I really prefer the 81 for dirt and the 60 for cleans. So maybe best of both worlds? I would go with an 81 in the bridge and a 60 in the neck if it were me.
To me the 85 sounded the most dynamic of the bunch. The 81 sounded fuller, more rounded with gain than the 60, which sounded more aggressive and a bit more defined. I'm planning on getting a guitar with an 81 in the bridge position and a 60 in the neck position so this video was very helpful.
somehow the EMG 60 sounds the most bright in clean tone... whilest the 81 and 85 sound really metallic... i really love it... i would go for two 60. Neck and Bridge.
Thanks! :) I'm happy to test more stuff if i can get my hands on it. I even tried buying a used Seymour Duncan Blackout to include in this test, but the deal didn't go through..
I think in a live band mix situation you'll find that the 81 cuts through a lot more than the 60, as the 81 has a high mid spike whereas the 60 has scooped mids. The 85 seems to be similar to an 81 in frequency profile but shifted towards the bass side, i.e. it has deeper bass and a lower mid spike with less treble.
I think the differences show very strongly with clean tones. With overdrive, I do hear a difference but nothing that you couldn't E.Q. into any of these pickups.
dude buddy bro just got to let you know your video was freaking perfect and to the point and it actually helped us decide which pick up the go with but I honestly love the simplicity and the video was perfect perfect freakin rock and roll
Michael Peretto The 85 and the 89R which is the same pup with the option to be split, Is just fine and just as tight live, you can take this as gospel. The 85 and the 89R are the best EMG active buckers made, its so obvious its not even debatable. If you are muddy with an 85, its your technique, or an EQ/Amp issue, its not the 85's fault, and the same goes for the 81 and 60. Saying the 85 is muddy, is like arguing what string brand is best for pinch harmonics.
I'm not arguing against the 85 as I don't have much experience with it, but the 81 is definitely tight. So much so that I find it sterile and lacking in character. Low gain passive into high gain amps is probably going to be your best sound out there...and keeps things quit like Actives
Hm... It seems each one is suited to a specific type of playing. Though all seem to do the three different tones fairly well, the 85 sounded best on cleans, the 60 did the best crunch and the 81 had the best cut and definition in the high gain. At least to my ears that is how it sounded.
Thanks for such a great comparison. It's also great to read the comments. Everyone's tastes are so different, but it seems everyone really respects and appreciates what you've done here. Nice work.
emg85 is the best pickup they ever made. highly underrated bridge pickup - and not just for alder/basswood guitars. I have two 85's in my mahogany body mahogany neck rosewood f/board batitone...which is a super dark guitar - the 85's just bring out all the richness in the depth. tuned to dropped Ab
i’m back 7 years later - the baritone now has one lace hemi in the bridge and no neck pick up. and i swapped the emgs into a les paul- 85 bridge for rich fatness and a 60 in the neck for less boom and more clarity 7 years went fast
81 is brighter then the 85 . 85 is more bass . EMG 60 is very mellow cool sounding , laid-back . Dual 81s in my LTD 1000 E , not changing them at all .
Kool comparison, you can really hear the difference, curcurrently on a custom build & have all 3 of those at my disposal to install thanx for the review
Upgrading from passive pups (SD SH-8 Bridge, Chapman Passive Agressive Neck), I think I'll set mine up with an 85x in bridge position and an 81x in the neck position. Seems like a better fit for getting all the best of both worlds. I super appreciate both of your videos demonstrating how the most iconic three sound in both positions! Thanks very much :D
Yeah man, running 2 batteries makes all the difference. The tone is just ...more! More dynamic headroom, sustain, warmth, and clarity all at the same time... Turn down your volume knob if you want more of a clean or overdrive kinda sound, crank it up for distortion and bite and tons of harmonics! I could go on and on and on haha
emg 85 is built to sound more clear because it is usually used as a rhythm pickup. I honestly think it is way better for a bridge position. My set up that i want to try next is Emg 85 for the bridge, and emg 55 or 60 for the neck.
Thanks for this video. Not everyone is going for a fat humbucker sound. I’m really after a single-coil tele sound for a bridge pick up. It sounds like the 60 is going to get me close. Now I’ll have to find a strat-ish neck pick up.
I actually got the 60 because I was looking for a more strat like tone, and it's pretty good for it, much better than the 85 at least. It's still an active humbucker so you've gotta have reasonable expectations, but the 60 I think is the best option from emg
I really think the perfect combo for these 3 is 85 bridge and 60 neck. 85 in the bridge is bigger, warmer, has that low mid presence. Never liked it as a neck pickup; it’s got one use in that position and it’s high gain soloing. Cleans are muddy and breakup too easily. 60 in the neck just sounds really nice. Strikes a good balance between having brightness and clarity without sounding too harsh. Lower output too, so it levels easily with a hotter bridge.
Emg-81 in the bridge position Everyday. The 85 and the 60 are good companions in the neck position for clean and lead tone diversity but for that killer crunch with the distortion nothing beats the 81. \m/
Awesome, no talking in between, no bullshit. THANK you for that. Holy mother, you wouldn't believe how many comparisons include so much dribble it's hard to remember what you just heard. But I would suggest using an actual amp next time just to give a more realistic comparison to what most people would use. Good upload!
Hi! Thanks. Yes i always disliked tests with a lot of talk or other stuff between the sound samples. I didn't have a proper valve amp at the time, but a passive pickup test i made afterwords uses a real amp. To be fair, the software is quite good at beeing transparent, i tried to use the ones that would best achieve that goal..
