EMG 81/85 Bridge position shootout! (and first Dual Rec test!)

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Metaltastic

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Feb 20, 2005
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COMING SOON!!!!! Bwahahahahahahahahahahaha :heh:

But seriously, they are - I tracked the DI's with each pickup tonight, and will re-amp 'em tomorrow. I used this beauty:

9-Collage.jpg


And all you Ibanez haters can just eat barrels of penises, cuz it's got a goddamn hardtail bridge and mahogany body :) (and a seriously thick maple top as well as a maple neck, so I'm as curious as anyone else to see which pickup I prefer). First thing tomorrow I'll re-amp!
 
This should be fairly interesting... because in some guitars I have, I'm loving the 81... but it others the 85 is teh r0x0rz...

I believe the only thing this shootout will prove is which one is better in your particular guitar... but I am interested in the results nonetheless... :kickass:
 
AudioPhile777 said:
I believe the only thing this shootout will prove is which one is better in your particular guitar... but I am interested in the results nonetheless... :kickass:
Click to expand...

Duh ;) But at least they're in the same guitar! (rather than a certain recent well-meaning but useless Blackout vs. 81 shootout :heh: )

Moonlapse said:
Marcus, if you want me to re-amp them quickly with a 6505 using impulses, I'll gladly do so.
Click to expand...

Thanks Ermin! I wanna be the first to deflower them with my Recto, but once I get that all set I'll upload the DI's so you can go to town!
 
Alright, here we go! While I was at it, I decided to include a shootout of power tubes as well, so there are 4 mp3's in the RAR - one of each pickup and power tube type. All performances were double tracked, and each pickup has the same performance reamped through each set of power tubes. I honestly have a hard time hearing much of a difference (but my ears are admittedly fried from tweaking the tonez and such), but I'd say the EMG 81/6L6 combo is honestly my favorite. The amp was my 2 ch. Dual Rectifier with my TS7 in front, running through my Stiletto 4x12, mic'ed with a single 57 (zero processing after recording). Here's the link:

http://drop.io/Metaltastic/asset/metaltasticemgpowertubeshootout

And here are the DI's (EDIT: with a stereo drum file) for anyone else who wants to have a go! (note: I made the mistake of getting a string set with an unwound G, and that's the last time I ever do that, yecchhh :ill: So apologies for the occasional twangs; at least now I have my PERFECT string set narrowed down!)
 
Thanks for the link. I personally liked the 81 better on both clips. I felt that it had a more tight and clarified low end. I must say they both sounded great and were very similar in a lot of ways. I liked the way you dialed in the gain. It's not saturated but very raw and brutal. As for the tubes, the EL34's are more of my taste a little more than the 6l6's. Again I just hear slightly more definition in the overall mix. Thanks for the clips. Nice comparison!
 
Mauri, see my reply above dude ;) (although in the future I'll make zip archives, no biggie).

Rockguitar, thanks man! I definitely prefer the clarity of the 81 as well (Dandelium and Jocke, I'm surprised you guys don't; to me the clarity of the 81 is especially apparent in a good way on the slow arpeggio notes the right channel guitar plays, the 85 just sounds a bit muffled by comparison), and now that I listen I think I would've wanted to move the mic a bit more away from the dustcap to get it just a tad smoother (one thing to REALLY be careful with on these amps is the presence knob; on Peaveys, it sounds great at like 3 o'clock, but on the tone you're hearing I had it just above 9 o'clock!) - still, I'm pretty happy with it for a first time mic'ing it! As for the difference between 6L6's and EL34's, I have a REALLY hard time picking, they're so subtle IMO...
 
Alright, I reupped the files as zip archives rather than RAR, and included a stereo drum .wav file in the DI archive for anyone who wants to re-amp! (I'd love to hear what anyone could come up with, but please no ampsim stuff, boooorrrriiiinnnnnggg ;)) Links above
 
Not a big fan of the guitar tone (a bit boxy for my taste) but the 81 definitely wins for me, here...
Agreed with the fact that the difference between EL34 and 6L6 is pretty subtle... seems like the power-amp design and output transformer is much more important the the tubes type...

I'll play with the DIs to get a better idea, thanks a lot for taking the time to do this!
 
Wild Hades said:
Not a big fan of the guitar tone (a bit boxy for my taste) but the 81 definitely wins for me, here...
Agreed with the fact that the difference between EL34 and 6L6 is pretty subtle... seems like the power-amp design and output transformer is much more important the the tubes type...

I'll play with the DIs to get a better idea, thanks a lot for taking the time to do this!
Click to expand...

ditto, but the 85 wins it all the way for me.
 
Ok, well it was my first time mic'ing up the amp, I'm working on it - but it'd really help me if someone could reamp the DI's, cuz I'm really considering posting a WTT thread for an 81 for my 85, and hearing the tracks through someone else's rig would def. help!
 
Haha, that's quite a collection Kyle, I may take you up on that - did you just pull 'em all out of your guitars that came stock with 'em?
 
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