Pickups that track low end notes better/sound better when playing fast?

[BigViolin]

Drop D = Dominion
Drop C and lower = Titan

 

[diagrammatiks]

Is the titan tighter and drier then the aftermath?

 

[efiltsohg]

EMGs are sloppy, they lose all percussiveness on palm mutes and become a blurred mess, I don't know how you could possibly think they track low end notes better than basically any high output Duncan ever made (exception Dimebucker which is a disaster of a pickup)

 

[Necky379]

The 81 is definitely not the tightest pickup around, the m6 and aftermath are FARRRR tighter and faster in their bass response.

I have zero experience with lundgren pickups. I’m reading posts in this thread that contradict my opinion, maybe I’m wrong. I stand by what I said based off what I have heard. I don’t see how anything can be tighter while not being completely neutered than an 81. Pair it with an 808 version and you have the sound the op is looking for.

 

[Necky379]

EMGs are sloppy, they lose all percussiveness on palm mutes and become a blurred mess, I don't know how you could possibly think they track low end notes better than basically any high output Duncan ever made (exception Dimebucker which is a disaster of a pickup)

No they don’t

 

[diagrammatiks]

I haven't played the aftermath but certainly agree with the M6. Funny how some folks will never accept a passive being tighter than an 81. Theres a wakjob on one of the other forums that stalks the place waiting for any reference to the 81 as not being the tightest thing ever and goes so far to claim that its physically impossible for anything to be tighter and he's ready to fight about it.

For my uses something like a titan or dominion is plenty fast and tight for downtuned metal.

Plenty of wakjobs on every forum.

 

[lewis]

Sometimes i think peoples technique and or their rig has a huge difference over their opinions on pickups.

Through my Kemper and my AX8 tuned drop G# and with a low F for some songs, no other pickup gets close to an 81. Chugs sound huge and clarity is just fine on chords. Like what un earth are peoples technique if you are getting an un tight blurry emg that tracks slower than passives? Haha

Seems crazy to me. My Nazgul duncan pickup was a piece of hot garbage in comparison and my new Fluence moderns dont feel as tight or track as fast either as EMGs do. Blackhawks give a great djent twang and are clear but they dont track as fast and chugs arent anywhere near as brutal than an 81.

Also i do alot of fast tap work in and out of rhythms and again EMG win here. Anything single note pops way way better with them. Sustain is also better and they are noiseless.

The tonality of an EMG may not be for everyone but this witch hunt against them is now getting pathetic.

I played a show recently where i was asked backstage by a tour support bands guitarist if "those were moderns" to which they were. When i went on to explain they are good but overrated and im normally an EMG guy he grimaced and lost interest in the convo.
Yet i had a better rig than him, i was a better guitarist than him and our overall live sound was better than theirs....

So if the people who genuinely hate on EMGs rather than accept they are fine but just tonally not their cup of tea, are people like this, then you have to wonder how accurate is their opinion honestly?

Everyone on here jumped on Lace for "Tightness" and "clarity".
1 year later and no one uses them now.
You know why? Because they were weird pickups that everyone bummed because they were the new thing.

I bought a Deathbar/X bar set for my 8 string and gigged with it. It sounded awful espcially live. Another set of pickups that i would have EMGs over that everyone on here claimed were better

Edit: to add, you just know if EMG was a brand new company now (like say Horizon devices) and debuted this Namm with the 81x, 57/66, and all their other classics with everything quick connect and being able to advertise they last longer than any other active pickup( incl fishmans do on a battery) how many here would be rushing out to buy them?

Alot of fickle folks

 

[gnoll]

I'd be super interested to see a good comparison of emg 81 vs these passives that get mentioned in terms of tightness. A while back I sort of accepted that emg 81 was the tightest pickup I knew, but maybe there's passives that are tighter, Idk, obv everyone says different. Would be great to know. I'm always interested in tightening up my tone.

 

[KnightBrolaire]

Is the titan tighter and drier then the aftermath?

no but it's relatively close in terms of tightness.

to anyone saying 81+ tubescreamer =tight well no shit, the ts chops a chunk of low end out , which inherently makes the tone even more mid/treble forward.
I've tested 23 pickups (and i'm testing more as we speak) in the same guitar with virtually the same settings/strings/riffs, which allows me to have a better baseline about pickups than most people blindly recommending a pickup. If i can get multiple passives to sound tight through a 30w amp, then they're tight pickups. Pickups are just one aspect of overall sound, and basically impart a fixed eq that needs to be complemented or mitigated depending on what sound you want. For example if you take a less tight pickup like a jb and run it through a mesa mark 3 that's eq'd to mitigate the chubby low end, it'll sound tighter

 

[Lemonbaby]

Is the titan tighter and drier then the aftermath?

IMHO no - I have both in two similar guitars.

