:oilpit: Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 Ok I've been reading forums and watch youtube videos and hear people talk about EMGs. They constantly jabber on about how to get a good clean tone, and I think EMGs sound fine clean, not the best but not bad by any means. the problem is they sound like sh*t distorted The problem with your scooped mid, battery powered, overpriced "pickups" isn't the clean tone (although that probably sucks as well through your monster high gain Line 6)........it's the dirty tone!!!! Do any of you guys use EMGs, and if so WHY?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dynadude Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 It seems you've already made up your mind, so why bother asking? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
:oilpit: Posted December 31, 2008 Author Share Posted December 31, 2008 No the reason I ask and the reason I look them up online is because I truly don't understand why anyone would put them in a gutiar... It was a serious question... You have a studio with them and you have other guitars with passive pups, do you really like the sound of the EMGs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlekenny Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 yeah, I dont really like them either. The problem I have with them is that they all sound the same, it takes your actual guitar(wood, construction etc.) out of the equation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nolongermike@gibson Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 I'm not an EMG guy for electrics, but I swear by my EMG Amp Jack system installed in my Gibson SJ200 acoustic. Its an amazingly good acoustic pickup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninety1vee Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 i hate all active pickups. EMG makes nice passives, but active=no bueno and stale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiamondJig Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 I like my EMG's when I go thru my pedal board, esp moduation pedals, they seem to produce a better sound when all the pedals are a cook'n. They also record very well, they give a nice base to work with. Try running 2 9volts in series staight into an amp, plenty of overdrive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichCI Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 they sound like sh*t distorted EMGs aren't my cup of bourbon either, but I love this sound. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiW7kraoLVg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rybass Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 To each his own OP. Have you set down and tried them through as many setups as possible? I know youtube has some hi def recordings and I'm sure you play them through high quality speakers and a pretty powerful sound card but I don't think it can substitue using your own ears and an open mind. Funny how musicians can have so much animosity towards each other just based on the gear we use. I had a hb set in a strat a few years ago and I really loved them. I played into a 60's bassman blackface into a marshall 2x12. Used a ts for overdrive and some weird 90's japanese pedal for heavy distortion. I felt like it covered the gammut of sounds I was looking for at the time. I liked the sterility of the sound. I liked that they were quiet as hell. I liked that they never really pushed the bassman and stayed clean. It fit what I was doing at the time very well. And they always recorded well; no surprises. I've since moved on to a dirtier sound so I prefer alnico pups but if the money comes around I'll have another emg strat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichCI Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 I hear ya with the Bassman, rybass. Some 20 years ago, my rig was a silverface Bassman into a 4x10 Hartke bass cab that I loaded with Celestions (two of them from the following Microstack) and used the head from my Marshall Microstack to get a dirty sound. My guitar at the time was an Ibanez X Series shaped like a star that I put some sort of Dimarzio into the bridge and an unknown single coil crammed into the neck that I found leftover in a rehearsal studio after some guy in another band smashed up some guitar and left the mess behind. I'm not claiming I had the absolute best tone in the world but I was definitely pleased with it back then and it worked for what I was doing at the time. In summary: Solid state distortion generator (Microstack head) into a clean Fender Bassman head into a bass cab loaded with 4 10" speakers and playing an Ibanez guitar that I paid $150 for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rybass Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 Rich, that sounds like a hellacious rig! Those bassman amps are in my top 5 favorite of all time and still cheap. OP sorry about the first paragraph it sounded a little a$$hole-ish and I meant it that way but not really at you individually but more at all the guys who want to call out gear bf actually trying it. I know you have some good taste but don't knock it till you put it through its paces. You're prob listening to the stereotypical guys playing them b/c their guitar heros played them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichCI Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 Yup. Those old Bassman amps probably the last great deal on vintage Fender amps out there as Fender made tons of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nolongermike@gibson Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 