Duncans VS EMGs shootout!

[006]

Well, I've got four sets of 81/85 EMG's that I'm going to blindly remove from the guitars they are in, and blindly replace them with either SD's or Bare Knuckles. But come on, give me a chance, I've only been using them for 20 years, done hundreds of gigs with them, spent thousands of hours playing, practicing, recording and teaching with them, so what would I know

Oh man, I've got lots of experience myself with EMG and SD pickups. I've played close to 150 gigs with my old SD equipped LP Custom and probably close to 300 gigs with my EMG equipped EC-1000. I still have the EC-1000. Really what it comes down to is personal preference anyway, there is no reason to argue something so subjective as tone, that is nonsense. There is no possible way to say which pickup is better for a fact. For your preference, you like passives, nothing wrong with that. I like passives too. Just not for anything involving saturated tones. I love the TexMex single coils in both my Strats, I like the sound of a passive in a good 'ol Les Paul. My preference for anything in the high gain territory, i.e. metal, nothing else will do it for me other than an EMG. For me.

Again, a blind test would have been so great for this comparison. I'm not mentioning any names specifically, but I would just love to see how many people realize how full of shit they are some times. People that won't comment on a sound clip unless they know what was used first...biased fucking BS. People that dismiss gear with no reason other than brand bias, instead of judging it by the quality of sound. Very rarely does the occasion come about, but damn if it doesn't crack me up when some people talk out of their ass only to find out they were completely wrong on their guess. People should not have different comments based on their knowing or not knowing what was used.

Sorry that was a little rant that is probably a little misplaced in this thread, but it's good to get it out.

~006

 

[Metaltastic]

Amen to that, let it flow brotha! And my feeling on pickups is they really don't make nearly as much of a difference as amp and even cab, so I'd much rather focus on those where it's MUCH easier to test a bunch (rather than detune strings, unsolder/unscrew, blah blah blah, not to mention having to own a pickup to install it and try it out), and tons of my favorite tones were done with all different pickups, so I'll stick with EMG's, which I know if nothing else will be passable (unlike the JB, which I had briefly in my new guitar and HATED, flub city).

 

[viggen666]

both sound good, JB a bit warmer, EMG tighter but thinner....
would like to hear a comparison with an EMG85 too

 

[jangoux]

would like to hear a comparison with an EMG85 too

+1. I am finding my 81 to be a bit thin and i am thinking of swapping it with the 85

 

[NickL]

+1. I am finding my 81 to be a bit thin and i am thinking of swapping it with the 85

For those two I've found that they mic up very similarly but the 85 has bigger lows. The best idea would be to just swap them and see for yourself, because it's easier to hear a difference in the room than it is on tape imo.

 

[Godhasblessedme]

I agree, I don't want to get into any debate or argument here.
I guess my response was a little hot headed, its just that as a "newb", many forums (and I'm not suggesting thats the way here at all) tend to treat you like you just picked up a guitar that day.
I still love EMG's, they are great for certain requirements. Its just having a different tone to explore for the first time in 20 years, I'm loving what I'm hearing and all the different dynamics I just never got from the EMG's.
Peace!

 

[LSD-Studio]

... its just that as a "newb", many forums (and I'm not suggesting thats the way here at all) tend to treat you like you just picked up a guitar that day. !

but the same forums tell you you're teh n00b if you don't have your mids boosted and set to 11.


most HCAF-members are just idiots

 

[Ermz]

EMG 85 vs SD JB would've definitely been a 'fairer' comparison to both brands and styles of pickup (if we're aiming to match tones). Speaking of which, I don't think I've ever heard a direct comparison of 707s to any other EMG, or pickup of any kind for that matter.

I've used and recorded a wide range of guitars and it definitely all comes down to the situation at hand, the player and their own preference/style. I've had people that I've converted over to EMGs simply because of the bite and articulation. Other people have stuck with passives because it suits their aims better. I have to say that, in my experience, a fair majority of metal players do tend to favor the character of EMGs for what they're trying to achieve. Even if they don't realize they're hearing EMGs, or are polarized by that stigma about them sounding 'sterile and inorganic', when it comes to putting tones down on 'tape', they almost always win for high-gain tones.

