Oh Dear, I think I like EMG's :(

[Empty Pockets]

Re: Oh Dear, I think I like EMG's

i've heard some amazing recorded tones with EMG81's but have never been able to make one sound good personally.

don't quit Duncans until you've tried the Custom Custom. Sweetest pickup ever.

 

[Boy_Narf]

Re: Oh Dear, I think I like EMG's

thanx... so what would go good with an H4 in the bridge??? one of those H4A's? im pretty much looking for the 85's passive equivalent.

 

[Oudy]

Re: Oh Dear, I think I like EMG's

the 85 would be the H4A and the 81 would be the H4 afaik


dont be afraid to love emgs, i have a set in my jackson and duncans in my bc rich and gibson, they're amazing pickups for what they do.

 

[Johtosotku]

Re: Oh Dear, I think I like EMG's

I really like the active emgs as well, especially the 89, not that the 81 doesn't have it's place. They have a cool sound of their own, but I sometimes tire of it. I wouldn't have all of my guitars active or passive.

Why was it that you wanted to go passive instead of trying the active ones?

 

[Oudy]

Re: Oh Dear, I think I like EMG's

I really like the active emgs as well, especially the 89, not that the 81 doesn't have it's place. They have a cool sound of their own, but I sometimes tire of it. I wouldn't have all of my guitars active or passive.

Why was it that you wanted to go passive instead of trying the active ones?

he said he didnt have a battery spot on his guitar. neither of my guitars with active pickups have battery things they ust went in the back of the guitar (bc rich rich bich and jackson rhoads).

so OP if you wanna get actives i dont think you shoudl have a problems as long as you odnt mind having a battery in the back of your guitar

 

[Johtosotku]

Re: Oh Dear, I think I like EMG's

he said he didnt have a battery spot on his guitar. neither of my guitars with active pickups have battery things they ust went in the back of the guitar (bc rich rich bich and jackson rhoads).

so OP if you wanna get actives i dont think you shoudl have a problems as long as you odnt mind having a battery in the back of your guitar

You mean the separate battery cavity that some ESPs and such have?

I agree with you, there's no sense to not use actives if that's the only reason. I think that most of the guitars with actives do not have separate places for batteries. They're just fitted in the control cavity and put put somehow. They should fit in most guitars.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Oh Dear, I think I like EMG's

I have an 81/85 set in a Steinberger that I absolutely hate. Those are getting switched for some SDs soon.

 

[Oudy]

Re: Oh Dear, I think I like EMG's

You mean the separate battery cavity that some ESPs and such have?

I agree with you, there's no sense to not use actives if that's the only reason. I think that most of the guitars with actives do not have separate places for batteries. They're just fitted in the control cavity and put put somehow. They should fit in most guitars.

yeah battery cavity is what i meant i as just having a brainfart.

 

[aloha]

Re: Oh Dear, I think I like EMG's

If they sound good...then they sound good.

I've tried some and liked them. I've tried others and hated them.

One question: did you try them through an amp that is equivalent to what you have at home?

It seemed like the amp had a big effect on whether I liked them or not.

 

[shark]

Re: Oh Dear, I think I like EMG's

I kinda have the same problem, I have a emg 81/85 set in my schecter and it really sounds amazing.... although I just can't get rid of the thought that it might even sound better with a DD set in it :scratchch

 

[Boy_Narf]

Re: Oh Dear, I think I like EMG's

ok well here is the main problem i think...

The 1st time I compared EMG's to Duncan's (81 vs JB) the JB kicked ASS! however i was using some crappy peavy trans tube hybrid piece of garbage... Now the second time i tried the same test... i was on a very expensive amp that i thought was cheap ($2000 hiwatt head and cab) so... basically on the full tube amp the EMG's destroyed the ducans, but on the crappy amp the Duncan sounded much better. Currently i have a Traynor YCV40WR with ext cab, so im hoping that since i have a all tube amp some of these tonal characteristics will be transfered to my personal rig... and soon i should be ordering some high gain tubes from eurotubes.com, so that might help a touch...

any thoughts?

