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Posted by: jammer91 Sep 20 2007, 04:10 AM

This this guy whose selling used Emg 81's over the net for a good price. Ive been really looking for Emg's since theyre pretty essential for heavy metal.

I have a Epiphone limited edition 1967 Flying V with open coil humbuckers. They dont give me that metal punch im looking for.

Im not really fimiliar with emg's (its weird cause i heard it has a charger and stuff). Can you explain how it works and what to look out for?

Would Emg 81's give me the sound i want (im looking for a Bullet for my Valentine, A7x, Trivium sound)?

How do you think Emg 81 compares to seymour duncans?

Is there any other things to look out for with an EMG?

Budget: $150 max for 2 humbuckers thats good for metal.


Thanks jammer.


An example would be the sound Sean gets:
http://guitarmasterclass.net/search_results.php?formSearch=Sean+Conklin

Posted by: MickeM Sep 20 2007, 04:44 AM

A sound is formed from your fingers, through the pu's and the wood in the guitar further to the amp and copying a specific sound is very difficult.

For the active pu's you'd need place for a battery, which I guess the Flying V has. Get a battery holder in metal that you screw stuck to the body inside the back hatch. There's a "modification" where you add two batteries for 18V. You're getting two EMG81's right?

And to compare EMG81 (a specific pu) with Seymour Duncan (a brand) is difficult since they keep several models.

EMG81 + a hi-gain amp would get you to the sound of these bands.


EDIT: If I was unclear the batteries are regular 9V
The pu's alone won't get you there, but should be a good start.
What amp have you got today? You know, these guitarists use f ex Peavey 5150 on hi gain with a OD pedal in front so they are really pushing it over at the amp end. The amp and overdrive pedal will do the most to achive their sound, guitar and pu will add less.

Posted by: ZakkWylde Sep 20 2007, 04:56 AM

Actually my les paul is just being equipped with emg 81/85 while i'm writing this. I bought them new + install its about 230 euro which is more than 300$. So the guy must be selling his emgs at a very low price to stay in your budget.
A low-cost alternative are emg hz humbuckers. The Hz's are the passive version of the 81, which is an active humbucker.

Yes the 81's are suited for the sound you want (Trivium actually equipped their Razorbacks with emgs!) but the sound basicly comes from your amp, so you wont sound like A7X whith emgs when your amp sucks...

81's are high-output humbuckers with a so-called pre-amp booster which is great for Metal and stuff. Maybe you go to a musicstore and try some guitars with emgs on your amp so you can get a picture if its the sound you want.

Not sure about Seymour Duncans tho, heared that the Live Wire pickups are good...

Posted by: symon Sep 20 2007, 05:29 AM

i posted the other day in regards to 81&85 EMG's http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=6712 i just had them popped into my epiphone les paul gothic and man i love them it sounded so tinny before but now it screams but like suggested by Zakk wylde in above post see if you can try a guitar with some in it
warm regards symon

Posted by: Owen Sep 20 2007, 05:47 AM

My mates new guitars got EMG HZ's actually, if your considering the non battery variety at all, I think they sound great, good crisp distortion on the humbuckers and with the single coil versions you can get some nice cleans.

Posted by: shredmandan Sep 20 2007, 06:03 AM

Dude with the type of guitar you play you gotta get new pickups.Stock pickups in those guitars are terrible for anything heavy.EMG is a good brand but i prefer Duncan myself or even Dimarzio over EMG.Just lloka round and find whats best for you.Do you want an active (with battery )pickup or a passive ?

Posted by: MickeM Sep 20 2007, 06:28 AM

A pu that I don't like the sound of I just find uninteresting, the sound of the HZ I could describe like scratching ones nails on the black board or HZ both sound alike to me. The only pu so far I dislike to the extent it makes shiver.

Posted by: Owen Sep 20 2007, 07:13 AM

I shall just assume that your ears are more finely tuned than mine. I didnt think there was too much wrong with them, pretty normal, but I didnt expect anything out of this world.

Although admittedly we did try them out on a really expensive marshall.

Posted by: tonymiro Sep 20 2007, 07:17 AM

My custom is fitted with EMG 81 and 85 pickups - instalation is as MickeM says - active so you need routing and cavity for the 9v battery. (Minor suggestion- always pull the jack out when not in use to conserve the battery ). The 81 is a great pickup imo but I would recommend that you don't get two 81s - get something else to add a bit of warmth to the overall sound. 81s by themselves, to me, could sound too trebly or even shrill. Having sid that what I like is the breadth and 'transparency' of what is picked up.

Cheers,
Tony

Posted by: MickeM Sep 20 2007, 05:31 PM

No man, it's just my personal preferences. The HZ are stock on plenty of low end guitars so they can't be that bad, it's just me.