So far the 85 wins for me again! Anyone one of them would work great, but if I'm choosing it's either the 85 in the bridge and the 81 would be my second choice. If I could only find a 60 though I'd be happy to use it too!
Late to the party, but thanks so much for this video. I had already decided on the 60 from playing a friends guitar and now know I'm going with the 81 over the 85 as a companion. They sound alike in a lot of ways, but the 81 sounds more 'open' and the 85 sounds 'compressed'.
Great job on the video man. Torn between the'81 & '60. The 60 has more treble ( to my ears) But everyones gear is different & these can be Eq'd to personal preference. I think the 60 in the bridge is my way to go.
Thanks :) Yes i find the 60 has higher freq. treble, that makes the cleans sparkly, the 60 also sounds to me slightly mid scooped, but i don't know if in the bridge, those highs might be a bit too much under distortion, but do try to see if you like it
I wish that the 60 had a little more boost in the preamp because I love the string separation and clarity that it gives even under high gain it just needs a smidgen more umph ... but then again I have never played a 60 with an EMG AB/AB220 or a PA-2 ... now I am really thinking about trying a 60/60/PA-2 setup
I really do not think that I will because I have always found the 81 lacking and the 85 too round for my taste ... also even though the 60 is ceramic it doesn't get that icepicky in the higher frets of the treble side
That dark chromatic scale.... ;) EMG81 with 14 volt DC supply is where it's at. I modded mine with two 9V battery conectors in series and it's much better sounding but the sweet spot for me was when the batteries were dying. When I measure the voltage left when I though was the best balance of clarity and tone was about 14Vdc. A voltage regulator added to the two 9V batteries OR a 9V plus 4 AA OR a 9V plus those stubby 6V battery would also do the trick, it's 15 V but would soon reach 14V anyways, 18 V supply was ok at first until 14V came along. Personally, I like EMG81 for fast lead oriented instrumental songs but prefer passive pickups most of the time for a smoother and human like singing feel with sustain, Active pickups shine when each note needs definition. Much like triggers on a drummer's bass drum in some fast metal playing.
@@megahurtz30 I was not aware. I do know there are Plutonium cells out there. Probably not for the general public. So 12V plus 2xAA would work in that case. Also, as any pickups, the distance from the pickup to the strings will make a difference in the thickness of sound. I had verified on EMG's site and their EMG81 will take 18V or less without issues.
Good testing. The emg 81 seems to be the obvious chose, if your wanting to cut through the band it sounds a little like a telecaster on steroids... the emg 85 has a little more of deep however that is sometimes, but not always a bit trickier to match whit the band since you can get to much deep / bass together. The emg 60 had a little less output overall but a very nice sound of its own giving me a piezo feel during the cleans. However i prefer the emg 81 but its just a matter of taste. All of the emg pick ups is great gear. My favourite combination is SA/SA/81 whit AB220 booster and Pi2 switch combined whit a saddle piezo system ( like the Graph Tech Ghost systems ) makes you able to do whatever you want whit the sound :)... Thats kinda the set-up i have been using since 2006.
I actually enjoyed the 81 in the bridge position most surprisingly in clean channels. The 81 and 60 sounded better with distortion.. The 85 sounded a bit muddy. I think the 85 is far better as a neck pickup than in the bridge. I have an EMG 81 in the bridge of my Schecter and a Sustaniac in the neck position. It sounds fantastic.
Exactly what I want to say, having Schecter Damien 7 platinum: 85 is just too fat, too bassy at neck, and then in the bridge position 81 just can’t do the mids and highs well enough as 60, so, when you need a clean distorted lead, the sound is too muddy and indistinguishable, rather than when there is a 60 pickup which registers those much better. I think my ideal would be 81 neck and 60 bridge.
Thankyou for this. Great to hear a dry review without any post production. And suprising results for me at least. I was thinking 60 or 85 for better versatility, however, to my ears, i prefered the 81 clean and 85 or 60 with gain. Sorry but wasn't a fan with the sd1.
I have had the 60 in the bridge of my Jackson Fusion for the past 13 years. I like the tone of it but I find myself always wishing I had gone with the 81. It just seems to have a lower output that needs more of a push to sound decent. To get the sound I want from it my gain knob is always maxed out, whereas with my other Jacksons that have Blackouts in them the gain is fine at 3 o'clock.
Such Great sounding Pickups. I away liked EMG's I got 85/81 in my Schecter . 85 in Neck and 81 in Bridge. 60 go's soft fast but that what It made to do, it has it's place.
Hi Jay, to my ears the 81 and 85 are nearly the same. Very little difference. I am interested to figure out how each model works on CLEAN SOUNDS. 81 seems to sound a bit more transparent than 85 . 60 to my ears sounds quite soft. I am trying to a couple of EMG HUMBUCKER for very nice clean sounds, the tipical use with chorus , reverb, compressor for those unforgettable 80’s sounds...... Can u please advise me? Thank u in advance....
It all depends on what ya wanna do: but to my surprise, the 85 sings best for a lead tone with oodles of fuzz, despite the fact it was originally intended for the neck position - the 81, lacks the mid-range boost that the 85 has - so while the 81 "cuts" more, it doesn't sustain/sing quite as well. The 60, surprisingly, was good for jugga-jigga-wugga metal rhythm work, precisely because - by comparison - it doesn't have a lot of sustain, but much more attack: so it's probably great for "crunchy" style, lead guitar tones, but not great for "smooth-noodles".
