EMG Pickups. Yuck!! | I'm kidding! Must Watch!!! 

99% of why people dont like EMGs is because they read on a forum and are following hype. Close to 90% of everyones favorite metal records are all recorded with emgs. It's not by accident.

I used to dislike EMG's too because I read everyone hates them. In my first guitar I had them but I got rid of them. Recently I aquired a Jackson RR24 with an EMG81 in the bridge. And I fell in love. Great pickups for me.

I love Emg's. I have them in every guitar I own. In the SG's I use one 9v battery due to space. In the others I use 2 9v for 18v. It lowers the amount of compression giving you more dynamics.🤘🏼😎🍺

EMGs have never let me down. I really wanna try some Fishmans tho.

I really love EMGs, i play a dsl 100 and it sounds great with those, real oldschool

I’ll always have a guitar with Emgs, are they my go-to? No, but they serve a purpose and they deliver a consistent, time-honoured tone. I’ve found that they’re super loud when I’m using amp-sims and they are one dimensional.

Used to run the EMG 81s in basically all my guitars back in the day till i tried the EMG HETSET. They sound amazing, can be found for a good price and come in great colors. I'm more of a Bare knuckle Ragnarok guy these days but still use the EMG HETSET for recording.

I install EMG’s in all my builds. Have had people say they do not like them but they do not have any examples of songs or idea who has used them. Yeah, the battery sucks but you loose the hum in single coils. I love the ease of installation also. I put DiMarzio covers on a guitar with EMG’s and some thought it sounds better with those in it. They also think a black guitar sounds better than a red one , or some crap like that. I’ll keep my EMG’s! Man you got a lot of cool stuff!

I’m that weird guy who likes the clean tone out of the 81.

Nope, not my thing either. I do like the DiMarzio DActivator though, it’s a passive with some active dynamics. The 7 string version turned my Ibanez into a monster.

I always see ppl complain about having to change batteries all the time with EMGs but they last 1,000 hours according to their specs. If you played guitar for 2 hours every single day that’s 1 year 4 months before needing a battery change. Like seriously give up the battery argument. All you gotta do is swamp out a battery every 6 to 8 months at worst. It takes less than 5 mins. You have to worry more about your phone battery more than your guitar battery. Now if you dislike the tone, that’s a valid complaint. I personally think EMGs have their place like anything else.

I have tried all 3 combos. Running my 81/85's on 9v, 18v, and 24v. The best sound is running on 18v. 24v you lose a lot of the low end. 18v gives you that true bone crushing sound.

You Might hate them but I freaking love them

Glenn Tipton has used EMGs since forever, and if they're good enough for him, then, you know the rest.

I find EMGs work really nicely with amps that aren't super high gain. I used to have an ESP Eclipse loaded with an 81 in the bridge and 85 in the neck I played through a JCM800 into a 4x12 with greenbacks and got absolutely killer tones. Plenty of gain, nice low end thump, and good high end that wasn't too piercing. Probably my favorite tone I've ever had. I've owned other amps, guitars, and pickups over the years and I'm still trying to get back to those killer tones I got with just EMGs into a JCM800 through greenbacks.

Active pickups have no noise way better than passive there's no comparison EMG pickups are the best pickup you can buy besides Seymour Duncan Blackouts active pickups.

I’ve always liked EMG pickups. Great for classic metal tones which is what I like although people don’t like it anymore.

Louis also don’t discount trying the 85 in the bridge at 9V and at 24V. The 85 is warmer and less fizzy.

Dude, I was the same. Till I came across the X and Retroactive series. Also, I do love the Mick Thomson SD blackouts.

Ive always liked the look of EMG pickups its probably because in my mind they were synonymous with Metal, typically you didnt load them in a guitar for grandpas country music 😂

I am not a fan of EMGs at all! I will say this, when amps were not so “ hot “ on the gain section, yes, I would use with my Jackson with EMGs but..... yes, but.... once amps got a bit more gain on tap I switched to my favourite pickup ( Seymour Duncan jb ) the jb is the Jack of all trades haha and sounds awesome with a decent clean boost with OD pedal. My friend Lars from the band Rancid does have a signature emg pickup ... the DMF model and its give or take based on a Dirty fingers pickup and its also passive! I will get one for one of my guitars out of support but all gear for almost 20 yrs has been Seymour Duncan and refuse to change !

