Active Bridge Pickup Comparison: EMG 57 vs EMG 81 vs Fluence Modern vs Fluence Devin Townsend

[ThomasVB]

A very long time since I made some YouTube stuff, so I just made this comparison video.

I personally think the difference between EMG and Fishman is that the Fishmans are a little bit more mid scooped. I think it all comes down to personal preference and probably depending on your amp/setup.

Which one do you like the most and do you think the difference in sound is worth the difference in price?

 

[lewis]

A very long time since I made some YouTube stuff, so I just made this comparison video.

I personally think the difference between EMG and Fishman is that the Fishmans are a little bit more mid scooped. I think it all comes down to personal preference and probably depending on your amp/setup.

Which one do you like the most and do you think the difference in sound is worth the difference in price?

The moderns being scooped is bang on

THey do NOT cut live as well as the EMGs. Ive gigged the same venue, using the same guitar, but one show was EMG and one was Fishman Modern.

The EMG 81 sounded loads better.
The moderns are too hifi, scooped, and have a cocked wah voicing

 

[MASS DEFECT]

Eh? Moderns are scooped? They are all mids lol. I mean, can you have a cocked wah voicing if it's scooped. The moderns are hyped in the 650-700ish area. The 81 sounds surgical because it is leaner/flatter in the 650 and you got more bass and slice. The modern is mids and high mids and barely some bass, that's why it can come across as cocked wah sounding.

 

[Necky379]

EMG 81> Fish Devin> EMG 57> Fish Modern to my ears. The Modern sounds like it could be really usable through different settings.

 

[oneblackened]

Not thrilled with the Fluences here. EMG 57>EMG 81>Fishman Devin>Fishman Modern.


The Moderns sound loose and weird as do the Devs but the Devs are way better. The 81 and 57 are more or less tied but the 57 has more going on.

 

[Emperoff]

EMG 57s are awesome.

 

[lewis]

Eh? Moderns are scooped? They are all mids lol. I mean, can you have a cocked wah voicing if it's scooped. The moderns are hyped in the 650-700ish area. The 81 sounds surgical because it is leaner/flatter in the 650 and you got more bass and slice. The modern is mids and high mids and barely some bass, that's why it can come across as cocked wah sounding.

but they dont cut live whatsoever - especially compared to 81s which ive A/Bd live multiple times so regardless of what weird mid frequencies that you can hear with a Modern, they ultimately must be scooped at least compared to an 81 because of the lack of cutting in a live mix.

and yes you can, mids that cut live are around 500hz. Cocked wah mids are way higher than that and get lost in amongst cymbals

 

[MASS DEFECT]

but they dont cut live whatsoever - especially compared to 81s which ive A/Bd live multiple times so regardless of what weird mid frequencies that you can hear with a Modern, they ultimately must be scooped at least compared to an 81 because of the lack of cutting in a live mix.

and yes you can, mids that cut live are around 500hz. Cocked wah mids are way higher than that and get lost in amongst cymbals

I think the raw sound of an 81 is just the perfect EQ. Just has enough bass to fill the mix, the mids are not congested that it is easy to cut or boost, and highs that dont interfere with the other high frequencies in the band. That's why it cuts through easily in most applications.

But yeah, Moderns do have a cocked wah sound. I just prefer Tosins by a mile.

 

[lewis]

I think the raw sound of an 81 is just the perfect EQ. Just has enough bass to fill the mix, the mids are not congested that it is easy to cut or boost, and highs that dont interfere with the other high frequencies in the band. That's why it cuts through easily in most applications.

But yeah, Moderns do have a cocked wah sound. I just prefer Tosins by a mile.

completely agree

also, those Abasi's sound fantastic in demos!!

 

[Emperoff]

BTW, not trying to ruin the party but what is the point of comparing something so subtle like pickups using three different guitars? This is anything but a comparison.

 

[lewis]

BTW, not trying to ruin the party but what is the point of comparing something so subtle like pickups using three different guitars? This is anything but a comparison.

With quick connect it's especially silly to not use same guitar tbh.

 

[ThomasVB]

BTW, not trying to ruin the party but what is the point of comparing something so subtle like pickups using three different guitars? This is anything but a comparison.

Well, because I didn't find it necessary to swap pickups into different guitars.
Have you ever A/B compared the same pickup in a different guitar?
The difference is actually as good as nothing.
I made a video about that in the past.


They do sound a little bit different but that's due to different strings and different pickup height.
I don't believe in this whole 'expensive wood sounds better' kind of thing.

And yes you do hear some difference when I'm playing the cleans, but that's probably because I play a little bit different.

On the other hand you do have a point, there might be small differences, because every guitar also has a little bit more or less space between the bridge and the bridge pickup.