Absolutely!! I have a Schecter c1 platinum with EMG's 81/85 and it sounds cheap! Have the same 81 bridge pickup in my schecter hellraiser frs-s & it sounds great! I even called EMG and they told me that the tone you get depends on the type of wood the body of your guitar is made with. They assured me that they haven't changed anything in the manufacturing of 81/85 set since day 1.
no it wont have any affect at all ,this confuses those of us who listen with their eyes instead of ears. ive learned to not do this many,many years ago that way i dont get tricked like you have. Ive done a test with all three pickups in 3 guitars back to back,there is no difference. if you put a loaded strat pickgard into a les paul it would sound like a strat. this is simply a marketing scheme to sell expensive guitars,and you have obviously been duped. google cardboard strat , it sounds EXACTLY like a strat. google toilet seat guitar,it sounds exactly like any guitar with the same pickup configuration google acrylic guitar,it sounds the same as any other guitar with the same pickup configuration. google alumicaster,it sounds exactly like a telecaster and its made of aluminum sorry but you've been fooled,many have as well and have been sucked onto the tonewood debate
@@waynesmith747 if you cant tell the difference in tone based on what wood and shape the guitar has, that's perfectly okay, but that doesnt mean that the difference doesnt exist. Some people have a very good ear for even the slightest change, and it makes a difference to them. If you're cool with a cardboard guitar, more power to ya. But dont tell the rest of us that our knowledge of tone is unfounded.
@@pewpew2793 yes, the shape does effect the sound. The vibrations of the strings travel throughout the guitar. So while they may play the same notes, different guitar shapes will have slight changes in, I dont know if you would call it tone, but it's a different kind of sound.
I'm wondering if some of you on here can help me out. I recently bought a guitar with active pickups. it's my first guitar with actives and I was super excited to try them out. The first thing I did was go show my friend and his family. So I grabbed my Spider IV 15w that I use for travel and when I tried it out there, it sounded awesome. I had a nice full sound, awesome cleans and everything was great. so I couldn't wait to try it out on an amp that was actually good. so I got home and plugged it in to my Vox AD100VTH with the 4x12 and...was very disappointed. my passives are so much better on this than the actives are. my cleans are nowhere near clean, and then when distorted, it doesn't actually have as much sustain and "carry" as my passive pickups do. it's not as full as it was on my cheap solid-state.
I tried changing the battery, still same thing. But my signal chain consists of 4 pedals, and actives were made to bust through long signal chains. So I'm thinking it's just putting out too much signal.
It could also be since you're using the Vox, it doesn't have as much clarity and it's a Hybrid Modeling amplifier, so it has digital fx's instead of analog fx's. A Line 6 Spider is a really shit amp to compare a sound with since these are not designed with tone in mind. The only reason I kept mine for a while was to use it as a pc speaker or use the crunch channel to re-amp it through my record out straight into Amplitube at the time. Even with active pickups, if your guitar is build like an amateur it will sound like an amateur. I carry my Tiny Terror everywhere whenever I go and try a guitar because it's the sound I am used to and it's the most honest amp I have ever played. It has a really Modern sound for such a small British amp and if you are the problem or the guitar is the problem the amp will definitely tell you! Also try getting rid of any distortion pedals or overdrives when choosing a sound since active pre-amps already overdrive the signal and this could end up fucking up your sound. Every amp responds different to the same chain of effects and if the Vox isn't made to take high levels of distortion well, chances are it will get oversaturated and every note will sound like an open A chord.
Thomogon well something weird happened. my friend has a guitar with the same pickups and he brought it over. I showed him what I was talking about, he plugged his in and it played fine. which made me believe it was my guitar. (which was heartbreaking because it was one of 400 and I'm afraid to do any work on it) so I plugged mine back in and it worked perfectly. so it was weird but...don't look a gift horse in the mouth.
Sounds really stupid, but I think faulty cables were your problem. Weither it was a break in your wiring that wasn't properly connected anymore or a cable with shielding issues, it caused your signal to be distorted to the extend of it sounding faulty. My VGS has a common LP shape problem that is the jack-input that won't stay put so needs rescrewing every few weeks, that's the way things go. I'd avoid cables with cloth shielding instead of rubber to begin with, made this mistake myself.
Great work ! Thanks. No frills, no fluff, just what the doctor ordered! Got a Schechter Hellraiser with the Sustaniac. LOVE LOVE LOVE the way it plays but play in cover bands and have come to realize it's a one trick pony. Need a Strat (single coil) sound and looking to modify the Hellraiser with a coil tap option which only comes in the active EMG 89. How does the 89 compare to the 81? Just want a few a opinions as I research...
nice demo. I have two guitars were the 81 sounds best in the bridge and one guitar were the 85 sounds best. The 85 i think is the best all around pickup for both positions for my ears that is.
Great demo. For some reason my 81 sounds so weak in the bridge and not as loud as my 85 in the neck in my 7 string. To the point where it seems like the pickup is bad.
+David “MISFITSWITCH” Wagner raise up the level of the 81 with the screws and lower your neck pickup the same way,play while doing it and test until they're balanced
I'm building a V-style METAAAAL (Rob halford scream) guitar with only one pickup in the bridge, and I didn't know which of the emg's I would choose, but know I know exactly which one to get, the 60. Great demo! Liked and Subscribed!
