@@wojciechszeler2and he was right... sort off... pickups May change the tone a little bit, but not as much as the Speaker!!! I'd say: Speaker First... The the cab size... Then the amp... Then the pickups...
Even now, in 2023, I still consider the EMG81 to be one of the best solutions for the bridge pickup if you need to record high gain (not crunch) riffing with palm mutes. The low end is tight and the overall sound is balanced IMO. I haven't done recording with Fishman, it's a bit different character but it's used by so many people for a reason. It would be interesting to see a video that also features high output Bare Knuckle pickup.
I always prefer EMGs over Fishmans when watching/listening to comparison videos like this. I also preferred the sound of some Dimarzio pickups over Fishman pickups in a comparison video that Tosin Abasi did which leads me to think that Fishmans are so overrated now.
I was coming here to say the same thing. It’s a focused and balanced pickup. While I don’t have any installed currently I’ve always liked them. They have a certain compression that balances the extreme low and highs down and leaves all you need for the cut and chonk.
Thanks, man this video is so informative. Seymour Duncan JB was created in the '70s. listen carefully, it has unique GRITH in high frequency, and a lot of dynamics. it was amazing.
Video came at perfect time, always been an EMG fan for 10+ years. Had 81/85 for longest time, went to Het set, all have their purpose but really digging the Nazgûl and Duncan Distortion Side note John - you are the absolute best at capturing the growl of the amp in your mixes. A mix breakdown 101 would be an awesome edition to the channel
JB ! more open, good treble, mids as it should, not overloaded with bass, powerful but not extreme, versatile even if in pure clean sound it's not terrible (a bit nasal) but in crunch-overdrive and heavy distortion it is always comfortable and comes out well in the lead mix.
To me when i listened to the full mix without looking, the difference was barely audible. The isolated tracks, on the other hand, sounded quiet different but by no means bad, all sounded great. If you would take away the markers of which pickup is which i seriously doubt anyone would get them right😂. Anyways, great video
Great video Jon, as always (you keep raising that TH-cam bar with each and one of your content). I watched this on a reasonably mid level home studio sound system. I’m glad you could hear the difference because to me, the differences are so subtle I couldn’t care less. I’m therefore very happy because Jazz/JB is what I have been retrofitting to my cheap guitars. Jazz is ok, but man… I love my JB pickups. Classic looking, none of the battery fuss and just growl when required. Thank you for the video.
I liked the Duncan JB a lot, but the Nazgul is even better. It sounded like the JB but a little more tight in the bass and had a little bit more high frequencies
You can't go wrong with anyone of those pickups for metal, seriously! They are all great and the JB is simply a classic you can never go wrong with for heavy riffs.
8 years ago I was in a music store with a bandmate, he GAS'ed for an LTD that came stock with a JB in the bridge. He hadn't purchased the guitar that he was already planning on a pickup change. 8 years later, the guitar is still stock, sounded killer through his Laboga Mr Hector or even through my POD rig. We were playing in drop A# so yeah, it can deal with down tuning easily !
@@pideuhweuh8459 Oh for sure, the JB is a classic during the early metalcore and deathcore scene in the early 2000's, when everyone was playing in Drop C lol
The definition of the fishman and thickness of the nazgul are pretty interesting. Nonetheless i know if i put a JB in most guitars it will sound good, such classic
I tried to really listen with my ears and not my eyes. I thought they all sounded very similar, if I were actually playing each of these I may be able to tell a difference in the feel. Any time you’re playing through a Rectifier it’s going to rock. Great video as always!
Sameer Bankar 👍🏻🤘🏻 The EMG 85 sounds pretty damn good in the bridge also! I gave it a shot years ago after seeing Kill Switch live. Their guitar sound was brutal, at the time I heard they were both running 85/85 sets. Hard to beat the 81 though. Years ago at a Cannibal Corpse show they were running 81’s with Rectifiers. You could hear every note.
Awesome riffs, I like that! Also I have to mention that I like Fishman Fluence most, it gives you like additional gain to spice things up and make it sound fuller. On my Ibanez it’s like instant chug 😄 Thanks for the comparision, Great job!
Love the channel! But we'll agree to disagree on "significant" differences. The Fishman on active mode sounds more nasal in the mids than any of the others. But besides that? The differences are too minimal to discern. Some may sound a little more open or fuller, but none of it is night and day
differences are much more noticable in a clean context. In all case it's not worth the price between all those differents pickups. the 81 can be find for such a good price on the use markets and are still a bang for the bucks.
I really appreciate the effort that you put on this video. Thank you very much for letting us compare the sound of the, I think, most popular pick ups for hard rock/metal. I loved de JB and the Fluence, 81s are on their own category for me
I’ve watched all these comparisons now and I’ve got to say - never wanted EMGs bc I don’t like their pure cleans but they are really good at everything else. I think the JB and Fluence modern setting are my faves all around. JB’s legendary for a reason. They and the EMGs do good things in a mix depending on what you want.
thanx for the comparison! I find the differences to be unconceivable in nearly all cases for the distorted tones (i scrolled down a bit to have no visual cue). I think, the only pickup i could maybe pick out is the Distortion, as it has the highest treble amount, but does not sound as rounded as the others imho.
Subtle difference in voicing that almost all listeners don't even notice or appreciate, but when it's YOUR voice, subtle differences can seem big, especially when songwriting. Inspiration is a weird thing.
