EMG Pickups
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Posted on May 03, 2004 09:56 pm
rightside
Member Since: Sep 22, 2003
Im just asking a far out question. I just got a Gibson Les Paul Special and i really like it, but i feel it lacks in distortion in some ways. I play hard rock, heavy metal, plus some softer stuff. I was wondering would it be worth putting an EMG humbucker or 2 EMG humbuckers? And if so which pickups, ive heard good things about 81 bridge/60 neck? Im not very good with pickup stuff, so please help me.
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WaltChief Cook and Bottle WasherMember
Since: May 10, 2002
May 03, 2004 11:01 pm Poop, A guitar player I am recording just put new pickups on his axe and is getting a great HM sound. But..ah..I forgot what pickups he used..daaaa. I will try and remember to ask him Thursday when he drops by for the next recording session and get back to you. Sorry for being a little blonde yesterday.
MinkusMazBane of All ExistenceMember
Since: Mar 27, 2003
May 04, 2004 12:30 am just make sure you know what you're getting into before you spend cash. if you get actives, you will have to be able to fit a 9 volt into your guitar as well. read the specs, see if it's what you want, try to find mp3s of recordings of those pickups. some manufacturers have them on their websites.
WillumIdiot.Member
Since: Apr 22, 2004
May 04, 2004 12:25 pm I always hear good stuff about the EMGs... specially for metal!
May 04, 2004 12:46 pm EMGs are good for metal and hard rock, but.... EMGs have a very characteristic sound and you can put them on a 2x4 and they will sound the same as they will in your Les Paul. They take away from the influence the quality of your guitar and the wood effect the sound. So the only thing is you have a nice guitar with a nice top on it and those factors won't help the sound. I think you'd be better off buying a crappy Les Paul knock-off (Epiphone, for example) and putting EMGs in there and keeping your Gibson. I don't know if you have extra $$$ for another guitar though, or if you really like the way the Gibson plays. So yes EMGs would help if you don't mind f'n up your Gibson a little bit. I'm sure there are some EMG lovers out there that will disagree though.
May 04, 2004 09:30 pm I dont have the cash for a new guitar and i just got the gibson. I mean the pickups i put in the guitar dont have to be EMG they just have to sound good.
TadpuiI am not a crook's headMember
Since: Mar 14, 2003
May 05, 2004 09:13 am I've heard that the EMG pickups are articulate, but sterile sounding. Probably good if you use a lot of effects and distortion, but probably not as good if you want the natural resonance of the guitar itself to shine thru.
I have a LP classic, and it has the 490P and 500T pickups in it (if I remember correctly), and I think that for stock pickups they really have a nice high output. The hotter pickups were part of the selling point for the classic line, and when I played them side-by-side with a LP standard, I agreed that they were definitely more "modern" sounding.
I think that most after-market pickup companies will let you keep exchanging pickups until you find one that you like since you basically have to hear them in your own guitar before you can make an informed decision about them.
I would try several, and only then make a choice about which one to buy.
DrewMember
Since: Apr 21, 2004
May 05, 2004 03:59 pm If you like the "les paul" sound, a Dimarzio Tone Zone is almost painfully sweet in the bridge... That into a hard, crunchy amp is instant Godsmack. (I had a Tone Zone-7 in a mahogany Ibanez RG-2027 7-string, for a while, and ended up swapping it out because it DID sound like a les paul, and i didn't want that for leads- not enough clarity/attack. But man, you should have heard what riffs sounded like coming out of that thing and my Mesa combo i was playing at the time. ;))
-D
WaltChief Cook and Bottle WasherMember
Since: May 10, 2002
May 10, 2004 11:05 pm The pickups that I refered to earlier on in the post are EMG 85s. They are hot (9v). Wish I had the groups album done now so you could listen to them for yourself. Looking at a mid June release and I will post a song here from the album.
May 10, 2004 11:44 pm Thanks a lot walt that would be great and i would really appreciate it.
May 10, 2004 11:56 pm I am deciding now between a 85 or 60 in the neck and a 81 in the bridge. I dont know whether to go with the 85 or 60 though. Does anyone know how their clean sounds are?
May 17, 2004 10:18 pm just make sure if you put 2 emg's in 1 guitar, you can dedicate it to distortion playing only.. the pickups are active, playing clean is not a good idea.
hope i helped.
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
May 18, 2004 10:15 pm rightside, EMG does not have a clean sound so to speak. The 60 is a bit more clean but as stated before, very sterile. I use an 85 neck and 81 bridge and it is really just a complete shredder set-up as there is not a very clean tone at all.
I will second Drew on the DiMarzio pickups though for sure. My Frankenstien uses Evolutions in the bridge and neck and a FastTrack II in the middle. All the Pickups are wired for coil tap and run through a 5 way with a single volume knob and no tone knob. I can go from a twangy clean strat sound to the grindingest balls to the wall humbucker sound with the simple flip of a switch.