To be honest, it's a tossup between the 81 and 60 for me. The 81 has a flatter eq and seems better for bolt necks, and the 60 is tighter in the lows with an upper-mid push, and seems better for set-necks. The 85 is cool, with the big lows and mid-scoop typical of an alnico 5 pickup, but it's not really my style. It might be good for FR trems, though.
Much prefer the 85 in the bridge in alder guitars, hence if I want to run an active pup in those kind of guitars, or ash even, I'd go with that pup. 81 is a terribly thin sounding pickup. I know a lot of people prefer it cuz of it's bite, but I simply can't get on with how it has zero balls what so ever. Basically if I go active(which is rare now that I have access to Dimarzios and Bare Knuckles), it's 85 all the way. Or the 57/66 combo.
I watched this video expecting to enjoy the 81 more than the others but I actually agree with you, the 85 just sounds a bit more bass-y and clear to me
Hello. Less susceptible yes, but, still susceptible. I have a small space with electronics around like the PC and monitor and maybe the audio interface is also a bit susceptible...
That distortion does not give these justice or a wide spread difference at all, it makes me want to record what my Marshall and revv sounds like with my two 80s.
SD-1 was an unfortunate choice with it's blunt and over-compressioned sound. It made the same sound for the three. Distorted session has the same effect, but too much highs causes the issue. All in all, '81' the best at the bridge position and '85' just right to it at the neck. '60' is the loser of this good demo. Thanks!
81 clean: 0:49
85 clean: 1:04
60 clean: 1:19
81 strum clean: 1:33
85 strum clean: 1:47
60 strum clean: 2:01
81 clean riff: 2:16
85 clean riff: 2:30
60 clean riff: 2:44
81 crunch: 3:05
85 crunch: 3:19
60 crunch: 3:34
81 higain: 3:54
85 higain: 4:02
60 higain: 4:11
Goat
I really prefer the 81 for dirt and the 60 for cleans. So maybe best of both worlds? I would go with an 81 in the bridge and a 60 in the neck if it were me.
That was Hetfields setup
Really fancy an emg equipped guitar
You can find that setup in Phil Demmel's Jackson signature guitars.
Exactly my setup. Also heavily used by Metallica on AJFA and Black Album
To me the 85 sounded the most dynamic of the bunch. The 81 sounded fuller, more rounded with gain than the 60, which sounded more aggressive and a bit more defined. I'm planning on getting a guitar with an 81 in the bridge position and a 60 in the neck position so this video was very helpful.
somehow the EMG 60 sounds the most bright in clean tone... whilest the 81 and 85 sound really metallic... i really love it... i would go for two 60. Neck and Bridge.
I appreciate the time you took to make this video man! Legend!
Thanks! :) I'm happy to test more stuff if i can get my hands on it. I even tried buying a used Seymour Duncan Blackout to include in this test, but the deal didn't go through..
The 60 actually sounded really good in all tests. I don't know why every one insists on having it only in the neck. This comparison helped. Thanks :)
I used a 60 in the neck and a 85 in the bridge for years now ... then I tested the 60 in the bridge a few days ago: Just ordered another one :D
I think in a live band mix situation you'll find that the 81 cuts through a lot more than the 60, as the 81 has a high mid spike whereas the 60 has scooped mids.
The 85 seems to be similar to an 81 in frequency profile but shifted towards the bass side, i.e. it has deeper bass and a lower mid spike with less treble.
Tian Lee
maybe I should put my 85 back in the bridge again...It does sound more raw than the 81...Few more harmonics too I thinks :)
Well, I am planning to buy 81 to bridge. Now I'm sure, that my thoughts are right. Thanks for video. Informative and helps make right choice.
You can't go wrong with the 81, in my opinion. It's a great pickup !
I like the sound of the 85
J. Sakanaru accept metal heart egg 81
Me to
Me too bro
All night and day.
Agree
I think the differences show very strongly with clean tones. With overdrive, I do hear a difference but nothing that you couldn't E.Q. into any of these pickups.
dude buddy bro just got to let you know your video was freaking perfect and to the point and it actually helped us decide which pick up the go with but I honestly love the simplicity and the video was perfect perfect freakin rock and roll
Thanks!! :)
85 all the fucking way it's beast for metal
have you ever listened to the end of heartache album by killswitch engage? they use 85 in the bridge and its fucking epic
DeanGuitarsForLife! They also are in a studio and/or have a whole rig to tighten things up if need be.
Michael Peretto The 85 and the 89R which is the same pup with the option to be split, Is just fine and just as tight live, you can take this as gospel. The 85 and the 89R are the best EMG active buckers made, its so obvious its not even debatable. If you are muddy with an 85, its your technique, or an EQ/Amp issue, its not the 85's fault, and the same goes for the 81 and 60. Saying the 85 is muddy, is like arguing what string brand is best for pinch harmonics.
I'm not arguing against the 85 as I don't have much experience with it, but the 81 is definitely tight. So much so that I find it sterile and lacking in character. Low gain passive into high gain amps is probably going to be your best sound out there...and keeps things quit like Actives
To me, 85 sounds better than 81 in the bridge position. That's on an Ibanez RG270dx with 18 volts...
Thanks for posting this great demo, it shows off the difference in tones in a very clear way.
Hm... It seems each one is suited to a specific type of playing. Though all seem to do the three different tones fairly well, the 85 sounded best on cleans, the 60 did the best crunch and the 81 had the best cut and definition in the high gain. At least to my ears that is how it sounded.