First off, great vid! The only differences should be output levels almost completely. The only differences in freq response should be the actives that have PREAMPS AND EQ (oh my!). As well, as for the DIFFERENT GUITARS, the tolerances in caps, resistors and pots can vary up to 10-20%, depending on the quality and most use those higher tolerances for saving $$$, from component to component, that can have a difference when it comes to what's making it to the preamp no matter how much the same you think those electronics are. Video commence!! OK... I listened to this, never actually viewed the video itself. Restarted it multiple times and put it back out of view. People can be EXTREMELY BIASED when they can see what they are listening to and I can probably include myself in that so I'll just remove that from the variables. I have a very high quality headphone amp and cans. I can't tell a difference in TONE at all except for one time I think I might hear one of the active pickups enter the fray. Especially in the mix it's VERY hard to tell, isolated a little easier. Lets be real, in the mix is all that matters, so much EQ and compression is going to be used when mixed and mastered (everyone does the cutoff at 100Hz and ~7-10K plus the notches at 400Hz and ~3.5K. for metal) the pickup will have ZERO influence on the finished product. Also clean tone it was slightly easier to pick that one out. Sorry no idea of the timestamp I never actually watched the video visuals. I can absolutely hear which pickups have higher output, but that has nothing to do with the tone really it's just a little more push. If you want to go pedal-less into an amp preamp section that might sway you. Moral of the story, pickups have such a small influence on tone it isn't worth talking about. EQs and IRs is where it's at. If your pickup doesn't have the output you want to drive your preamp get a boost/od and stop spending truckloads of money changing pickups (ok single coil vs P90 vs HB matters..), you'll be able to use that pedal with any guitar you buy. Also, modelers make all pickups sound the same is the biggest amount of reaching for straws to justify pickup purchases I've ever seen. Like your tone of voice on that one. lol.. rock on Jon, great vid!
First of all, your demo tracks are far and away my favorite of any guitar gear review channel. Head and shoulders above the rest, and that's saying something! To be honest, I could barely tell a difference in the full mixes. The emg pups sounded familiar to me in those parts -- they sounded like every early to mid 2000s metal song to me. There's some nostalgia for me in that sound. It's not my favorite, but I don't hate it at all. I wasn't looking at the screen while listening, but the beginning and end always sounded best to me, so on review what I saw didn't surprise me: I love Seymour Duncan passive pickups. In the solo mixes the jb and distortion were my faves, in that order. I've always loved the JB, and hearing it without seeing it confirmed it even more for me. Thanks for this! Great vid!
Thanx for this fantastic comparison! It becomes cleary obvious why the Fishman is the best pickup up to date for aggressive metal tones! But I was surprised how good the Nazgul could stand up against it although there ist a sizzeling in the lows especially during palm mutes. The EMG is slightly muffled against the Fishman.
Same as others have mentioned, in the mix the differences were more subtle than the isolated tracks. In the isolated tracks the differences were quite obvious. Any of them could work really well for a metal sound, it's just a matter of preference then and what will inspire the player to give a better performance.
the Duncan Distortions still hold up after all these years, even up against Fishman Fluences. would love to see a new comparison against some Bare Knuckles!
I highly recommend that anyone who doesn’t like the EMG 81 try an EMG 60 in the bridge position. I’ve swapped out almost every one of mine. Also the 81 in the neck is great too 🤘
They all sounded good/useful. My favorites were the Seymour Duncan Distortion, and the Nazgul, same as in the other video. The differences in tone, though noticeable, were relatively small, particularly when distorted. Those differences can be big to player, but small to a listener. Was the sound miced, if so what Speakers were you using?
To me, this is just another proof of these pickups don't make much difference in a mix for high gain metal tones. You can always adjust the EQ in the mix to make them sound pretty much the same. Thanks for making the comparison!
Something to keep in mind is that pickups have very high variance due to the nature of how they're made, and that two identical sets built right next to each other can and often do sound and feel vastly different from each other, especially when it comes to Passives. My own SD Distortion is very muddy and dark with tons of low end unlike the one used in this video which was bright and cutting.
@@kimseniorb production models vary a lot because pickups are hand wound. This is a known thing by every pickup manufacturer. Its why a lot of times two identical guitars that are brand new sound different from each other. Fishman themselves pointed out that they tried to overcome this by printing copper onto circuit boards instead of doing traditional copper wound pickups because the nature of doing copper winds, which are done by hand, leads to very high variance or deviation from the standard. It's also why pickup comparisons of passives should always be taken with a grain of salt. I may have that pickup in a different guitar from John, but I also have many other guitars with a similar build to John's LTD Phoenixs, same woods and build specs, so the list of reasons it sounds different comes down to either the pickup or the guitar's body shape, but having moved the pickup around I can confidently say its not the body shape.
So if this theory is right, how come there is barely any difference between different models and manufacturers here? Guitar body shape does not affect the tone.
Another nice comparison. On high gain sounds the differences are not so marked but we need to consider the sensitivity to the touch, to what is perceived under the fingers. in this demo the JB surprised me considering that it is an "old" pickup but it adapts very well to more modern genres. the Duncan distortion remains my favourite. I mounted it on an Ibanez Jem and it's a great pickup. this demo does it justice perfectly with its open and full sound at the same time. I agree with the fishman (which I mounted on an 8-string in the Tosin Abasi version) which is still less dynamic than a passive pickup but remains an excellent pickup. I've never liked EMGs
I can hear a difference between each pickups but it's subtle IMO. As always I'm not a big fan of active pickups and to my ears the JB Duncan and Duncan Distortion sounded the best. Aside of that I think that SpectreSoundStudio was right when he says that the subtle changes we can hear through different pickups can easily be obtained with an EQ. Therefore I think that pickups has the less influence on the tone. Amps, guitars, EQ, and way of playing has way more influence.
Sad realization that when my friend recommended me the Seymour Duncan Distortion SH-6 back in 2003 for my 7 string guitar I peaked in the pickup game 😄. Though I still consider buying the Blackened Winter pickups for my 8 string to replace Blackouts in that. In the clean section though EMG81tw was the best (or maybe the loudest after Distortion).
In a high-gain mix, the difference is so minor that it doesn't matter. This goes to prove that active pickups are not worth the hassle with the battery, higher price and installation quirks. I'd go with a Nazgul or a JB.
Great riffs. Each one of the PUs has a charm. I think the best choice would be depending on the application. Cutting through a band mix is the most critical one. I play the 81, Tripple Rectifier. I had the chance to test the Fluence Modern and by itself it sounded better than the EMG 81. Not in the mix though. TBH my drummer had more issues with it than I but that’s what I mean. It’s not just about you when it comes to a mix.
Nazgul and EMG 81 in this shootout for the brightness to cut through the Recto. Typically a Distortion is a great all around versatile favorite. As usual, I didn't dig that weird Fluence voicing character.