I tired the ToneZones but they were a bit to mid for what I was looking for. But they are a great shred pickup. The evolutions were designed for Steve Via I believe.
McDogMember
Since: May 31, 2004
May 31, 2004 06:56 am I have EMG 81 and 60 in a Les Paul. The 81 is real hot and I use it mostly for gritty distortion with lead and rhythm, and I use the 60 for thick creamy lead and thick kinda clean sounds.
I don't find them very versatile, they feel maxed out which indeed they are. Passive pickups can get good heavy sounds and cleaner sounds with areas inbetween. If you have two guitars I would suggest having the not-as-good one fitted with EMGs and have good passives in the better one...Seymour Duncans or Gibsons would be ideal especially if in a Les Paul. I plan to put Gibsons back into my Les Paul when I take out the EMGs to put into a cheaper axe, like a Jackson or ESP super strat.
May 31, 2004 03:27 pm 81\85's are really just what everyone's been saying.... shredder pickups. And 81 on the bridge and an 85 on the neck is actually what have been labeled the Zakk Wylde set, because that's what his famous guitar, the grail, uses. (that thing's $5,800!) If that's what you want to do then go for it! I don't think there's anything better with that purpose in mind. I've got that setup in my ESP LTD FB-200, a baritone shredder guitar, and honestly, they're freaking awsome. They give my baritone, a shrp edge to it that isn't normal for guitars tuned that low. Well, that's also due to the afterburner circuit, which is another subject.
May 31, 2004 03:29 pm Hey, just a thought, but maybe you should just consider getting an afterburner ciruit installed. It boosts your output to give you awsome distortion, and yet you can turn it down or off, and have that good ol' Gibson tone right back for the softer stuff. Just an idea. What do you think?
HuePinnipedal Czar (: 3= Member
Since: Apr 11, 2004
May 31, 2004 07:20 pm I am sooo late with this...
Blasphemy ! It's a 'Les Paul' man !
lol
Jun 01, 2004 12:23 pm Hey, I think it's a good idea.... and no guitar is beyond improvement. (I think I just might be burned at the stake for that one) Don't know if it would lessen the value of the guitar, though.
flame...bringing sexy backMember
Since: Jul 01, 2002
Jun 01, 2004 12:24 pm if its an original '59 with a beautiful sunburst finish, dont mess is my advice...
Jun 01, 2004 12:26 pm Well, yeah... I mean... original '59.... I must concur.
HuePinnipedal Czar (: 3= Member
Since: Apr 11, 2004
Jun 01, 2004 07:43 pm Naw, I was just makin' fun...
You're very right about the "tweak-factor" of your personal gear. It's just that there are certain advantages to leaving a Les Paul all alone, not least of which is resale value. I have a '77, which was made the same year they moved the factory to Tennesee, and there are deffinately some performance issues with it, BUT the fact it has a maple fretboard, and that beautiful, mahogany-induced tone, I feel that messing with it, would just make it a different guitar... so I got a different guitar. Like you, I wanted to be able to get a good hard-rock (Capt.Crunch) sound, so I picked-up an Ibanez RG320, nothing fancy, but it handles that type of music rather well. It has a much quicker neck than the Paul, and weighs half as much, so I use it alot for just fiddlin', and testing ideas; then if I feel the need for 'sonic truth', say for a track, I'll get her out. If I could change one thing about the LP, it would be to give it a new coat of paint... she'd like that. lol
(Then there's the fact that you can 'model' just about anything these days)
Jun 02, 2004 04:09 pm Yeah, well, that's why I recommended the afterburner circuit over the pickup upgrade, because you can flip the circuit on and off. On and you've got cutting, sharp distortion. Off, and you've got the exact same guitar you had before. I mean, it's a far less radical change than changing out the pickups, plus, you've still got the original sound. Win-win! (that is, aside from the resale value....)
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Jun 02, 2004 08:03 pm Gota agree with audioguru on the Afterburner cirquit for sure. Although it may not match the sounds of the DiMarzio Evolutions or ToneAones it does give one hell of a bite to just about any type of pickup. And as he stated, if your happy with the sound of the pickups you have and just want to add some more grit, go for the Afterburner mod instead.
Jun 04, 2004 10:38 pm i am actually now thinking of getting an ibanez or Schecter off ebay and putting EMGs in that.
Jun 05, 2004 02:10 pm Ok, i have again changed my mind. I am going o get an ESP LTD guitar. Either the Viper 200 or an explorer model, both with stock pickups. I will then replace the stock pickups with either an 81/85, 81/60, or an 81/81 combo. Any advice on the model or pickups would be great.
Jun 05, 2004 02:24 pm I've got an ESP LTD FB-200 with 81/85's if I haven't mentioned that already. These LTD's are awsome guitars. Ultimate shredding material,if you ask me. If you can stand the body stlye, might I reccomend the F-300 or the F-200? The reviews on those guitars say they are absolutely awesome with 81/85's.
Jun 05, 2004 02:25 pm Plus, they're affordable.
