EMG hatred

[vividox]

And never, ever put ketchup on a steak.

 

[Low Baller]

I wasn't into emgs but I tried an agile (first agile I ever played) that had emgs. I gotta say it sounded good I was playing it through an orange amp. I prefer Duncan's and passive for guitar but I won't go saying emgs suck because they don't and never have. Guitars, pick ups, and any music gear is just a tool some people can get their sound out of emgs and others prefer another tool to get their tone.

lets take building houses as an example. Let's say the house is our song and our pick ups are just a set of tools to build the house. Some people use makita, some Milwaukee, you may get a guy using a rock and nails. So let's say all three guys build three perfect amazing houses same in quality. Would you not buy a house because the guy who built this perfect house did it with a rock and nails or you don't like makita products so that house is out of the question. No at the end of the day it doesn't matter what we use to get our finished product because it's only the finished product that matters.

 

[RustInPeace]

The one thing I really dont understand is why some passive players who hate on emgs because "they are so compressed", who themselves run their trendy bk pups into a compressor and an OD...

 

[Anant Naag]

I know people who run 1 compressor, heavy gain , 2 noise suppressors.
Then they buy bareknuckles, because these pickups have character.

 

[JohnIce]

The one thing I really dont understand is why some passive players who hate on emgs because "they are so compressed", who themselves run their trendy bk pups into a compressor and an OD...

I know people who run 1 compressor, heavy gain , 2 noise suppressors.
Then they buy bareknuckles, because these pickups have character.

Most of these djentheads use digital processors, they record DI, they are constantly upgrading firmwares and reworking their tones, it's in their very nature not to commit to a sound, and that includes wanting a pickup that gives options. To play devil's advocate, I'd rather have a neutral guitar that I can play anything on through the appropriate gear, than a guitar pre-programmed for only a heavy rhythm tone. If compressors and overdrives make your metal rhythm tone the way you want it, that doesn't mean you'd use them for a blues tone as well. I hated my Hellraiser for being so bad at damn near any genre besides metal.

 

[Jaxcharvel]

I know people who run 1 compressor, heavy gain , 2 noise suppressors.
Then they buy bareknuckles, because these pickups have character.

The compressor part I get, but unless you choke the .... out of your signal with the gates they don't do a whole lot the change the dynamics of your pickups. And even if you dime your gain you can still tell a difference in the sound of different pups. Personally I don't like that much gain, because to me it sounds like ...., but different pups will give you different flavors of .....

 

[A-Branger]

I have a set of the HET set on my LTD eclipse and I love them. I first try a EC-1000 vs LTD Iron Cross on my local shop and I liked the HET set better both on the bridge with distorsion and cleans on the neck.

In fact it was the cleans on the neck that sold me on those over the 81-60 combo.

I know a lot of ppl complain about the lack of dynamics on them, but I think thats why I like them lol..... I got two guitars my LTD and a ibanez iceman with Dimarzio Evolution on it. When I play cleans I LOVE the EMGs, all the arpegios notes I play sounds. with the dimarzio is bit too dynamic, not only I have a massive drop in sound, but I have to pay more attention to my picking hand to be sure Im picking every note with the same intensity. With the EMG I feel is way easier, plus my clean sound level is closer to my distorsion one...... I know is prob me for my "lack" of guitar playing skillz, but I like that.

Now on the distorsion I love them, and love how easy is to get harmonics, but every time I go back to my Ibanez Im like it sounds cleaner and not that muddy anymore. I know the Evos tend to be really bright, so maybe is my fault I dont have my amp/pedals settup for optimal EMG performance?

 

[A-Branger]

also I ahve always have this question and not sure if its been answer here but:

Why EMG pups for 7 strings are in a soapbar config?????

6 strings are normal shape pups, but then 7 strings are that bick ugly block? I know in the past EMG almost ruled the world of pups for factory 7 string guitars and they could do whatever they want, no need to follow "tradition", but never knew the why.

Is it because it borrowed from bass pups?

Or they are trying to mimic the physical space of a normal pup with the mounting ring?

Nothing trows me off of a 7 string guitar quicker than the soapbar block shape pups

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

Is it because it borrowed from bass pups?

Rumor is that the EMG 707, EMG's first 7-string pickup, was a modded EMG DC bass pickup. I think this was confirmed somewheres.

But they stuck with the soapbar size for the longest time mostly likely because it was cheaper than R&D for a new pickup size, and a lot of guitars at the time were only equipped with EMG 7-strings.

