The Pickups Thread

The EMG journey continues...

SLV / SLV / 85 set installed in my Ibanez AZ. Looks friggin KILLER in white with the tortoise guard and metallic blue. Like they were made for this guitar.

I'll have to mess around with it a fair amount, but out of the gate I like it more than the T set (SA style). These are noticeably louder and seem to have a sound in between the other EMG single coil and a big fat single coil (probably because of the alnico pole pieces instead of rail). Balance is alright with the 85 but I haven't messed with gain yet.

Installation was a bit of a pain. The Ibanez has a long barrel jack and the stereo Switchcraft wouldn't work, but luckily the stock jack was TRS. So I had to look up some info and then ended up clipping the wires off the EMG jack and soldering directly to the Ibanez jack. After that it was completely solderless. But fitting the wires was a bit of a pain and I had to carefully route them around in the cavity. Luckily everything more or less fits and works just fine, although I may need to mess with the pickup wires a bit as they are pushing up slightly on the bridge humbucker.

IMG_4051 (1).jpeg
 
Funny thing, after I installed the pickups last night I gave them a whirl through my Kemper Player. I hooked it back up as I wanted something plug and play to see how they would sound through something like a classic MBritt.

They didn't sound great honestly, I was surprised how bright they were. I turned the tone knob down to 5 and it was better. Thought I'd sleep on them and try again the next day. Well this morning same thing, just didn't sound all that good. Went to the output setting of the Kemper to check on the EQ as maybe I was messing around with that. Turns out I had disabled the cab modeling lol.

Playing through an amp model AND a cab model, sounds much better of course! Output is a notch higher than the Tele set as I mentioned before, a little hotter than vintage Strat pickups, which is exactly where I want them. SLV singles seem to blend well with the 85 humbucker...the singles are clearer and more scooped while the 85 has more mid push (like a milder Duncan JB with leaner/tighter bass). Neck is fat clear and balanced...middle is pretty spanky sounding which is actually useful. Neck/mid sounds cool, not as mushy and weird as Dimarzio Area noiseless but not super bright and scooped like vintage single coils. Bridge/mid is less useful as the bridge dominates the sound, but that's fine as I almost never use it.

Also with gain, there's good clarity without excessive high end. It's again pretty balanced sounding. Pretty much what I hoped for exactly when I ordered them.

Next up will be fully dialing in a range of sounds with them including mid gain classic rock. That's where the 85 in my drop C guitar wasn't doing great.

Might even continue the EMG journey with the Jazzmaster set which looks awesome as a drop in for my Squier J Mascis. That and a new tailpiece that doesn't rattle would be amazing.
 
I’ve been playing Dimarzio Areas on my gigging Strat for years. First I had the 58,67,61 combo but the bridge was weak. So I put a Virtual solo in there and have been happy with it. But the 58 in the neck always felt a little dark to me. Anyway, I saw the new tonerider apex classics were released recently and took a leap based on some YouTube vids and comparing the dcr and inductance values. Lo and behold they sound great in the neck and middle. A little brighter and clearer in the top end and I can use my tone knobs if I want to go darker. It’s got the classic Strat neck thing and the in between positions are super quacky. I’m still getting my ears used to the new sounds but I’m thinking they are a keeper.

Of course @2112 has a great comparison vid on the tonerider apex (but his are the plus version):
 
holoholo said:
I’ve been playing Dimarzio Areas on my gigging Strat for years. First I had the 58,67,61 combo but the bridge was weak. So I put a Virtual solo in there and have been happy with it. But the 58 in the neck always felt a little dark to me. Anyway, I saw the new tonerider apex classics were released recently and took a leap based on some YouTube vids and comparing the dcr and inductance values. Lo and behold they sound great in the neck and middle. A little brighter and clearer in the top end and I can use my tone knobs if I want to go darker. It’s got the classic Strat neck thing and the in between positions are super quacky. I’m still getting my ears used to the new sounds but I’m thinking they are a keeper.

Of course @2112 has a great comparison vid on the tonerider apex (but his are the plus version):
Click to expand...

