Tesla Actives

[fretness]

Hello! Just wanna ask you peeps a quick question.

Has anyone tried the tesla active pickup series? Specifically the humbuckers like the AH-1 AH-2 and AH-3. I was thinking of getting them for my Ibanez as an alternative to EMGs.

Thus my question, how do they compare to EMGs? Like in terms of tone sound, battery life etc, modability (18v), etc.
And secondly, any personal reviews about it? DO they sound unique to themselves if not compared to EMGs?

Many thanks.

 

[relinquish69]

Which models of EMGs are you referencing the Teslas to? Are you just looking for active pickups in general?

When it comes to active pickups, do consider SD blackouts. IMO they sound tighter, more focused & have a truckload of treble being fed to it. I prefer a set of blackouts as opposed to say a EMG 60 and EMG 85 combo. More "character" which IMO was a good thing. Harmonics ring out like crazy.

Btw, the blackouts are good with just 9V. the whole 9V and 18V thing, I didn't really get it. IMO 18V was not a good "mod". It cleans up the sound & added more headroom (although the difference was subtle to me). I felt it defeated the purpose cos EMGs were meant to be fed with a stacks of gain!

 

[faekildare]

It seems that Guitarheads and Dragonfire active pickups are getting pretty good reviews compared against EMG81 and 85s. The best thing is they cost less than half the cost. I've never personally tried them as I am never a fan of active pick ups anyway. However, it's worth considering I guess.