Listening through studio monitors and again through studio headphones I can barely hear a difference in the distorted sounds. The clean sounds on the other hand is noticeably different. Though for heavy distorted guitars it doesn’t matter what you use as long as it sounds good in a mix
A can barely tell any difference between any of the pickups in the mix.... all very similar in tone, slight difference in gain. I'd be happy putting any of those on a recording
I need to listen on my monitors at home but the JB and Nazgûl sounded really similar with the exception of the Nazgûl being tighter and slightly less highs. I may have to try a Nazgûl after this video! John, can you share the DI tracks for these? I’d love to mess with them in a session of my own.
The difference was so minimal that it would be a waste of money. I liked the JB and EMG best. Nazgul just sounded like a variation of JB - not really better or worse. You would basically get the same variation by turning ur mid and treble knobs on the amp by half a notch to ever which way...
They all sounded pretty similar except for the Fishman Fluence Modern Active (had a shift in the mids) and the Duncan Distortion (had more low-end and more top-end sizzle).
Cool comparison! They all sound great. I was surprised that the EMGs sounded a little darker compared to the others. Have you tried the Seymour Duncan Pegasus? I have it in an LTD eclipse and love it. Really well balanced and versatile Alnico 5 pickup.
The Duncan Distortion sounded the best to my ears here with the Fishman Modern Passive voice being a close 2nd. The JB and Nazgul both sounded solid, but i wasnt a huge fan of the EMGs or Fishman Active voice
All sounds pretty much the same to me insofar as if there wasn't something telling me which was which, and I was just hearing the song I wouldn't know the difference. Pickups are more of a personal taste, really. The player hears differences because they're more connected to it but externally the pickup really doesn't matter
In the mix, Nazgul sounded better than JB clean but the situation reversed with high gain (Nazgul too compressed). Isolated, the Nazgul sounded better than the JB for both clean and hi gain. The Fishmans were the worst but actually sounded good. I liked the EMGs but I may be biased because I like EMGs.
All these are nice and all, but Jon needs to try some Entwistle HDN's with neodymium magnets. Shames all of these in chucky rhythms by sheer girth and output, not even actives create such a strong signal!!! Surpringly, sound amazing on clean tones too!
Awesome riffs, but is it just me or do you have some weird low end build up? tbh all the pickups sounded very close to each other in the mix. I closed my eyes and only heard a slight shift with the Fluence active setting, all others sounded so close to each other it barely makes a difference at all. I think you should be goo with any of these pickups, play whatever floats your boat and don't worry about changing them.
I find the Distortion not as well balanced than the others here, but it chugs loud. EMG are too fat or too glassy. Nazgül is deep AF. I think the Fluence in passive is the most balanced pickup but I prefer the JB/Nazgül voices. Interesting and well made comparison but where are the DiMarzio and BareKnuckles equivalents ? Need to compare them with the Fluence on the same setup/songs.
Listening on my studio monitors, I don't really hear much difference in the high gain sections. They aren't identical, but the main difference I heard was slight differences in gain and "thickness"/compression. The differences are much more apparent in the clean section. I tend to prefer passives, and that's true here as well. Did you record DI's and gain match before reamping, or go straight in? The gain differences are certainly going to affect the tone. Another thing is the pickup height, these all look pretty well matched, but I'm not sure if you measured that.
Idk I like them all, the distortion pairs well with this amp since the pickup is so bright, and the Mesa is dark. But if you pair the distortion with a Marshall, maybe it'll be a bit too much. Idk though. I guess the Fishman active is the one that sticks out the most, very honky. I've got Pegasus/Sentient in my Shecter, next guitar I buy will have EMGs, I had already decided long ago but hearing it hear was nice cuz I did quite like how it sounded.
Does it sound different in person compared to watching the videos back? Also, The Fishman Fluence moderns are REALLY growing on me with the versatility and overall sound of them as well. I love all of these pickups, maybe so so much the JB, but the of all of them I think the Fishman Moderns and SD Distorions are the 2 I'm between for my first Hard Rock/ Metal guitar.
You r not wrong but… (as Glenn says as well) they dont make the big difference that spending hundreds of dollars make it a good investment. The differences can easily be dialed to taste with an Eq / gain knobs vs swapping pickups.. Plus… only guitar players care about the guitar tone! Everybody else Do Not care about if those Pu are 400$ Bare Knuckles, Emg, FF, SD etc…
Make sure you check out the artist fishmans. I love the tosins, townsends, alders, KSE (basically reworked moderns with a voice 3). I havent tried Tim's of Fluffs yet.
I used to really drink the koolaid on pickups making a large impact. However, another test showing it's basically inconsequential and any minor nuances can be added to or corrected with the tiniest twist of a knob on your amp or EQ. It's kind of shocking people still get wrapped around the axle on this topic.
Yes but not quite. If you are comparing between high quality brands and up and down the range of each brand, then I'd say more or less what you are saying. Between cheap crap, that's literally "magnets and copper wires", and quality stuff, there's a sizeable difference. I swapped out the original pickups that come with the RG550 genesis, the Ibanez v7/V8 pair, for a set of DiMarzio Evos, and it made the world of difference on how this guitar sounds. The stock pickups couldn't do chug to save their lives, it sounded bad in an overloaded bassy kind of sound, just nasty. The neck pickup was passable for leads and cleans but the bridge pickup was just bad. As soon as I swapped them out, this guitar became a chug monster, it's amazing! So no, Glenn, pickups do make a difference and cheap pickups are just that, cheap. Spending a 1000 bucks on pickups aren't the silver bullet to turn everyone into Eddie Van Halen, but a nice set of less known branded pickups can make a world of difference (Duncan Solar, Entwistle, GFS, Tonerider, Kent Armstrong, Irongear, Wilkinson), even when the difference between good brands is tiny (DiMarzio, Seymour Duncan, EMG, Fishman).
I disagree, I hear difference in every pickup, I think most people don't because the simply don't have good enough ears. I'm a 45 year player, never used tabs or any other way of reading music, all by ear, never owned a tuner either. I instantly hear eq shifts on all these pickups and different levels of "fizz". Again, I think most people arguing that there's little to no difference simply can't hear it....