At the end of the day, we're all full of shit. We tend to pass judgment without a fair appraisal all the time, and much of the time we don't even get a chance to do a direct comparison that isn't mitigated by external factors. Even Gearslutz, the 'holy grail' of engineering forums, has shit-talking in absolute spades. You simply can't get two people to agree on everything.

 

[NickL]

You know, I had no interest in doing this at all but a couple of months ago I asked if anybody would like to hear a JB 81 comparison and everybody said yes. Now everyone's telling me what I should have done differently. Next time do it yourselves and pick whatever the hell pickups you want to compare, but this is all I had laying around the house. Next.

 

[Metaltastic]

Hahahahahahahahahahha, seriously - I think you summed it up best here, Brood:

My mistake, next time I'll be sure to buy pickups I'm not interested in owning at all.

 

[NickL]

Seriously though, what's wrong with comparing two very popular pickups just so people can see what they like or dislike about each? Why does everything have to turn into a pissing contest?... If I had a few extra grand laying around I'd buy an 85 and a full shred and an Invader and fuck it one of everything at the Bare Knuckle website because everyone knows they blow all other pickups in history away for any style

 

[greyskull]

i had jbs in my gibsons for years, and loved em...then they both died and need rewinding, fuckers!!
tried an 81 in the sg and really didnt like it, but then again, i dont play anywhere half as METAL stuff as most of you guys,
so i took the pickups back to stock and couldnt be happier!

BUT that said, if i was playing really metal stuff, id probably have an emg

 

[Sloan]

The EMGs definitely had more "bite" and attack to them, but the Duncans were defintely more full sounding.
My favorite was the Viper with Duncans, wish I could have heard the EMGs with the Viper too, all the Eclipse tracks were noticeably thinner than the Viper.

Thanks for the clips dude.

 

[Godhasblessedme]

and fuck it one of everything at the Bare Knuckle website because everyone knows they blow all other pickups in history away for any style

Tim brought a strat down with some "texas" style single coils in it he'd recently made and fitted...and they did blow away any single coil I've ever heard.
He told me most EMG fans buy the nailbombs or the miricle man as replacements. He bought a les paul down with Miricle mans in it, and it fkn ripped.

 

[NickL]

Tim brought a strat down with some "texas" style single coils in it he'd recently made and fitted...and they did blow away any single coil I've ever heard.
He told me most EMG fans buy the nailbombs or the miricle man as replacements. He bought a les paul down with Miricle mans in it, and it fkn ripped.

That's good because I'm buying them all.

 

[Sloan]

You've gotta post clips of all of them too.

 

[NickL]

Right after I hunt down and KILL EVERYONE ON ULTIMATE METAL FORUMS

 

[Godhasblessedme]

Right after I hunt down and KILL EVERYONE ON ULTIMATE METAL FORUMS

Do you need my address?

 

[SoloDan]

From my experiences, if you take 2 mahogany guitars each loaded with an EMG 81 in the bridge, and run them through the same amp at the same settings, they will sound pretty much the same. Not exactly, no doubt, but damn close. It seems like a lot of bands that use EMGs with tight settings will get really similar tones (As I Lay Dying vs Atreyu?). Not surprising, of course, but still worth noting that if you like a guitarist's sound, and he uses EMGs, you should consider them.

 

[Godhasblessedme]

From my experiences, if you take 2 mahogany guitars each loaded with an EMG 81 in the bridge, and run them through the same amp at the same settings, they will sound pretty much the same. Not exactly, no doubt, but damn close. It seems like a lot of bands that use EMGs with tight settings will get really similar tones (As I Lay Dying vs Atreyu?). Not surprising, of course, but still worth noting that if you like a guitarist's sound, and he uses EMGs, you should consider them.

I have mahogany les pauls loaded with 81's that sound pretty different.