Changing pickups

[Jaani]

Greetings to all!

Recently i've just bought a Jackson DKMG, alder body with an EMG 81(bridge) and an EMG 85(neck).

The EMG 85 on the neck is amazing a good crunch and sustain.

The problem is the bridge EMG 81;sounds sterile, and doenst have enough "balls" to the sound.
I almost want to sell the guitar because of that.

I've researched and found a few pickups that i think will solve my problem, Dimarzio Tone Zone, Super Distortion, Breed etc..These pickups will give me a fatter and warmer sound compared to the EMG 81 according to Dimarzio's website.

Could you guys give me your input on what passive pickup will improve the sound on my Jackson DKMG?

I'm open to any suggestions.

 

[mightyboy88]

hi hahah im not really an expert but i think having passives with actives is not advisable due to the passive having a lower output level to the active pickup.

I used to having 2 actives of different brands, emg 81 in neck and seymour duncan blackout in bridge and even tt had some compatibility issues. There are also differences in the circuitary such as different pots and a 9v battery clip etc, although i am not sure if that would be of an issue.

One simple mod u may try would be to run the pickups at 18v which is basically placing 2 battery clips in series to run 2 9v batt at the same time. I think that is what zakk wylde does with his 81 and 85 and dont they sound amazing !!! hahah

 

[subversion]

Could you guys give me your input on what passive pickup will improve the sound on my Jackson DKMG?

passive pickups won't improve your tone. it'll give you a different tone to work with. one of the issues with active units is currently the frustration you are going through- the tones are not organic enough to appease some of us players. i have the EMG 81 in my ESP Eclipse & love it for what it is- uncompromised attack for distortion. it's basically a one-trick pony but it was conceived to be like this to begin with. if you dislike it, chance are, it's not serving your needs.

as advised by mightyboy88, not wise to mix passive & active units in a single guitar.

 

[hydrogencynide]

Greetings to all!

Recently i've just bought a Jackson DKMG, alder body with an EMG 81(bridge) and an EMG 85(neck).

The EMG 85 on the neck is amazing a good crunch and sustain.

The problem is the bridge EMG 81;sounds sterile, and doenst have enough "balls" to the sound.
I almost want to sell the guitar because of that.

I've researched and found a few pickups that i think will solve my problem, Dimarzio Tone Zone, Super Distortion, Breed etc..These pickups will give me a fatter and warmer sound compared to the EMG 81 according to Dimarzio's website.

Could you guys give me your input on what passive pickup will improve the sound on my Jackson DKMG?

I'm open to any suggestions.

Hey,

Heres what i would recommend to do.

Take out your 85 in the neck and move it to the bridge (if you are using the quick release version, this should be fairly easy)
Sell your 81.
source for a 60.
Run the CIrcuit in 18v instead of 9V

See if you like this better.

I was using this combination last time and i think it sound quite good