@@JohnWiku I'm not sure you meant to respond to me as I never advocated for buying the cheapest pickups you can because they 'don't matter', though I would say they definitely matter 'less' than mic, amp, speaker, cabinet etc in a recording context. In any case, the context of the video I'm commenting on is a video with 6 quality pick-ups being tested for tonal characteristic. The fact is you could play any of these pick-ups and the minor nuances between them could all be embellished or corrected with very minor tweaks to your amp or EQ. The tone change you're getting between all of these for high gain metal is essentially insignificant so it's not worth sweating over. That's the point which it seems like you agree with in your second sentence.
@@MickH60 not a chance in hell you could tell me the pickup being played out of this bunch in a blind test in a mix. The point isn't that there is *literally* no difference but if you think there is a massive tonal shift, you're deluding yourself. Bottom line, all of these pickups are good & all of them work for high gain metal. Any subtle differences between them could be embellished or corrected with a slight tweak on the amp or EQ. If someone owned any of these pickups and are unhappy with their tone, there are far more efficient ways to go about actually making a difference in a much more meaningful and impactful way than swapping pickups.
Well, this proved that the Fishmen are overhyped. Not that they are bad, but they have this weird tone - different from the others - that is not to my liking. But I can see how djent guys and other modern metallists might like 'em. As a thrasher, I much prefer the good ol' EMGs. I was also surprised that the JBs sounded a lot better than the Distortions! :O The Distortions were actually a letdown :( Not bad, but not as good as the rest.
I know this video was kinda a pain to edit to nice job! TO people who say modelers make all pickups sound the same or say that cant hear a difference between the pickups, you need a better listening environment or something. It is very easy to hear the difference with a modeler and with the Solo Head (that is the real name of the dual recto).
Guess it depends what "same" means to the commenters. I mean that they do sound different, but changing amp/cabinet/amp-settings/mic/mic-position will make a bigger difference. Even 1bB cut or boost on an eq at any frequency in post-pro. will be more noticable in my exp. I think the biggest influence is on the distortion-texture. Some of the pickups kind of choke the preamp for example, like the passive mode of the fishmans.
What do you guys think? Which pickup wins?
*wild Glenn appears*
love that FFM active very defined when chugging. no winner here it all comes personal preference IMO
1° Nazgul y muy cerca 2° el JB como siempre!!!
EMG81TW
@@wojciechszeler2and he was right... sort off... pickups May change the tone a little bit, but not as much as the Speaker!!!
I'd say:
Speaker First...
The the cab size...
Then the amp...
Then the pickups...
Even now, in 2023, I still consider the EMG81 to be one of the best solutions for the bridge pickup if you need to record high gain (not crunch) riffing with palm mutes. The low end is tight and the overall sound is balanced IMO. I haven't done recording with Fishman, it's a bit different character but it's used by so many people for a reason. It would be interesting to see a video that also features high output Bare Knuckle pickup.
This is like saying dirty words in 2023 but I completely agree. 81 has been a staple in metal for decades and for a good reason.
81 has a pleasing fullness in this example to my ear. It's just become cool to hate on em. Personally I love em.
I totally agree. It's still the best chug in 2023 and it IS a dynamic pickup which responds to pick attack.
I always prefer EMGs over Fishmans when watching/listening to comparison videos like this. I also preferred the sound of some Dimarzio pickups over Fishman pickups in a comparison video that Tosin Abasi did which leads me to think that Fishmans are so overrated now.
I was coming here to say the same thing. It’s a focused and balanced pickup. While I don’t have any installed currently I’ve always liked them. They have a certain compression that balances the extreme low and highs down and leaves all you need for the cut and chonk.
Awesome job. Definitely a JB/Nazgul fan here.
Those are awesome and (modern) classics!
Thanks, man this video is so informative.
Seymour Duncan JB was created in the '70s.
listen carefully, it has unique GRITH in high frequency, and a lot of dynamics.
it was amazing.
Video came at perfect time, always been an EMG fan for 10+ years. Had 81/85 for longest time, went to Het set, all have their purpose but really digging the Nazgûl and Duncan Distortion
Side note John - you are the absolute best at capturing the growl of the amp in your mixes.
A mix breakdown 101 would be an awesome edition to the channel
Nazgul and Sentient set are by far my favorite pairing
I love how the JB roars 💪💪
JB ! more open, good treble, mids as it should, not overloaded with bass, powerful but not extreme, versatile even if in pure clean sound it's not terrible (a bit nasal) but in crunch-overdrive and heavy distortion it is always comfortable and comes out well in the lead mix.
To me when i listened to the full mix without looking, the difference was barely audible. The isolated tracks, on the other hand, sounded quiet different but by no means bad, all sounded great. If you would take away the markers of which pickup is which i seriously doubt anyone would get them right😂. Anyways, great video
Same here, only minor differences. It'd be hard to pick which one sounded the best. Granted I'm listening to this on my phone.
This.
@@benburnett8109 hod does that relate to my comment? Were the differnce huge? Small? Did i belittle Jon? are you ok?
I hear a tiny bit of difference. Definitely not enough to give a damn or to swap pickups on my $400 Jackson.
You do the best comparison videos. These must be a lot of work for you, thank you. Everything about your videos are top notch.
Thanks!
Great video Jon, as always (you keep raising that TH-cam bar with each and one of your content).
I watched this on a reasonably mid level home studio sound system. I’m glad you could hear the difference because to me, the differences are so subtle I couldn’t care less. I’m therefore very happy because Jazz/JB is what I have been retrofitting to my cheap guitars.
Jazz is ok, but man… I love my JB pickups. Classic looking, none of the battery fuss and just growl when required.
Thank you for the video.
I liked the Duncan JB a lot, but the Nazgul is even better. It sounded like the JB but a little more tight in the bass and had a little bit more high frequencies
You can't go wrong with anyone of those pickups for metal, seriously! They are all great and the JB is simply a classic you can never go wrong with for heavy riffs.
I was pretty much about to type this word for word ;)
@@StueyDoo My man! HAHA
8 years ago I was in a music store with a bandmate, he GAS'ed for an LTD that came stock with a JB in the bridge. He hadn't purchased the guitar that he was already planning on a pickup change. 8 years later, the guitar is still stock, sounded killer through his Laboga Mr Hector or even through my POD rig. We were playing in drop A# so yeah, it can deal with down tuning easily !