I have tried both setups and prefer 81 in neck and 60 in bridge. The 81 gives good bass and clean tone while the 60 has more wild growl.
You did a very thorough job showing all the pickups height and everything, nice job!
+OTCRock4one Thanks! :)
Thanks for such a great comparison. It's also great to read the comments. Everyone's tastes are so different, but it seems everyone really respects and appreciates what you've done here. Nice work.
Thanks! :)
emg85 is the best pickup they ever made. highly underrated bridge pickup - and not just for alder/basswood guitars. I have two 85's in my mahogany body mahogany neck rosewood f/board batitone...which is a super dark guitar - the 85's just bring out all the richness in the depth. tuned to dropped Ab
i’m back 7 years later - the baritone now has one lace hemi in the bridge and no neck pick up. and i swapped the emgs into a les paul- 85 bridge for rich fatness and a 60 in the neck for less boom and more clarity
7 years went fast
81 is brighter then the 85 . 85 is more bass . EMG 60 is very mellow cool sounding , laid-back . Dual 81s in my LTD 1000 E , not changing them at all .
One of the best comparison. Either one are great. A difference in output, magnet and equalization
Thanks! :)
Kool comparison, you can really hear the difference, curcurrently on a custom build & have all 3 of those at my disposal to install thanx for the review
Upgrading from passive pups (SD SH-8 Bridge, Chapman Passive Agressive Neck), I think I'll set mine up with an 85x in bridge position and an 81x in the neck position. Seems like a better fit for getting all the best of both worlds. I super appreciate both of your videos demonstrating how the most iconic three sound in both positions! Thanks very much :D
EMGs are a direct downgrade from the SH-8
Thank you for this video. I know exactly what I want...81.
The 60 sounds the clearest ,most defined and thin. Less forgiving with sloppy fret and pick work. The 85 for full on mteal chug.
I run 85 on the bridge and 81 on the neck. 18 volts. Love it!
Yeah man, running 2 batteries makes all the difference. The tone is just ...more! More dynamic headroom, sustain, warmth, and clarity all at the same time... Turn down your volume knob if you want more of a clean or overdrive kinda sound, crank it up for distortion and bite and tons of harmonics! I could go on and on and on haha
Those broken chords at the beginning are beautiful man, wanna say this for many years but back then I didnt have an account
Thanks!! :)
@@megahurtz30 Bro I'm gonna make a song out of those broken chords
Just got a Yamaha Pacifica with an 85 at the bridge, and 2 EMG active SAV's: For free.
Best deal ever. And it sounds and plays AMAZING.
The EMG 81/60 is a tried and true set. Very glassy cleans. Not for everyone but is for the metal player that wants to be versatile.
For what I used is emg81 Bridge and emg85 on the neck. Then with dod thrash master, d addario strings.
emg 85 is built to sound more clear because it is usually used as a rhythm pickup. I honestly think it is way better for a bridge position. My set up that i want to try next is Emg 85 for the bridge, and emg 55 or 60 for the neck.
Love the 85 pickup for cleans.
Thanks for this video. Not everyone is going for a fat humbucker sound. I’m really after a single-coil tele sound for a bridge pick up. It sounds like the 60 is going to get me close. Now I’ll have to find a strat-ish neck pick up.
I actually got the 60 because I was looking for a more strat like tone, and it's pretty good for it, much better than the 85 at least. It's still an active humbucker so you've gotta have reasonable expectations, but the 60 I think is the best option from emg
I really think the perfect combo for these 3 is 85 bridge and 60 neck. 85 in the bridge is bigger, warmer, has that low mid presence. Never liked it as a neck pickup; it’s got one use in that position and it’s high gain soloing. Cleans are muddy and breakup too easily.
60 in the neck just sounds really nice. Strikes a good balance between having brightness and clarity without sounding too harsh. Lower output too, so it levels easily with a hotter bridge.
*muddy and breakup too easily IN THE NECK. Cleans sound nice in the bridge.
EMG 81 is the best.
Along with the neck position video, this is a true comparison test. Well done.
I really like the 60, thanks for the comparison.
Emg-81 in the bridge position Everyday. The 85 and the 60 are good companions in the neck position for clean and lead tone diversity but for that killer crunch with the distortion nothing beats the 81. \m/
I have the 60 in the neck and 81 in the bridge, sounds great.
How much did that run you?
@@toemasmeems I bought a used LTD KH 202 with those pickup installed. It cost me around $360.
These are so similar that the minor differences can easily be negated by the amp's EQ.
Awesome, no talking in between, no bullshit. THANK you for that. Holy mother, you wouldn't believe how many comparisons include so much dribble it's hard to remember what you just heard. But I would suggest using an actual amp next time just to give a more realistic comparison to what most people would use. Good upload!
Hi! Thanks. Yes i always disliked tests with a lot of talk or other stuff between the sound samples. I didn't have a proper valve amp at the time, but a passive pickup test i made afterwords uses a real amp. To be fair, the software is quite good at beeing transparent, i tried to use the ones that would best achieve that goal..
They are very similar - but overall, I found myself liking the 81 in most cases
So far the 85 wins for me again! Anyone one of them would work great, but if I'm choosing it's either the 85 in the bridge and the 81 would be my second choice. If I could only find a 60 though I'd be happy to use it too!
Late to the party, but thanks so much for this video. I had already decided on the 60 from playing a friends guitar and now know I'm going with the 81 over the 85 as a companion. They sound alike in a lot of ways, but the 81 sounds more 'open' and the 85 sounds 'compressed'.
