Hi ya'll. I was just wondering what are the best humbucker pickups I can buy. I've heard a lot about EMG 81's, but I'm wondering if those are that good. Oh, and if it helps, I'd be putting them into a BC Rich Platinum Ironbird.
Humbucker pickups
- Thread starter BulletRider
- Start date
Iced In Flames
Shredderite
All depends on what style you play. A lot of people will say EMG right off the bat. If you jsut want a good metal tone then those are fine. If you want to sound like everyone else. EMG pickups have their own sound to them. Listen to Zakk Wylde. His Les Paul doesnt sound like other Les Pauls.
A Lot of people seem to like Seymour Duncan JB's and Dimarzio Super Distortions.
A Lot of people seem to like Seymour Duncan JB's and Dimarzio Super Distortions.
i play old death metal in the vain of Kataklysm's Temple Of Knowledge era. I tremelo pick single notes alot and I also tremelo power chords a lot, if that helps anymore. It sucks that I can't try out pick ups before I buy them
Krigloch the Furious
Pants full of poo
Hexer
Member
I have a Dimarzio Super Distortion 2 in my BC Rich NJ Warlock
I mainly play Black, Melodic Death, Thrash stuff and it sounds good to me. I havent had the chance to try active EMGs so far....
I mainly play Black, Melodic Death, Thrash stuff and it sounds good to me. I havent had the chance to try active EMGs so far....
Erik
New Metal Member
NocturnalSun
The Dark Wanderer
yeah EMG's are generic of the metal category. good but not great. If you're going to do it up Seymour Duncan style, I'd suggest the Dimebucker, the Invader, the Pearly Gates, or the SD's. Either of them are good metal pickups. You should really go to a guitar shop, though, and try each of them out to determine what sound you want out of those. Most shops will carry a good selection of Seymour Duncans if they are an ok shop. I used to use a Bridge Dimebucker before my guitar got stolen.
It's all a matter of preference really. Names don't mean a thing, so just look for whatever pickup looks ok for the guitar and sounds like you want it to. It's the amp that really gives 95% of the sound anyway, so pickups wouldn't be the first of my worries if I was in your shoes. consider getting a better amp. Crate, Marshall, Peavey, whatever you prefer.
It's all a matter of preference really. Names don't mean a thing, so just look for whatever pickup looks ok for the guitar and sounds like you want it to. It's the amp that really gives 95% of the sound anyway, so pickups wouldn't be the first of my worries if I was in your shoes. consider getting a better amp. Crate, Marshall, Peavey, whatever you prefer.
DiMarzio owns Seymour Duncan. X2N, Megadrive (special order, they don't advertise them anymore), or Tone Zone. X2N's are loud as hell and have really good tone, the Megadrive is also very loud, and pretty clear sounding. Kerry King used to use them way back when if I'm not mistaken, if that matters. Tone Zones are my current favorite however. Really smooth, loud, bassy, but not muddy. My Ibanez RG550 with a Tone Zone sounds a million times better than my KV2 with a Duncan JB, if that gives you an idea of how badass they are.
Bryant
Mr. Sleepy
I have an 81, but it's stored in a box with a bunch of various "guitar shit" in it. I have owned it for about thirteen years or so. I had it in an old big bodied Gibson Marauder (similar to a Les Paul in size and shape but with a single cut-away) and it sounded good, but I really like the stock pickups in my vandenburg and Ibanez, so I never transplanted it in there.
One of the problems I have had with the pickup is that if you forget to unplug your guitar, you kill the battery. Then you have to pull the pickguard or backplate and replace it. The EMG also uses a special jack and a special volume pot, so all of that will have to be replaced. Not to say it won't be worth it for you, but as I am satisfied with the stock pickups in my current guitars, I'm not going to go through that headache.
Bryant
One of the problems I have had with the pickup is that if you forget to unplug your guitar, you kill the battery. Then you have to pull the pickguard or backplate and replace it. The EMG also uses a special jack and a special volume pot, so all of that will have to be replaced. Not to say it won't be worth it for you, but as I am satisfied with the stock pickups in my current guitars, I'm not going to go through that headache.
Bryant
EMGs are not bad pickups, but they have a sound..the EMG sound. If you want the highest output pickup around, that is it-BUT-I think tone wise they are not that great and sound very sterile to me. You can put a EMG in a cheap guitar and they sound about the same really.
Duncans and Dimarzio are both great pickup makers. If you go Duncan, I suggest you look into the Invader, Distortion, and Custom. The JB is not a bad pickup by any means, it's just more of a "all around" pickup.