But now since most people are using passives in their 7-strings, EMG started offering the new sized humbuckers. I assume manufacturers still use the regular soapbars because they're cheaper to mass-produce and buy in bulk.

 

[RevelGTR]

I think a lot of the "too compressed" people are mostly just repeating what they've read. I don't know about you guys, but especially when recording I run through a tube screamer (limiting your dynamics) into a high gain amp (already somewhat limited dynamics) and then further compress the guitar tracks in my daw, AND compress everything on the master bus. At that point, the "over compressed" sound of EMG's is considerably less apparent and in many cases is an advantage.

Conversely, I love the Aftermaths in my FR6UC, but they can be a bitch to record. I end up with a really dry, overly midrangey sound that I have to compensate for down the line.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

Their Bass pickups are top notch too, even some of their passives, like the Geezer Butler set, just wish they were available as a full "J" set.

 

[RustInPeace]

I have a set of the HET set on my LTD eclipse and I love them. I first try a EC-1000 vs LTD Iron Cross on my local shop and I liked the HET set better both on the bridge with distorsion and cleans on the neck.

In fact it was the cleans on the neck that sold me on those over the 81-60 combo.

I used to have a Mark V, and the Het Set neck into the fat clean channel was AMAZING

 

[crankyrayhanky]

As a music fan, I seem to like a lot of guitar players who use them, but as a player they fizz out my ears at moderate volume levels, something in the eq? I can play at almost any level volume with a few different BKs with no issues; thus I "hate" EMG

 

[Jaxcharvel]

I think a lot of the "too compressed" people are mostly just repeating what they've read. I don't know about you guys, but especially when recording I run through a tube screamer (limiting your dynamics) into a high gain amp (already somewhat limited dynamics) and then further compress the guitar tracks in my daw, AND compress everything on the master bus. At that point, the "over compressed" sound of EMG's is considerably less apparent and in many cases is an advantage.

Conversely, I love the Aftermaths in my FR6UC, but they can be a bitch to record. I end up with a really dry, overly midrangey sound that I have to compensate for down the line.

That's the thing, EMG's (or most actives in general) record very, very well for that exact reason. The only issue is, for me, they only do well for heavy music. With light gain they sound very flaccid. They're like the Peavey 5150 of pickups; they don't do much very well, but what they excel at, they really excel at.

 

[Science_Penguin]

That's the thing, EMG's (or most actives in general) record very, very well for that exact reason. The only issue is, for me, they only do well for heavy music. With light gain they sound very flaccid. They're like the Peavey 5150 of pickups; they don't do much very well, but what they excel at, they really excel at.

They seem to do well with the extremities- they do well with high gain, AND when you clean them up, they're pretty clear.

 

[Jaxcharvel]

They seem to do well with the extremities- they do well with high gain, AND when you clean them up, they're pretty clear.

Indeed. So in retrospect they're slightly more versatile than a 5150. They're an Engl Fireball.

 

[Anant Naag]

I have no problems with compressed tones, for playing stuff like behemoth and belphegor, they were superb. I use passives because I love being able to get very different tones using just changes in pick attack and left hand pressure.

That being said, great read here.

USING A COMPRESSOR TO COMPRESS A COMPRESSED INSTRUMENT BEING COMPRESSED WITH COMPRESSION AFTER ITS BEEN COMPRESSED - Welcome to Sound Instruction

I have nothing against compressors, sometimes I use them myself. But using super high gain + compressor + noise gain + emg's etc.
You might as well as play through a midi instrument with the velcoty sensitivity turned off.

Mind you my rant is for a very particular case, lot of people use emg's and other actives musically too.

 

[Bloodshredder]

I have no problems with compressed tones, for playing stuff like behemoth and belphegor, they were superb.

Exactly. They have their place and they are great for achieving specific tones.

When I was more into modern sounds, i found them to be perfect. Now that I have to cover a wider range of sounds, I started changing out the whole rig and it sounds better with passive PU's.

on a sidenote, I liked the EMG-X series a bit better than the normal ones. Now, after switching back to passive, I think that the X's come a bit closer to the passives.

 

[frahmans]

David Gilmour's played emg back when he was still using the red strat and still made it sound dynamic. So emg can do more than metal. Granted he was using emg SA.

 

[MattThePenguin]

I hate the way they respond to my playing, but Ben Weinman's guitar tones are seriously top notch and he uses 85/81. I just don't think I'll find a pickup that will respond the way a Dimarzio Dominion does... the perfect amount of everything