Anyone swapped EMGs with Fishmans?

[FuzzyAce]

Some one here I forget who mentioned that yes the Super Distortion was popular and everybody did get them until amps started having a lot more gain on Tap, and then a lot went back to PAF

Not sure who mentioned that but it does make sense. The SD helped push a lot of those vintage gained amps into od, and the ceramic magnets normally have a tighter bottom which is beneficial in that scenario. Over years preamps have become much more refined with a lot of gain on tap so there's flexibility there with lower wound pickups. There are no rules though, and not everyone likes to use the same amount of preamp gain -- it's all a balance act and what the goals are for a specific tone.

 

[la szum]

Some one here I forget who mentioned that yes the Super Distortion was popular and everybody did get them until amps started having a lot more gain on Tap, and then a lot went back to PAF

Yup. It was also pedals like the Tube Screamer that came into play. You could hit your front end
of the amp harder with a pedal, and push it into breakup sooner and get more compression
(as well as lopping off low-end and humping the mids, which pickups tend not to be able
to offer in such a drastic manner).

But yeah, crazy how everyone craved more gain, and then we all maybe got too much gain, and
then were like "Maybe less gain is not all that bad."

 

[Iron1]

My favorites to date have been the … dimarzio fortitude.

I’ve wanted to try one of those since they came out. Crazy enough you’re the first person Ive ever seen who has tried one in the wild.

Tell us more, please.

 

[northern_fox]

I’ve wanted to try one of those since they came out. Crazy enough you’re the first person Ive ever seen who has tried one in the wild.

Tell us more, please.

Dunno if this will be of any help - but maybe the DI tracks will. Black winter, black heaven, fortitude, emg85, fishman alnico. Sounds kinda like the fishman DI has some bit of clipping, and I'm not really sure why that is, as there was nothing in the chain and I don't use interface gain. The fortitude is nice and thick, but that downside is that it tends not to "cut" as much as some of the high outputs. Much less harsh though, which is a plus and has a lot of depth to it. It still might be my favorite of all these. These are all via my LTD V and my e530/vht NAM captures.

pickups

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[Los-D]

Dunno if this will be of any help - but maybe the DI tracks will. Black winter, black heaven, fortitude, emg85, fishman alnico. Sounds kinda like the fishman DI has some bit of clipping, and I'm not really sure why that is, as there was nothing in the chain and I don't use interface gain. The fortitude is nice and thick, but that downside is that it tends not to "cut" as much as some of the high outputs. Much less harsh though, which is a plus and has a lot of depth to it. It still might be my favorite of all these. These are all via my LTD V and my e530/vht NAM captures.

pickups

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Very nice comparison. I agree on the Fortitude with it being lower output. Not well versed on Fishman. Is that the Alnico sound on the Modern or a separate pickup?

 

[la szum]

I liked the Black Winter the best from those clips. I swear that DI of the EMG85 gave me instant ear fatigue.

 

[northern_fox]

Very nice comparison. I agree on the Fortitude with it being lower output. Not well versed on Fishman. Is that the Alnico sound on the Modern or a separate pickup?

Alnico modern - I think that one was voice 1 and voice 2 is a little more passive-y but not that much. Also added the SD custom for reference which is a little more scooped and looser.

Here's another sound - less gain, and a looser amp (dual rec NAM capture @MirrorProfiles shared for testing in the DR thread) and a different IR for a different perspective.

pickups_2

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Again, these are mostly for my tonal reference and never really meant for them to be public so forgive my inconsistent playing :)

I liked the Black Winter the best from those clips. I swear that DI of the EMG85 gave me instant ear fatigue.

The DI sounds really give away the differences. Between fishman and EMG I think I lean towards fishman alnico because of the split coil and prettier cleans, and it will sound great under high gain in the mix just like EMG. Also don't discount what you can do with pre-EQ besides just drives - you can really change the character that way. Of course this with _my_ playing hands and my tone choices and my guitar, so take it with a large grain of salt haha.

 

[Iron1]

Dunno if this will be of any help - but maybe the DI tracks will.

pickups

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This is awesome - thanks for doing it. I love these quick, easy A/B type clips. Makes it so easy to land on a pickup and identify why.

I must have listened to these two vids for 25+ hours over the course of the year in 2015? 16? when I first went way down the pup swap rabbit hole:

 

[Los-D]

Alnico modern - I think that one was voice 1 and voice 2 is a little more passive-y but not that much. Also added the SD custom for reference which is a little more scooped and looser.

Here's another sound - less gain, and a looser amp (dual rec NAM capture @MirrorProfiles shared for testing in the DR thread) and a different IR for a different perspective.

pickups_2

Listen to audio losslessly with Samply.app

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Again, these are mostly for my tonal reference and never really meant for them to be public so forgive my inconsistent playing :)



The DI sounds really give away the differences. Between fishman and EMG I think I lean towards fishman alnico because of the split coil and prettier cleans, and it will sound great under high gain in the mix just like EMG. Also don't discount what you can do with pre-EQ besides just drives - you can really change the character that way. Of course this with _my_ playing hands and my tone choices and my guitar, so take it with a large grain of salt haha.

Thanks! I’m intrigued by the Alnico Modern though I love EMG. Adding the SD Custom helps since it’s a pickup I’m very familiar with.