New Love for EMG Active

steadystate

steadystate

Fractal Fanatic
I've used Duncan Custom Custom pickups for years. I've tried EMG actives in the past, and thought they sounded flat and lifeless.

Well, I just bought a Schecter with an EMG and discovered that the 81 model, while horrible-sounding on its own (to my ears), takes to the PEQ block extremely well. It's lack of pronounced resonant peaks and balanced response (which makes it sound bland IMO) is the very thing that allows effective manipulation with PEQ. I can cut and boost wherever I want to create a wide variety of high-quality raw pickup tones from vintage to modern.

Straight into an amp, I'd have no hope with the EMG. But the PEQ block makes it sound amazing.
 
I am having the same experience. I was given a guitar that has EMGs. My first thought was that I was going to swap out the pups.

Never happened. I'm getting about any sound I want out of them. Especially since I swapped out the neck pickup with an Emg single coil. The single coil was the first pickup they ever built, so that kind of threw out the new improved model theory in my book.

Never thought I'd be an EMG guy. Axefx and EMGs play well together.
 
I'm a real fan of the EMGs that came in my Luke guitars. In fact I prefer the sound over the new LIII which has Dimarzio's, which are pretty awesome sounding too, but the vibe is totally different. The single coil EMGs are SA57s (Luke 1) and SLVs (Luke II). And the humbucker is and 85. I have tried standard SAs and the SPC control, but didn't really like them.
 
EMGs certainly eliminate that noise problem, for sure. And, they definitely don't sound bad. They also offer a lot more models now. Coil tap for me is an absolute must though.

I only used them for many years. I have since become accustom to the noise issues (even though I do still hate dealing with it), but EMGs certainly make things easier.

I still debate over whether or not to go back. One pair of Throbaks could buy 2 or 3 sets of EMGs! lol

Lace Alumitones are good too.
 
i love the 57/66 and het set emg's, they are killer pickups. That said i also use DiMarzio's, Duncan's and Bareknuckles and dig them all.
 
EMG81s have always been my favorite! I know how to make them work for me! I also like a bunch of other pickups, what better excuse to own multiple guitars!
 
I'm a huge fan of the 85, all my show guitars have 85-85 in them.
I also run on 24V witch give me a lot more headroom. not so much more output but the high voltage give them dynamic.
 
When I got my ESP Evertune it came with an EMG 60 & 81. I didn't like them at first. But I started noticing the power and clarity and now they are what I measure my other guitars to. Very versatile especially thru an Axe.
 
I'm an EMG fan and have them installed in multiple guitars. I play in drop B and find EMGs tighter than most passives. They have a character of their own and are quite balanced sounding - I have also found they work well with PEQ shaping.

If you look at the online manuals for EMG active tone controls (eg SPC, EXG, RPC etc) they show a frequency graph of what the control does. Then you can tailor it to suit your needs in a PEQ block.

I like to run my EMGs in 9v with no tone pot.
 
I used 81 and 85 set for years, but now I've switched to the 66/57 set. Really nice tones. Has all the benefit of the active pickups, but reacts more like passive. No noise, really easy to roll off the volume and the hotness of the active section goes away.
 
guitarfishbay said:
I'm an EMG fan and have them installed in multiple guitars. I play in drop B and find EMGs tighter than most passives. They have a character of their own and are quite balanced sounding - I have also found they work well with PEQ shaping.

If you look at the online manuals for EMG active tone controls (eg SPC, EXG, RPC etc) they show a frequency graph of what the control does. Then you can tailor it to suit your needs in a PEQ block.

I like to run my EMGs in 9v with no tone pot.
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Can you tell me what exactly changing without tone controls?
 
The more I play through the EMG 81, the more I like it.

I find that the separation between strings is amazing. Plenty of gain with no audible distortion, no matter how hard I whack the strings, even with a single 9 volt battery. Very balanced. Very quiet.

When I tried the guitar at Guitar Center, I really liked it; until I plugged it in. I liked the tone of a Fender Squire more than this Schecter. So I figured I'd change the pickup after purchase. But as soon as I plugged it in the Axe and used the PEQ block, I knew I had a winner. I also like the solderless connectors.

As an aside: I first tried it through a couple of Line 6 amps (Spiders). I couldn't get a decent tone with any guitar I tried. These amps are awful to my ears. Seriously, how does Line 6 sell these things? The attack is mud and the tone is one-dimensional.

Then I tried a Blackstar valve amp for the first time. I was impressed. I felt as if I was playing through the Axe II :)
 
I'm also anot old 81 user. Now I have the 57/66. They're amazing. Quickly becoming my favorite pickup set.
 
Been a Schecter/EMG guy since ~08. Before that I was using an 81 in my old Kramer Pacer Imperial back when I was doing the live scene in the 80's/90's, so I've been an EMG fan for a *long* time. The improvements they've made over the years are fantastic, and I agree on the coil tap being a "must have" (for me).

The 707TW's in my Hellraiser C7FR's sound fantastic through every amp or modeler I have, and 81TW/89R setup in my C1FR are what got me hooked on Schecters with EMG's to begin with. That said, the Schecter USA SuperCharger Mach-7 in my Banshee Elite has me really digging passives again too.

GuitarWallTopRow.jpg
 
The guitar on the far left is gorgeous. I bought a Diamond series C1-FR S Platinum. This Schecter is a bit "metal" for my tastes aesthetically. I don't like the metallic silver binding around the entire instrument (I prefer unbound), the non-traditional position inlays, the string tree, locking nut, satin silver hardware, and pointy headstock. But for functionality, it was the best suited for me of all the guitars in Guitar Center, and I only use it for recording at home. For me, it's like dating a chick who uses lots of makeup and hairspray and wears spandex and spiked jewelry, but is GREAT in the sack, is an excellent cook, and never needs to be taken out in public. Take THAT PC humor police.
 
steadystate said:
The guitar on the far left is gorgeous.
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That's the Banshee Elite 7FR/S, the latest addition to the line up. The white one 4th from the left is the Hellraiser C1FR and was my reintroduction to Schecter in '08.

Makeup, hairspray, and spandex...what dreams are made of. Girls that wore it better than me in the 80's were major targets on my radar. =)
 
EJ James said:
That's the Banshee Elite 7FR/S, the latest addition to the line up. The white one 4th from the left is the Hellraiser C1FR and was my reintroduction to Schecter in '08.

Makeup, hairspray, and spandex...what dreams are made of. Girls that wore it better than me in the 80's were major targets on my radar. =)
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Those Banshee Elites w/ sustaniac interest me! Too bad they come only in natural color.
 
EJ James said:
That's the Banshee Elite 7FR/S, the latest addition to the line up. The white one 4th from the left is the Hellraiser C1FR and was my reintroduction to Schecter in '08.

Makeup, hairspray, and spandex...what dreams are made of. Girls that wore it better than me in the 80's were major targets on my radar. =)
Click to expand...

LOL! I like 'em with no makeup, no perfume, and natural hairstyle. Amazing how tastes in women translate to guitars.
 
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