Wow, different experience on the 58 for me. Were you using 500K on the volume pot?
 
holoholo said:
I had 250ks. I always had to use the tone knob wide open.
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Oh, ok. I use 500k on all my areas. Opens the top end up more. I've been meaning to try the virtual solo for bridge, but have been using the heavy blues 2 in a guitar and it's working out well so far.
 
FuzzyAce said:
Oh, ok. I use 500k on all my areas. Opens the top end up more. I've been meaning to try the virtual solo for bridge, but have been using the heavy blues 2 in a guitar and it's working out well so far.
Click to expand...
Makes sense. That’s a good idea. I’ll have to try it out if I ever swap back.
 
I found a deal on an excellent condition used V90, black like my S66, so I treated myself to it. Should be here by the end of the week. I know the pickups don't sound like P90s, and that's actually kind of appealing. I like distinctive sounding guitars. I know these things didn't sell well at $1500-1600, but at a third of that they're incredibly well made and play great.
 
ChordInversion said:
I found a deal on an excellent condition used V90, black like my S66, so I treated myself to it. Should be here by the end of the week. I know the pickups don't sound like P90s, and that's actually kind of appealing. I like distinctive sounding guitars. I know these things didn't sell well at $1500-1600, but at a third of that they're incredibly well made and play great.
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I like the Vox Bobcat pickups a lot. I first bought the V90 and went with the S66 afterwards.

The V90s vaguely remind me of the P90s in the Squier J Mascis Jazzmaster. P90 influenced but with some extra glassy attack. The other more traditional P90 guitars I have are more mid focused and darker.
 
Got two of my guitar projects done yesterday:

On my old 97 Strat, I flipped back over to Dimarzio Area noiseless. I have a few loaded pickguards I can swap out relatively easily (although I really should start using quick connects). For this though I did put in fresh pots as I had them on hand and the ones in there looked questionable. It's a custom pickguard from Warmoth I drilled for master volume and tone because dumb Strat knob positioning.

Went with the Dimarzio Area 67 neck, Area 58 middle, and Injector Bridge in the bridge. Inspired by Jeff McErlain's custom Strat where he has that config (with a 61 in the middle). I actually already had the setup in this pickguard but flipped the 67 and 58 around (I've got a couple 61's somewhere but didn't want to bother).

Really I wanted to compare these with my EMG Luke set. The Areas are noticeably more scooped and bright and a bit lower output. This config sounds pretty dang good though surprisingly. I had a set of 63 era pickups in there before and those were really bright and noisy. The Areas are like 75% vintage and 25% modern noiseless. I prefer the EMG's with EQ tweaking but this will be a nice alternative.

On my PRS S2, I pulled out the EMG 85 and went back to passive pickups - the trusty Suhr Thornbucker set. Probably my favorite pickup set and I honestly just needed to put them in one of my guitars. This guitar I am running in D standard / drop C and because it's all mahogany it can get dark and bloated. The Thornbuckers are pretty clear sounding pickups so it seemed to fit. Also the guitar has a satin nitro finish that's worn down and the raw nickel humbuckers that are also worn down look pretty sick.

I also blocked the tremolo, found a piece of wood in the garage and cut/sanded it down to size. It's a tiny bit big but I wedged it in and now it's not coming out lol.

The Thornbuckers sound pretty cool with this guitar in drop tuning. This guitar is loud as hell so lower output pickups work fine. I have a PRS CE-24 with Andy Wood pickups in it which are a bit hotter, that works well because the CE is a brighter and more balanced sounding guitar. With both guitars in the same tuning with same pickup height (measured) the S2 with Thornbuckers (8.5k bridge) still has more output and a fatter low end compared to the CE-24 with Woodbuckers (12k bridge). Sorry for the "guitar doesn't matter" crowd.

The EMG 85 sounded alright but I didn't love it in this guitar. It had a mid forward sound with extended high end but didn't tighten the lows enough. Didn't clean up all that well either. I do like the 85 in my Ibanez AZ with the Luke set though, that sounds like a better match for those "single coils".

Next up, I have to figure out what I'm going to do with my Tele. I put in the EMG Tele set but it's pretty bright and low output and the neck pickup won't adjust as the nut popped out of the bobbin. Will probably just super glue that and try it again, but I may end up taking those out and putting Dimarzio Area pickups back in it (with the Hot T bridge). I still love the EMG set in my Ibanez AZ but in the other guitars it's not knocking my socks off.