@@pideuhweuh8459 Oh for sure, the JB is a classic during the early metalcore and deathcore scene in the early 2000's, when everyone was playing in Drop C lol
I have one installed in my les paul and I've never regretted it. Amazing sounding pick up especially in recordings.
The definition of the fishman and thickness of the nazgul are pretty interesting.
Nonetheless i know if i put a JB in most guitars it will sound good, such classic
My two favorite were the EMG 81 and the Seymour Duncan Distortion
ISOLATED COMPARISONS:
09:28 Duncan JB (Clean)
09:41 Duncan Nazgul (Clean)
09:55 Fishman Fluence Modern Active (Clean)
10:08 Fishman Fluence Modern Passive (Clean)
10:22 EMG81tw (Clean)
10:36 EMG81 (Clean)
10:49 Duncan Distortion (Clean)
11:06 Duncan JB (Heavy 1)
11:17 Duncan Nazgul (Heavy 1)
11:28 Fishman Fluence Modern Active (Heavy 1)
11:38 Fishman Fluence Modern Passive (Heavy 1)
11:49 EMG81tw (Heavy 1)
12:00 EMG81 (Heavy 1)
12:11 Duncan Distortion (Heavy 1)
12:22 12:27 Duncan JB (Heavy 2)
12:33 12:38 Duncan Nazgul (Heavy 2)
12:44 12:49 Fishman Fluence Modern Active (Heavy 2)
12:55 13:00 Fishman Fluence Modern Passive (Heavy 2)
13:06 13:11 EMG81tw (Heavy 2)
13:17 13:22 EMG81 (Heavy 2)
13:28 13:33 Duncan Distortion (Heavy 2)
13:39 Duncan JB (Heavy 3)
13:49 Duncan Nazgul (Heavy 3)
14:00 Fishman Fluence Modern Active (Heavy 3)
14:11 Fishman Fluence Modern Passive (Heavy 3)
14:22 EMG81tw (Heavy 3)
14:33 EMG81 (Heavy 3)
14:44 Duncan Distortion (Heavy 3)
Thank you!
Ty
Fishman actives for me. Sounds tight, full and pleasant for high gains. Cuts very nicely within your mix.
I tried to really listen with my ears and not my eyes. I thought they all sounded very similar, if I were actually playing each of these I may be able to tell a difference in the feel. Any time you’re playing through a Rectifier it’s going to rock. Great video as always!
Great job! As a result, in a mix, noone sounded like really different. All sounded good. some subtle differences are not significant.
@@kimseniorb How much did you spend on pickups?
Very informative, preferred the Nazgul, EMG81 and JB. Would have been interested to see an SD Blackout against the passives and actives.
EMG 81 for life!
Sameer Bankar 👍🏻🤘🏻 The EMG 85 sounds pretty damn good in the bridge also! I gave it a shot years ago after seeing Kill Switch live. Their guitar sound was brutal, at the time I heard they were both running 85/85 sets. Hard to beat the 81 though. Years ago at a Cannibal Corpse show they were running 81’s with Rectifiers. You could hear every note.
@@pressman1788 Whaatt?! Gotta try the 85 in the bridge then!
Definetly Seymour Duncan JB. Best clarity, sweet spot of mids and higs.
Awesome riffs, I like that! Also I have to mention that I like Fishman Fluence most, it gives you like additional gain to spice things up and make it sound fuller. On my Ibanez it’s like instant chug 😄
Thanks for the comparision, Great job!
Love the channel!
But we'll agree to disagree on "significant" differences.
The Fishman on active mode sounds more nasal in the mids than any of the others.
But besides that? The differences are too minimal to discern.
Some may sound a little more open or fuller, but none of it is night and day
differences are much more noticable in a clean context.
In all case it's not worth the price between all those differents pickups.
the 81 can be find for such a good price on the use markets and are still a bang for the bucks.
There is just something about the JB that I can't describe sound-wise.
The emg 81/recto combo is just so iconic of the early 2000s. For me you cant beat it.
Two things I know
1. Those riff are sick
2. I'm completely happy with my Fluence Moderns. There isn't a tone I can't get with them.
Fishmans are definitely growing on me
Those riffs are, indeed, sick. I want a full song.
I want tabs to be able to play it@@realgtrhero
The Duncan Distortion wins again, by quite a margin in my personal opinion !
It was always like that. I was impressed by the J.B. when I played on one it did it all metal to country
I'd say Black Winter is even better!!
Also Custom (SH-5) is awesome too!!
The duncan distortion treble sounds horrible
@@Durkhead that's why my comment was upvoted, for sure
My Duncan Solars sound good, supposedly based on the SD Custom 5.
I really appreciate the effort that you put on this video. Thank you very much for letting us compare the sound of the, I think, most popular pick ups for hard rock/metal. I loved de JB and the Fluence, 81s are on their own category for me
I’ve watched all these comparisons now and I’ve got to say - never wanted EMGs bc I don’t like their pure cleans but they are really good at everything else. I think the JB and Fluence modern setting are my faves all around. JB’s legendary for a reason. They and the EMGs do good things in a mix depending on what you want.
thanx for the comparison! I find the differences to be unconceivable in nearly all cases for the distorted tones (i scrolled down a bit to have no visual cue). I think, the only pickup i could maybe pick out is the Distortion, as it has the highest treble amount, but does not sound as rounded as the others imho.
Subtle difference in voicing that almost all listeners don't even notice or appreciate, but when it's YOUR voice, subtle differences can seem big, especially when songwriting. Inspiration is a weird thing.
100%
First off, great vid! The only differences should be output levels almost completely. The only differences in freq response should be the actives that have PREAMPS AND EQ (oh my!). As well, as for the DIFFERENT GUITARS, the tolerances in caps, resistors and pots can vary up to 10-20%, depending on the quality and most use those higher tolerances for saving $$$, from component to component, that can have a difference when it comes to what's making it to the preamp no matter how much the same you think those electronics are. Video commence!!