 

[Emperoff]

The stupidest tight tone I ever got was when I had Aftermaths on my B7 into channel 3 of my ENGL Sovereign. It wasn't just tight, the attack was EXPLOSIVE. Almost like a kick drum, lol. Too much for me, actually. I get the love but found EMGs 57/66 tight enough and way more versatile than the Aftermaths. Just boring sounding to me.

The 81 is definitely not the tightest pickup around, the m6 and aftermath are FARRRR tighter and faster in their bass response.

Well, people get *too* literal. I meant production pickups.

I get we're in a metal forum and all, but why is everyone so obsessed with tightness? Guitar tone has been getting more and more midrange/low gain/single-coil-ish in the pursuit of clarity in the latest years. Just my opinion but guitars are starting to sound like frogs or ducks instead of guitars.

How I miss the rabid distorted tones of late 90-00 albums. Sigh

 

[lewis]

The stupidest tight tone I ever got was when I had Aftermaths on my B7 into channel 3 of my ENGL Sovereign. It wasn't just tight, the attack was EXPLOSIVE. Almost like a kick drum, lol. Too much for me, actually. I get the love but found EMGs 57/66 tight enough and way more versatile than the Aftermaths. Just boring sounding to me.



Well, people get *too* literal. I meant production pickups.

I get we're in a metal forum and all, but why is everyone so obsessed with tightness? Guitar tone has been getting more and more midrange/low gain/single-coil-ish in the pursuit of clarity in the latest years. Just my opinion but guitars are starting to sound like frogs or ducks instead of guitars.

How I miss the rabid distorted tones of late 90-00 albums. Sigh

That last part is so true hahaha

most big production modern metal albums are quad tracked and 2 of those are normally single coil tones over the top right?

I made this point earlier. Many were bigging up Lace as the MOST clarity and tightness in pickups ever yet fast track to now barely anyone plays them on here anymore. - I wonder why?

 

[KnightBrolaire]

That last part is so true hahaha

most big production modern metal albums are quad tracked and 2 of those are normally single coil tones over the top right?

I made this point earlier. Many were bigging up Lace as the MOST clarity and tightness in pickups ever yet fast track to now barely anyone plays them on here anymore. - I wonder why?

because the alumitones/deathbars that everyone liked around here during the heydays of djent had too many weird sonic quirks to make people accept them.. There's a reason people on here love the black winter, it's because it manages to work well in most situations (like the x-bars/alumitones did) but without the the need for excessive eq'ing (xbar had a huge frequency range iirc).
Their other pickups like the mastodon sig pickups are really great ime. The bigger issue is that Lace, like many other pickup companies either puts out absolute dogshit for clips, or puts out none at all and we're left groping blindly in the dark based off written descriptions as to whether we should drop upwards of 100$ on a pickup.

 

[Grindspine]

The biggest factors to tight tracking of downtuned guitars in my experience are the following.

1. Proper string tension to work with your pick attack and playing style - This varies between players as everyone has different pick attack and playing style, but finding a balance of string tightness to work with how your pick hits the string will help massively.

2. Pickups and pre-gain EQ - EMGs, Aftermaths, Lundgrens, or any pickups that accentuate mid-to-high frequencies and roll back the bass can improve the perceived tightness of your sound. Ceramic magnets vs Alnico with the same wind can feel very different in the bass response. If using passives, even using a bass cut circuit can make a huge difference. Outside of pickups, an overdrive or EQ that can tailor bass frequencies will help.

3. Amplifier EQ settings - Know your amp's EQ and how it relates to the gain section. Something like a Mark V works great with cutting bass on the main EQ (pre-gain), then boosting lower frequencies and cutting mids on the graphic EQ (post-gain). You do not want massive bass hitting your clipping circuits if you are going for a tighter feel.

4. Speakers, cabinets, and impulse responses - Speakers are the final filter for your guitar sound. In my experience, heavier magnet speakers control the cone more tightly. For example, a 35 oz. magnet on a Celestion Creamback does not control the bass as well as the 50 oz. magnet on the Creamback 75. Cabinet construction between sealed, ported, and open back makes a huge difference in bass response as well. As a general rule, sealed cabinets have deeper extension on the lower frequencies at a lower sensitivity while ported cabinets are punchier without the same frequency extension of a sealed cabinet. I would not recommend small magnet speakers in an open back cabinet (or an IR of such) for a tight guitar sound.

 

[lewis]

because the alumitones/deathbars that everyone liked around here during the heydays of djent had too many weird sonic quirks to make people accept them.. There's a reason people on here love the black winter, it's because it manages to work well in most situations (like the x-bars/alumitones did) but without the the need for excessive eq'ing (xbar had a huge frequency range iirc).
Their other pickups like the mastodon sig pickups are really great ime. The bigger issue is that Lace, like many other pickup companies either puts out absolute dogshit for clips, or puts out none at all and we're left groping blindly in the dark based off written descriptions as to whether we should drop upwards of 100$ on a pickup.

