Active pickup options for a s/s/d config ?

paddok

paddok

Member
Aug 7, 2002
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deathfm.tk
I have a 1991 esp M-III still all original. yet i would like to swap pickups to active ones or atleast ones with a more metally crunch and sounds.

Only problem that throws me off is the 2 single coils and the the double.

What sort of configuration should i look at for the best metal sound ? probably looking at Hypocrisy and Dark Tranquility, Amon Amarth too.

Would i be better off for metal to just sell this guitar and but one with a neck and bridge humbuckers? are singles a waste of time in this case ?
 
ive heard of the "EMG S" pickups. but I dont know how worth it those are. or if they are crappy as hell.


Would a EMG S/S/81 combo be decent ?


:confused:
 
Any of the big pickup makers build quality stuff. You won't get a crappy pickup from EMG. If it suits the music you're playing is a different story. I personally only use bridge pickups (EMG-81/85), so I always disconnect the neck pickup.

I've only ever had one guitar with single-coils, and I think they have much bigger magnetic pull than humbuckers. Whenever I did a whammy dive with that guitar, the strings would stick on the polepieces of the singles. Damn irritating.

'bane
 
Originally posted by Sunbane
Any of the big pickup makers build quality stuff. You won't get a crappy pickup from EMG. If it suits the music you're playing is a different story. I personally only use bridge pickups (EMG-81/85), so I always disconnect the neck pickup.

I've only ever had one guitar with single-coils, and I think they have much bigger magnetic pull than humbuckers. Whenever I did a whammy dive with that guitar, the strings would stick on the polepieces of the singles. Damn irritating.

'bane
Click to expand...

I get that they arnt crappy. but in terms of producing a a good metal tone, are singles just not worth it ?

I hear many bad things about them.
 
I can't give you a straight answer. Ever since I owned my first guitar, I've stuck to humbucker configurations. The pickups in my first axe were utter crap and I've never bothered with singlecoils ever since.

I can't really afford to experiment with pickups, otherwise I probably would've done that. =(

If my memory serves me right though, I've seen Kirk Hammett with an ESP strat that had 3 EMG-S in it. Thing is, I have no idea what other gadgetry he might have in it. EMG also sells various kinds of booster devices, so his axe might've been further souped up internally.

'bane
 
Well, all EMGS, I'm pretty sure, are low strength alcino magnets, so if you went with EMGS and a 81/sa/sa or 85/sa/sa, you should be fine.

Either that, or just pull the singles if you don't use them, and put in either the 81 or 85.

Unlike most other pickups, EMGs can be placed as close to the strings as your comfortable with, and you don't have to worry about weird string resonance that you would with pickups with stronger magnets...

Then again, I haven't played any of my guitars with a SA in the bridge position for a while... I'll try that when I get home and update this post.

The best preamp, IMO, is the EMG PA-2... it'll also let you drive a 50' of instrument cable (I think) without any loss in gain. Or so I've been told.
 
Originally posted by xenophobe
Well, all EMGS, I'm pretty sure, are low strength alcino magnets, so if you went with EMGS and a 81/sa/sa or 85/sa/sa, you should be fine.

Either that, or just pull the singles if you don't use them, and put in either the 81 or 85.

Unlike most other pickups, EMGs can be placed as close to the strings as your comfortable with, and you don't have to worry about weird string resonance that you would with pickups with stronger magnets...

Then again, I haven't played any of my guitars with a SA in the bridge position for a while... I'll try that when I get home and update this post.

The best preamp, IMO, is the EMG PA-2... it'll also let you drive a 50' of instrument cable (I think) without any loss in gain. Or so I've been told.
Click to expand...

How different would the sound be in the SA/SA/85 or 81 compared to an 81/85 combo ?
 
Well in the bridge position, the 85 has more grit and distortion than the 81, and if you want a nice smooth clean sound, you can turn the volume and tone down a bit on the 81, and it sounds sweet...

I haven't played any of my bridge equipped SA guitars in so long, I'd have a hard time explaining it...

I don't play the bridge posistion pickups, except on very rare occassions, so I'm kinda useless on that one.

My favorite setup is either an 81 or 85 at the bridge, or a Duncan JB.

Hope that helps sorta.
 
Yeah, you'll get a good sound from the EMG setup, but you're not going to get crunch out of a neck position pickup without using a lot of distortion, and it would sound horrible and muddy...

The neck pickup is best for clean and f/x processed lead tone, IMO.
 
Originally posted by xenophobe
Yeah, you'll get a good sound from the EMG setup, but you're not going to get crunch out of a neck position pickup without using a lot of distortion, and it would sound horrible and muddy...

The neck pickup is best for clean and f/x processed lead tone, IMO.
Click to expand...

I agree! Rhythm playing on the neck pickup sounds like arse, no matter how good the PU is:) For leads it is nice, but I`m sure you can get a very nice lead sound from EMG singles. Remember, you do NOT want to play rhythm with the neck PU. It is not defined enough.


IMO, of course, but I`ve played for 19 years, so I think I`ve picked up something in that time;)
 
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