IMG_4177.jpeg
 
Got the EMG T set sorted out, at least for now.

I pulled the pickguard out and took out the neck pickup. Looking closer, it seems the circuit board material that serves as the base has a tiny crack right at the edge next to the brass nut which the mounting screw goes into, which is why the nut came loose. I pressed it back in and carefully glued into place with a tooth pick and some super glue. It seems to be working fine now.

However plugging in the guitar, the volume was extremely low. It was a quiet clean tone despite using a cranked up Friedman amp in the patch. Pulled the battery and replaced it and then the volume jumped. The old battery was around 6.5V and the new battery was around 9.5V.

This is odd because I had tried a couple batteries and metered them to troubleshoot the low output before, so I knew it was good. The guitar sat unplugged for most of the last two months as well. Not sure why the battery drained.

Anyways with fresh strings and everything back together, it's better but still a bit tame. Compared to the Dimarzio Area set, the EMG is a bit lower output with less of a treble peak and more balanced midrange. The Dimarzios sound more like a single coil with the scooped tone and the EMG is between single coil and a rail humbucker (tonally).

I'll keep like this for a while but I could see myself going back to the Dimarzio Area set with Hot bridge if I continue to avoid this guitar.
 
Jarick said:
Got the EMG T set sorted out, at least for now.

I pulled the pickguard out and took out the neck pickup. Looking closer, it seems the circuit board material that serves as the base has a tiny crack right at the edge next to the brass nut which the mounting screw goes into, which is why the nut came loose. I pressed it back in and carefully glued into place with a tooth pick and some super glue. It seems to be working fine now.

However plugging in the guitar, the volume was extremely low. It was a quiet clean tone despite using a cranked up Friedman amp in the patch. Pulled the battery and replaced it and then the volume jumped. The old battery was around 6.5V and the new battery was around 9.5V.

This is odd because I had tried a couple batteries and metered them to troubleshoot the low output before, so I knew it was good. The guitar sat unplugged for most of the last two months as well. Not sure why the battery drained.

Anyways with fresh strings and everything back together, it's better but still a bit tame. Compared to the Dimarzio Area set, the EMG is a bit lower output with less of a treble peak and more balanced midrange. The Dimarzios sound more like a single coil with the scooped tone and the EMG is between single coil and a rail humbucker (tonally).

I'll keep like this for a while but I could see myself going back to the Dimarzio Area set with Hot bridge if I continue to avoid this guitar.
Click to expand...
I have to say, I've had no volume issues with my recent EMG TCX set. Granted, it's ceramic so a slight bit hotter, and it's in the X series. But so far so good, I really like them.
The Area T's are great too, I had them in my other tele for a long while. Only changed out because it's what I eventually do. :LOL:
 
I just got a CE22 stoptail in the mail that came with Dimarzio Fortitude pickups in it, they are Joe Duplantier from Gojira signature humbuckers. Based on the PAF 36th anniversary, with very specific tweaks, like a mild bass boost at 160Hz, and a slight scoop in the mids. So PAF tone with a bigger butt and smaller waist :D

I've been chugging on a Seymour Duncan SH-14 Custom 5 for the past 20 years for the same similar qualities, it's self described as a higher output 59 with more bass and scooped mids.

But Duncan's are i think vacuum wax potted and machine wound, tone is super consistent and super quiet.

Dimarzios like to do this scatter wind thing, and if potted at all it's some proprietary stuff and/or process. I mean to say, with Dimarzios you can hear the air gap between the wires! Like old Zeplin tone. The pick attack is more present, sounds faster, distortion is clearer, note separation is more defined. If Duncan's are like a clinical lazer, Dimarzios are like a kaleidoscope of harmonics. They seem too add actual harmonic content to the signal like all the copper wire windings in real studio rack gear does. Dimarzio to Duncan is to me like Passive to Active. On a smaller window of cable sniffing
 
0XI0 said:
I just got a CE22 stoptail in the mail that came with Dimarzio Fortitude pickups in it, they are Joe Duplantier from Gojira signature humbuckers. Based on the PAF 36th anniversary, with very specific tweaks, like a mild bass boost at 160Hz, and a slight scoop in the mids. So PAF tone with a bigger butt and smaller waist :D

I've been chugging on a Seymour Duncan SH-14 Custom 5 for the past 20 years for the same similar qualities, it's self described as a higher output 59 with more bass and scooped mids.

