i'm using an ESP LTD AX-50

i play mostly metal but wouldn't mind playing some softer stuff. does it make much difference if i play clean with EMG's ?

Well, I play clean SOMETIMES on my Les Pauls..... And they sound nice and full....

Again, EMGs should sound excellent on your AX.....

^
even on clean? lets say i play some i dunno jazz or blues or anything other than metal that doesn't make my mum angry?(a lot people cannot tahan pinch harmonics )

what i hear from EMG cleans is that they kinda lack warmth and sound sterile
but with loads of gain, be prepared to get smacked in your face with sound lol

keep off EMG81 on the bridge if you're using alder body or bright sounding woods

from my experience, the EMG81 on a kelly sounded horrible, shrilly and err fuzzy.
i can't say the same if its in a warm sounding guitar tho

but well, i'm not a fan of active pickups so, maybe im a little biased =p

you all just havent met the right active pickup yet

cos guys like nickelback, mark knophler, SRV can pull it off with EMGs...

its all about having a unique sound that fits the song.

yeah
that might be the case

SRV used EMG's???? o.O

tsk tsk, you a SRV fan or not?

his hamilton guitar, the one with 'stevie ray vaughan' inlaid across the fretboard had EMGs in it.
after recording his 2nd album, it was rewired with traditional pickups.

you can see it with EMGs in the 'couldnt stand the weather' video.

As quoted from WikiPedia:

"Main was a custom-made Hamiltone Strat given to Vaughan as a gift from Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top on April 29, 1984. The guitar was originally supposed to be made in 1979 with "Stevie Vaughan" inlayed with mother-of-pearl in the fingerboard. The plan was crushed when Vaughan started using his middle name. It had cream-colored plastic binding around the body and neck. It was also constructed of 2-piece maple wood and originally had white EMG pickups, an onboard preamp, and Gibson-style "bell" knobs. After the making of the "Couldn't Stand The Weather" music video, Rene Martinez, Vaughan's guitar tech, rewired it with a standard Strat system. The guitar also had a jazz type tone as described by Stevie Ray."

But one of these days, I'm gonna save up for a pair of Bare Knuckle pickups and get an Epi LP custom to try 'em out.

It's the same guitar he used for the Cold Shot video, the inlay looks great. I think I have a vid of him playing that guitar live, but I'm not sure if it's still using active pups.

Gilmour did get an ace tone during the 80s/early 90s, I guess they did fit into his music.
Though, the tone he got during Live 8 was less heavier but much more orgasmic.

so much are the pickups? both 81 and 85. my sister coming back from UK, wanna check prices there too

UK not cheap. . . seriously. . . its around the same as here slightly cheaper. . . rather you get it off the states. . .

but i dono i heard so many actives and whenever i plug one in it just sounds the same as the other active on the other guitar only slight differences which can't really be noticed unless you're really anal about tone. . .

Hi. Need advice on SSS pickups on a Fender Standard Strat MIM. Has anyone heard of Kinman? How is it compared to DiMarzio? Thanks in advance.

kinman's etc are good, so are any of the other well known manufacturers.
but you'll have to order online to get them.

for me tho, if single coils i'll just stick in fenders.
easy to get also, usually a set of 3 will be about RM500-600, decently priced.

Ordering online is not a problem.

Am just curious what are the major differences on tone wise and etc.

differences of cos got so many, ask yourself first what sound you want

yes and go to the site and look at the pup EQ. . .

from there you can get a rough idea how the pup's characteristics are. ..

then factor in your guitar body woodwork and what kinda music you play and what kinda tone you looking for. . . then voila pup =D

Hmm... What sound I want?

Not too sure how to describe. But something less noise, not too heavy, but power enough for hard rock's distortion. When it comes to clean, want its tone to be really clear and warm.

P/S: I'm just trying to gain more knowledge, not time to buy yet as me still beginner learning.

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Added on May 6, 2007, 3:48 pm

Thanks! Will look into it.

Try out the Velvet Blue...... I'm now whoring DiMarzios for Single Coil. Will have to wait until next month to install them into my CrapStrat.

if thats the case then go for the Blue/Red Velvet pups by DiMarzio =D

i use it and Blacktrix seems to be following suit soon =D

go for medium output single coils if you're not going into the heavy territory. . .

i'm using the HS-3 too and it's good in a sense that it has very low outputs but enables me to push the amps gain and volume up. . . this enables me to push the amp more as the pups are not hot. . .

i'm waiting for the Area pickups and may save up for the 58

Kinman has gotten a number of positive reviews around as some swear by their noiseless pickups. From the clips on their website, they do sound much superior than Fender noiseless pickups.
Though there are a group of people who think that you can't get genuine singlecoil sound without having the 60-cycle hum. Hence, by canceling the noise, parts of the singlecoil authenticity get lost in the way.

The thing about boutique pickups is that they're bloody expensive and the tonal difference isn't huge unless you've got a very picky ear and a good amp to back it up. It's probably not worth the trouble, so the next best alternative's mass-produced ones.

Speaking of DiMarzio, went to JS today and they had loads of DiMarzios on display. New stock I guess.

