EMG 89 vs 89r

[EffigyForgotten]

So I searched it and only found 1 thread with not much information. I have an ESP with duncans in it (dimebucker/jazz) and I have an EMG 81/85 set in my closest and I wanted to put them in that guitar as I usually use that guitar for brutal death/tech death etc. I love single coils for clean sounds and the 85 in the neck before sucked for that (easily the WORST sounding cleans I have ever heard from any guitar) so I was thinking of saving up and selling the 85 to get an 89rx or 89x.

Now which one is brighter in humbucker mode? I liked the 85 for smooth leads on the high strings but the lower strings sounded muddy and bassy, maybe it was the guitar though (it was in a full mahogany/rosewood/set neck guitar) and now i'm putting it in a basswood/maple and plenty of bands get perfect shred tones with their 85 necks so I'm willing to try it again as I don't really want to buy a passive and end up hating it.

And what exactly is the main difference between the single coil modes? The emg site says they flipped it around to "capture the sweet spot" or something but the 89 is brighter?

 

[TheWinterSnow]

They flipped or mirrored the orientation of the pickup so that the split coil is on the size nearest the fingerboard. In the normal 89, it is closer to the bridge. They are in humbucker mode, the same pickup. There are son clips that where posted here regarding the single some of the variations of EMG pickups, like the 81/81TW and the 85/89. To be honest with high gain I couldn't tell if there was a tonal difference.

 

[Rex Rocker]

I dislike the 85 in the neck BIG TIME as well with an 81 in the bridge.

I guess the 85 can be a good pickup depending on the context it's used, but >I< could never get the 81/85 to work for what I'm going for. My experience is pretty similar with yours. A smooth/kinda bassy pickup in an already bassy position just ended up turning into pure mud to me, ESPECIALLY in a context where you've dialed in your tone for one of the tightest/un-bassy pickups like the in a bright-sounding position.

But yeah, the 89 and 89R's only difference is in the single coil mode. If you're going for a neck pickup, you'd probably want the 89R there.

 

[EffigyForgotten]

I guess I should just sell them then.

 

[TheWinterSnow]

If you want something tighter in the neck you can always try the 81TW. Plus those two are not the only two dual mode humbuckers that EMG provide. You might want to give their catalog and the Blackout catalog a look if you want to stay away from passives. FWIW, I am an actives guy too, but I have the opposite experience, I like the 85 in the neck, but I think the 81 when using cleans is what too tiny sounding. The 85 in the bridge is too much for me, so I would like to have a pickup that is in the middle. Maybe the 60 could be a solution for us both.

Eventually down the road I will be picking up most likely an 81TWX and an 89XR.

 

[EffigyForgotten]

If you want something tighter in the neck you can always try the 81TW. Plus those two are not the only two dual mode humbuckers that EMG provide. You might want to give their catalog and the Blackout catalog a look if you want to stay away from passives. FWIW, I am an actives guy too, but I have the opposite experience, I like the 85 in the neck, but I think the 81 when using cleans is what too tiny sounding. The 85 in the bridge is too much for me, so I would like to have a pickup that is in the middle. Maybe the 60 could be a solution for us both.

Eventually down the road I will be picking up most likely an 81TWX and an 89XR.

My guitar teacher had the 81/81 setup and in the neck it sounded awful IMO, very thin and it didn't match the bridge output wise.

I've tried the 60 too, good for bright sterile cleans but not for fast leads under high gain.

 

[TheWinterSnow]

I have no clue what Seymour duncan has too offer, but I would talk a look at those and see if you don't fancy anything. If not, I could give my recommendations of passives that I would play as an active guy if I was inclines to play passive.

 

[Rex Rocker]

If you want something tighter in the neck you can always try the 81TW. Plus those two are not the only two dual mode humbuckers that EMG provide. You might want to give their catalog and the Blackout catalog a look if you want to stay away from passives. FWIW, I am an actives guy too, but I have the opposite experience, I like the 85 in the neck, but I think the 81 when using cleans is what too tiny sounding. The 85 in the bridge is too much for me, so I would like to have a pickup that is in the middle. Maybe the 60 could be a solution for us both.

Eventually down the road I will be picking up most likely an 81TWX and an 89XR.

I settled on the 81TW/60 combo for my guitar (mahogany body and neck) after trying the 81, 85, 60, and 81TW in both positions.

The 81TW is not so great in the neck position IMO because it is not a 81TWR, lol. The single coil mode is not below the sweet spot. I don't know how much that really matters if you've got a 24-fret guitar, but on my 22-fret, the single coil mode does sound kinda weak. That'd probably be easily solved if you just flipped the pickup, but that'd just look plain retarded, lol, so I didn't. I liked the 60 in there more anyway and the 81TW really shone in the bridge position, so I didn't feel the need for an 81TW in the neck.

But yeah, the 60 picks up a little bit less low-end than the 85, but a tiny bit more than the 81. Biggest thing about the 60 it's that it is BRIGHT up top. Much brighter than both 81 and 85. It's almost hi-fi-sounding, so it has great cleans, IMO. I personally like that tone for leads too, but there are people who don't.

And yeah, not too big on how the 81 sounds for cleans either.

Aaaaaand I also think there's a pretty noticeable difference between the 81TW in HB mode and the 81. Enough of a difference for me to prefer the 81TW, actually

 

[PD-Baraka]

try the EMG JH set. i like it, a different active flavor, yet still emg style tone. offcourse pretty expensive to "try".