But Duncan's are i think vacuum wax potted and machine wound, tone is super consistent and super quiet.

Dimarzios like to do this scatter wind thing, and if potted at all it's some proprietary stuff and/or process. I mean to say, with Dimarzios you can hear the air gap between the wires! Like old Zeplin tone. The pick attack is more present, sounds faster, distortion is clearer, note separation is more defined. If Duncan's are like a clinical lazer, Dimarzios are like a kaleidoscope of harmonics. They seem too add actual harmonic content to the signal like all the copper wire windings in real studio rack gear does. Dimarzio to Duncan is to me like Passive to Active. On a smaller window of cable sniffing
Click to expand...
The qualities you speak of with the Fortitude is why I love the Steve's Special. It takes it a bit further even. I like that it doesn't have the honky mids that a lot of hot humbuckers seem to have, so it stays very clear in the midrange without getting stuffy. Fat bottom and tight top. I've often referred to it as a tele-esque sound on steroids, just not as bright.
 
FuzzyAce said:
The qualities you speak of with the Fortitude is why I love the Steve's Special. It takes it a bit further even. I like that it doesn't have the honky mids that a lot of hot humbuckers seem to have, so it stays very clear in the midrange without getting stuffy. Fat bottom and tight top. I've often referred to it as a tele-esque sound on steroids, just not as bright.
Click to expand...

see now I'm falling down this whole rabbit hole of 50+ years of Dimarzios I've never tried, but probably always been hearing without knowing it, Steve's Special is ceramic mag, tuned high output from 19 ninety five.  annnd i became aware of its existence approximately 50 seconds ago. today. :oops:

Duncan's is like the box wrench isle at Lowes with the tools. Dimarzio :pickle is like Baskin Robbins with the  flavors
 
0XI0 said:
see now I'm falling down this whole rabbit hole of 50+ years of Dimarzios I've never tried, but probably always been hearing without knowing it, Steve's Special is ceramic mag, tuned high output from 19 ninety five.  annnd i became aware of its existence approximately 50 seconds ago. today. :oops:

Duncan's is like the box wrench isle at Lowes with the tools. Dimarzio :pickle is like Baskin Robbins with the  flavors
Click to expand...
Haha, never too late! I've had on and off luck with Seymour, mostly off unfortunately. But with Dimarzio I can honestly say I've never had a dud. They just seem tuned to my ear.
 
FuzzyAce said:
Haha, never too late! I've had on and off luck with Seymour, mostly off unfortunately. But with Dimarzio I can honestly say I've never had a dud. They just seem tuned to my ear.
Click to expand...
My experiences are similar. All of the Seymour Duncan pickups I've had so far had something annoying about them. One sounded too sharp, another too bloated. Yet another was unpleasantly honky, the next one too scooped. Some might call it ‘character’, but I always felt like I had to fight against them, for example by swapping magnets. For me, DiMarzio pickups just sound more pleasant and balanced.
 
TheTrueZoltan! said:
My experiences are similar. All of the Seymour Duncan pickups I've had so far had something annoying about them. One sounded too sharp, another too bloated. Yet another was unpleasantly honky, the next one too scooped. Some might call it ‘character’, but I always felt like I had to fight against them, for example by swapping magnets. For me, DiMarzio pickups just sound more pleasant and balanced.
Click to expand...
100% it like the Ford /Chevy thing
A lot of the Duncan guys hate dimarzios and complain about a signature cocked wah sound , which I either don’t hear or like that vocal quality to the mids
My main Ibanez RG has been a ToneZone and I have never changed it
I have used Duncan custom , Hot rails
Tom Anderson. H2+ , Duncan pearly gate , Duncan invader / distortion
The ToneZone just does a thing I dig
 
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