EMG 57 VS X2N (HIGH GAIN) shootout

[reneisgod]

My usual high gain shoot out, same guitar same strings.
Each riff is 2 bars, Emg is 1st up in each instance.

I personally like both so no fav's here for me.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/q2ndd5wvx3wfyxm/57 vs XN2.wav?dl=0

Bpm is 190 incase anyone wants to compare the 2 in a mix.

 

[deLuther]

Can you post DIs (traditional question)?

 

[reneisgod]

yeah sure;

https://www.dropbox.com/s/0y2epjcg1i0hoa7/57 vs XN2 DI.wav?dl=0

 

[deLuther]

Thank you.

 

[Rex Rocker]

Yeah, as soon as I heard the added sub-lows, I figured that wasn't the EMG.

Digging both. I find the EMG more focused and crunchier.

On the last fast riff, I find the EMG works much better, personally.

 

[deLuther]

Sub lows also bothered me in these DIs (and previous, 57 vs 81), should be from interface preamps (or DI box).

 

[reneisgod]

I compared my DI to the DI of a crunchlab found here;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqjFSMoqUPU

and here;

http://killorcure.co.uk/7-string-pickup-comparison-test-results/

They seem fairly similar in the Sub Low, is'nt it normal for a passive to have more sub lows compared to an active anyways?
Also i don't use a tone pot but i think that only adds more high end not bottom, I'm confident its not my Interface or DI box as i have
3 different interfaces and 3 different preamps to try from and i always get the same results, possibly the guitar which is Mahogany and the body is really thick.

 

[Rex Rocker]

Yeah, the lows sound pretty normal to me, but I'm no expert. The X2N is a pretty bassy pickup, though, even compared to other passives, IME.

 

[deLuther]

I mean not sub lows of passive pickup compared to active, but some rise of spectrum towards zero frequency, also present in case of 81 and 57, in active case there should be high pass filtering, so level should be reducing towards zero frequency.

 

[Fagulhakc]

My usual high gain shoot out, same guitar same strings.
Each riff is 2 bars, Emg is 1st up in each instance.

I personally like both so no fav's here for me.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/q2ndd5wvx3wfyxm/57 vs XN2.wav?dl=0

Bpm is 190 incase anyone wants to compare the 2 in a mix.

I like the x2n better on your comparison. Maybe it's because of the accentuated lows that might be cut off on a mix and then the EMG's could be better cause I find it's midrange more "detailed".

Your DI's sound very clean. What interface do you use to record guitar DI's? Do you have any problems with clipping with the EMG's? Do you use a direct box or not?

 

[reneisgod]

I just use the hi-z on my Emu 0404, i have access to better gear like a Radial J48 - focusrite isa one but tbh i can't hear any difference, actually with the EMG's iv'e found that even plugging them into a regular
1/4 input with no DI or HI-Z input they sound just fine. With passives the difference is negligible but nothing that would kill a mix. I've even found that using fx pedals that haven no true bypass sound fine like a ts-9 for example (switched off ofcourse)

 

[deLuther]

reneisgod, are you sure that J48 is better than 0404 USB Hi-Z?
I`m not, because 0404 Hi-Z has 1 MOhm vs 220k on J48, and more maximum input level, +14.2 dbu vs +10 dbu...
And signal path in 0404 USB is simpler, because there no need for additional Op Amps...

 

[reneisgod]

I can't hear any difference with the EMG's no matter what i put them through.
The passive are very slight duller through the J48 but as i said its not to the extreme where it would kill a mix.

 

[CronosBeyond]

You shouldn't use the passive DI-Box with 220k for recording passive pickups. You will loose transients/highs. 1MOhm is the minimum you should use.

 

[reneisgod]

I don't, I use the EMU for the passives, I'm just saying that despite the 1 MOhm vs 220k difference the difference isn't really that drastic and the EMG pretty much sounds the same through everything even directly into line in level.

 

[CronosBeyond]

That's because active pickups deliver a low-impedance signal and are nearly not influenced by anything the has an impact on the signal level like long cables, low-ohm-inputs, etc....

This problem only exists with passive pickups which delive a signal with high impedance.

 

[deLuther]

reneisgod, can you record some DIs with passives using 0404 USB Hi-Z and J48 into it`s mic pre, please?