Got to say I'm surprised, I like the sound of the 81 best and I thought I would like at the least.
Great job on the video man. Torn between the'81 & '60. The 60 has more treble ( to my ears) But everyones gear is different & these can be Eq'd to personal preference. I think the 60 in the bridge is my way to go.
Thanks :) Yes i find the 60 has higher freq. treble, that makes the cleans sparkly, the 60 also sounds to me slightly mid scooped, but i don't know if in the bridge, those highs might be a bit too much under distortion, but do try to see if you like it
@@megahurtz30 myself, I like a little mid more than higher treble. Like Wolf Hoffman's tone on the "Balls to the wall" album.
Thanks for showing the know it all's that you can play more than metal with emg's✊✊
I wish that the 60 had a little more boost in the preamp because I love the string separation and clarity that it gives even under high gain it just needs a smidgen more umph ... but then again I have never played a 60 with an EMG AB/AB220 or a PA-2 ... now I am really thinking about trying a 60/60/PA-2 setup
Randy Rev you won't regret it man
I really do not think that I will because I have always found the 81 lacking and the 85 too round for my taste ... also even though the 60 is ceramic it doesn't get that icepicky in the higher frets of the treble side
My LTD M400 has 81 / 85 . The 85 can sound muddy at times . But I am not changing them at all .
That dark chromatic scale.... ;) EMG81 with 14 volt DC supply is where it's at. I modded mine with two 9V battery conectors in series and it's much better sounding but the sweet spot for me was when the batteries were dying. When I measure the voltage left when I though was the best balance of clarity and tone was about 14Vdc. A voltage regulator added to the two 9V batteries OR a 9V plus 4 AA OR a 9V plus those stubby 6V battery would also do the trick, it's 15 V but would soon reach 14V anyways, 18 V supply was ok at first until 14V came along. Personally, I like EMG81 for fast lead oriented instrumental songs but prefer passive pickups most of the time for a smoother and human like singing feel with sustain, Active pickups shine when each note needs definition. Much like triggers on a drummer's bass drum in some fast metal playing.
14V... that's interesting! Well, there are small 12V batteries as well, have you tried those?
@@megahurtz30 I was not aware. I do know there are Plutonium cells out there. Probably not for the general public. So 12V plus 2xAA would work in that case. Also, as any pickups, the distance from the pickup to the strings will make a difference in the thickness of sound.
I had verified on EMG's site and their EMG81 will take 18V or less without issues.
Good testing. The emg 81 seems to be the obvious chose, if your wanting to cut through the band it sounds a little like a telecaster on steroids... the emg 85 has a little more of deep however that is sometimes, but not always a bit trickier to match whit the band since you can get to much deep / bass together. The emg 60 had a little less output overall but a very nice sound of its own giving me a piezo feel during the cleans.
However i prefer the emg 81 but its just a matter of taste. All of the emg pick ups is great gear. My favourite combination is SA/SA/81 whit AB220 booster and Pi2 switch combined whit a saddle piezo system ( like the Graph Tech Ghost systems ) makes you able to do whatever you want whit the sound :)... Thats kinda the set-up i have been using since 2006.
getting a johnny christ signature for Christmas cant wait to use the 81s
81 for bridge, it's the best for the lead tones 85 or 60 for the neck is the only way to live.
I thing so..
I actually enjoyed the 81 in the bridge position most surprisingly in clean channels. The 81 and 60 sounded better with distortion.. The 85 sounded a bit muddy. I think the 85 is far better as a neck pickup than in the bridge. I have an EMG 81 in the bridge of my Schecter and a Sustaniac in the neck position. It sounds fantastic.
Exactly what I want to say, having Schecter Damien 7 platinum: 85 is just too fat, too bassy at neck, and then in the bridge position 81 just can’t do the mids and highs well enough as 60, so, when you need a clean distorted lead, the sound is too muddy and indistinguishable, rather than when there is a 60 pickup which registers those much better. I think my ideal would be 81 neck and 60 bridge.
I have a feeling that the 60 might be a hidden gem for low tunings.
85 best on bridge. It has substantially more output and allows quite an overhead for gain.
I liked 81 the best.
Thanks for the video.
Great demo. All rockin no talkin. Others should take note.
thank you very much! :)
81 got me still
In the neck position and the bridge position
Thankyou for this. Great to hear a dry review without any post production. And suprising results for me at least. I was thinking 60 or 85 for better versatility, however, to my ears, i prefered the 81 clean and 85 or 60 with gain. Sorry but wasn't a fan with the sd1.
this is a very helpful video
thanks for the time, detail and consistency in the demo
You're welcome! Check my 81 vs 57 vs JH as well, if you want ;)
OMG, 60 in the bridge is awsome
I have had the 60 in the bridge of my Jackson Fusion for the past 13 years. I like the tone of it but I find myself always wishing I had gone with the 81. It just seems to have a lower output that needs more of a push to sound decent. To get the sound I want from it my gain knob is always maxed out, whereas with my other Jacksons that have Blackouts in them the gain is fine at 3 o'clock.
Excellent review and riff selections!
I have a 81 in the bridge and 60 in the neck but I rarely use the neck humbucker but when I do the 60 is perfect with a different channel on my amp
Such Great sounding Pickups. I away liked EMG's I got 85/81 in my Schecter . 85 in Neck and 81 in Bridge. 60 go's soft fast but that what It made to do, it has it's place.