OK... I listened to this, never actually viewed the video itself. Restarted it multiple times and put it back out of view. People can be EXTREMELY BIASED when they can see what they are listening to and I can probably include myself in that so I'll just remove that from the variables. I have a very high quality headphone amp and cans. I can't tell a difference in TONE at all except for one time I think I might hear one of the active pickups enter the fray. Especially in the mix it's VERY hard to tell, isolated a little easier. Lets be real, in the mix is all that matters, so much EQ and compression is going to be used when mixed and mastered (everyone does the cutoff at 100Hz and ~7-10K plus the notches at 400Hz and ~3.5K. for metal) the pickup will have ZERO influence on the finished product. Also clean tone it was slightly easier to pick that one out. Sorry no idea of the timestamp I never actually watched the video visuals. I can absolutely hear which pickups have higher output, but that has nothing to do with the tone really it's just a little more push. If you want to go pedal-less into an amp preamp section that might sway you. Moral of the story, pickups have such a small influence on tone it isn't worth talking about. EQs and IRs is where it's at. If your pickup doesn't have the output you want to drive your preamp get a boost/od and stop spending truckloads of money changing pickups (ok single coil vs P90 vs HB matters..), you'll be able to use that pedal with any guitar you buy. Also, modelers make all pickups sound the same is the biggest amount of reaching for straws to justify pickup purchases I've ever seen. Like your tone of voice on that one. lol.. rock on Jon, great vid!
First of all, your demo tracks are far and away my favorite of any guitar gear review channel. Head and shoulders above the rest, and that's saying something!
To be honest, I could barely tell a difference in the full mixes. The emg pups sounded familiar to me in those parts -- they sounded like every early to mid 2000s metal song to me. There's some nostalgia for me in that sound. It's not my favorite, but I don't hate it at all.
I wasn't looking at the screen while listening, but the beginning and end always sounded best to me, so on review what I saw didn't surprise me: I love Seymour Duncan passive pickups.
In the solo mixes the jb and distortion were my faves, in that order. I've always loved the JB, and hearing it without seeing it confirmed it even more for me.
Thanks for this! Great vid!
Thanx for this fantastic comparison! It becomes cleary obvious why the Fishman is the best pickup up to date for aggressive metal tones! But I was surprised how good the Nazgul could stand up against it although there ist a sizzeling in the lows especially during palm mutes. The EMG is slightly muffled against the Fishman.
Same as others have mentioned, in the mix the differences were more subtle than the isolated tracks. In the isolated tracks the differences were quite obvious. Any of them could work really well for a metal sound, it's just a matter of preference then and what will inspire the player to give a better performance.
It is interesting how different the 81 and 81 tw sound.
the Duncan Distortions still hold up after all these years, even up against Fishman Fluences. would love to see a new comparison against some Bare Knuckles!
the EMG81TW comes in at a close second for me. cant mess with the classics!
Yours and Kyle bulls amp and guitar collections are absolutely things of dreams. Just saying buddy
Haha cheers mate
I highly recommend that anyone who doesn’t like the EMG 81 try an EMG 60 in the bridge position. I’ve swapped out almost every one of mine. Also the 81 in the neck is great too 🤘
I have an 85x bridge and I love it it's like a Hi-Fi version of a hot PAF style. 60x neck is super clean and glassy perfect for ballads etc
Banger video John as always! Must say I think the best PUP overall was the Distortion. The EMG 81TW was probably the most surprising.
They all sounded good/useful. My favorites were the Seymour Duncan Distortion, and the Nazgul, same as in the other video. The differences in tone, though noticeable, were relatively small, particularly when distorted. Those differences can be big to player, but small to a listener. Was the sound miced, if so what Speakers were you using?
You do the best pickup comparison. Pairing them with an amp is genius. Wish you had the Black heaven from Lundgren to test note separation.
To me, this is just another proof of these pickups don't make much difference in a mix for high gain metal tones. You can always adjust the EQ in the mix to make them sound pretty much the same. Thanks for making the comparison!
I think they make plenty of difference, I also think most peoples ears aren't good enough to hear it....
@@MickH60 That, or you're listening with your eyes. Could you tell this "plenty of difference" in a blind test? Very unlikely.
Something to keep in mind is that pickups have very high variance due to the nature of how they're made, and that two identical sets built right next to each other can and often do sound and feel vastly different from each other, especially when it comes to Passives. My own SD Distortion is very muddy and dark with tons of low end unlike the one used in this video which was bright and cutting.
@@kimseniorb production models vary a lot because pickups are hand wound. This is a known thing by every pickup manufacturer. Its why a lot of times two identical guitars that are brand new sound different from each other. Fishman themselves pointed out that they tried to overcome this by printing copper onto circuit boards instead of doing traditional copper wound pickups because the nature of doing copper winds, which are done by hand, leads to very high variance or deviation from the standard. It's also why pickup comparisons of passives should always be taken with a grain of salt.
I may have that pickup in a different guitar from John, but I also have many other guitars with a similar build to John's LTD Phoenixs, same woods and build specs, so the list of reasons it sounds different comes down to either the pickup or the guitar's body shape, but having moved the pickup around I can confidently say its not the body shape.
So if this theory is right, how come there is barely any difference between different models and manufacturers here? Guitar body shape does not affect the tone.
Another nice comparison. On high gain sounds the differences are not so marked but we need to consider the sensitivity to the touch, to what is perceived under the fingers. in this demo the JB surprised me considering that it is an "old" pickup but it adapts very well to more modern genres. the Duncan distortion remains my favourite. I mounted it on an Ibanez Jem and it's a great pickup. this demo does it justice perfectly with its open and full sound at the same time. I agree with the fishman (which I mounted on an 8-string in the Tosin Abasi version) which is still less dynamic than a passive pickup but remains an excellent pickup. I've never liked EMGs
Every pick-up sounded good, I still preferring the EMG81👍🏽
P.S. As you talked about tuning and gauges, why don't putting it in the description? 😉
I can hear a difference between each pickups but it's subtle IMO. As always I'm not a big fan of active pickups and to my ears the JB Duncan and Duncan Distortion sounded the best. Aside of that I think that SpectreSoundStudio was right when he says that the subtle changes we can hear through different pickups can easily be obtained with an EQ. Therefore I think that pickups has the less influence on the tone. Amps, guitars, EQ, and way of playing has way more influence.
