Opinions / Thoughts about EMG pickups?

Muzick

Muzick

Experienced
Hey everyone,

I purchased my first American Strat Deluxe about 4 years ago.... freaking love this guitar.

fender strat.jpg


I took it in for a tune up yesterday. I've got to get some fret work done. So I pulled out my backup strat which has 3 EMG pickups in it. Honestly I never used it too much since I received it as a gift. Last night I used it at practice. Holy crap! I could notice a huge difference in the clarity of the distorition... in a positive way. The cleans didn't sound much different to me... and I'm sure with a bit of tweaking in the axe, I could get the 'bell' tone I like so much back.

Since my #1 is in the shop I thought I'd have the tech transfer the EMG's over. What are you guys' opinion on this? Any downsides to emg's vs single coil pickups?

Thanks for the help!
 
No downside, just a matter of taste.

EMGs tend to polarize opinions, no-one disputes that they are quality pickups, but the tone does engender a love/hate aspect.

I can't even make up my mind, I go through phases where I just adore the tone, and other times when I can't stand it.
 
EMG's are quality built pickups, but I've removed them from a couple guitars i had with them, don't like the sound of EMG's but that's just my opinion/taste, lot's of people like them, replaced them with WCR pickups and i'm really happy..if you like the sound then they're right for you, they're not noisy, and have a clear sound, just not pleasing to my ears.
 
I generally like them. The only odd ones in my opinion are the 707tw. They're the ones I have a love/hate relationship with. I like the 81-60 combo that my EC-1000 has.
 
I used a 60 in the bridge and an 81 in the neck for 10 years. I loved them, but wanted something more flexible, so I went to alumitones.

Nothing wrong with emg's. Just isn't who I am anymore.
 
I adore them in my ESP LTD (81/85). They are great for distortion, but they've also got a very rich, full tone on clean. I was surprised by it, in fact. I bought it mainly for rocking out, but I tried it out at church where I do Fender twin crystal clean sounds. It works great.

I'm not sure i'd do them in a strat. At least not the 81/85. I'm a fan of sticking with three pickups in a strat -- maybe just because of aesthetics and tradition. I do know EMG makes strat sized versions, but I don't know much about them. Though Jim Root from Slipknot/Stone Sour has both a signature strat and tele with the 81/60 pair in them. I haven't tried it out, but reviews on MF are positive.
 
I would agree with what has already been stated that it's a matter of what you like and want out of your guitar. I used to use them back in the 80's but for flexibility reasons I went back to passive pups. Active pickups tend to invoke their own sonic foot print on the guitar. So one could load say an 81 into a baseball bat and it would sound pretty much the same as if it were in your favorite guitar.
 
Sounds like YOU already them so you've answered the most important question yourself. One thing to remember to keep a spare battery and screwdriver handy if you play out.

Why don't you keep them in the backup strat and you'll have both options available?
 
a friend plays a luke with EMGs in it, it sounds nice, sits in the mix well in a live setting, but a bit compressed, which for me is a bit tiring if your going to hear it all night, i'd rather have passives. (i dont use compression though except on a very few select patches so ymmv) :)
 
I'm generally not a fan of EMG's.
The humbuckers tend to distort too quickly and sound compressed.
The single coils sound unlike a single coil, esp post 2 & 4 on a strat.

The exception to this is the Tele neck pickup, which is excellent.
The Tele bridge pickup is the polar opposite of this though and imho pretty unusable for anything you would use a Tele bridge pickup for.

This is just IMHO with regards to my own playing.
Other people seem to do better with them and I don't mind recording people using them, esp if re-amping the tracks.
 
Since using EMG's for many years, I find nearly all passive pickups sound really bad to me. I think EMG's are the best pickups I've ever heard / used, and to be fair, I have no idea where all the negativity about EMG's comes from, they are just fabulous sounding, super quiet, and trouble free. I'd recommend them wholeheartedly to anyone. I always think, if I ever buy another guitar with passive pickups in, eventually they'll get replaced with EMG's.
 
