Passive aggression

JB_From_Hell

JB_From_Hell

Jomo's Nimions
I’m back to a high gain amp, a shreddy guitar, and looking for better aggressive tones. It’s been awhile since I really embraced that, and my tastes have changed a lot since I was “Invader and all the gain!!!”

I’m playing an LTD M-1000, maple neck thru, alder body, Floyd, and a pair of EMG 81s. I still love the 81s, but my metal tone is now more chunk than fizz, and a lot more mids than I used to like.

In a trade, I just got a Fender Mustang III v2 1x12, and really like the Dual Recto tone. I don’t care whether it’s active or passive, but I’d like to get back a bit of dynamics. I’m thinking either an EMG 57 for the bridge, a pair of DiMarzio D Activators, Duncan Black Winters, Fluence... something I haven’t done to death. I’d like to try the Blackouts, but all reports seem to be they’re hotter than 81s.

Tonewise, some sort of more modern version of Pantera crossed with Slayer is what I’m after.
 
The Sentient and Nazgul is a great combo, providing you never play clean. If you need any versatility, try the Pegasus, instead.
 
I just replaced an 81/85 set in my LTD EC for a 57/66... honestly, I don't feel the 81 and 57 MASSIVELY different. Neither tone, nor dynamics. Don't get me wrong, I do like the 57 A LOT. It's my favorite EMG in the bridge position (and honestly, my overall favorite bride pickup), but I don't feel it's THAT much more dynamic than the 81. Perhaps a little, but it's also hotter, so whatever dynamics you gain from the wind/magnet are smoothed out by the preamp clipping more.

My point is: If you like EMG's, yeah, the 57 is slightly broader, more open, fatter, more airy, ever-so-slightly less compressed, and just overall a bit (subjectively, of course) better. But it still sounds like an EMG. So if you like EMG's, yeah, you get my recommendation. If you want to move away from them, try something else. The EMG 85 in the bridge is fatter and more different from the 81 than the 57, IMO. I guess you could try 18V modding the 57 or the 85 in the bridge, though. Then, they'd sound more different from the 81.

I love the Black Winters as far as passives. They are my favorite passives. Think of the bridge pickups as the best elements of the Distortion (bold, tight, and grindy) and the JB (nice high-mid cut), and then some. They've got plenty of output (more than any other passive I've tried, but I can't say I've tried the Invader or the X2N), but are not overly compressed. The neck pickup is warm, smooth, and powerful, and it splits beautifully.

Blackouts... mehh. I have only tried the standard original bridge Blackout (AHB-1B), but it wasn't my thing. It's hotter than the standard EMG's, but the preamp has got more headroom, so it's definitely less compressed. They've got about as much headroom as 18V-modded EMG's, but the AHB-1B is also significantly hotter (probably around the same level as an 18V-modded EMG JH-B, just very different-sounding). I didn't find it all that tight, though. It had a pretty significant low-end and low-mid boost. Too much, for my taste. EQ-wise, I think it resembles the 85 more than the 81, just with more fizz thrown up top and deeper (and less controlled) bottom-end. The Black Winter Bridge is tighter.

I also think the DiMarzio Dominion is worth taking a look at. It's the tightest-sounding passive I've tried. It's not overly hot or compressed either. It's not harsh, but it does have some top-end rasp. The mids are a bit more vocal than the JB. I mean, it has more core mids than high mids, but it doesn't have the JB's spongy low mids. Low-end... they're about the same (the JB and the Dominion), but not having the stuffiness of the JB, the Dominion tracks a lot tighter.
 
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Black Winters, all the way. They are very versatile, and the Winter bridge, as Rex said, combines the best elements of the Distortion and the JB. They also split beautifully.
 
The Sentient is pretty good clean too. Maybe a tad hot, but that's what the vol pot is for. Though I'd agree that the Black Winter neck is far superior for cleans and the Nazgul is NOT for cleans. But as a set I'd vouch for the Nazgul/Sentient in a heartbeat. Actually, I even enjoyed the Senteient with a JB!
 
JB_From_Hell said:
Tonewise, some sort of more modern version of Pantera crossed with Slayer is what I’m after.
Click to expand...

You're replacing the EMG81 which is a staple for that kind of music with something that is more "modern".

The EMG 57tw I have in my M1000 is versatile, and more open than any HOT pickup I've tried. I wouldn't say it was geared towards metal, in fact its just a well rounded pickup. They say its like a hot "PAF", but I just don't hear that. I hear lots of mids with an open alnico top end and more output and clarity than any hot pickup I've played. That doesn't make it better, just unique. I would have ripped them out however if I didn't have the TW version with the single coil voice.

If you want a really hot pickup with a nice top, try the D Activator X with a Super Distortion in the neck, and wire them both to split.

If you equate "modern" with a product released in the last five years,, then I would tell you to listen with your ears and not your eyes.
 
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Top-L said:
You're replacing the EMG81 which is a staple for that kind of music with something that is more "modern".

The EMG 57tw I have in my M1000 is versatile, and more open than any HOT pickup I've tried. I wouldn't say it was geared towards metal, in fact its just a well rounded pickup. They say its like a hot "PAF", but I just don't hear that. I hear lots of mids with an open alnico top end and more output and clarity than any hot pickup I've played. That doesn't make it better, just unique. I would have ripped them out however if I didn't have the TW version with the single coil voice.

If you want a really hot pickup with a nice top, try the D Activator X with a Super Distortion in the neck, and wire them both to split.

If you equate "modern" with a product released in the last five years,, then I would tell you to listen with your ears and not your eyes.
Click to expand...

I think I want to try something else because I’ve been using 81s on and off for over 20 years, with the occasional 85 in the bridge.

Watched a bunch of Pantera videos with my 18 year old earlier, then did some more riffing. I’m thinking I may leave the 81 in the bridge, and try a 60 in the neck.
 
If your gonna stick with active’s the fishman fluence are worth checking out. I found I liked the classic set though much better than the modern for most stuff other than extreme downtuned metal. The classics sound like louder antiquities with better high end detail. Then flip to voicing two and it’s the best JB you’ve ever heard. Take all the JB varieties and mix them together for the best features, and it’s better than that.

I’ve tried the blackouts, blackouts metal, mick Thompson and Gus g sets. They are all huge output, the metal set won’t even play clean in the bridge it’s so high output and has a huge mid spike. They are not for most people.

For passives I have a black winter set in a les Paul. They are more even than a distortion eq wise, instead of that mid spike growl, but even higher output. Just huge sounding but still aggressive. Other options would be bkp black Hawk set. They were made for a better “active” sound.
 
Before moving to (mostly) passives, I had been a die hard EMG 81/85 devotee. On a whim I tried the 57 when it was ‘relatively’ new and found that I much preferred it to the 81 and/or the 85. I totally get Rex Rocker’s point that the 57 it is still unmistakably an EMG. But my experience was more noticeable improvement in string separation and articulation with better overall tonal balance. I see enough 57s and 66s cropping up gently used on Reverb that it may be worth a try since you know you already like what the 81 is doing for you. (I actually have a couple 57s on my parts shelf that I kept after moving to passives ‘just in case’...)
 
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