most powerful pickup & configuration

[sef]

hi, juz wanna compare Dimarzio's x2n, EMG81, seymour duncan livewire heavymetal(cant get it in s'pore)........i haf x2n & EMG81. i tot x2n iz not bad has quite balance tone(bass5,mid6.5,treble6.5 from Dimarzio.com). EMG81 more powerful den x2n but 2 much treble, doesnt sound gd when clean but alrite with dist.

all these pickups i tried r on diff gtrs so more or less it will affect the judgement. anyway, i plannin to get EMG81 on the bridge & 85 on the neck(zakk wlyde setup). izzit better if i switch 81 to the neck & 85 to the bridge (shadows fall & killswitch engage setup). cos i dun really favor the treble comin from 81, 85 has more bass but lesser output.

 

[pepdoug]

Greetings!

I think you might be mistaken. The EMG 85 is louder than the EMG 81.

In my opinion, there's no hard and fast rule which position to set the pickups to. Some like the 85 in the bridge cos it's warmer, more bottom end. Some prefer the 81 in the neck position cos it's clearer sounding and that it sounded too shrill / thin in the bridge position.

If you were to purhcase the newer EMG pickups, they come with the Quik-Connect system, where it'll make inter-changing of EMG pickups a very simple task :wink: So why not get the Zakk Wylde (85/81) setup and swap em as you please.

Btw, I heard combining passive pickups with Active pickups like EMG, might be a tad complicated. You could check the FAQ from www.emginc.com for more details.

Good luck

 

[fretless6]

actually, according to specifications on emg's site. both 81 and 85 have the same output rating. that's probably why they are easily interchangable. anyway if the 81 was actually significantly higher output than the 85, then if they were tonally equal, the obvious choice would be 81 in bridge position.

the amplitude of string vibration is much wider over the neck pickup than over the bridge pickup. so naturally u need a higher output bridge pickup to balance the signal strength, else u'll get a significant output level shift when u switch pickups.

try switching a pickup designed for bridge position and one for neck position and u'll notice it right away.

anyway, personally i would go for a moderate/medium output passive pickup rather than extremely high output passive or active pickups. you could always jack up your gain elsewhere in ur signal chain if getting more overdrive is ur concern. if your pickups are too hot, good luck with trying to get actual clean tones.

oh yeah, the dimarzio being 4 way conductor has a obvious advantage in terms of versatility over the emg and duncan (active).

 

[sef]

85 vs 81

accordin to EMG.com 85 has slight lower o/p compare to 81. i haf a Ibanez ergondyne EDR170 wif 60 at neck & 81 at bridge. i like the clean sound of 60 compare 81. 81 has a bit of synthetic sound. but 81 sound better wif dist compare to 60.

yea i haf sum prob wif i wan a clean tones from dis setup. its has a bit of overdriven sound when i strum the strings hard.

85 has more bass than 81 but will 85 sound too muddy??

 

[fretless6]

Re: 85 vs 81

accordin to EMG.com 85 has slight lower o/p compare to 81. i haf a Ibanez ergondyne EDR170 wif 60 at neck & 81 at bridge. i like the clean sound of 60 compare 81. 81 has a bit of synthetic sound. but 81 sound better wif dist compare to 60.

yea i haf sum prob wif i wan a clean tones from dis setup. its has a bit of overdriven sound when i strum the strings hard.

85 has more bass than 81 but will 85 sound too muddy??

Both 81 and 85 are rated at 1.25V RMS and 1.75V peak.

http://www.emginc.com/specindex.html

85 uses Alnico II magnets, which have a tendency to sound "loose". Brightness of pickups has alot to do with the strength of the magnet, and generally ceramics are stronger than alnicos size for size, hence the brighter tone.

Try to match it to the "natural tone" of your instrument. If your guitar is naturally bright and thin (e.g. maple neck, tremolo equipped, basswood/ash body) go for a warmer/fuller sounding pickup. If you've got a naturally warm sounding guitar (say mahogany neck, mahogany body, tune o matic bridge), try to go for a brighter sounding pickup.

Basic EQ "rule of opposites" apply, if something is bright and u boost the treble, chances are it's gonna be screechy, if it's warm and u boost more bass, likely gonna be muddy.

 

[sef]

art of balance

i get wat u mean. dis new setup will be on my gibson SG. i like the thick tone of SG but it always go south when strap on. :?

i like the thick dist from metallica(ie load, reload & st anger....although dis few albums sux :lol: )anyway wats ur suggestion? :?:

 

[fretless6]

Re: art of balance

i get wat u mean. dis new setup will be on my gibson SG. i like the thick tone of SG but it always go south when strap on. :?

i like the thick dist from metallica(ie load, reload & st anger....although dis few albums sux :lol: )anyway wats ur suggestion? :?:

Check my first post in the thread Passive with moderate output. High output is fine if you dun really care for humbucker clean tones, but go for pickups that can be coil splited (2 or 4 way conductor wire).

 

[sLapshock]

how to set pickup??