Dave Mustaine's own opinion of EMG pickups.

[DIOBOLIC5150]

Sorry man, I do understand why someone wouldn't like EMGs but that definitely is not a valid reason.

I agree, that didn't make any sense at all. Maybe I need to have a car battery crammed in my rear to understand it. I have an SD Invader in one of my guitars and EMG's in another... I like the sound of the Invader A LOT, but I think the EMG's are better all around for both rhythm and lead. the Invader rocks for rhythm, but not so great on leads IMO (at least not as good as the EMG).

 

[AmirH]

I wonder if my emgs are wired wrong, or if the guitar just isn't right for them. I love the clarity of the rhythm sounds but absolutely despise the lead sound.

 

[~BURNY~]

I dig EMG (81) on any mahogany guitar. I hate it with basswood or any light wood guitar. I also hate it with clean sounds. Too glassy.

 

[AmirH]

I bet it's the wood then...

 

[Fabbio]

I bet it's the wood then...

Uhmmmm....

No, I don't think the wood really change the presence of EMG Pickups that much.
It helps resonancy and sustain but I can tell you, I have a Squier strato (of a very light wood-bet it's a lot of pieces glued together) with SA set and it sounds killer (no comparison with the original single coils at all!!!), and the Les Paul is great too (that is a mahogany body but, you know...).

 

[commandante]

So you are basically saying that EMG SAs and the EMG you are using sound the same too?

 

[AmirH]

Uhmmmm....

No, I don't think the wood really change the presence of EMG Pickups that much.
It helps resonancy and sustain but I can tell you, I have a Squier strato (of a very light wood-bet it's a lot of pieces glued together) with SA set and it sounds killer (no comparison with the original single coils at all!!!), and the Les Paul is great too (that is a mahogany body but, you know...).

Haha, well basically the the rhythm sound owns me but the lead tone on both pups(and I've messed with height a lot) has a really nasty high end that almost sounds... "whiny" if that makes sense. I've got plenty of uses out of the guitar though- the 81 I've found sounds really nice and crunchy for rock sounds if you lower it substantially, and the 85 is like my dream rhythm tone- beefy, defined but with a nice bite to it. Just I can't seem to get a lead tone I really like and everyone always raves about the lead tones. The schecter sounded better for that even when it had cheap pickups. I kind of figured that since the sg is made of agathis and is thin like it is- that would account for the bite and the nasty high end. Unless it's a wiring problem, but then why would the rhythm sound right?

In all fairness, it sounded "ok" when I plugged it into some nice amps, but most guitars do

 

[DanAbela]

Does EMG make TP too? Nothing like active toilet paper to put those dingleberries in their place!

EMG... the only active breach proof paper, chicken phal tested :hotjump:

 

[Awake_In_Animosity]

Sorry man, I do understand why someone wouldn't like EMGs but that definitely is not a valid reason.

Hey, I have got EMG's in my Zakk Wylde Les Paul and it sounds like poo, the other guitarist in my band also has EMG's in his ESP Les Paul going through a JCM 2000 and that sounds even worse, However when I use my Ibanez Sabre 540 with DiMarzio Evolutions through my Mesa Boogie Tri-Axis and 4 x 12 cab, I get clarity and distortion, when everything that has EMG's in it sound like mud farting. By the way I have been playing for nearly 15 years so I know what shit sound is.

 

[DIOBOLIC5150]

Haha, well basically the the rhythm sound owns me but the lead tone on both pups(and I've messed with height a lot) has a really nasty high end that almost sounds... "whiny" if that makes sense. I've got plenty of uses out of the guitar though- the 81 I've found sounds really nice and crunchy for rock sounds if you lower it substantially, and the 85 is like my dream rhythm tone- beefy, defined but with a nice bite to it. Just I can't seem to get a lead tone I really like and everyone always raves about the lead tones. The schecter sounded better for that even when it had cheap pickups. I kind of figured that since the sg is made of agathis and is thin like it is- that would account for the bite and the nasty high end. Unless it's a wiring problem, but then why would the rhythm sound right?

In all fairness, it sounded "ok" when I plugged it into some nice amps, but most guitars do

Stupid question but, are they adjusted close enough to the strings? I actually have my pickups adjusted closer to the higher, unwound strings (just a little). It sounded lame on leads until I got my EMGs just right. Just a thought.
I had an SG with an 85 in it and it was straight pissed off sounding!

 

[Glenn Fricker]

I dropped some EMGs in my Rhoads V and they really brought the guitar to life. I've got an 81 in the bridge for the heavy shit, and an "H" in the neck. It's a single coil that looks like a humbucker, and the clean tones thru it sound fabulous.


Arguing about pickups is like arguing about monitors. People's tastes are gonna vary no matter what. One man's treasure is another man's junk pile.

-0z-

 

[AmirH]

Stupid question but, are they adjusted close enough to the strings? I actually have my pickups adjusted closer to the higher, unwound strings (just a little). It sounded lame on leads until I got my EMGs just right. Just a thought.
I had an SG with an 85 in it and it was straight pissed off sounding!

Hmm, well for a short while the 81 was really close but it was sounding kinda boomy so I lowered it a bit. I'll go ahead and give it another try and adjust my amp settings accordingly- see if that doesn't help some. Hehe, always open to suggestions

 

[Fabbio]

So you are basically saying that EMG SAs and the EMG you are using sound the same too?

Eh?!?!?

Obviously the humbucker sounds more thick than the single coils, and what's great about EMG pickups is that there's absolutely no humming or noise (unless you push the guitar onto the cabinet grid at full volume, of course!) and the sustain is improved! I don't think the wood affect this characteristics of EMG.

Obviously different guitars and woods differ in sound but what i was answering to the issue of muddiness and glassiness (that aspects are not directly depending from woods, tone is).

Sorry, my english sometimes go out of the window, especially when i post in the evening (way LATE in the evening).

 

[~BURNY~]

Well, to my ears I sounds darker and warmer on mahogany made guitars. Maybe I'm raving but I had several guitars with EMG 81 during the past fifteen years, and I always felt the same about this.
I'm not saying it's critical but I think wood make an audible difference. Now I switched back to passive pickups mainly because of the clean sound.