EMG 81 vs BLACKOUTS - Active Bridge Pickup Guitar Tone Comparison / Review #2 

same, me 40 and I just got some of them on ebay for my rig last week. Now comapring them irl to some immitations I bought from aliexpress and did an 18v mod to it, they almost sound identical XD Active picksups ftw, regardless of brand

@@freddykruger3320 That's awesome man and yeah no disagreement here. If it sounds great who cares what the brand name is?!!

95% of your favorite guitarists didn't have anything else to use. it was EMG by themselves for 30 years...

@@v8sandfreeweights439 I know it's considered cool to dis the EMG active pickups especially 81 and 85s. If I heard an active pickup I'd like more I get them. If the EMG 81 and 85 didn't exist I'd go with the original S.D. Blackouts and if I played 7 strings I'd go with S.D. Retributions.

@@danadane2501 im not dissing the EMGs you blind gorgonite. Just stating facts.

does the blackout plug directly into the emg wiring kit or do you need to do something special to make it work?

Yes it plugs in directly to the emg wiring already installed. @@SoFlaFishing

Not a bad idea. I know some guitarist would have an 81 in both the bridge and neck position but I've never seen your combo utilized. I prefer the old EMG 81 and 85 set but the original Blackouts are killer pickups.

Absolutely. Try it works like a charm. @@danadane2501

No. I have both, two mohogany guitars. The Blackouts are perfect,harmonics, bass, middle and treble. The EMG dont have harmonics and bass like the SD, just like in the review

Just drop that bass from your EQ and now you have more cut

My arrow 1000 came with EMG 81 in the bridge and I can't wait to get rid of it. In my experience compared to other hums i have... it sounds thin, not enough bass, and scooped. And less output overall. I'm definitely not the only person claiming this.

It may be wired wrong or a weak battery cause they Crush! Especially Hetfieds. *And not trying to make u look stupid but here's my story: I bought a LTDV300 with 81/85 and I thought the same thing. I have a DIME V with a DIMEBUCKER (real-i installed).So I'd plug the Washburn in and it would SMOKE the LTD. I was like F this active pickup garbage! Then I sold it for 169$ less than I paid just to off it. Only my buddy that bought it opens it up and looks at the wiring and it's wired wrong! Hahaha He wired that bitch up right and I tell u the chunk out out that guitar will rattle the walls with PRACTICE amp. Now I'm going to put 81/85's in the DIME PRO V.

@@triknomad3988 Nar, the wiring is just a pin clip... It's fine. Reading the specs from the manufacturer's website, it mentions it is designed to cut the lows out. And batteries are new... If you crank the bass up it can accommodate for the lack of lows but it is definitely by design. Just not for me, that's all.

solution = use 18+ volts(for EMG)

Adam Youdell what does that do?

Changes the way the preamp responds. When you use a 9v you are constantly dropping below 9 volts slightly as you play. When you add another battery it keeps well above 9volts going to the pickup and what happens is you get more headroom and IMO clearer response. If you have room for 2 9volts on your guitar there is an inexpensive harness you can buy on Ebay just search for EMG 18 volt mod. OR there is a website called 24 volt mod that uses a small battery back that uses 2 12 volt batteries(EMG's will handle up to 27 volts) That's the simplest solution but a bit more expensive it runs about 20 dollars batteries included

Adam Youdell amazing, do any bands do This?

Yeah there's alot of EMG players that swear by it. I just switched to it and I think it makes a difference, one of the first things I noticed was clearer highs. There's some videos on here comparing it but it's something you just have to hear and feel for yourself. The 18 volt harness is like 7 bucks I think

I got a Razorback V as well. Some years ago I changed Dimebucker with Blackouts. A huge output for high gain, maybe also too much, it's quite difficult to make the guitar sound "clean" on the clean channel. But really a badass sound for metal.

*3:06

Hi! Mayhem is the SH-6 Distortion. You have that comparison vs. Blackouts here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-hifSE5Kf5wQ.html

Thanks for your comment! Wood is always important. You can check an older comparison of these two using a basswood body this time. You can find it here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-sViny8FNwBk.html

I was thinking almost exactly the same thing..EMG 81 have been the go to Heavy Metal active pickups these past 42 years for a reason.

I heard that noise too, not sure if it's from the recording process or the pickup itself

@@mroland808blackouts are supposedly noiseless pickups, emgs just have this ring you can never get rid of its annoying

@@DerSilvano not even a mechanical noise it just rings through the notes 🤷‍♂️

The other individuals response is dead on correct a lot of people like to have an EMG 85 in the neck position. Which will give a more mellow rounded smoother type clean with exceptional clarity. You can put an 81 in the bridge and neck. Kirk Hammett does this. His cleans on the black album were incredible but you can get them to where these pickups shimmer. No mud at all.

Use the volume pot. EMG react incredibly well to rolling down for cleaner sounds. It's all I use, I don't even switch channels

The 81 is unbeatable for clarity with high gain. I use other pickups, but have been using 81s since about 1987, so I'm not new to them. My favorite set is an 81TW bridge paired with an 89 neck because I get all the coil splitting I need because I also play a lot clean, funky jazz rhythms. For leads the 81 just slays.

Like EMG's don't come stock in guitars enough. EMG has dominated for a looong time. Metallica even has signature EMG pickups for James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett. I'm not sure what else can be done but renaming Metallica to "EMGtallica." 😂

they are 199.99

Do you feel also that the EMG 85 and 57 have mid character that the 81 lacks (for bridge pickup)? Would you rather use one of these instead of the 81, typically, for rhythm?

Agree

Honestly, i don't hear that big of a difference (atleast in this video)..

What are you talking about? Some of the best rock and metal tones ever produced have been created with SD's.

🤦🏽‍♂️ I do recordings with both in a major studio. EMG is good for hi gain stuff SD runs the yard for everything else. Fishmans are all hype. You are basing this off youtube vids or real experience?

@@MrMiskut experience, but I have my bias against the typical sound of SD and other passive pickups that emphasize "articulation," or separating string sound. Fishman seems to straddle SD and the typical "active" sound, yet so far sound more like passive pickups without noise to me. I have tried two or three BK pickups also and they suffer from the same "rockin'" sound that I dislike in the Seymour Duncans I've tried. In other words, I LIKE the "compressed" sound (whatever you want to call it) of EMGs and I dislike the washy high frequencies from many passives and Fishman moderns; I don't WANT the "string separation" on low E and the A either. Guitar isn't even guitar for me in the traditional sense; EMG helps make it more of a percussive instrument than the other pickups --in my limited experience with guitar. Some of what I am speaking of here is directly related to also not going full-throttle on my amp. Do you have any suggestions on pickups? Right now I am using Fishman moderns, and EMG GTV.

@@MrMiskut can't stand FIshmans, had the Devin Townsend, Classic, Merrow sets and to me they don't sound that good and the battery doesn't last nearly as long. Much prefer passives and 57/66s

Both need batteries, my friend! They are both active.

Be sure you check out the EMG X-series, EMG 57/66 set, and fishman fluence pickups. I do think fishman owns it in the active pickup sound dept. Right now. EMG is best for ease of install

I did comparison videos for the 57 and 66. Hope to do the same with the X-series and Fishman Fluences if any of them falls into my hands someday :)

So you can play them without the battery but bear in mind, active pups have inherently weaker magnets and rely on boosting the signal (using the battery) so if you choose to go without the battery you'll end up with a pickups thats weaker than most passive pups.

@@AdamYoudell emgs are easy to install in because you don't need to salder wires