Pick up question

[iommysg]

Hey Guys,

 

I need help.. i have my iommi sg with the iommibuckers great pick ups but is it worth swapping them out for emg active pick ups, they are the genuine iommibuckers gibson made but im curious is it worth it?

[Bluemans335]

NO!!!

 

 

You've got great PU's now. Active PU's have a very sterile sound, because of the reduced windings (which is why they need a battery to boost the output). Batteries don't have a consistent level of power over time, and gradually wear down, and die at some of the worst times (I've seen it happen on stage).

[iommysg]

ookay i wont thanks... but whats with all the hype around emg 81 and 85s?

[Spamonkis]

Pickups are like ice cream flavors, you are asking if it is worth trading your Rum Raisin for Pralines and Cream.

 

I have been an avid EMG user for my basses since they first came out. One of the Best sounding and most versatile guitar players I ever worked with used a Strat with EMG "S" pickups. That said, I have yet to find a pickup for my Casino that I prefer to the Stock ones.

 

You can buy pickups bassed on what others say about them, but you will probably be disappointed (What do "Warm, Pristine, Brown, Sterile, Fat, Creamy, etc. really sound like?).

 

You can find out what your favorite artist uses to get their sound and you may have better luck, but if you really want to get it right, you need to audition the pickups you are interested in yourself (although this is often difficult).

 

God bless, Spamonkis

[gypsyseven]

Yeah, looks like you have to try them out to know which ones you like the most.

I also bought pickups based on reviews and so on, but after i installed them in MY guitar they were nothing like i expected...

[nick_s]

I'm not a fan of EMG's if I am honest. I find that they lack warmth and depth in comparison to non active pups. Unless you are playing tight metal I'd avoid them.

 

I tried a Les Paul Standard with them in and really disliked it, it had lost the organic sound a Les Paul is renowned for. Very focused and as others have said, sterile.

[gypsyseven]

I'm not a fan of EMG's if I am honest. I find that they lack warmth and depth in comparison to non active pups. Unless you are playing tight metal I'd avoid them.

 

I tried a Les Paul Standard with them in and really disliked it, it had lost the organic sound a Les Paul is renowned for. Very focused and as others have said, sterile.

 

=D> =D>

[iommysg]

i think i will avoid them.. i prefer depth and emotion in my playing style i often play metal but not enough to warrant changing to emg which i dont know will fit in my sg

[gypsyseven]

i think i will avoid them.. i prefer depth and emotion in my playing style i often play metal but not enough to warrant changing to emg which i dont know will fit in my sg

[Bluemans335]

ookay i wont thanks... but whats with all the hype around emg 81 and 85s?

 

 

That's what it is, hype. EMG's are fine if you're using massive amounts of distortion and effects. The thin, sterile, cold sound helps the clarity when all of that is piled on top of them. But the PU's themselves have no character or life to them. Think of them as a bland pizza crust, that a bunch of items are loaded on.

 

Windings are what gives a PU it's feel and character (from the winding patterns and tensions used). That's where tone originates, the rich organic sounds. Actives have a greatly-reduced number of windings to keep 'noise' down, but they also eliminate tone in the process. HB's aren't that noisy anyways. If you want to hear high-quality PU tones when you play guitar, and not just effects, you want passive PU's.

[Spamonkis]

David Gilmour, Steve Lucather etc. are just a couple of artist known for their sound that might take exception to the EMG bashing here. Again, pickups are like ice cream flavors, you have to taste it for yourself to know if it is good. If someone told you "chocolate tastes bland and dry", and you believed them, think of what you would miss!

[capmaster]

Active pickups are not bad on principal, regardless of brand, but they are rather different. In any case, I would perform an intense playing and listening test before irreversibly routing for a battery case.

 

Passive pickups with a subsequent preamp in the guitar react rather different, too. All of my seven piezo-eqipped solidbody guitars have preamps for the magnetics as well to make blend possible. I left them without capacitors that would simulate a cable since I want to dig the tonal differences. They are pretty audible when compared to same type of pickups in passive guitars, even if they are of same build.

[Bluemans335]

David Gilmour, Steve Lucather etc. are just a couple of artist known for their sound that might take exception to the EMG bashing here.

 

They're adding tone with tube amps, effects, and pedals. They have big budgets and primo gear for that. The 'virtues' of EMG's are low noise, and the fact that they give you a clean slate tone-wise to start with, and let you build your tone by adding gear to the signal chain. EMG's on their own are cold and sterile. That's how they're able to achieve low noise. Windings add noise and tone. One goes hand-in-hand with the other. EMG's 'scrub' the noise from their PU's; the loss of tone is a by-product. In exchange for a sanitary sound, you're expected to add your own tones later in the signal.

[Spamonkis]

I have to respectfully disagree with you Bluesman. As I said in an earlier post, I played with a guy who had a strat with an EMG "s" set. He was Bob Stibbe (U.S. Navy Band). With a Roland GP-8 effects unit and Mesa-Boogie Mark IV his sound was incredible. We had to be able to do everything (Jazz at a political hob-nob, classic rock at a public concert, country at a state fair, metal to hip hop at a high school recruiting show. I was amazed at the fact that he did it all with the same guitar.

 

Pickup windings do effect tone. An overwound pickup will have more output and midrange emphasis. Underwound pickups are usually described as "clear" or having "chime" because their frequency response is wider. EMGs take this to an extreme.. They are so underwound, they require an amplifyer in the pickup just to produce enough signal to get through the cable. But this gives them an ultra-wide frequency response as well as an output level that can overdrive an amp at will. No passive pickup can do this. The souped up highs may not appeal to every taste, but I will say, you can always roll off highs with a tone control, you cannot add highs to a pickup that does not produce them. Being primarily a bass player, I can also say they are awesome bass pickups and just about every major studio cat has them in at least one of their primary axes.

 

Your statements about them come off as "they sound bad". If that were true, why would so many people be using them? Again, it is a matter of opinion and I can respect the fact that you do not like them, but that does not make them "bad".

 

God bless, Spamonkis

[Bluemans335]

I have to respectfully disagree with you Bluesman. As I said in an earlier post, I played with a guy who had a strat with an EMG "s" set. He was Bob Stibbe (U.S. Navy Band). With a Roland GP-8 effects unit and Mesa-Boogie Mark IV his sound was incredible. We had to be able to do everything (Jazz at a political hob-nob, classic rock at a public concert, country at a state fair, metal to hip hop at a high school recruiting show. I was amazed at the fact that he did it all with the same guitar.

 

Your statements about them come off as "they sound bad". If that were true, why would so many people be using them? Again, it is a matter of opinion and I can respect the fact that you do not like them, but that does not make them "bad".

 

 

The example of an effects unit and a Mesa Boogie proves my point; that's where his tone came from. Not the PU's.

 

I'd didn't say EMG's 'sound bad". I said they contribute little to tone. Big difference. That majority of EMG players are using a lot of distortion and effects, and a relatively sterile PU keeps more clarity, when a passive PU with all that would be a mess. You're assuming players choose EMG's for their tone; it's just the opposite: their lack of tone keeps things from getting muddy. They start 'clean', free of the good qualities and drawbacks that passives have. That's the appeal. Many players today use a lot of distortion and effects, hence EMG's popularity.