active vs passive PU's

Fragle

Fragle

Member
Jul 27, 2005
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Germany
hey there,

tomorrow i'll start recording DI's for my bands full length, and i wondered what guitar i should be using...

so far i've always used my own main guitar, a dean vendetta 4 with dimarzio tonezone (bridge) / air norton (neck) pickups.
my other guitar player has a ldt 400 with EMG 81s as his main guitar, and i could also use that one for the recordings obviously. this one has also thicker strings btw.

the thing is, since i'll be recording everything DI first and reamp later on it's kinda difficult to judge which will work out better come reamping stage.

so, any significant advantages of actives vs passives (or vice versa)?
i guess the fact that it's my own guitar and i'm obviously very used to it is a plus for the dean, but on the other hand many many records in metal have been done with EMG loaded guitars.

i'll be running the studio projects vtb1 HiZ in as my DI btw....it has a 1,5mohm impedance, so that's plenty for passives.

ah yeah, style is prog death metal....lotsa weird chords, fast picking passages etc....
 
why not record a testclip first and descide in a blindtest which one sounds better?
and the "different strings" should hardly be an issue since they should be replaced every day anyway
 
of course they will be changed regulary. the point i was trying to make is that my guitar is set up for a set of slightly thinner strings than what my other dude is using.
they're not exactly thin, though....12-56 tuned to B, whereas he's using 13-62 IIRC.

regarding the test clip, well, the thing is, the tone i'll dial in with e.g. the passives might not be the same that i'd use with the actives - and moreover this still leaves the question about which tone will fit the mix better at the end of the day....
i guess i'll go grab his guitar and do a few test anyways :)
 
I tend to agree with Lasse - you will never know which will "fit the mix" better unless you try both out. Plenty of great Progressive Death songs have been performed with passives as well as actives I'm sure, so history means little, it's a much more subjective thing than what others do - at the end of the day you have to live with what you've done. If it were me (I also own guitars with passive and active pickups) I would do a small mix of both guitars and see which one I liked the best, Or for shits and giggles, why not a mixture of both guitars since you will most likely be dual or quad tracking?

Just some thoughts.
 
i would not care about that, take the guitar that you feel most comfortable and which is best setup (intonation, fret buzz, string height, etc...)

when you reamp later, you can always change the amps setting to the sound you try to achieve, no matter if its active or passive, the amp settings may be just a different,
and also you have the option to put a tubescreamer in front of the amp, and with its gain/tone setting you can compensate the difference a slightly bit too.

Reamping is such great thing, but it leaves us with many (sound/tone)options to ourself, probably too much sometimes??
 
Lasse Lammert said:
and the "different strings" should hardly be an issue since they should be replaced every day anyway
Click to expand...

Oh hell yeh. I just replaced mine 3days back and they've gone brown. Results of sweaty hands.:ill:

I guess I'll keep a dunlop cleaning kit next to me. Rub up everything while taking breaks and/or after I'm done practicing. As you know, skin acids/sodium can eat up loads n loads of nickle.

I plan to change my strings 6hrs before every session when I start recording my band's album.
 
Isn't the Vendetta a really cheap guitar? That combined with the fact that the Tone Zone is undoubtedly my least favorite non-stock pickup of all time (except maybe for the JB, but they're neck and neck) and that the EMG81 is my all-time favorite (especially at 18 volts), and you know which way I'm voting :D
 
alright, just did a few tests....and well, i still don't know which way to go lol.

basically, i prefered the sound of the emg loaded guitar.

playability and also intonation was way better on my dean, though.
for some reason the ltd always gets out of tune pretty heavily when hitting the low B, despite the fact that it has .62 strings on it (it's under control with mine, and i have .56 strings!).

the ltd had that classic EMG bark and snarl to it, though. way cooler on the chugging stuff....the dean is a bit on the cheaper side when put right next to it, with more 5k fizz.

so, what would you do? :)
 
Ok - since you want others to make the choice for you - we will try the pro and cons checklists.