Somebody forgot to tell GC Hollywood, 'cause they got some HUGE prices on old tweed Bassmans. Of course, they sound AMAZING and if I had money to burn I'd buy two of them. Yup. Those old Bassman amps probably the last great deal on vintage Fender amps out there as Fender made tons of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichCI Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 Yeah, the tweed Bassmans go for big bucks but the blackface and silverface Bassmans can be found easily and relatively cheaply. They're not quite the same circuit as the tweeds (biggest difference being that the tweeds and 6G6 blondes have tube rectifiers) but they're still great amps. You can even find 6G6A 6G6B blondes that have solidstate rectifers but still have the punchout on the chassis where the tube rectifier socket would have been, take it to a tech who knows about such things and have them install a tube rectifier if you really want one but don't want to pay too much for a 6G6 which, in essence is still pretty much a tweed but with different covering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deepblue Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 Do any of you guys use EMGs, and if so WHY?? I had a set on EMG's installed on my Jackson flying V years ago. They sounded great for heavy stuff, but I always thought they sounded too processed. Not enough of my touch was making it through the mix. Thats when I adopted the "Batteries are for flashlights" opinion on active pickups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AXE® Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 They serve a purpose in their own element, I have active pup's in one of my geetars. Just another part of the overall equation. Are you a downs baby too oil***** ???:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 Yeah' date=' the tweed Bassmans go for big bucks but the blackface and silverface Bassmans can be found easily and relatively cheaply.[/quote'] +1 The Bassman heads are still pretty cheap - and they are plentiful. I've owned two blackfaces though I got rid of them because they were just too loud. You have to play them on at least 5 to get to the sweet spot. But for a stage rig you can't beat a Bassman head and 4-12 cab. I had the pleasure of using one of mine in a few big rooms turned up full blast. All I needed was my volume knobs on my LP to go from rhythm to lead tones. It was a beautiful (though loud) experience! Oh - the topic was EMGs. I don't like them. Some people do. Such is the way of the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DamienAzrael Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 I used to really like EMG's when I was 15, but I found that the passive pickups give a much better tone so I ended up takin' EMG's out of 3 Les Pauls when I switched back....They're cool if you play music like Slayer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myspace.com/jessenoah Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 if you know how to manipulate active pickups, then you really can get great fuzzy, sloshy, over processed-gooberfied, crap tone out of any amp i had em in an SG, took em out, put in some 57 classics, the SG still sounded shitty :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rybass Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 oh ok Maybe it wasn't the SG. :D Oh burn! Sorry jes I had to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dynadude Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 I like'em. They are really clean and quiet. Push the volume up on the guitar, and they scream, but still have clear lows. I don't think many people really understand how to use active pickups. You have boost and cut functions that come in handy for lots of situations, and give you far more control of your volume and tone at the guitar. To each his own. If you don't like the sound they produce, then that's that. I do, so I will always have at least one guitar that gives me that option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRV-Zeppelin Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 yeah' date=' I dont really like them either. The problem I have with them is that they all sound the same, it takes your actual guitar(wood, construction etc.) out of the equation.[/quote'] Exactly! Why do you think that Zakk Wylde has so many radically different signature models? Because the shape/build of the guitar doesn't mater at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dynadude Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 Here's a link that some of you may want to check out. I believe it may dissuade you from that "EMGs sound sterile" mentallity. http://www.emginc.com/artists.asp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guytar1 Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 Give a listen to Steve Lukather and Toto, [be nice] EMGs sound damn good if you know how to play. All in all, I think it's a matter of taste and touch. Every guitar and or pickup is good and bad given the individual behind the wheel. Same goes for Bigsbys. Happy New Year to all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AXE® Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 Exactly! Why do you think that Zakk Wylde has so many radically different signature models? Because the shape/build of the guitar doesn't mater at all. When you have as much sh*t running in the way of effects that Zakk uses it doesn't matter what kind of pickups you have. He may as well be playing a Darkfire... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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