I don’t understand why everyone’s favorite pickups aren’t EMG 81/85

I used active EMG's in a LP years ago and didn't like them, they lacked something tone wise and had hiss at even moderate gains compared to great passive PUPs. It is almost impossible to make a really good low noise, low distortion active amplifier circuit that has 80u amps current draw. This is a simple law of physics. The pickups amplifier chip's many dozens of transistors are running so low current they run much slower, ie the 'slew rate' and 'GBW' is much lower than normal HQ audio opamps. Further to this EMG's differential electronics use high value resistors which is a big part of the hiss that you hear at higher gains. That's called Johnson Noise. You could say it doesn't matter, we are driving a (usually) dirty tube amp but IME, from clean to moderate gains, it's surprising how much active electronics affect the tone. So if you love EMG's, great, keep using 'em, you may like any 'color' that the electronics are adding or - if you are using really high gain, it's probably not noticeable. But if you are wondering is there something I can't quite define missing from the sound of these PUPs at clean to moderate dirt, IME it's most likely the electronics. PS, running 24V supplies on a low current chip does in fact improve the dynamic performance to some degree. TCD

I had 81/85 or 60 in all of my guitars. Then I tried the Hetfield set and was impressed. Then I found the 57/66 set. I found even people that hate actives like those. The 57/66 set goes in all my guitars.

Pickups are definitely a personal preference, but most players I’ve talked to who were anti active pickups were mostly afraid to deal with 9v batteries and have little to no experience with the pickups.

that top...holy shit the sides

People will say they hate active pickups and then go on a hunt for boost, EQ and compressors just to end up with what an active would give them signal wise. There is a reason why sound engineer really like to record with actives.

I love my EMG 81 but internet seems to disagree lol

I've been an emg user for 15 years. Finally got a guitar with a passive (black winter), and now I can finally hear how compressed the emgs are. Ewwww lol

I swapped my 81-85 out with fishman will Adlers. As great as these Fishmans are, I miss the emg’s.

I got Edwards guitar with EMG-81 on it and I really loved it. If battery is gone, just change it… As a musician, you should’t judge just because of your personal sensational reason, buddy.

I yank out EMG and I stuck a DIMEBUCKER in there and problem solved. That pick up is a monster... you already know that though, I remember you did a video on it

EMG pickups are a selective taste however they are not only active they make passive pickups too and they smash however i find somthing like the Het Set from EMG is a good blend of passive and active id suggest you check them out

I love almost everything omg does. I grew up in the metalcore era and all my favorite albums were recorded with emg's. I can totally see why people wouldn't like them though. They have their place

Never used active pickups until I bought a Kirk Hammett V with his signature Bonebreakers. After playing it for a week, I friggin hate them. They just don't have the dynamic range and harmonic richness I'm used to. I swapped them out for SD JB&Jazz

EMG 81 bridge and EMG 60 Neck pickups sound beyond good. i have emgs in a lot of guitars

I use DiMarzio Super Distortion bridge pickups in all my guitars. They are a nice output but not too high and they split well. They can go from blues to death metal.

EMG's have much more punch than normal pickups

I bought a guitar with EMGs, I was a bit disappointed, not very versatile, I read in a forum how to make them sound more "organic" by just replacing the potentiometers from 25k to 1Meg, this mod even allows you to combine them with passive pickups, to me this mod definitely makes a difference I used CTS pots and Russian paper in oil 0,1uf tone cap

I love all kinds of pups... BUT - If I am in front of 40,000 people (and I have been) I want the rig quiet. SO Fishman Fluence or EMG's >> to pedals to amp and even then it may need a hush type pedal for high gain madness (center dry zone) and time based effects (fractal) left and right cab stacks to FOH (via UA ox box) The main problem is,,,,, I love tubes.... and tubes do not like the road and they break..... unexplained rumble on stage is a sign u have a microphonic tube etc.... the fix for that is take tubes out after every gig and that is what brings us to the kemper (randall dimez rg100s are still killer) (the 2nd guitar sounded better for sure (nice string sound on bottom and sizzle on top))

They just sound sterile, without certain dynamics. I just replaced a set with a 59 neck and a Voodoo Custom Krueger bridge. That is an amazing set of pickups together. The Voodoo Custom pickup just blows me away.

if you still have that box of EMGS i’ll buy it from you bro

The first pickup upgrade in went was EMG 81. I used to love it, I even experimented with the 85. Then i moved to SD and since 2016 I’ve been using fluences.

One word.......Fishman's

I bought this mod cant wait to hear the difference.