But how did they like them yet they have "too many weird sonic quirks"?

I feel like it was just because they were brand new. I.e all aboard the hype train

 

[BananaDemocracy]

Sometimes i think peoples technique and or their rig has a huge difference over their opinions on pickups.

Through my Kemper and my AX8 tuned drop G# and with a low F for some songs, no other pickup gets close to an 81. Chugs sound huge and clarity is just fine on chords. Like what un earth are peoples technique if you are getting an un tight blurry emg that tracks slower than passives? Haha

Seems crazy to me. My Nazgul duncan pickup was a piece of hot garbage in comparison and my new Fluence moderns dont feel as tight or track as fast either as EMGs do. Blackhawks give a great djent twang and are clear but they dont track as fast and chugs arent anywhere near as brutal than an 81.

Also i do alot of fast tap work in and out of rhythms and again EMG win here. Anything single note pops way way better with them. Sustain is also better and they are noiseless.

The tonality of an EMG may not be for everyone but this witch hunt against them is now getting pathetic.

I played a show recently where i was asked backstage by a tour support bands guitarist if "those were moderns" to which they were. When i went on to explain they are good but overrated and im normally an EMG guy he grimaced and lost interest in the convo.
Yet i had a better rig than him, i was a better guitarist than him and our overall live sound was better than theirs....

So if the people who genuinely hate on EMGs rather than accept they are fine but just tonally not their cup of tea, are people like this, then you have to wonder how accurate is their opinion honestly?

Everyone on here jumped on Lace for "Tightness" and "clarity".
1 year later and no one uses them now.
You know why? Because they were weird pickups that everyone bummed because they were the new thing.

I bought a Deathbar/X bar set for my 8 string and gigged with it. It sounded awful espcially live. Another set of pickups that i would have EMGs over that everyone on here claimed were better

Edit: to add, you just know if EMG was a brand new company now (like say Horizon devices) and debuted this Namm with the 81x, 57/66, and all their other classics with everything quick connect and being able to advertise they last longer than any other active pickup( incl fishmans do on a battery) how many here would be rushing out to buy them?

Alot of fickle folks

+1 ... you gotta lot of knowledge in this here post young man!

The most important point you brought up is what I decided to leave out when I replied initially because. At the risk of sounding pretentious, I wanted to mention that half of your tone (or more) comes from your fingering, picking attack, and general technique.

Also dude, I feel like we’re kindred at this point but after the M7, the Lace Alumitones are my favorite, especially as you said for Live!!! Crazy man....

You got + points!! Lol

 

[KnightBrolaire]

But how did they like them yet they have "too many weird sonic quirks"?

I feel like it was just because they were brand new. I.e all aboard the hype train

people liked them for the clarity and because there was basically no reasonably priced 8 string pickup options at the time. Like i mentioned in my other post, the lack of clips led to people buying blindly. a bunch of people (including you) ended up complaining about the perma high end fizz

 

[BigViolin]

Plenty of wakjobs on every forum.

Sure, but some are memorable and represent a deeper sickness within a community. The level of made up butthurt, defensiveness and need for validation from others regarding gear is pretty silly.

Gear is fun and we all hear things differently. It's OK.

 

[lewis]

Sure, but some are memorable and represent a deeper sickness within a community. The level of made up butthurt, defensiveness and need for validation from others regarding gear is pretty silly.

Gear is fun and we all hear things differently. It's OK.

The biggest one for me is when someone buys something, uses it loads claiming it to be amazing, then they try something new and its also good - but suddenly it being good means the previous thing is suddenly shit?

Thats where EMG comes in imo.
Like its ok to like more than one thing at once.
Its as bad as the Ps4 vs Xbox one fan boy war.

Guess what...i own both and avoid said debate whilst enjoying sick games on both haha.

Pickups are the same.
EMGs are suddenly shit just because Fishman released the Fluence Modern line.

Dont get me started on the nonsense Periphery "batteries are for flashlight" argument against EMGs that one of them spouted.
(Especially given how un dynamic their rig was at that time - keeley compressor > Noise Gate > Maxon OD808 > Noise Gate > Engl Amp)
But yeah EMGs are too compressed??

 

[gnoll]

I get we're in a metal forum and all, but why is everyone so obsessed with tightness? Guitar tone has been getting more and more midrange/low gain/single-coil-ish in the pursuit of clarity in the latest years. Just my opinion but guitars are starting to sound like frogs or ducks instead of guitars.

How I miss the rabid distorted tones of late 90-00 albums. Sigh

??

Tightness isn't the same thing as midrange or low gain or "single-coil-ishness", so I don't really understand your post. I don't like very middy guitars but I like tightness.

Everybody is different and we all play different types of music. I play fast music in C# where I need my tone to be tight for everything to not sound like mush. And I also happen to just like the sound of tight guitar tones.