Ive played tons of pickups and i think emgs soubd tgd most neutral. Sime kike that. I dont lol
 
Sixstring said:
I would agree with what has already been stated that it's a matter of what you like and want out of your guitar. I used to use them back in the 80's but for flexibility reasons I went back to passive pups. Active pickups tend to invoke their own sonic foot print on the guitar. So one could load say an 81 into a baseball bat and it would sound pretty much the same as if it were in your favorite guitar.
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Agreed. I put the exact same pickups in a '71 LP Goldtop, 2001 Custom Horizon ESP, and an LTD Viper Baritone, and they all sounded basically the same. Don't get me wrong, they sounded GOOD. Pretty sure you could take any guitar, slap some EMG's in it, and it would sound pretty damned good.
 
Sidivan said:
Agreed. I put the exact same pickups in a '71 LP Goldtop, 2001 Custom Horizon ESP, and an LTD Viper Baritone, and they all sounded basically the same. Don't get me wrong, they sounded GOOD. Pretty sure you could take any guitar, slap some EMG's in it, and it would sound pretty damned good.
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Oh yeah if it's the sound and tone your looking for they are great, I'm not dog'n EMG's by any means just stating a fact with some of the active pickups on the market. They worked great for that 80's grind that was ever so popular.
 
What style are you playing?

I ask, because that will really be the deciding factor in whether you like them or not. EMGs are typically very nice for smooth creamy leads, but the stock single coils would have a chime, twang and a bite in them that may be what you like about them in the first place. EMG's won't do that for you.

If you play heavy music/metal/anything with lots of distortion, EMG's may be better for you. If you're playing milder stuff, eg country, blues, rock etc, you might find that you might prefer the stock pickups or some other nice single coils.

YMWV IMHO etc etc
 
I think after using them for a spell you'll come to a conclusion for yourself. That's how I think it is in general with anything, "new and exciting". If there is a bit of hype attached to it, it'll wear off and the bias will be a lot more neutral. I've tried them many times in many other guitars and don't care for them for some of the reasons others have mentioned here. They are quality PU's. Just not my flavor. And that's all it is... flavor.

I swing from the other end of the spectrum where I love lower output PU's, (humbucking and single coil) and let the woods of the guitar and amp make me work the tone and dynamics out. For me if the wood and all it attributes to the tonal character and sustainability aren't there, then I won't own the guitar long... or at all.

If you dig them, you dig them... and that's all that really matters in the end. :D
 
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All pickups invoke a 'sonic footprint'... why else would there be hundreds of different kinds available... from mass produced to expensive boutique. EMG's don't 'obscure' a guitars natural tone, or an amp's character more than any other.

Personally, I think the whole 'hand-wound-in-a-dark-cellar-by-magic-elves-while-snorting-pixie-dust' thing is a bunch of nonsense for the most part.
 
I've been on and off EMGs for many years (and in many different guitars). They are quality pickups, no doubt about it. The thing I don't like about them, is that they tend to make every guitar sound very similar to any other guitar equipped with (the same) EMGs.
Every pickup has a character, but I feel that the preamp the EMGs use, is "colouring" too much everything... The result is that a 300$ guitar with EMGs will sound (almost) the same with a 4000$ guitar with the same EMGs. This is something that is not so "evident" when using passive quality pickups (as always YMMV etc). With passive pus, I tend to hear more of the "guitar" (and the differences between guitars with the same passive pus) and so every guitar tend to have its own character (even guitars with the same pickups).
As for the single coil EMGs, they are very quiet, very versatile (when combined with the extra set of boosts e.g. David Gilmour set which I use in my MIM Strat) and the have a nice sound. But that's it. They are a bit too flat for my taste... As if they have no "character"?
I think that the best application for them, is for live use (no noise, will have no problem going through multiple stomp boxes etc) and especially for someone who would like to be able to change guitars on-stage but keep the same feel and "colour" from every guitar being used (just install in all guitars EMGs and you're there).
 
meh, I have the emg 81,85 in my epi LP and i was expecting so much more. Not a bad pickup but nothing special to my ears. I'll take a nice medium to high output dimarzio/seymour duncan any day. To my ears passives seem to have a more dynamic sound where the active emgs i have seem very neutral which i guess is good for metal which im not that into anymore.
 
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