Thinking of buying EMG 81...any thoughts?

G

Gregwor

New member
I own a 2001 Gibson SG Supreme in Emeraldburst...here it is:

http://www.gibson.com/products/gibson/sg/SGSupremes.html

When I bought it, I thought the pickups would suck, but they sounded wicked. I don't know why (maybe cause I took a break from playing to do some recording), but now it seems like my guitar plays 'dead'. I think I need a 'hot' pickup with awesome definition...just to make my guitar feel alive.
I've looked into Seymour Duncan's pickups, and they don't sound that good. My buddy has an SD Invader in his Gothic Les Paul, but it's not great. Alot of bands I know have the EMG 81's and they sound wicked.

I'm just curious if you all think this would solve my problem, and maybe give me some humbucker advice/options.

Note: I am looking for sweet crunch/fairly flat response/high gain/warm, presence oriented clean tones...really clean/non-harsh guitar characteristics. Thanks....Oh yeah. All of these characteristics out of 1 bridge pickup :)
 
EMG 81 is a high gain mic that will work good with heavy rock.
It really sucks at everything else!

Amund
 
Gregwor said:
It would be nice if you told me WHY you hate them....that's what I'm looking for. Thanks.
Click to expand...


Awww.....I'm just funnin' ya.

I don't like them for the exact reason Neve gives. They are too powerful for anything but hard rock. I also find them to be "sterile" sounding. I like pickups that sound a little more dirty and greasy, with a very unique character.

I do, however, happen to really like a few Duncans a lot. The JB is a pretty ubiquitous pickup. The Custom is one of my fav's.

One other issue you may not have thought of, but EMG's require sticking a battery pack somewhere, and an SG is a pretty darn thin guitar. Got enough room?

Aaron
http://www.voodoovibe.com
 
My buddy has a SG Special with one and it fits fine. I am going to try his guitar for the first time tonight, so I'll give you my critique on Tuesday. Can I get a nice clean tone with this pickup? What's the price difference between EMG and SD? And Sterile???? Expand..please. Thanks.
 
I have been a certifiably insane pickup changer for over 40 years, usually looking for nirvana, however at one stage I replaced my strat stock pickups with EMG's but for the same reason as Neve I got rid of them, they were too glassy and hard.
I find the manufacturers of major brands either have got their shiit together or buy their pickups from someone else who has.
It's in the fingers man.
I now repair guitars as well as play. Today I finished a refret on a Japanese guitar made in 1963, it was regarded in 1963 as a piece of shit, we were very biased then. But today I put it thru my customised Fender Twin Reverb, and apart from being microphonic it was OK, which is a long way round to say
1.shit guitar will sound shit thru a shit amp
2. A good guitar thru a shit amp will also sound shitty.
3. BUTTTTT! a shit guitar thru a GOOOOOD amp will surprise the hell out of you.
So........ get a good amp first then get your fingers to do the talkin.
Hope that helped.
Clive
 
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