Anyone Keep Going Back To EMG?

[gnoll]

Well, I tend to go for a Marshall style tone, which I don't think has much bass usually. Furthermore, I think the 81 is a double edged sword for EMG, and has done as much damage to their brand as it has good. The notion that EMGs are sterile, lifeless, only good for metal, etc. is because of the 81 and how people set them up in guitars (ie, as close to the strings as possible), and set up used (ie, tube screamer into a metal amp).

I don't think the EMG 81 itself is to blame at all.

I think there's a lot of reasons behind peoples' negative views of EMGs.

EMGs have been around for a long time, they've been very popular, and they're very different to passive pickups. They're not old and original enough to be cool like a vintage PAF, and they're not new and interesting enough to be cool like Fishman Fluence or whatever new thing the kids have moved on to. It makes perfect sense that people hate on them.

 

[Spaced Out Ace]

I don't think the EMG 81 itself is to blame at all.

I think there's a lot of reasons behind peoples' negative views of EMGs.

EMGs have been around for a long time, they've been very popular, and they're very different to passive pickups. They're not old and original enough to be cool like a vintage PAF, and they're not new and interesting enough to be cool like Fishman Fluence or whatever new thing the kids have moved on to. It makes perfect sense that people hate on them.

Yeah it is, but whatever.

 

[c7spheres]

Still want to try an 85-7 in bridge sometime. Compared to 707 it makes sense for heavy stuff because it's got a limited dynamic range and closer coils so makes sense if primarily a heavy player. I don't think there's a 6 string version of a 707 though.

 

[gnoll]

Yeah it is, but whatever.

No sorry that makes no sense at all. EMG 81 was a total slam dunk, and hardly something EMG should regret or feel bad about in the slightest.

 

[Spaced Out Ace]

No sorry that makes no sense at all. EMG 81 was a total slam dunk, and hardly something EMG should regret or feel bad about in the slightest.

And just as it was a slam dunk for some, it was also the reason others dislike EMGs. You do realize what the phrase "double edged sword" means, right?

Tone isn't one size fits all, or even most.

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

The 81 is The Last Jedi of pickups. A lot of people love it, but a lot of people hate it.


But it still made Disney a shit ton of money.

 

[Spaced Out Ace]

The 81 is The Last Jedi of pickups. A lot of people love it, but a lot of people hate it.


But it still made Disney a shit ton of money.

Fair comparison.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

Eh, if folks actually hated the 81 as much as niche online guitar communities let on it wouldn't be so popular and widely used.

The fact that the minority enthusiast community can be divided on it is fairly telling.

If you went on other enthusiast forums you'd swear that everyone hates automatic transmissions, no one eats McDonald's, and the team who hasn't won a title in a century is the best franchise.

I've worked retail, 81s and ZW sets fly off the shelves. Folks happily buy $3k+ guitars loaded with them with no intention of swapping them.

It's a pickup. Some will dig it, some won't. But everyone will let you know about it.

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

Also back to the 81X/85X set, yeah these are definitely lower output. I'm not sure if it's because the guitar itself is quiet, because the stock pickups were as well, but this is pretty much my lowest-output guitar, even with the EMGs.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

Also back to the 81X/85X set, yeah these are definitely lower output. I'm not sure if it's because the guitar itself is quiet, because the stock pickups were as well, but this is pretty much my lowest-output guitar, even with the EMGs.

The X preamp is not as bright. It definitely subdues the sharper pickups like the 81.

I tend to use X series in the neck and/or middle, but the bridge is always "original".

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

The X preamp is not as bright. It definitely subdues the sharper pickups like the 81.

I always thought the X-series pickups were brighter. I'm probably gonna do some pickup swaps tomorrow.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

I always thought the X-series pickups were brighter. I'm probably gonna do some pickup swaps tomorrow.

The upper mids come through more.

 

[Spaced Out Ace]

Eh, if folks actually hated the 81 as much as niche online guitar communities let on it wouldn't be so popular and widely used.

The fact that the minority enthusiast community can be divided on it is fairly telling.

If you went on other enthusiast forums you'd swear that everyone hates automatic transmissions, no one eats McDonald's, and the team who hasn't won a title in a century is the best franchise.

I've worked retail, 81s and ZW sets fly off the shelves. Folks happily buy $3k+ guitars loaded with them with no intention of swapping them.

It's a pickup. Some will dig it, some won't. But everyone will let you know about it.

I'm saying the reason EMGs are disliked, as a whole, has a lot to do with the 81, the tip to "put the pickup as close as possible to the string," etc.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

I'm saying the reason EMGs are disliked, as a whole, has a lot to do with the 81, the tip to "put the pickup as close as possible to the string," etc.

I think it has more to due with folks not understanding how pickups or preamps work. It just so happens that most folks first experience with anything other than vanilla passives is the 81. It's not that pickup's fault really, and I think the characterization that the 81 has somehow hurt EMG as a company is wrong given how popular it actually is outside of small, vocal contingents on enthusiast forums.

Which isn't to say it's a perfect pickup that everyone should love. It is what it is.

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

Okay so yeah, swapped the 81X in my superhawk for a standard 81.

Standard 81 is tighter, brighter, and higher output. More chug friendly and matches the output of my other guitars now. Staying in there for good.

 

[lewis]

Okay so yeah, swapped the 81X in my superhawk for a standard 81.

Standard 81 is tighter, brighter, and higher output. More chug friendly and matches the output of my other guitars now. Staying in there for good.

Yeah the x series always sounded like a weaker version of whatever model it is.

Also is 18volt standard versions even remotely comparable to the X series?
Isnt that what its supposed to be copying?

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

Thats pretty much what it sounded like. The EMG 81 but everything toned down. I will say I like the 85X over the standard 85. That extra high-end sparkle helps a lot.

And no, it's definitely not the same. The 18v mod is more subtle. The 81X is a huuuuge difference over the 81.

 

[Science_Penguin]

Yeah the x series always sounded like a weaker version of whatever model it is.

Also is 18volt standard versions even remotely comparable to the X series?
Isnt that what its supposed to be copying?

Eh... "Weaker" in that it doesn't have as consistent of an attack. Easily remedied by harder picking, in my experience.

 

[gnoll]

Eh... "Weaker" in that it doesn't have as consistent of an attack. Easily remedied by harder picking, in my experience.

But that kind of requires your picking to be weak to begin with, doesn't it?

Say that you do pick harder with 81x. Well, what if you pick that hard with 81? Pick even harder still with 81x? What if you do THAT with 81?

Either way you pick, they're gonna sound different.

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

Eh... "Weaker" in that it doesn't have as consistent of an attack. Easily remedied by harder picking, in my experience.

Nah, I already pick aggressively. If I picked any harder, my tuning would be fucked. It's definitely more smoother voiced, and doesn't let out the aggression the standard 81 has. There's more to the sound than just less compression.