Some will say because they are quiet, others will say because of the output, others because they play metal.......i use them for two reasons.....the first and most important reason is that i prefer the eq (of the emg85) better than any other pickup i have tried(active or passive). They also seem to offer more sustain......i know that sustain is based on the guitar and not on the pickup but when i replaced the JB with the emg85 im my strat the notes seemed to sustain longer.......