Hi Jay, to my ears the 81 and 85 are nearly the same. Very little difference. I am interested to figure out how each model works on CLEAN SOUNDS. 81 seems to sound a bit more transparent than 85 . 60 to my ears sounds quite soft. I am trying to a couple of EMG HUMBUCKER for very nice clean sounds, the tipical use with chorus , reverb, compressor for those unforgettable 80’s sounds...... Can u please advise me? Thank u in advance....
It all depends on what ya wanna do: but to my surprise, the 85 sings best for a lead tone with oodles of fuzz, despite the fact it was originally intended for the neck position - the 81, lacks the mid-range boost that the 85 has - so while the 81 "cuts" more, it doesn't sustain/sing quite as well. The 60, surprisingly, was good for jugga-jigga-wugga metal rhythm work, precisely because - by comparison - it doesn't have a lot of sustain, but much more attack: so it's probably great for "crunchy" style, lead guitar tones, but not great for "smooth-noodles".
that 85 on the clean is so amazing sounding! but that 60 is better on distortion.
The type of guitar really matters as well. I find that all ESP’s tend to sound plucky like this
Absolutely!! I have a Schecter c1 platinum with EMG's 81/85 and it sounds cheap! Have the same 81 bridge pickup in my schecter hellraiser frs-s & it sounds great! I even called EMG and they told me that the tone you get depends on the type of wood the body of your guitar is made with. They assured me that they haven't changed anything in the manufacturing of 81/85 set since day 1.
Looks like you have your B string & G string switched around?
No, that's just an illusion. The G is darker, for some reason, and looks thinner. But look at the shadows of the strings, everything is correct..
megahurtz30 I think the B in the photo has been replaced with a newer B?
MrKellii ? No, they all belong to the same set. I never replace just one string
megahurtz30 That's so weird that they are like that haha. What type of strings where they?
I guess, they never get dirty in an evenly way, with me. They are Dunlop strings, you can see their box at the begining of the video
EMG81 is the best!!!!
ゆずソフトฅ•ω•ฅ ya i agree bro
followed close by the 85, dunno but the 60 seems to muffle the notes and does not have enough punch and clarity especially for clean test
wow 85 in bridge sounds damn good!
Very helpful, many thanks
Finally someone payed attension in school and knows how to do a proper test!
And yes the wood of the guitar will effect the tone.
no it wont have any affect at all ,this confuses those of us who listen with their eyes instead of ears.
ive learned to not do this many,many years ago that way i dont get tricked like you have.
Ive done a test with all three pickups in 3 guitars back to back,there is no difference.
if you put a loaded strat pickgard into a les paul it would sound like a strat.
this is simply a marketing scheme to sell expensive guitars,and you have obviously been duped.
google cardboard strat , it sounds EXACTLY like a strat.
google toilet seat guitar,it sounds exactly like any guitar with the same pickup configuration
google acrylic guitar,it sounds the same as any other guitar with the same pickup configuration.
google alumicaster,it sounds exactly like a telecaster and its made of aluminum
sorry but you've been fooled,many have as well and have been sucked onto the tonewood debate
@@waynesmith747 if you cant tell the difference in tone based on what wood and shape the guitar has, that's perfectly okay, but that doesnt mean that the difference doesnt exist. Some people have a very good ear for even the slightest change, and it makes a difference to them.
If you're cool with a cardboard guitar, more power to ya. But dont tell the rest of us that our knowledge of tone is unfounded.
I just realized that comment is 2 years old. Shouldn't have even replied lol.
Sickticious haha i know this feeling. but realy.. the shape? must be unnoticeable for like 90% of all guitar players and like 100% of the pleps right?
@@pewpew2793 yes, the shape does effect the sound. The vibrations of the strings travel throughout the guitar. So while they may play the same notes, different guitar shapes will have slight changes in, I dont know if you would call it tone, but it's a different kind of sound.
thanks dude..81s i like..
I like playing this video while working on my dance moves...I wish it was longer
I hear no differences that an EQ couldn't do, either in line or in recording.
I'm putting a 85 at the bridge of a Starcaster tomorrow :)
great demo.
thanks!
I'm wondering if some of you on here can help me out. I recently bought a guitar with active pickups. it's my first guitar with actives and I was super excited to try them out. The first thing I did was go show my friend and his family. So I grabbed my Spider IV 15w that I use for travel and when I tried it out there, it sounded awesome. I had a nice full sound, awesome cleans and everything was great. so I couldn't wait to try it out on an amp that was actually good. so I got home and plugged it in to my Vox AD100VTH with the 4x12 and...was very disappointed. my passives are so much better on this than the actives are. my cleans are nowhere near clean, and then when distorted, it doesn't actually have as much sustain and "carry" as my passive pickups do. it's not as full as it was on my cheap solid-state.
That's very weird, it shouldn't be so. Have you tired changing the battery? Or maybe there is some faulty electric contact in the guitar..
I tried changing the battery, still same thing. But my signal chain consists of 4 pedals, and actives were made to bust through long signal chains. So I'm thinking it's just putting out too much signal.