I was thinking the same. You could easily compensate for these differences with an EQ.
They all sound killer. I can't tell the difference doing a blind test. Maybe there's something sonic different with the Fishman Fluence.
Sad realization that when my friend recommended me the Seymour Duncan Distortion SH-6 back in 2003 for my 7 string guitar I peaked in the pickup game 😄. Though I still consider buying the Blackened Winter pickups for my 8 string to replace Blackouts in that. In the clean section though EMG81tw was the best (or maybe the loudest after Distortion).
81 for the Win!! Cut through the mix, the right amount of gain and power
Love it, it's a classic!
Nazgul/Jb, and Fishman Modern for active. Worth mention the Dimarzio Super Distortion and Transitions, but that wasnt the subject here.
In a high-gain mix, the difference is so minor that it doesn't matter. This goes to prove that active pickups are not worth the hassle with the battery, higher price and installation quirks. I'd go with a Nazgul or a JB.
Nazgul and Distortion 🤘🏻🤘🏻
Fishman Fluence Active and EMG81 the best. The Fishman is a bit lacking in the low end but at the end of the day, it's a matter of taste.
Great riffs. Each one of the PUs has a charm. I think the best choice would be depending on the application. Cutting through a band mix is the most critical one. I play the 81, Tripple Rectifier. I had the chance to test the Fluence Modern and by itself it sounded better than the EMG 81. Not in the mix though. TBH my drummer had more issues with it than I but that’s what I mean. It’s not just about you when it comes to a mix.
Best Sound Comparison and i love all the way guitar pick up
Nazgul and EMG 81 in this shootout for the brightness to cut through the Recto. Typically a Distortion is a great all around versatile favorite. As usual, I didn't dig that weird Fluence voicing character.
Listening through studio monitors and again through studio headphones I can barely hear a difference in the distorted sounds. The clean sounds on the other hand is noticeably different. Though for heavy distorted guitars it doesn’t matter what you use as long as it sounds good in a mix
A can barely tell any difference between any of the pickups in the mix.... all very similar in tone, slight difference in gain. I'd be happy putting any of those on a recording
I need to listen on my monitors at home but the JB and Nazgûl sounded really similar with the exception of the Nazgûl being tighter and slightly less highs. I may have to try a Nazgûl after this video!
John, can you share the DI tracks for these? I’d love to mess with them in a session of my own.
I have the JB right now, but I might have to try out the Nazgul.
Both are awesome!
I have the Nazgul in my Schecter and it sounds phenomenal! Highly recommended!
The difference was so minimal that it would be a waste of money. I liked the JB and EMG best. Nazgul just sounded like a variation of JB - not really better or worse. You would basically get the same variation by turning ur mid and treble knobs on the amp by half a notch to ever which way...
They all sounded pretty similar except for the Fishman Fluence Modern Active (had a shift in the mids) and the Duncan Distortion (had more low-end and more top-end sizzle).
Cool comparison! They all sound great. I was surprised that the EMGs sounded a little darker compared to the others. Have you tried the Seymour Duncan Pegasus? I have it in an LTD eclipse and love it. Really well balanced and versatile Alnico 5 pickup.
Great demo, I didn't find' it and I'd like to hear a Bareknuckle in your channel especially the Aftermath also te ragnarok or thr polymath.
Emg 81 ftw
They all sound the same for my ears. I had all those pickups on various guitars. For recordings, I just EQ any accordingly.
The Duncan Distortion sounded the best to my ears here with the Fishman Modern Passive voice being a close 2nd. The JB and Nazgul both sounded solid, but i wasnt a huge fan of the EMGs or Fishman Active voice
All sounds pretty much the same to me insofar as if there wasn't something telling me which was which, and I was just hearing the song I wouldn't know the difference. Pickups are more of a personal taste, really. The player hears differences because they're more connected to it but externally the pickup really doesn't matter
As soon as that fluency kicks on you can hear that chorus so loudly
In the mix, Nazgul sounded better than JB clean but the situation reversed with high gain (Nazgul too compressed). Isolated, the Nazgul sounded better than the JB for both clean and hi gain. The Fishmans were the worst but actually sounded good. I liked the EMGs but I may be biased because I like EMGs.
All these are nice and all, but Jon needs to try some Entwistle HDN's with neodymium magnets.
Shames all of these in chucky rhythms by sheer girth and output, not even actives create such a strong signal!!!
Surpringly, sound amazing on clean tones too!
Awesome riffs, but is it just me or do you have some weird low end build up?
tbh all the pickups sounded very close to each other in the mix. I closed my eyes and only heard a slight shift with the Fluence active setting, all others sounded so close to each other it barely makes a difference at all.
I think you should be goo with any of these pickups, play whatever floats your boat and don't worry about changing them.
Can you do the same test with cheap pickup like the GHB2-BK (DP228 clone) or Donlis DH05 (superdistortion clone) ? thx
fluence modern active stood out the most with the least bass and more mids to my ears.
Another great video, John! As always, I enjoy your playing and demo songs. What tuning was this in?
Drop C
I find the Distortion not as well balanced than the others here, but it chugs loud. EMG are too fat or too glassy. Nazgül is deep AF. I think the Fluence in passive is the most balanced pickup but I prefer the JB/Nazgül voices.
Interesting and well made comparison but where are the DiMarzio and BareKnuckles equivalents ? Need to compare them with the Fluence on the same setup/songs.
Listening on my studio monitors, I don't really hear much difference in the high gain sections. They aren't identical, but the main difference I heard was slight differences in gain and "thickness"/compression. The differences are much more apparent in the clean section. I tend to prefer passives, and that's true here as well. Did you record DI's and gain match before reamping, or go straight in? The gain differences are certainly going to affect the tone. Another thing is the pickup height, these all look pretty well matched, but I'm not sure if you measured that.
