EMG 707 vs. 81-7 quick comparison clips

[006]

Well, traded someone one of my 707s for one of his 81-7s recently. Decided to do a very quick shootout thingy.

Schecter HellRaiser C7 -> Krank Rev Jr. Standard -> Mesa OS 4x12 v30 -> SM57 on-axis, edge of cap+cone -> Saffire Pro -> Cubase for both clips.

The only thing changing between them are the pickups in the bridge position. Of course with something like this the playing comes into the equation since technically one could have more of an advantage over the other...bleh. I think I played both nearly the same so any differences would be very negligible. Anyway, here are the clips:

81-7
707

~006

 

[Metaltastic]

Yeesh, that is one messy tone dude, damn - it's not overgained, but almost sounds like you're using single coils, are you sure the pickups are wired right? Anyway, it's not the sound I associate with the Krank, but I guess the settings can have a big effect! As I expected, I prefer the 81-7, but totally not for the reasons I expected; the 707 has this weird sorta squelchy thing going on on the pick attacks that the 81-7 doesn't, but I don't find one to be particularly bassier/muddier than the other, which surprises me. Did you keep the same settings between takes? Nice playing btw

EDIT: I should say I find 2 to have the unpleasant squelch and prefer 1, just in case you were a tricky bitch and switched the two around

 

[Jaymz]

Wow, the 707 does have a slight "single coilish" sound, but that clip has ooooooodles of it!

 

[JeffTD]

Hmm yeah I'm not thrilled on the tone overall, but the 81-7 is loads better IMO. Sounds like you're picking the low string out of tune haha.

It won't be the greatest comparison, but when my 1077XL gets here on Thursday, granted the Blackout 7 set I ordered shows up with it, I'll send you DI's to reamp!

 

[Metaltastic]

What's a 1077XL?

 

[JeffTD]

What's a 1077XL?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v654/Sakeido/DSCN2613.jpg

 

[Metaltastic]

Ooh, very nice (though I hate middle pickups, are you gonna replace that?)

 

[Obscura]

Hey 006, you got the pickup already? Shit, I just mailed it on Saturday! I'll have to grab a clip of my ESP with the 707 to see what kind of tone I can get out of it with a maple guitar. That 707 sound is different than what I get out of my Mahogany 607B-->TS-9-->Rectifier. When I start comparing different tones though, I can't help but think about Bulb and the variety of amps I've heard him play through. So much of what we do is in the hands and it seems that no matter what amp Bulb is playing through, there is always a strong quality that is only his.

My drummer is a great guitar player and has a picking hand like Greg Fullton from Cyclone Temple, and he can pick up my guitar with the same amp settings, same guitar, same volume and sound quite a bit different than me playing through the same rig.

 

[JeffTD]

Ooh, very nice (though I hate middle pickups, are you gonna replace that?)

It won't be in the circuit unless I decide to try out some passives, but I don't mind it. My hand is big enough that I pick over the bottom of the neck pickup ring anyways - never gotten peoples huge gripe with something that can just be lowered out of the way.

 

[462studio]

when my 1077XL gets here on Thursday

Dude you suck. Haha.

 

[Ermz]

Son of a.... so that goddamn fret buzz sound that's being amplified so much every time I play is due to the friggin 707s. Gonna swap those pieces of shit out ASAP.

Thanks dude. You don't know how much you helped me out here. Time to give those Blackouts a shot for their money's worth...

I can't believe I spent hundreds of dollars getting my guitar re-fretted then setup incessantly by one of the best guys around here only to find it's the damned pickups at fault... arghhhhh. How could they put such pieces of crap out on the market!!??

 

[Jaymz]

Son of a.... so that goddamn fret buzz sound that's being amplified so much every time I play is due to the friggin 707s. Gonna swap those pieces of shit out ASAP.

Thanks dude. You don't know how much you helped me out here. Time to give those Blackouts a shot for their money's worth...

I can't believe I spent hundreds of dollars getting my guitar re-fretted then setup incessantly by one of the best guys around here only to find it's the damned pickups at fault... arghhhhh. How could they put such pieces of crap out on the market!!??