I've turned more to passive these days. As others have said though, they do serve a purpose. I hate worrying about batteries and all I really want from actives is their chugging goodness in the bridge and the cleans can sound so good and clear, but you can pretty much get there with power in passives and the lovely cleans of passives as well anyways. There's just nothing like rocking out with those passives and the right amp though. It's an everyday struggle on finding a balance to what suits you in one guitar/rig as many others face.

I never could get the chug I was looking for until I got single 81 in my jackson warrior

Damn I would love to have an HSH configuration ESP

The 81 & 85's are the best pickups ever made. I have both in my schecter and id put them up against any other pickups. Hands down best ever! Ill never go back to passive pickups.

Ordered mine today!!! I have an 81/60 set in my Schecter Hellraiser. Thanks for the vid!!!

Duncan Dimebucker is my favorite high output pickups

Having to change a battery is your hang up🤔 Okay 🤣🤣🤣

I spent 18 years avoiding them, I finally bought an Ltd EX-401 in white. It came with EMG’s and at first I thought they were shit (my main is a Gibson Les Paul Modern). But then I realize how to eq them and stuff like that. Now I’m actually addicted to it. I found love.

The 80s emgs that were hardwired sound better to me and i agree about changing to new pots

I have old walkie talkies and old amfm handheld radios from the 1960s some have those double A 9-volt battery adapters

Bro u tripping. Emgx is a great pickup. Not to say that there aren't better ones on the market, thats personal opinion. I was suprised with the set of emg 81x and 85x set that I have in my charvel Kelly.

I love EMG Blackouts and Fishmans

Dude! I got a few of these off of ebay about 2 months ago!! I love emg's and with this battery mod, I love them even more! It is a necessary improvement!

People that hate EMG's simply dont know how to set them up right. Most do the old school get close to the strings n go method which makes the clean sound on ANY pickup sound like sand paper ass. start at that height at set up them strum it thru a good clean amp. Lower them til they dont sound like ass any more. There is a sweet spot you'll know when you cross it. Ordering a set of Glenn Tipton Vengeance pickups for my new build this coming week if I can source them. If not Ill do the Zakk wild 81/85 set

I do not like that tone circut thing they use now. Wished they encouraged you to sodder it in old school!

It's fun to jam some cheesy metalcore riffs now and again with too much gain and no mids. Otherwise my emg's gather dust

This is super cool. After seeing your video I mentioned this to a buddy of mine who actually had one of those battery holders. He pulled it out of a guitar he bought and didn't want it so I grabbed it. I feel like my eclipse is so much more versatile now. I can go from the compressed emg vibe (which I do actually like) to a more open, passive feeling thing in 30 seconds with a battery change. Thanks for the tip!

Get ya some black winters

I almost wonder if that red HSH ESP was for Michael Angelo Batio. Only famous guy I’ve ever seen w/ EMG HSH configuration (only seen it on some home-mod Ibanez RG’s) Yeah it doesn’t split for position 2 and 4, and the middle pickup has to be very high to balance. I crudely 18v modded my RG and am fighting parasitic battery drain rn, but the guitar does sound AMAZING. Between 18v and lowering my humbuckers to get a useable position 2 and 4, the 81 behaves more like an angry Duncan JB, and the 85 is showing a sweet side, still boomy but the treble is less squished. I like it a lot, if only I can figure out what’s wrong with my circuit. It seems like the 18v adds headroom without removing gain. That means your harder picks can peak over the top more than they “should” but your pickup is still gonna overdrive your amp with lighter stuff. This seems to be a difference between modding your older EMGs and buying an “X series” pickup, but someone who’s done both should weigh in.

I like emg. I've grown to hate Seymour Duncan.

If you have a bunch of emgs laying around I’ll gladly take them off your hands. Not joking. If you don’t use them and have the money to replace them I’ll take the pickups your not using.

I'm not a fan of active pickups. They just suck the life out of your instrument. I have a box full of them. I just take them out and replace them with good quality passive pickups.

The EMGX are the 24modded EMG with a 9volt

I equipped my ‘92 Les Paul Standard with EMGs about 17 years ago. 81 in the bridge position and 89 with coil tap in the neck position. I love them! They are great with high gain, yet sound clean and tight through the clean channel. They replaced a Duncan Distortion in the bridge and a Duncan Custom in the neck. I loved those too, but the EMGs are far more versatile.

I suggest you to try out the fishman fluence modern pickups. Not only because are active pickups too, but also you have the option to install a rechargeable battery pack using an usb cable

If you play heavy its emgs or bill lawrence(made by becky/shannon) only. Everything else just aint there.

