EMG pickup thoughts?

Ibanezguy

I recently picked up an Ibanez RG which someone had done a rushed mod job on by ripping out all the pickups and 5 way selector switch to put in a single EMG 85 in the bridge position (its supposed to be in the neck and a 81 in the bridge as I understand?) and just stuck the 9v battery in with prestick LOL. The frets were almost black from neglect but cleaned up a treat with some tlc and wirewool. I cleaned the Ibby up nicely and put a fresh set of 9's on because I have no patience, I had to play it and hear it NOW before making it a project guitar.
It is my first ever EMG equipped guitar and I am very impressed with the tone I am getting, I really didn't know what to expect. Against my S with a D-Sonic the EMG kicked ass and held its own. My dilemma is do I take the EMG out and fit Dimarzio Air Norton and D-Sonic or get another EMG (81 and move the 85 to the neck) and just leave the middle single coil out all together? I have 3 S Series all with different pickups to each other so I'm leaning towards making this RG an EMG equipped rocker. One thing that really appeals to me with an active setup is not losing "tone" when rolling back the volume, this is why I never back off volume on a standard passive guitar.

The negative is that there is nowhere to put the battery without routing and I am hesitant to go that far and really don't want to be removing the whole scratch plate every time I need to replace the battery. why is nothing ever simple?

funkadelic

I'm by no means an expert on pickups but I do have a Schecter with EMG's. I use it mostly for lead style stuff because I don't play heavy rock/overdriven music. Depending on the amp and setting of the guitar I can get some nice medium gain Santana and lekka Satriani tones and beautiful sustain out of it. The guitar is equipped with EMG 85/89 (bridge/neck). I had an EMG 81 in the bridge before but never liked that sound. I'm much happier with the EMG 85 in the bridge.

However I played a guitar recently with passive humbuckers and a 5-way switch. Apparently that type of routing is awfully difficult with active pickups (from the words of the guitar technicians and a lot of reading).

So I would say if you want the guitar to serve a particular purpose go for the active pickups. Before you blow money however try out some other brands as well.

If you want to make the guitar more versatile and have pickups to your taste I would rather put those in there.

AlanRatcliffe

It is my first ever EMG equipped guitar and I am very impressed with the tone I am getting
I have 3 S Series all with different pickups to each other so I'm leaning towards making this RG an EMG equipped rocker.

That sounds like a plan - you like it already and it's different from what you already have. Get a three way switch and an EMG 81 for the neck (I know it's supposed to be a bridge pickup, but a lot of guys find it too bright - ply=us you already like the EMG85 in the bridge).

One thing that really appeals to me with an active setup is not losing "tone" when rolling back the volume, this is why I never back off volume on a standard passive guitar.

You can easily fix that with a treble bleed cap across the volume pot.

Big-G

I love EMG pickups, and find them very warm and full sounding. They are always associated with heavy rock, but I find them far more usable than that, and they sound great for clean tones too. I did however find the 81 bridge to be a bit nasty, and aggressive in the treble, so if you like the 85 in the bridge, keep it there. I had a 60 in the neck, and absolutely loved that. Could be a good combination to have 85 bridge and 60 neck, or even another 85?

An 89 is another option, and that is also coil tap-able so gives further options.

All in all though, I'd say given the other guitars you have, an EMG equipped guit is a good choice.

Regards
G!

Gearhead

I used to have an 89/89 guitar but let it go since I did not find the cleans lively enough (but that is just one guy's opinion). I used the coil taps more in the bridge than in the neck, so my recommendation would be to put an 89 in the bridge and move the 85 to the neck. An 89 is supposed to be exactly like an 85; according to the documentation the 89 just has a stacked first coil for hum free single coil use, which switches out of circuit when in humbucker mode. You must decide upfront whether you want a bridge 89 or a neck 89 because the stacked coil swaps position.

doc-phil

My schecter is equipped with 81/89. I mostly stick to the bridge pick up for distorted tones, it is quite bright which I like. Not a huge fan of the neck pup for the distorted rhythm stuff. The neck does come into its own on cleans, particularly when coil tapped. I find them to be quite versatile, but of course leaning more towards the hi gain stuff.

Slayer

EMG's do kick some serious rear end - but as you're concerned with the battery placement, you should perhaps try out Lace Deathbuckers.

I was contemplating using EMG's when I wanted to change the std "Duncan Designed" pickups on my MTM2 to EMG's, and as they where already active pickups battery placement was not an issue. Then I came across these Lace Deathbuckers!

I thought I may have made a mistake when I originally ordered them from the States. They have some serious bottom end and by using 500k pots you can brighten them up quite nicely (I prefer the 250k's). Another bonus is when using a coil tap you effectivley turn them into single coil pups. No change in volume, no hum, buzz or anything you don't want - just clean tone with plenty sustain. Everything from death metal to Hendrix all on one axe!

When played through a JCM 900 with a 1960A cab (clean stuff) and at a press of a footswitch, change over to a JCM 2000 TSL with a 1960TV cab - BALLS HEAVEN!!

Don't think my neighbours agree though :?

ajdebeer

I own a esp with active pickups and it sounds amazing in my opinion you already got other guitar with passive so to make this one active should me a no brainer and i play with active pickups in church with clean crunch and distorsion and it always souns amazing

guidothepimmp

Basically answered your question yourself.. if you like the sound and it kicks ass, keep them. The 9v space is a small mod. Id just screw a holder into the electronics cavity and be done with it.

Enjoy. Some like, some dont. They are different