It could also be since you're using the Vox, it doesn't have as much clarity and it's a Hybrid Modeling amplifier, so it has digital fx's instead of analog fx's. A Line 6 Spider is a really shit amp to compare a sound with since these are not designed with tone in mind. The only reason I kept mine for a while was to use it as a pc speaker or use the crunch channel to re-amp it through my record out straight into Amplitube at the time. Even with active pickups, if your guitar is build like an amateur it will sound like an amateur. I carry my Tiny Terror everywhere whenever I go and try a guitar because it's the sound I am used to and it's the most honest amp I have ever played. It has a really Modern sound for such a small British amp and if you are the problem or the guitar is the problem the amp will definitely tell you! Also try getting rid of any distortion pedals or overdrives when choosing a sound since active pre-amps already overdrive the signal and this could end up fucking up your sound. Every amp responds different to the same chain of effects and if the Vox isn't made to take high levels of distortion well, chances are it will get oversaturated and every note will sound like an open A chord.
Thomogon
well something weird happened.
my friend has a guitar with the same pickups and he brought it over. I showed him what I was talking about, he plugged his in and it played fine. which made me believe it was my guitar. (which was heartbreaking because it was one of 400 and I'm afraid to do any work on it) so I plugged mine back in and it worked perfectly. so it was weird but...don't look a gift horse in the mouth.
Sounds really stupid, but I think faulty cables were your problem. Weither it was a break in your wiring that wasn't properly connected anymore or a cable with shielding issues, it caused your signal to be distorted to the extend of it sounding faulty. My VGS has a common LP shape problem that is the jack-input that won't stay put so needs rescrewing every few weeks, that's the way things go. I'd avoid cables with cloth shielding instead of rubber to begin with, made this mistake myself.
Great work ! Thanks. No frills, no fluff, just what the doctor ordered!
Got a Schechter Hellraiser with the Sustaniac. LOVE LOVE LOVE the way it plays but play in cover bands and have come to realize it's a one trick pony. Need a Strat (single coil) sound and looking to modify the Hellraiser with a coil tap option which only comes in the active EMG 89. How does the 89 compare to the 81? Just want a few a opinions as I research...
Thanks! :) I never tried an 89, i'm curious myself..
Classic 81 85 combo. The 60 in the bridge position sounds quacky and too bright for me.
nice demo. I have two guitars were the 81 sounds best in the bridge and one guitar were the 85 sounds best. The 85 i think is the best all around pickup for both positions for my ears that is.
Great demo. For some reason my 81 sounds so weak in the bridge and not as loud as my 85 in the neck in my 7 string. To the point where it seems like the pickup is bad.
+David “MISFITSWITCH” Wagner raise up the level of the 81 with the screws and lower your neck pickup the same way,play while doing it and test until they're balanced
Great comparison, thanks for that. Just what I needed to confirm what sound I need. I'll stick with the 85's me thinks
What's the song called at 0:50?
I have an $800 Ec-1000 deluxe with emg’s ...How ever I like the sound and play mostly a $230 squire standard...
EMG 85 seems better and Clean while 60 is better at riffs it seems
81 is just fucking awesome
I'm building a V-style METAAAAL (Rob halford scream) guitar with only one pickup in the bridge,
and I didn't know which of the emg's I would choose, but know I know exactly which one to get, the 60.
Great demo! Liked and Subscribed!
+SIMON Thanks! I'm curious about your build, upload a video when it's complete! :)
megahurtz30 Sure! But you will have to wait a year and a half, 'cause I really want to make this guitar beutiful sounding/looking. \m/,
To be honest, it's a tossup between the 81 and 60 for me. The 81 has a flatter eq and seems better for bolt necks, and the 60 is tighter in the lows with an upper-mid push, and seems better for set-necks. The 85 is cool, with the big lows and mid-scoop typical of an alnico 5 pickup, but it's not really my style. It might be good for FR trems, though.
excellent comparison video! good work
That 60 actually sounds pretty good in the bridge position
Much prefer the 85 in the bridge in alder guitars, hence if I want to run an active pup in those kind of guitars, or ash even, I'd go with that pup. 81 is a terribly thin sounding pickup. I know a lot of people prefer it cuz of it's bite, but I simply can't get on with how it has zero balls what so ever.
Basically if I go active(which is rare now that I have access to Dimarzios and Bare Knuckles), it's 85 all the way. Or the 57/66 combo.
What Dimarzios and Bare Knuckles do you prefer? And how would you describe their sound?
I watched this video expecting to enjoy the 81 more than the others but I actually agree with you, the 85 just sounds a bit more bass-y and clear to me
thank you for doing these tests in this format.
Would it be possible to swap a 81 in the neck and 60 in the bridge the other way around?
Would they sound as expected?
I have 81. It’s beastly.
That boss pedal sucks.. In my experience it sounds too muddy and is very cheap.
yes. My favorite efector is LINE6 POD HD500X.
It IS supposed to sound that way, however it's also probably best used in front of a real amp, lol.
Use it in the FX loop if you're pushing the front of the Amp and it sounds like shit
60 in the Bridge 👍🏻👍🏻
what is with the ground noise??? i thought active pickups were less susceptible to electrical noise (RF, EM)
Hello. Less susceptible yes, but, still susceptible. I have a small space with electronics around like the PC and monitor and maybe the audio interface is also a bit susceptible...
That distortion does not give these justice or a wide spread difference at all, it makes me want to record what my Marshall and revv sounds like with my two 80s.
SD-1 was an unfortunate choice with it's blunt and over-compressioned sound. It made the same sound for the three. Distorted session has the same effect, but too much highs causes the issue. All in all, '81' the best at the bridge position and '85' just right to it at the neck. '60' is the loser of this good demo. Thanks!