 

[uOpt]

Re: Oh Dear, I think I like EMG's

ok well here is the main problem i think...

The 1st time I compared EMG's to Duncan's (81 vs JB) the JB kicked ASS! however i was using some crappy peavy trans tube hybrid piece of garbage... Now the second time i tried the same test... i was on a very expensive amp that i thought was cheap ($2000 hiwatt head and cab) so... basically on the full tube amp the EMG's destroyed the ducans, but on the crappy amp the Duncan sounded much better. Currently i have a Traynor YCV40WR with ext cab, so im hoping that since i have a all tube amp some of these tonal characteristics will be transfered to my personal rig... and soon i should be ordering some high gain tubes from eurotubes.com, so that might help a touch...

any thoughts?

Please re-read my previous comments. What you describe here would happen if one of your amps (or the first effect) has too low impedance and/or if you use potis and tone caps in the guitar that kill the passive pickups.

The JB as the only example for SD doesn't serve well, though

 

[uOpt]

Re: Oh Dear, I think I like EMG's

Oh and make sure you use a high-quality guitar cable. Using microphone cable material between the plugs or cheap stuff kills passive guitars.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Oh Dear, I think I like EMG's

Have your hearing checked by a professional. You'll be back to passives once the medication cures your ear infection.

 

[alashredder]

Re: Oh Dear, I think I like EMG's

ok well here is the main problem i think...

The 1st time I compared EMG's to Duncan's (81 vs JB) the JB kicked ASS! however i was using some crappy peavy trans tube hybrid piece of garbage... Now the second time i tried the same test... i was on a very expensive amp that i thought was cheap ($2000 hiwatt head and cab) so... basically on the full tube amp the EMG's destroyed the ducans, but on the crappy amp the Duncan sounded much better. Currently i have a Traynor YCV40WR with ext cab, so im hoping that since i have a all tube amp some of these tonal characteristics will be transfered to my personal rig... and soon i should be ordering some high gain tubes from eurotubes.com, so that might help a touch...

any thoughts?

Also, every amp may sound different with a combination of different pickups. EMG 81's or any actives for that matter tend to sound better in higher gain tube amps as the distortion sounds much cleaner than the JB, with the gain high. I do find that in regular combo amps and such, the JB did sound better than the EMG, because it had more of a growl and the EMG is just so tight sounding that it didn't sound as aggressive as the JB.

 

[TattooedCarrot]

Re: Oh Dear, I think I like EMG's

oh btw i have a washburn idol... and i was a little worried that if i just left the batteries floating around in the cavity... wouldnt they bash the **** out of all of my electronics??? or is that not a major issue?

Just wrap the battery in a piece of the cushin that EMG ships them in.

 

[theodie]

Re: Oh Dear, I think I like EMG's

It could be MUCH worse. You could like Lace Sensors.

So what, I like the Red, Silver, blue set alot.

 

[Axl H]

Re: Oh Dear, I think I like EMG's

None of that crap Odie, you know that the best pickup in the world is the JB!

 

[Boy_Narf]

Re: Oh Dear, I think I like EMG's

I use planetwaves circutbreaker cables... and also the planet waves make your own cable kit for my pedal board. I was amazed at how much noise these took out of my setup (compated to the generic molded end patchcables) yes so, that shouldent be an issue. I was thinking i wanted to have 1 SD guitar and one EMG, since ill be getting a guitar in a couple of moths with EMG actives in it so... i was goona go with one of each. Not sure if i want both with actives, but perhaps ill take my amp to the same guitar store and test em out on my personal amp...

 

[Boy_Narf]

Re: Oh Dear, I think I like EMG's

so if i run SD passives with 1 meg pots, they should sound alot brighter then my ****ty duncan designed?