Choose between EMG 81 and Dimarzio Evolution

[shoemaker27]

Hi, Im going to replace my bridge pickup, I want to know about your opinions !!
My band plays music like staind, nickelback, seether, with powerfull overdriven sounds, wich one is the best choice emg 81 or evolution?

Thanks all, and please post your comments!!!

 

[Shannon]

It all depends if you wanna go with Active or Passive electronics. Mixing the two doesn't wield very good results.

 

[Digital Black]

My vote is always for the passives...In a nutshell, passive pickup , IMO give you more "control" over your sound..

 

[No Soul]

Well which one do you like better? Theres no right or wrong answer here.

I own several electric guitars, and only one of them has EMGs. Of all the different pickups Ive had though, I couldnt live without at least 1 guitar loaded with EMGs.

My vote is always for the passives...In a nutshell, passive pickup , IMO give you more "control" over your sound..

How do you figure Sephi? Most folks biggest complaint with EMGs is that they make your sound very sterile, which is becaused its a rather controled sound via the onboard preamp.

It all depends if you wanna go with Active or Passive electronics. Mixing the two doesn't wield very good results.

Thats not true at all.
It depends on how you use them and how they are set up. There is no reason you cant mix the two.

 

[Metal Ken]

in the same guitar? I Dunno, i think thats just foolish. With such a huge difference in output, it'd be crazy.

 

[Revolution777]

I've been told that EMG has ways of making it possible to get both active and passive pups in a guitar without one over-powering the other.
I don't know if it's totally true but that's what I heard.

 

[Drew]

Yeah, they sell a preamp you can add to get your passives up to match your actives... Which sorta defeats the purpose of having passives, doesn't it?

I'll just say that, with the bands you're mentioning, you're probably better off with a passive, as none of those guys use actives (to the best of my knowledge) and use typically mid-high output passives.

Additionally, I'll add that you're probably better off going for something other than an Evo7, as that's a very focused, "screaming" passive that alledgedly sounds a bit like an EMG, and that maybe a Tone Zone 7 would be your best bet, as it's a very raw, thick sounding pickup that works well with slightly scooped "modern" distortion sounds.

What sort of guitar is this going in?

 

[shoemaker27]

Its for an Ibanez 7420, and the music I play with my band is like staind, nickelback, seether, with powerfull overdriven sounds.

thanks for the help!!

 

[Drew]

You know, personally I don't care for the TZ7 in mahogany, but for grinding, low-string riffage, it did pretty much own... in a 2027, that and a Mesa Rocket-44 (think Mark-IV on a budget) was a dead ringer for Godsmack-type stuff...

 

[Shannon]

Thats not true at all.
It depends on how you use them and how they are set up. There is no reason you cant mix the two.

Well, I've tried it & wasn't impressed. That's all I'm saying. Speaking ONLY FOR ME <I guess I have to put in this disclaimer> , I would go with one or the other.

 

[No Soul]

You dont have to buy the booster for the passive pickup to mix the two. Consider that it is popular to have a high output pickup at the bridge and a low output pickup on the neck. Now consider the fact that depending on your pickup you have to adjust the height to adjust for tone and dynamics and what not. Also consider the fact that usually you have to lower your neck pickup a lot more because for one, string vibration is a lot stronger in that area. What Im getting at is that doing a hot active in the bridge and passive in the neck isnt that hard to ballance out. I actually dont prefer it all, but its not much harder to set up than a passive hot pickup in the bridge and a low output passive in the neck.

And I agree with Drew, for the bands you describe, I would consider other pickups.

 

[Drew]

And I agree with Drew, for the bands you describe, I would consider other pickups.

...says a guy who loves EMG's. I feel so validated.

 

[7StringofAblicK]

...says a guy who loves EMG's. I feel so validated.

Drew, if you ever do that face again I'll dub you false...

 

[dpm]

To run EMG and passives on the same guitar you need at least seperate pots, so a 25k vol (& tone) for the EMG and 500k for the passive. You'll then be able to have either pickup on without issues, but not both.
Otherwise you can put the passive through an EMG preamp, such as the PA2 or SPC.
I currently have an 81-7 in the bridge pos of my UV and a Blaze in the neck through an SPC, which lets me boost the mids a bit.
Some pickups sound like shit through the PA2, the Blaze bridge gets an icepick attack because of the lack of capacitance in the circuit. Adding a 300-500pf (off the top of my head) cap in parallel to the hot and earth of the passive would emulate the typical capacitance of a guitars circuit.
So it can be done, I do it, but it's not really ideal. I'm just avoiding buying pickups so I can sink all my money into the 8-string

I have to agree with No Soul and Drew re. pickup choice. You might want to look at more 'classic' sounding pickups for what you want to do, the Evo and 81 are very 'distinctive', for want of a better word.

 

[No Soul]

...says a guy who loves EMG's. I feel so validated.

Ha, well you gotta consider the kinda music I usually play. Im the first to admit that EMGs arent incredibly versatile, but hardcore and death metal dont usually require a wide variety of sounds.

Im actually starting a more just straight up rock oriented band, in which Im picking up a Les Paul for which will probably get loaded up with some really old school alnico pickups.

 

[Drew]

True, I suppose I may have oversimplified a bit...

I don't think I've ever played a seven loaded with EMG's. I doubt they'll really be for me (I love clear sounds, but while EMG's are alledgedly pretty clear, I tend to go for fairly low gain stuff, which would be tough), but I'm kinda curious.

-D

 

[Donnie]

I use to be a hardcore EMG freak. There was a time when I had 15 guitars all loaded with EMGs. All the way from 707s to SAs(or whatever the singles are). I even did the unthinkable and put EMGs in my Jem.(You wouldn't believe the scolding I got for that F-ing Jem purists )A couple of years ago I bought an RG1527 and didn't want to route it for the 707s so I just bought a Blaze Custom for it and my perception changed. Even the EMG in my 9 string is starting to piss me off but I can't find a passive pickup that'll work in it.