EMG 81 vs EMG JH HET SET - Active Bridge Pickup Guitar Tone Comparison / Review / Demo

Distorted and clean rhythm comparison demo between EMG 81 and EMG JH "HET" SET (James Hetfield signature) on the bridge position. Settings are the following:

GUITAR
Model: Custom strat (alder body with canadian maple neck)
Tuning: Eь / D#
Strings: D'Addario EXL140 (010-052 gauge)

AMP
Distortion: Peavey 5150 profile (Kemper Profiling Amp)
Clean: EVH 5150 III profile (Kemper Profiling Amp)

RECORDING TECHNIQUE:
- One centered mono track per pickup (this differs from previous comparison videos, which had two tracks in stereo).
- Same config and EQ for both.

#pickups #comparison #guitar

[miked]

now this is how you do a review.
no fucking backing tracks, no post compression, or heavy eq.
when you do a review of a product, i want to hear the god damned product, not the "production techniques" you learned in your on-line pro tools class.
ive been using the 81 for 30 years, in many, many guitars.
i have used boogies most of my life, and the 81 just seems to live for that amp, have moved on to a 5153, and the 81 seems just a little biting.
that great roundness of the het set, i think, is a perfect match for the evh.
thanks to this real review, i am going to put a het set in my explorer.
emg should send you a couple of bucks...

[franciscojesuscortes]

Mike, all the videos you make with this kind of comparison are great, much better than others on ytb. Thank you for your effort on them

[clockwisekeyz]

Het Set sounds a lot more dynamic clean, but is a bit muddy and flabby with distortion. The 81s, like people are always saying, sound a little sterile clean but are so tight and punchy with some gain. Will be going with an 81/60 set. Thanks for the comparison.

[zoro]

Why nobody talks about the riffs in da video? All of them is so sick man

[dennisorourke]

Incredible comparison. Exactly what a true comparison should be. *SUBSCRIBED.*

[guitarforfun]

The 81 wins to my ear.
And I'm glad to discover that.
I have an explorer with emg 81 and 85s that I thought about swapping out for jh het set
I won't do that now after seeing this video

[DD-eiyi]

JH sounds great but comparing the chugs at 3:31-3:32 (81) and 3:43-3:44 (JH), I think the 81 takes it. The JH does sound fuller, but listening carefully with studio cans, a lot of that extra low end is a tad boomy and muddy to my ear and would probably end up get clipped out of a mix. The gallop at 3:55-3:57 (81) vs. 4:07-4:08 (JH) sounds so much crisper and clearer with the 81; the JH sounds congested by comparison. Amazing demo as always and fantastic, tight riffage. These videos are so well done and have saved me a ton of cash, first with the Fishmans and now the JH. Thanks!

[robertmaeder]

To really make the JH shine, lower it from the strings a bit, lower the bass frequency to clean it up and back off a bit on the distortion, set the highs to taste according to your amp...pure heaven!

[bellmeisterful]

They truly are indicative of his sound past and present.

[vladkocharian]

GOLDEN channel. All the comparisons of pickups on other channels suck. Your ones give the best representation of how pickups really sound. <3

[jconner]

You will never dial you amp the same for different guitars and pickups. Least I don’t. I like both. Great video. 🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘

[Bulletman]

The HET set is so much more tighter sounding warmer and clearer. I’m an ESP 81 player and the HET set will be going in my guitars. The HET’S are great sounding, but so are the 81’s. I think the HET’s have a better balance. Very good comparison video. Thank you for posting it.

[alexcomo]

1:50 Damn! I always play that stuff and the like when I'm bored. Sounds great and requires no effort.

[dgarrr]

Wild! In some of the clean sections, I worried the Het Set sounded too thin, but in other sections it softened up and added bass back. Seemed to be dependent on how hard you played. Very cool!

[ElegantJames]

This is the type of pickup comparison I've been looking for thank you. It made my decision, I'm getting the Het Set. I love how clear it is!

[mlnemk]

I bought a used LP standard that came with EMG Het Set installed. Normally I would have run away, but the deal was too good to pass up. AT FIRST I was shocked at how horrible they sounded despite being installed according to specs. I realized they were so powerful they were clipping my effects board. Long story short... I lowered the pickups drastically, lowered the input sensitivity on the effects board and now the EMG het set lives up to their promise of passive clarity, AND aggression one would come to expect from EMGs. Next I will try 18V Mod and see what that accomplishes, I've heard good things.

[captaintrashbag]

Overdriven solo parts: 81's sound tinny compressed just a little bit bit-crushed, borderline synthetic compared to the het-set.

Rhythm and crunch: the two pickups are more evenly matched with the het-set having more bass and sounding a bit less brittle.

Clean: Het-set has way more dynamics.

Conclusion: Tone is 5% pickups, 10% amp and 85% players hands.:)

[necroticpoison]

The growl on the JH is insane. Also has great string separation, though the 81 never has imo so tough comparison

[prestontingley]

Great video, can’t express the convenience you’ve brought to my decision making.. they both imho sound the same but the het set has more “noise” like a minuscule added amount of reverb/presence. Funny enough I’m actually hunting the tone of Mf era megadeth so thinking I prefer the 81 for its overall tighter pronounced sound. Both are amazing though..

[Nghilifa]

The 81 is tighter and more focused compared to the JH. Not really surprising since JH wanted an active sound but with the dynamics of a passive pickup. So basically, if I wanted to have a slightly more versatile sound, I´d go for the Het set, but if thrash metal riffing is all I´m doing on that guitar, then I´d just go for the 81s. As far as EMG´s are concerned anyways.