EMG81 on Jackson guitar?

[L'argonauta]

Hi guys!A quick question for you!
I have a Jackson USA neck-thru made in 1992 (alder body, H-S-S pick-ups) , with active bridge pick-up made by Jackson itself.
Of course , it sounds good but I'm searching for a more metallic,modern and powerful active sound.
Should I change it for an Emg81 (for example) or something similar?
I can't check the differences with a similar guitar and so I can only ask to you.
Give me your advice.
Thank you.

 

[Rich - Rannoch]

Hi guys!A quick question for you!
I have a Jackson USA neck-thru made in 1992 (alder body, H-S-S pick-ups) , with active bridge pick-up made by Jackson itself.
Of course , it sounds good but I'm searching for a more metallic,modern and powerful active sound.
Should I change it for an Emg81 (for example) or something similar?
I can't check the differences with a similar guitar and so I can only ask to you.
Give me your advice.
Thank you.

I think a lot of people on this board prefer the EMG 85 over the 81. Until recently I had a Jackson USA soloist with EMG 81's and it sounded great....but, also have one of the really old Charvel Model 5's (pretty much the same as a soloist) with the active Jackson p-ups (the ones that look like EMG's) and I preferred the tone of those...they sounded monstrous, even better than the 81 imo (yours may be different though?). Don't think you can go wrong with 81's or 85's though as far as active p-ups go.

 

[Enmity]

81 or an 85 would work great with that setup.

I don't really care for the Jackson badged stock pickups that were around in the 80's and early 90's, especially if you're going for a modern metal sound. The Seymour Duncan JB-4 sounds really good in Jackson stuff too. I personally prefer the JB-4 in my RR1.

 

[Mendel]

i have a jackson rr 3 with a emg 81 + 85 combi. sounds great to me for all kinds of music.

 

[Ermz]

I think most regulars here will tell you to go for the 85. It tends to have alot more body and less high end fizz, so it seems a bit easier to tame. It's pretty easy to get overzealous with Jackson and active PUs and just have a tinny, plastic sound.

 

[L'argonauta]

I think a lot of people on this board prefer the EMG 85 over the 81. Until recently I had a Jackson USA soloist with EMG 81's and it sounded great....but, also have one of the really old Charvel Model 5's (pretty much the same as a soloist) with the active Jackson p-ups (the ones that look like EMG's) and I preferred the tone of those...they sounded monstrous, even better than the 81 imo (yours may be different though?). Don't think you can go wrong with 81's or 85's though as far as active p-ups go.

My bridge pick-up is the one that look like Emg's !
Is there only Rich-Rannoch that considered the old Jackson active p-ups better than the 81-85s?

About Emg's :have I to go for an Emg85 for the bridge?!
I believed that it was only a neck P-up.
I'm a little confused.

 

[Nitronium Blood]

My bridge pick-up is the one that look like Emg's !
Is there only Rich-Rannoch that considered the old Jackson active p-ups better than the 81-85s?

About Emg's :have I to go for an Emg85 for the bridge?!
I believed that it was only a neck P-up.
I'm a little confused.

EMG 85 is James Murphy's weapon of choice in the bridge.

As is it for Kazrog.

As it is for me.

[If only the search function was working, you could have done a search to find out a detailed explanation of why you may want to have the EMG 85 in the bridge, suggested by James Murphy himself.]

 

[L'argonauta]

EMG 85 is James Murphy's weapon of choice in the bridge.

As is it for Kazrog.

As it is for me.

[If only the search function was working, you could have done a search to find out a detailed explanation of why you may want to have the EMG 85 in the bridge, suggested by James Murphy himself.]

Ok!
And so Emg85 in the bridge > Emg81 in the bridge
(Btw , James Murphy )

But

Is the old active P-up Jackson in the bridge > Emg85 in the bridge ???
Any suggestions?
Thank you , guys!