Why the EMG 81 is STILL THE KING!!!!

[mattocastermedia]

The EMG is very good at what it does. It’s a tried and true pickup for hard rock/metal

[mykindom]

While emgs might not be my favorite pickups, I find that they just simply WORK. You get the advantage of having headroom people complain about the lack of dynamics, but for metal applications, you get more practicality when recording/performing. Every guitar I've tried with emgs would always sound usable. When it comes to top shelf passives, it can be a gamble.

[serdar]

Actually Jeff Hanneman switched to EMG's firstly with his Super Strat BC Rich. Kerry King was using BC Rich with Dimarzio's at that time. He Switched to EMG Equipped ESP after Seasons in the abyys Recordings. EMG 81 pushes players to play more articulate. It slaps the errors to the face. That's why Passive players cry about it. If Passive players can not keep tight and constant, they got benefit the frequency jam from passive pick ups. Else, you can feel the power of EMG 81 on stage, it covers and fills the stage.

[nzr]

Have 1 in my V (just a single H, no other pickups). Had 1 delivered yesterday (black) and waiting for my Red 1 to come in. Customizing 2 gits more with just 1 H in each. Thanks for sharing brother.

[boogaloojohnson]

Holy S*** I want to party with this dude! Great vid, I'm sold on the 81s!

[johnmcnamara]

Like you said...eq it...i use my Schecter with the 81-85 for blues rock..i push the 800hz on my boss eq..its a beautiful thing

[Gornflyin]

Jordan, your sound from that 5150 is the ONLY one I've heard online that I like. All others seem dead sounding, like their all dialing in the same lifeless tone. I assumed it was the maybe not huh! Keep up the good work. Love the straight to the point, no crybabies attitude too :)

[TheMirrorify]

Out of all the pickups I've had over the years I always go back to the 81 @24 volts with just amp eq. Everything else I seem to reach for the eq pedal.

[TheJManK]

I’ve found guitars with evertunes or Floyd’s are tighter than hard tail guitars as well. Love the Evertune because I can dig in real hard with my heavy hand to get a real grind going on chugs!

[nafis]

EMG produce tight, bright but smooth distortion. For compression issue, try lower the pickup to suit your playing dynamics.

[bluepacificrecordingstudio]

You are spot on!!!👍👍👍my esp m2 has always had emg 81s in it and its IT KING

[angusorvid]

I don't use EMGs as often as I used to but I still have an 81TW/89 set that I'll probably put in one of my Schecters soon. It's a good pickup to have in your guitarsenal. I got my first EMG 81 in 1986. I wasn't into Metallica or thrash. The reason I got EMGs was because of how much headroom and clarity they have along with Amazing sustain. There is NO pickup on earth as well made as an EMG. One of my first guitar teachers was a very successful session player in L.A. He eventually got too busy to teach. But he played a custom Charvel with an 81 and two SAs. What he liked about them was the control and how quiet they were. This is a guy who recorded studio sessions all the time and played on some big tours. I agree with Jordan. Just EQ your amp if things don't sound perfect at first. I do this with ALL of my pickups, which are mostly passive, medium output DiMarzios like the Air Zone or PAF Pro. Anytime you use a different pickup, optimize your amp's EQ. Don't expect ANY pickup to hit the mark right away. Those knobs on your amp are there for a reason. Give them a spin. I've tried Fishmans and I'm not that impressed. They're not bad pickups, but I just don't like them. The first time I tried an 81 I loved it right away, popped one into a Kramer, another into a Charvel, an 81/SA/SA set into a custom strat, so on and so forth. I've tried Duncan's actives, including the original Live Wire set on a friend's strat. They were nothing to write home about. I also tried Bartolinis. Good, but not great. I even owned a DiMarzio Shockwave active system I had in a strat. It was good, but not great. EMG just knocked it out of the park with the 81. There was simply no competition. Nothing else sounds as good in the active realm, except maybe the 57.

[guitaristgod]

Emg 81 is the micheal jordan of pickups you know what your gonna get when u put one of those in

[pgman]

randomly had to drop in and say i love the het set, and you’re completely right about it.

[yantz]

I love lots of different pickups but I've always loved emgs.

[gagecee]

I got a brand new LTD EC1000s fluence and the ceramic bridge pickup is messed up and defected. I heard this happens with the modern ceramics often. They sounded good too but now I just cant trust them so I ordered the 81/85 set and they'll be here next week.

[MichaelDespairs]

Yes, the EMG 81 is compressed and I love that about it. I play really fast technical stuff and the 81 helps make it all sound more consistent in volume. There's reduced upper mids as well which further enhances the illusion of compression and makes the guitar way easier to play. If you want to add slightly more dynamic range use two batteries, but it's not going to give it fully passive dynamics. If anyone's interested the magnet is really weak in the 81, so you more easily hit the maximum volume the field can produce. The humbucking coils are two different resistances, which contributes to compression (possibly spreading out the pickups resonance making it less efficient?) and then lastly the 9 volt power supply limits how much power the pickup's op amp can produce. The other thing I mentioned was less upper mids, which gives the illusion of compression because of how our ears work, being sensitive to those frequencies.

[mikeruppe]

I agree, I’ve tried them all, EMG definitely still king, people just don’t know how to use them, they have their own boost, no pedal needed. Fishman sound cheap to me.

[IanBrchard]

I agree man I havnt liked any of the fishmans I’ve had but the emgs always get me right where I need to be

[buzzsaw]

From my experience the Fishmans are just a little over the top. They have too much gain and consequently overload the signal...similar to the Duncan Blackouts. I would argue the EMG 57 is comparable to the 81 both sound great. I should also note that the 18v mod for 81 does the same as far as overloading the signal.