They still sound terrible, but I've been thinking; if the problem is clipping at the pre-amp, then moving the pickups farther from the strings should have a similar effect.

I have a set of 81-89 on an old Jem555 from the mid 90s, did the 24V mod. I think people over exaggerate how compressed they sound

Everyone loves the 81/85 set. I gave them a go and meh.... Them I got the 57/66 set! Bang! Love em.

I've been playing around with 24 volts as well on my LTD for a while, and the actually testable and audible benefit is that as long as the pickups aren't extremely close to the strings, when playing as hard as you can on clean with the volume rolled back on your guitar, you can hear that there is less hard clipping in the pickup built in preamps than at 9V because the voltage gives those preamps more volume headroom. Also you probably have by now already, but be sure to try the 57 or the Het or the 85 in the bridge, which is a whole different kind of tone. Most modern EMG guitars should have a solderless installation making them extremely easy to swap out as it's just a plug in cable connection. Right now I have a Het in the bridge and a 60 in the neck which is my favorite combo so far (haven't tried the 57 yet). Lastly the X series EMGs already have minimal clipping and very high headroom when run even at 9 volts because they have a redesigned preamp such that they don't need to run on 24 volts to avoid clipping like the older models. Your setup is incredible, keep it up.

Love my EMG's. I have 81/60 on a squier Jim root, I have the 57/66 on a Epiphone Les Paul pro, I have a het set on a Ltd ec401 and I am working on a cheap Les Paul SL by adding single coil EMG pups.

My friends call me a fucking psycho because I put emg JH pickups in a stratocaster to make a super stratocaster And I fucking love it wouldn't change it for anything

Had tried 18V myself and i can admit it sounds clearer and better, so 24 volts should do even more. From what i see, this mod do use A23 batteries (like say, those they put into the auto alarm controls). I believe its won`t be hard to make a holder for those. Thanks for the hint!

Just ordered the 24v battery mod! i'll edit this when I get it to let others here know how I like it.

You can power EMG's through a stereo cable no? I'm still waiting for my first set to arrive, but if i feel i want more voltage i would go that way rather than trying to cram more batteries into my guitar that hasn't got enough space and I'm not routing.

You're wrong about one thing. The guitar manufacturers put cheap pots and switches in guitars. They do it to obviously keep cost down. The emg parts cost more money. I went full solderless and did away with my tone pot. Best $50 ever. Had to get new pickup wires and the $30 emg switch.

I played the EMG 81 since 1985 with zero issues through pretty much every amp made. I switched to the 57 5 years ago and now use them exclusively. Battery issues? I gig 40 to 50 times a year and play everyday and change my batteries every January. Never had one fail.

EMG battery 1 Year. VG Strat batteries 4 hours.

Rather then pulling out a pickup, I keep a guitar as a comparison to other passives, actives . EMG actives are a necessary part of my guitar line up.

I’m a Seymour guy but EMGs are a fucking great metal pickup

Hey man big thanks for this. bought it and it works famously. World of difference.

"Beep. Boop... Beep" - Louis Torres, 2020 Love your vids, mate!

Yo Louis Dam son your still kicking ass. I remember when I first started with you when you had 500 subs. Congrats on the 6,000 man!!! I just bought a guitar with EMGs 81&85 gonna try you advice. Thanks man San Antonio Texas

i just replaced those volume knobs from 25k ohms to 100k ohms and it changes the sound on more head room and punchier tone and installed additional treble bleed.

EMGs Can be as brilliant as any other pick up

Swapped out my 81 for a 57 it sounds huge through my triple rectifier

I buy most every old emg 81 I see, just the ones with the dull yellowy white wax potting from the early 80’s (I think, I’ve never actually researched it) favorite pickups by a mile for getting fat thrash tones and b standard or c# death metal sounds.

I only have eletric guitars. I love my EMG guitar because they sou d good in isolation. If I had 5 of them it would be a different story.

*00:19* Nice 5150

I just had Fishmans installed in my Eclipse and I will NEVER go back to EMGs Cheers from🇨🇦🤘

I can't get over needing batteries though man. Lol sounds killer though

No complaints with my emgs!

i used to hate them... then i just lowered their height :O

EMG makes passives, which I think sounds better than their actives

but i do agree with what you say, changing 9vs becomes annoying because it happens at anytime or anyplace and can ruin a jam session. but i’ve been looking to get RE-chargeable 9v batteries so i can save money