EMG 85 vs. 81 Sound Clips (by me)

Hammer Bart said:
If you don't like actives you don't like the sound of Andy's Productions. = A
If you don't like passives you don't like the sound of Andy's Productions. = B
huh? :err: i said "A", i never said "B". where did you come up with that one?:erk:

and yeah.. i play acoustic at home more than i play electric.. and it really does help your technique to hear what you are doing without the "distortion mask". :headbang:
 
I didn't mean to imply that the little logic part was a quote James, I'm sorry. The point was that a band like Nevermore use actives and say Arch enemy use passives and both sound great. At least to my ears. So getting Andy's productions into a discussion about whether actives or passives are better still depends on personal taste of the listener. Your post just lead me to expand on the topic or whatever. Don't take it too seriously, it certainly wasn't meant as an attack on what you said. Just my view on things.
 
I love playing acoustic. There's such a natural quality to having the sound resonate through the actual instrument and come back to you as opposed to having it converted to a signal then driven back via an amp. All the little quirks in playing come out alot more prominently on acoustics which is really great. *thumbs up to classical style guitar*

With the EMGs... no I don't hate Andy's productions, well apart from the Opeth DVD which I don't really hate but more dislike. I just simply preffer the sound of passive pickups, I don't really know how else to put it. Andy can use whatever he wants to get the sounds he does on his albums... lord knows its served him well so far :) but for my own playing and for my own tastes I preffer passive pickups. Maybe that prefference will change in time, but at the moment it's set.
 
Brett - K A L I S I A said:
Mmmmm, are you sure you are not at "6" ? ;-) (haha, no offence)

Hehe. Yeah, well sometimes I go to "6" if I've had a few beers and lose my inhibitions.

But I feel ashamed the next day when I realize what I've done.

Anyone know of a good solvent to remove clumps of sheep fur and chocolate syrup from a Bass DI and a karaoke machine?
 
I went out and bought an 85 last night because i liked the sound clip. I've been using 81's since i started playing. . i had to turn down the bass and up the trebble. It definately growls more than the 81. I like it alot, but now i've got to adjust my eq some. I've got to mess with my mids now. I like the clean sound alot better too.

Why do people rip on EMG's for? I love hearing all the notes of a chord ring out, plus they're quiet as hell, no buzz from lights and electrical equipment. Up until last night i had two 81's in my Explorer, and with both pickups on i got this real cool jazz tone. it almost sounded like a big hollowbody. plus you could have a 100' long guitar cord and not have any tone loss. where as passives are limted to 20'
 
Shane: awesome tone! What amp/cab/mic model did you use, and was there any post EQ or any other processing?

And for Andy, James, or anyone who knows: what are the tonal differences between the EMG 89 in humbucker mode and the EMG 85? I've heard a lot of conflicting opinions and stories, and I'd trust someone here sooner than some Harmony Central review. :p Oh, and if anyone can post a clip or something, that would be AWESOME. :)
 
Disconnekt said:
Shane: awesome tone! What amp/cab/mic model did you use, and was there any post EQ or any other processing?

And for Andy, James, or anyone who knows: what are the tonal differences between the EMG 89 in humbucker mode and the EMG 85? I've heard a lot of conflicting opinions and stories, and I'd trust someone here sooner than some Harmony Central review. :p Oh, and if anyone can post a clip or something, that would be AWESOME. :)

Thanks!

What I used was the Criminal amp model into a virtual 4x12 with vintage 30s, with a virtual MD 421 mic, with a REAL Ibanez TS808 reissue pedal in front. I recorded two tracks with this sound, and then another two tracks with the same exact sound only with a virtual SM57 mic. The virtual 57 gets some more mids.

I had stated previously that the POD is way better with a real tube screamer, which it is, but last night I started getting some pretty usable tones using their virtual "Tube Drive" pedal (which is NOT the same thing as their virtual screamer.) I was getting a similarly "glassy" tone out of it. What I really look for is getting that nice roundness to single notes that you get out of a real 5150 and TS808. Too much of that though and the chords start sounding really weird... it's a balancing act for sure.
 
I have found that the choice of 81 or 85 in the bridge depends on what guitar it's going into. On guitars with a thick and dark tone like a Les Paul or a ESP Viper I prefer the 81. On guitars that have an over all brighter tone like my ESP M-II I like the 85 in the bridge. The beauty of the EMG quick connects allows you to swap things around for a quick test without breaking out the soldering iron. The clarity of the EMG's makes them a no brainer for me over other pickup brands I have tried. I like the 89 or a 60 in the neck depending on my needs at the time.
 
Hi Kazrog,

I'm just wondering how to download the EMG clips & demo that you have posted here? I've tried but it's asking me for a username/password. :headbang:
 
Something has survived!

lost_world_jurassic_park_ver2.jpg


I pulled these down a long time ago guys. Not the best clips either... although they are representative enough. I'll take a look around and re-post them on the Sneap Forum FTP if I find them. I don't have a guitar with an 81 in it anymore to do this with better, unfortunately.
 
Thankyou Kazrog, anything with the 85 in the bridge would be great.

Check out all the songs on my band's album on our site - it's all EMG 85 or EMG 707 content. Hint: the tracks with the 85 in the bridge are 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, and 8. The 6-strings in question are either an ESP F 2005 or an ESP MH 400 NT depending on the song (never mixed the two together though, and I don't recall which songs I did with which guitar.)

The 7-string (if anyone cares) was an ESP Stephen Carpenter 7 (not baritone) with a fucking maple body which made the tone kind of lame in spite of the fact that I replaced the stock 81-7s with 707s to get closer to an 85 type of sound. I have since sold and upgraded to a Schecter Jeff Loomis.

The rig is a Peavey 6505+ head with a Keeley-modded Ibanez TS808 reissue in front, into a Mesa Oversize 4x12 with an Audix i5 mic on the cab into an original Neve 1073 preamp/EQ. Quad-tracked rhythm guitars with 2 tracks of crunch channel and 2 tracks of lead channel. The same rig was used for the guitar solos.
 
damn I forgot how awesome your band is kazrog. This is very similar to the music I aspire to make. Great production. COuld you give more info on it? Did you do it all yourself? Godamn this sounds good. :headbang:
 
damn I forgot how awesome your band is kazrog. This is very similar to the music I aspire to make. Great production. COuld you give more info on it? Did you do it all yourself? Godamn this sounds good. :headbang:

Thanks man! I produced this album along with my bassist (who also posts here as doc_backmask) in my spare bedroom at my old place in 2006. It was a lot of effort and a big learning experience and I think our next album will be better, too!