 

[Emperoff]

Well, because I didn't find it necessary to swap pickups into different guitars.
Have you ever A/B compared the same pickup in a different guitar?
The difference is actually as good as nothing.
I made a video about that in the past.


They do sound a little bit different but that's due to different strings and different pickup height.
I don't believe in this whole 'expensive wood sounds better' kind of thing.

And yes you do hear some difference when I'm playing the cleans, but that's probably because I play a little bit different.

On the other hand you do have a point, there might be small differences, because every guitar also has a little bit more or less space between the bridge and the bridge pickup.

@KnightBrolaire might want to have a word with you.

But I can summarize saying that making a pickup comparison with two different guitars is absolutely pointless. And if the difference is (in your own words) as good as nothing, then you're basically comparing your guitars, not your pickups.

 

[Hoss632]

For me it was the devin townsend, emg 57, and the other 2 are just meh for me. Little surprised on the fishman moderns sounding as blah as they did.

 

[BubbleWrap]

The “comparison” did leave a lot to be desired by using different guitars, even guitars built of the same woods can sound different. Try out identical guitars at a shop, whenever comfortable with that scenario, and see for yourself.

I currently have all of these pickups except the moderns, those went straight to Reverb. The DT set are my favorites, they’re really versatile and sound great all around, the 81 is hard to beat for fast metal, but lacks versatility, and the 57 has way more output than I was anticipating and has a pretty bloated low end response compared to the others.

 

[Strobe]

I liked the demo. Depending on who you talk to, using a different guitar is either going to be the most important thing or not important at all. I do not personally think the Fishmans are more mid scooped, but perhaps compared to an EMG, which is almost all mids. The Fishmans still have a mid hump to my ears - the moderns a bit of a cocked wah mid hump in the upper mids. Some hate that, some love that. I like it, but prefer the Tosin set to the modern set as it's more even to my ears.

 

[hensh!n]

Eh? Moderns are scooped? They are all mids lol. I mean, can you have a cocked wah voicing if it's scooped. The moderns are hyped in the 650-700ish area. The 81 sounds surgical because it is leaner/flatter in the 650 and you got more bass and slice. The modern is mids and high mids and barely some bass, that's why it can come across as cocked wah sounding.

I think the Passive Voicing (V2) on the Modern set is slightly scooped.
57's are more compressed with more bass and a slight dip in the mids.
81's are still compressed, lean on the bass with more high-mids and highs.
Dev Set sounds like a slightly higher output and more aggressive 81.

Modern V1 is lean on the bass and has a high-mid thing going on. It's hard to articulate, but it's very controlled and focused in the high-mids and there's a spike (not sure which frequency) that gives it sort of a "coated" sound. V2 doesn't have that high-mid spike, has more bass, but also has a dip in the mids. Also there's much less gain (approx 6dB) between the two voices. But it's really a feel thing more than anything else.

It's difficult to get the nuances of pickups in high-gain type videos because it's more of a feel and response thing that cannot always be accounted for with EQ. EMG's are more flat and compressed overall, so your tone and attack always sounds even (which can be desirable for leads and palm mutes). But if you like more dynamics (variances in pick attack and response), Passives or something like the Fluence Modern Set will serve you better (at least for high-gain).

Another important point of note is listening to the pickups clean you'll likely hear a much more stark contrast in the pickups. I focus more on pickups for dynamics and response, as EQ and output can always be adjusted to match. Guitars (woods, construction, etc.) also will have an effect on the tone of a guitar regardless of the pickup.

Last but not least, in my experience I've found that the Kemper tends to color the tone more as it profiles the guitar in addition to the amp/cab and signal chain. Something like an Axe Fx (or a real amp) will give you a more neutral starting point.

 

[Hoss632]

Went back and listened to this again. Honestly just not the best comparison since this was all different guitars and the modern set was done in a 7 string which will be voiced differently than the 6 string set. That said my initial feel on them is still the same. The Dev townsend set was the best sounding followed by the emg 57. The other 2 are just meh.

 

[Chris Bowsman]

...and the modern set was done in a 7 string which will be voiced differently than the 6 string set.

I asked Frank Falbo about this recently, and he said that with the way Fluence pickups are built, whether it’s a 6, 7, or 8 doesn’t matter, and will sound the same.

If it’s a traditional, cool wrapped around a bobbing pickup, this is 100% the case, though.

 

[Hoss632]

I asked Frank Falbo about this recently, and he said that with the way Fluence pickups are built, whether it’s a 6, 7, or 8 doesn’t matter, and will sound the same.

If it’s a traditional, cool wrapped around a bobbing pickup, this is 100% the case, though.

Ah ok I did not know that. I retract that part of my statement then. Thanks for the heads up.