Dimarzo has the X2N, Megadrive, and many others(not really familar with Dimarzio) that are also good.
I have a real Bill Lawrence L-500XL in my Jackson USA Kelly with my tone nob replaced by a Lawrence "Q-filter". (turning it down is like taking windings off the pickup..I can almost get single coil sounds out of it..makes the pickup VERY flexible). GREAT pickup..balanced, hot with outstanding clarity.
You just have ot wait a few months for one as they are hand made.
Duncans and Dimarzio are both great pickup makers. If you go Duncan, I suggest you look into the Invader, Distortion, and Custom. The JB is not a bad pickup by any means, it's just more of a "all around" pickup.
Dimarzo has the X2N, Megadrive, and many others(not really familar with Dimarzio) that are also good.
I have a real Bill Lawrence L-500XL in my Jackson USA Kelly with my tone nob replaced by a Lawrence "Q-filter". (turning it down is like taking windings off the pickup..I can almost get single coil sounds out of it..makes the pickup VERY flexible). GREAT pickup..balanced, hot with outstanding clarity.
You just have ot wait a few months for one as they are hand made.
Hexer
Member
as far as I know, the Seymour Duncan Livewire Metal has quite a bit more output than the EMGs (first pickup I've heard produce one hell of a feedback in clean(!) mode)
you'll probably have to be extremely carefull of uncontrolled feedback with such a pickup though.....
you'll probably have to be extremely carefull of uncontrolled feedback with such a pickup though.....
Sunbane
Metalistic Madman
There are a lot of misconceptions around regarding EMG pickups.
"The hottest pickups around" - wrong. I'd say medium-high output. The DiMarzio X2N smokes any EMG as far as output goes, and the Duncan Live Wire Metals will smoke anything else on the planet.
"They all sound the same" - wrong. That's why they have different models. But for some reason everyone buys the 81, which has a very flat frequency curve and processed sound (a bit scooped). The sound of an 81 is easy to identify, even when in different guitars, but if you directly compare two guitars with it, you'll hear the difference. If you want a more organic, mid-rangey sound, get the 85.
"The EMG-81 is the loudest EMG" - wrong. The 85 has more measurable output, but I doubt the difference is audible.
'bane
"The hottest pickups around" - wrong. I'd say medium-high output. The DiMarzio X2N smokes any EMG as far as output goes, and the Duncan Live Wire Metals will smoke anything else on the planet.
"They all sound the same" - wrong. That's why they have different models. But for some reason everyone buys the 81, which has a very flat frequency curve and processed sound (a bit scooped). The sound of an 81 is easy to identify, even when in different guitars, but if you directly compare two guitars with it, you'll hear the difference. If you want a more organic, mid-rangey sound, get the 85.
"The EMG-81 is the loudest EMG" - wrong. The 85 has more measurable output, but I doubt the difference is audible.
'bane
Krigloch the Furious
Pants full of poo
NocturnalSun
The Dark Wanderer
Good points, Sunbane (and good quote from your sig, is that Blind Guardian or Dark Tranquillity? I cant remember). I love the stock pickups I have right now, but hearing about the DiMarzios in such high favor makes me wanna go out and land me a bridge X2N.
Nocturnal Emperor
Why so serious ?
The Seymour Duncan Invander is a great pickup i put one in the bridge of my fender strat and the tone is heavy,loud,sharp and crunches like a motherfucker. I'd recommend them to anyone.
my guitar has 3 settings for my toggle switch. I usually play it with it set in the middle. what pickup am I using? i feel stupid for not knowing this. i've played guitar for about 2 years now but never got taught, so i don't know certain things. The neck pickup is the lower setting, right? and the bridge is higher pitched, eh?
Erik
New Metal Member
Well... The position closest to the neck is the neck pickup, the one closest to the bridge is the bridge pickup... The position in the middle is likely to be both at the same time if you have a H/H setup, I think, but there's no real standard. My H/H Ibanez has a 5-way switch for lots of strangeness like split coils and stuff, other guitars have 5-way switches wired differently...
Hexer
Member
if the guitar has 3 pickups, the middle position will (in most cases) use the pickup that is in the middle (between neck-pu und bridge-pu).
if the guitar has 2 pickups, the middle position will (in most cases) use both pickups at the same time.
thats how it usually is, though it seems to be different on some guitars
if the guitar has 2 pickups, the middle position will (in most cases) use both pickups at the same time.
thats how it usually is, though it seems to be different on some guitars