I would reccommend you not being so hasty to do that from 1 shootout, my 707's certainly don't sound the the ones on this sound-byte.

This is no disrespect to 006 but there is a lot of factors which could be affecting that twangy tone, pickup height being just one of them.

Id do one myself just for the comparison but I don't have a 81-7.

 

[006]

Ok, lots of things to address...note to self: don't make a thread like this and then go to bed.

Marcus: No I didn't change the tone. Everything is identical in both clips.

Ermin: I agree with James on that.

All: The tone is not anything I spent time on...it's how the Krank was set up for a band I was tracking over the weekend. So no adjustment was made to the amp for my guitar prior to the little test. I didn't change it because honestly I didn't see the point in caring about the tone. It's about the way the pickups sound compared to each other. Would be apparent regardless of the settings I would imagine.

I think I may do another A/B but actually spend time on it. I literally just plugged my C7 in, made a quick project in Cubase with two tracks and hit record. Played some riffs, stopped everything and turned off the amp, took the 707 out, put the 81-7 in, turned the amp back on and hit record again. Once I was done I set my locators and bounced...Took all of like 10 minutes total. On top of me doing a 2nd A/B, I think I will include the 18V mod in there as well. 707.9/707.18/81-7.9/81-7.18

~006

 

[Ermz]

Well say what you will but at the end of the day I've observed the exact same issue with my guitar (same Hellraiser as yours). I've had it set-up to within an inch of perfection and yet the fret buzz is still a killer. It'd have to be hail mary for a simple pickup height adjustment to fix that issue. The 81-7 incorporates the fret buzz in a more musical way, and smooths it out. The 707 just emphasizes it. As much as I love the tone of the 707, to find out it's the reason my guitar's been useless in the studio for over 2 years is almost enough to hold a ceremonial burning at the stake.

 

[Metaltastic]

Well say what you will but at the end of the day I've observed the exact same issue with my guitar (same Hellraiser as yours). I've had it set-up to within an inch of perfection and yet the fret buzz is still a killer. It'd have to be hail mary for a simple pickup height adjustment to fix that issue. The 81-7 incorporates the fret buzz in a more musical way, and smooths it out. The 707 just emphasizes it. As much as I love the tone of the 707, to find out it's the reason my guitar's been useless in the studio for over 2 years is almost enough to hold a ceremonial burning at the stake.

Hahahaha, that's gotta be a shitty feeling Ermz, but also liberating, cuz at least now you (probably) know!

 

[Djabthrash]

I think both clips sound awesome. This is the kind of sound i like (remember i'm a very picky bitch). 81-7 sounds tighter and 707 sounds fatter and thicker. They should sound awesome blended i guess (one guitar on each side).

 

[ze kink]

Haha, I've always wondered if that pick attack clicking is actually coming out of the 707's. Apparently it is indeed! I have to say, I'd actually prefer the 707 if it didn't have that, but it sounds annoying as hell now.

I actually just decided to sell my RG2228 because I don't like the tone of the 808's. And because I'm having a custom built with Lundgren M8's, but that's kind of irrelevant.

 

[006]

So it's not just me, the 707 really does have that sound (almost like a single coil) for everyone else too, right?

I agree, the 707 is fuller sounding, meatier. But it's dirtier IMO and has a low mid thing going on that I'm not digging (probably contributes to the meaty sound I do like from it...). The 81-7 is less ballsy and quite like the regular 81, from what I can tell. I need to re-do this little shootout but with the 18v mod on/off for each as well. I will update this thread (the first post) when I do.

~006

 

[Ermz]

So have there been any developments on this end?

I've come in contact with EMG support and asked what's going on. They're telling me that apparently the pickup sounds like its overloading the front end of the amp, but to be honest it sounds nothing like that to me. Also, my pickups are about 3 times lower than they recommended, so I doubt output is an issue

 

[JeffTD]

I've got my 1077XL all setup and fitted with the Blackouts now... Any particular riff you want me to play for this?