There’s just something about that EMG81 🤘
Idk I like them all, the distortion pairs well with this amp since the pickup is so bright, and the Mesa is dark. But if you pair the distortion with a Marshall, maybe it'll be a bit too much. Idk though. I guess the Fishman active is the one that sticks out the most, very honky. I've got Pegasus/Sentient in my Shecter, next guitar I buy will have EMGs, I had already decided long ago but hearing it hear was nice cuz I did quite like how it sounded.
Does it sound different in person compared to watching the videos back? Also, The Fishman Fluence moderns are REALLY growing on me with the versatility and overall sound of them as well. I love all of these pickups, maybe so so much the JB, but the of all of them I think the Fishman Moderns and SD Distorions are the 2 I'm between for my first Hard Rock/ Metal guitar.
Differences were very minor across all pickups for high gain. Any of these would be a good choice for a metal guitarist.
81 for me.
🙂
Ah! Great idea and I hope to hear more. Glenn (Spectre Sound) I love ya buddy, but pickups DO make more than a little difference.
You r not wrong but… (as Glenn says as well) they dont make the big difference that spending hundreds of dollars make it a good investment.
The differences can easily be dialed to taste with an Eq / gain knobs vs swapping pickups..
Plus… only guitar players care about the guitar tone!
Everybody else Do Not care about if those Pu are 400$ Bare Knuckles, Emg, FF, SD etc…
So why is that not what we hear here? "More than a little difference" I mean.
I'm more convinced than ever that fishmans are riding a hype wave. They sound as good as, but not any better than the others in this comparison.
Make pls through PRS MT15, Peavey Invective MH and Engl Fireball 25!
I might have to switch from Nazgul to Fishmans sometime down the road
Make sure you check out the artist fishmans. I love the tosins, townsends, alders, KSE (basically reworked moderns with a voice 3). I havent tried Tim's of Fluffs yet.
In my opinion, they all sound Good. Listening on my phone. 😅.
I used to really drink the koolaid on pickups making a large impact. However, another test showing it's basically inconsequential and any minor nuances can be added to or corrected with the tiniest twist of a knob on your amp or EQ. It's kind of shocking people still get wrapped around the axle on this topic.
Yes but not quite.
If you are comparing between high quality brands and up and down the range of each brand, then I'd say more or less what you are saying.
Between cheap crap, that's literally "magnets and copper wires", and quality stuff, there's a sizeable difference.
I swapped out the original pickups that come with the RG550 genesis, the Ibanez v7/V8 pair, for a set of DiMarzio Evos, and it made the world of difference on how this guitar sounds.
The stock pickups couldn't do chug to save their lives, it sounded bad in an overloaded bassy kind of sound, just nasty. The neck pickup was passable for leads and cleans but the bridge pickup was just bad. As soon as I swapped them out, this guitar became a chug monster, it's amazing!
So no, Glenn, pickups do make a difference and cheap pickups are just that, cheap. Spending a 1000 bucks on pickups aren't the silver bullet to turn everyone into Eddie Van Halen, but a nice set of less known branded pickups can make a world of difference (Duncan Solar, Entwistle, GFS, Tonerider, Kent Armstrong, Irongear, Wilkinson), even when the difference between good brands is tiny (DiMarzio, Seymour Duncan, EMG, Fishman).
I disagree, I hear difference in every pickup, I think most people don't because the simply don't have good enough ears. I'm a 45 year player, never used tabs or any other way of reading music, all by ear, never owned a tuner either. I instantly hear eq shifts on all these pickups and different levels of "fizz". Again, I think most people arguing that there's little to no difference simply can't hear it....
@@JohnWiku I'm not sure you meant to respond to me as I never advocated for buying the cheapest pickups you can because they 'don't matter', though I would say they definitely matter 'less' than mic, amp, speaker, cabinet etc in a recording context.
In any case, the context of the video I'm commenting on is a video with 6 quality pick-ups being tested for tonal characteristic. The fact is you could play any of these pick-ups and the minor nuances between them could all be embellished or corrected with very minor tweaks to your amp or EQ. The tone change you're getting between all of these for high gain metal is essentially insignificant so it's not worth sweating over. That's the point which it seems like you agree with in your second sentence.
@@MickH60 not a chance in hell you could tell me the pickup being played out of this bunch in a blind test in a mix. The point isn't that there is *literally* no difference but if you think there is a massive tonal shift, you're deluding yourself.
Bottom line, all of these pickups are good & all of them work for high gain metal. Any subtle differences between them could be embellished or corrected with a slight tweak on the amp or EQ. If someone owned any of these pickups and are unhappy with their tone, there are far more efficient ways to go about actually making a difference in a much more meaningful and impactful way than swapping pickups.
ok, by listening with/without backing track Duncan JB and Distortion cut more through the mix.
Hot take: they all sound great 🔥
I tend to agree!
Well, this proved that the Fishmen are overhyped. Not that they are bad, but they have this weird tone - different from the others - that is not to my liking. But I can see how djent guys and other modern metallists might like 'em. As a thrasher, I much prefer the good ol' EMGs. I was also surprised that the JBs sounded a lot better than the Distortions! :O The Distortions were actually a letdown :( Not bad, but not as good as the rest.
If you do this again…how about adding an emg 57 into it? I constantly go back and forth on the 57, 81, and Fishman.
I know this video was kinda a pain to edit to nice job! TO people who say modelers make all pickups sound the same or say that cant hear a difference between the pickups, you need a better listening environment or something. It is very easy to hear the difference with a modeler and with the Solo Head (that is the real name of the dual recto).
Guess it depends what "same" means to the commenters. I mean that they do sound different, but changing amp/cabinet/amp-settings/mic/mic-position will make a bigger difference. Even 1bB cut or boost on an eq at any frequency in post-pro. will be more noticable in my exp. I think the biggest influence is on the distortion-texture. Some of the pickups kind of choke the preamp for example, like the passive mode of the fishmans.
Fishman fluence modern ceramic humbucker are the best of all times, period 😬
Fluence always sounding like a cocked wah. But Damn, JB and 81 sounding great, both in a mix would be classic and killer.
I want to hate the Distortion for some reason, but it always ends up being my favorite.
Its pretty wild sounding
I need your Riff album sir👍🏻
EMGTW!!!
JB