Is it me or do ALL EMG pickups suck?

la szum said:
Truth!!
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Yeah, I'm surprised I've put up with the Moderns in my RG from January. Can't stand 'em any more but I do like the voice change mini-toggle. Almost makes me wonder if trying the Devin Townsend would be wise, or if I should just rip 'em out for DMZ passives.
 
Have the 81/85 combo in an RG520SOL, with the push/pull Afterburner boost. Quite versatile. Wish all of my guitars had the on-board boost!

As for the sound, have the 808's (apparently based upon the '85) in a 2228 Ibby as well. They have this "clinical" string-to-string consistency and a clinical sound to them that is great for another option.

Before owning these, was passive pickups for life. They're just a different flavor.
 
spawnofthesith said:
Never personally been a fan, but hundreds if not thousands of other people make em sound great, so :idk
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This is my take, exactly. Every time I give EMGs a shot, I hate 'em. Every time I hear someone who can dial them in playing, they sound great.

Now, my Fishman Classics in my Jackson HT7? LOVE THEM. All the EMG's I've tried don't even come close.
 
Warmart said:
The swapping would be childs play but if I'm swapping from suck to slightly less suck then NO.
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I have no clue how they’re voiced in comparison to the Modern’s, but I can record a clip later tonight of how they compare to an EMG81/85 set and then the two other voicings. The single coil + passive setting is cool, though it sounds like a typical split coil instead of a single coil. I dig the passive or active option, that feels more authentic than the single coil feature.
 
DrewJD82 said:
I have no clue how they’re voiced in comparison to the Modern’s, but I can record a clip later tonight of how they compare to an EMG81/85 set and then the two other voicings. The single coil + passive setting is cool, though it sounds like a typical split coil instead of a single coil. I dig the passive or active option, that feels more authentic than the single coil feature.
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If you think they sound good that's enough for me. Always a chance I won't like them and then I'd just flip 'em. Over 90% of the reviews I've read have been positive and about 60% of them didn't like the Moderns.

In this RG I'd just have voice 1 and 2, no interest in the split option - never cared for any split I've ever played.
 
Iron1 said:
This is my take, exactly. Every time I give EMGs a shot, I hate 'em. Every time I hear someone who can dial them in playing, they sound great.

Now, my Fishman Classics in my Jackson HT7? LOVE THEM. All the EMG's I've tried don't even come close.
Click to expand...

Same, EMG's are NOT for me, and I love my Fishman Fluence Open Core Classics in my ESP EC-1000T.
 
I loved me some 81s as a greasy Metallica teen. They were loud, tight, and cleared long cable runs without issue. Those 3 traits IMO make them a no brainer for metal guys and people touring extensively on big stages.

That said, I eventually started to notice a sort of plastic “sameness” to my crunch tones regardless of what amp I was driving. In my older, fatter age I’ve come around to really prefer lower output vintage style PAFs now that I’m not trying to juice the most saturation out of everything I plug into.

They just aren’t for me anymore, but I get why people use them.
 
I once bought a PRS McCarty with EMGs in them. No shit. :idk

Screenshot 2023-06-06 at 16-08-57 Paul Reed Smith McCarty Reverb.png
 
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