you still want those clips and I'll record them for you.

 

[CarlosG]

I think you've got that wrong, mate. A quick look at EMG documentation says that for the standard 89, when you're running it in split mode, the active coil is the stacked one, which is closest to the bridge.

Either way, I just realised my EMG loaded guitar is actually tuned to C standard, so it isn't going to sound exactly like it would with brand new strings and in E standard. Let me know if you still want those clips and I'll record them for you.

Yea, you say about 89, split mode activate coil closest to the bridge. Standard humbuckers (like SD) split activate coil closer to the neck. So I want 89R (or XR) which split activates the coil closer to the neck.
Don't bother, I don't think I'll have a reference in C (lower tuning, thicker strings), but thanks for your willingness to help.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

I've always thought the JB has a somewhat EMG 85-ish kinda vibe. It's mid-focused, it's chunky, but rather than having a deep low-end, its chunk lies more in the low-mids. It's also very mid-focused, hot, and silghtly compressed.

That being said, the 85 has a more exaggerated "active" voicing, of course. Meaning it's even hotter, and it has less going on down low and up high, even than the JB. I would also say the 85's balance is slightly different than the JB. The 85 comes off as more of a punchy thick pickup rather than cutting like the JB. In that sense, the JB is almost like a passive take on elements of the 81 and 85 mixed together.

The EMG 89 is not exactly dead-on 85. The 89 is slightly leaner and less hot than the 85 in full humbucker mode. That being said, it's not worse. It's actually a bit cleaner and clearer, if you want that. Less of a sledgehammer, and more refined, but still closer to the 85 than to anything else.

Consider also the EMG 57. It's also more Alnico-like than the 81. It's tighter, and brighter/clearer than the 85, but it's still fuller and more open than the 81.

In general, though, ALL of the EMG classic series share a similar voicing in the sense that they're all very focused. Some of them have more lows and highs compared to each other, but ALL of them are less "wide" than even the most mid-focused passives like the JB.

Another recommendation if you're considering active EMG's is to look at the Fishman Modern Alnico in the bridge or even the Classics. Voice 1 of the Modern Alnico is kind of an in-between the EMG 85 and the 57, and Voice 2 of the Classic Bridge is like a hotter yet clearer JB.

 

[uOpt]

It is obviously false that EMGs have no resonance peak. I don't know how they made that graph.