Dean Vendetta 4 w/ Dimarzio Tonezone (bridge) / Air Norton (neck) pickups

PRO:

  • Playability (it's your axe)
  • Better Intonation

CON:

  • Cheaper Guitar
  • more 5k fizz
  • Metaltastic thinks "the Tone Zone is undoubtedly my least favorite non-stock pickup of all time (except maybe for the JB, but they're neck and neck)"

LTD 400 w/ EMG 81s

PRO:

  • More traditional "metal" guitar
  • "way cooler chugging"
  • EMG "bark and snarl"
  • thicker strings - but as Lasse pointed out that will "hardly be an issue"
  • Metaltastic thinks "that the EMG81 is my all-time favorite (especially at 18 volts)
  • and from your own words "basically, i preferred the sound of the emg loaded guitar."

CON:

  • It's not "your" guitar (less familiarity)
  • intonation issues
  • tuning issues especially with low B

This is your decision to make, no one else has to live with the results. Above is based upon what has been posted so far by you and others. In the end, I think what Exoslime said "when you reamp later, you can always change the amps setting to the sound you try to achieve, no matter if its active or passive, the amp settings may be just a different,
and also you have the option to put a tubescreamer in front of the amp, and with its gain/tone setting you can compensate the difference a slightly bit too." is also important - you need to know what tone you are looking for and only your ears (unless you post clips) can tell you which you prefer, however you already stated you liked the sound of the EMG equipped guitar better.

As I stated in my earlier post, why not use both guitars for recording, it might be a nice mix, sort of like using multiple amps.
 
Ehh, multiple guitars for rhythms is often not the best idea, mainly because of intonation differences (and that seems to be an issue here). You haven't mentioned which particular LTD model it is, though I'm guessing either Viper or EC, meaning 24.75" scale length, which I HAET, so that further confuses things - still, I'd rather use it over the Vendetta because of the clear sound difference, just adjust your picking accordingly for the low B! ;)
 
well, thanks for the input.
i did another test, and well, i'll be using the LTD for the record.
it has tighter lows and an overall crunchier albeit darker sound....it's also more focused. the dean is more of a wall of sound kinda guitar, similar to pain for examplke, whereas the ltd seems to be more compact sounding.

fixed the intonation problems btw....re-intonated it myself. my friend actually had the guitar set up by a luthier....bad move it seems, as the intonation was all over the place...but maybe he switched string gauges after the setup, i don't know...

btw, it's a m-400 or something, superstrat with dual EMGs basically.

also, sorry about me being an indecisive bastard.....it's just that i want the record to be the very best it can, and i really want to pay attention to all possible details.
 
kev said:
I need to even the score for the JB after this lol, the pickup ROCKS!!! :kickass:
Click to expand...
+1

It's not as tight sounding as an 81, but it has a nice thick sound while still being able to cut through the mix. I especially like it for leads where I use the bridge pickup. I use it in a mahogany guitar, so it definitely needs a TS or SD-1 in front of it to keep it from being muddy. It has a pretty distinctive sound, most people either love it or hate it. I haven't met too many people that don't have a strong opinion on it, one way or the other.
 
It's not because it's thicker than an 81 that I don't like it, cuz the EMG85, Duncan Custom/Alternative VIII (from clips I've heard, anyway), and even Blackout Bridge are all thicker but tolerable, whereas I just find the JB to be oppressively loose and flubby :erk:
 
Yeah, it is loose sounding compared to an 81, I can't argue with you about that. But I find that with my setup, which is a C1 Classic (mahogany body), through a 5150, Marshall 1960a cab, that if I use my SD-1 in front, it tightens it up to the point where it can sound pretty damn good in my opinion. That being said, for recording, I still end up using my H-1001 with EMGs for more technical parts, but for bridge pickup lead parts, nothing that I've used beats the JB.
 
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