Advice on which model on which position can?

well basically your choices are quite simple as you're looking for traditional vintage pups. . .

Neck and Middle / Bridge

Blue Velvet /Virtual solo
Red Velvet /Virtual Vintage solo
FS-1 /Blue Velvet
Area 58 /Red Velvet
Area 61 /Area 58
/Area 61

as you can see the choices are quite small as you want a traditional sounding pup. . .

the area series are just modeled after vintage pups only with less pull and less hum. . .

the blue velvet gives a warmer side but still retains the fender twang same goes for the red but less warm more clarity. . .

i haven't tried the FS-1 before so i can't say much but from what i gather it's a warm fat pup which has no intention of being like a traditional vintage fender pup so if you're looking for that twang look away but if you want something different then yea. . .

the virtual solo and vintage solo is hotter and has a balanced eq. . . not too high so it will pierce but not too low till it loses its vintage twang tone. . .

thats about it. . . didn't include those new rail pups and stuff since it wont be vintage anymore

Wrong place to post arenoll..... That's why I deleted the last one.....

how are seymour duncan distortion pickups?

Which model for what guitar, after what sound?

Details man! Details!

You are in the forum long enough to know you should ALWAYS list down details when asking questions!

just curious on the pickups. max cavalera uses them as well as wayne static..
max with his AX and wayne with his explorer

SweetTooth : Firstly.. What tuning will u be playing with that pickups on your guitar? And what guitar do u plan to put the duncan distortion into?

Like blacktrix taikor said, details! heheheheh

peace

i guess i'll be putting it in my AX?
tuning? drop c/standard

i think its wat kind of sound you're looking for is the question they are trying to ask you =p

oh. i just wanna know roughly how the pickups sound like thats all

Again, there are SO MANY Seymour Duncan models.....
Do you want the Livewire? Dimebuckers? 59' Alnicos? JB? Jazz?.......
Too many to list down..... which is why we are asking what kind of sound you want so we can recommend you a model................

he mentioned seymour duncan distortion

u want drop tunings may i suggest dimarzio D Sonic? keke

Ok, I've got a question about pickups in general...

what's the difference between direct-mounted pickups and those mounted in a pickup-ring (y'know, like got a box around the pup...)?

Is there a tonal difference? If so, like how?

apparently theres no tonal differences.
it just looks cooler

i was thinking of doing it, but then seeing how much of the pickup sides were exposed just to get it at the right height, i decided to put the ring on.

also any pickup adjustment, since the screws are in the wood, the holes might get bigger with continuous adjustments...then see the pickup fall out

i did notice tho in petrucci's rock discipline video, he originally had pickup rings on his guitar since can see 4 holes surrounding both pickups.

Really? I always felt that pickup rings look cooler... like the pickup is in some kind of altar... hehe..

some argue that direct mounted is better coz of better sound transfer/vibration coz its directly mounted unto the body wood as opposed to being mounted on some plastic ring. and there goes another argument where some ppl use brass pickup rings as an alternative to direct mounted. dont ask me how true is that.

i personally prefer direct mounted. mine is.
however, i do notice that most high end ibanez's (sig models exempted) are direct mounted.

How much is the price of EMG 81 and 60. Just give me the total and the price of each model. Thx

in bentley?
think they increased price again.
EMG81 about RM430, EMG60 i think is RM380.

while in SG, its SGD135 / RM300 each, doesnt matter what model.

how much is an EMG85 then ?

If you're getting an EMG81/85 combo, it's cheaper and easier to get the Zakk Wylde set, which is just the EMG81/85 combo with longer cables for the longer Les Paul shafts.... and that will fit in most guitars anyway....

About RM700 sticker price in Bentley, but you should be able to knock it down to about RM680-670 like that.

You can buy it separate and the price above does NOT include installation costs. Generally, it's about RM50 PER PICKUP..... but if you buy 'em both at the same place in a set, sometimes they only charge RM50.

You can actually install them yourself if you have a soldering set and are quite handy with it. But if you're worried that you're going to ruin your baby (and it DOES happen with inexperienced hands), I suggest you leave it to the experts.

I thought we'll need like batteries for the active pickups? if DIY, just place the batteries together in the wiring place?

Yes. You'll also need to route a battery compartment.... and if you're guitar doesn't have room for it, you'll have to make a cavity.

That's why it's easier if you let a proper luthier do it for you.

most guitars will have a room for a 9v battery.
MOST.

one of my guitars didnt have room, was a 1vol / 1tone setup.
and i wanted EMGs in it, so i sent it off to have the tone vol hole filled in and refinished.
i dont use the tone control anyway, so no loss, and now i got EMGs in it

Tnx blacktrix!




Good idea! Very nice!

How much did it cost u to fill in the tone vol hole n refinish? Where did u do it?

edward of freeman.
about RM100, you cant tell there was a hole there before

My pickup i just wanna insert into my BC rich, which currently have thier custom pickup itself

how much are EMG 81 and EMG 85(both individually) now?
how about EMG ZW?

i heard from a friend that they're both essentially the same, only the ZW set has longer wires or something like that

Yeah. Loner wires because the shafts in the Les Paul bodies are longer too....
Both my ZW sets are in LPs anyways.