There were some component supplier changes in 2019 that impacted the overall headroom of some pickup models (including the 81). Newer 81s produce a signal that is less compressed, which is a huge benefit for clean tones but they might not interact quite the same with your gain channels and/or pedals. The best workaround we’ve found is to place a compressor/limiter pedal first in the chain (or immediately after a tuner) and set it to have a “hard knee” response. Some compressor pedals have a dedicated “limiter” setting to cover this application, and others respond like a limiter as you turn up the compression ratio." - EMG Engineer
Active pickups have dynamics, just not as much as passive pickups, i get cleans in most hi gain amps when I roll down. The actives don’t clean up much. That doesn’t mean they are bad, just different
A lot of people complain about EMG's lacking dynamics, and i think one contributing factor as to why this stereotype has circulated throughout different circles in the guitar community is that a lot of people seem to be boosting their amps with something like a tube screamer to try and get an even tighter sound than they already have. Tube screamers do a very good job at helping passive pickups get into the same territory as active pickups in terms of how tight they are, how they compress, and how they push out a lot of gain to get you the output that you're looking for. With that being said, there are boost pedals that you can use for active guitar pickups like the Electric Eye Audio Mud Killer that has a switch to turn off any clipping circuit that the pedal has, allowing you to use the pedal as a clean boost instead of the traditional overdrive. It's also worth checking out some pedals like the TC Electronics Spark booster, the Walrus Audio Warhorn, and the Joy Zip Amp for a few examples of pedals that can get you a tighter sound with active pickups.
The amount of dynamics available and that squishy pick attack you get when you play hard are imo the best part of the EMG 81. It just works well in metal. And the eq curve is great too. Still the best pickups for metal I have tried, and I've tried a lot.
I love EMGs and have loved them for years. There was a time when a majority of mid to high end guitars came with EMGs only as the 81 and 85 dominated the metal scene. I have a 6 string Ibanez RG with those pickups and a 7 string LTD Eclipse with 81-7 and 707. They sound fantastic for cleans, lead tones that cut through the mix and great heavy distortion. I have two other guitars that have passives and those are fine too but I play my EMG pickup guitars way more often
EMG 81 in the right guitar is the best metal pickup of all time. The pickup is a little compressed due to it's magnets being weak, slightly reduced upper mids, and two different coil windings; but combined with it's tone is what makes it so amazing. I play technical death metal and want all my palm muted 16th note rhythm spans to sounds fluid yet biting. The 81 performs the balancing act better than any other other pickup. There's a reason the 81 was used on thousands of the heaviest albums. If you want more dynamic range use two 9 volts, but personally I use only one.
No, active pickups just have different dynamics, and they do make actives that retain more of the characteristics of passives these days with all the benefits of active technology. I tend to prefer passives, but that's really because my favorite pickups these days just so happen to be passives. I'm big on the Duncan JB, Jazz, Custom, Screamin' Demon and Full Shred. They just happen to be passive. EMG makes fine pickups including models that have a lot of passive characteristics, and Fishman is really coming up. Keep an open mind and open ears. For full on metal the 81 is pretty hard to beat. It's not what I'm into at the moment but I can't knock it.
You're showing dynamics on hi-gain, lol. I'd rather say that they react to dynamics in a different way, not as passive ones, but that doesn't make them worse.
One can get nitpicky about all these different characteristics of pickups. I have EMG pickups on my PV Falcon . I just play the damn thing and I'm happy with the sound. Even all the way across the spectrum.
Your video perfectly demonstrates why EMG's are not dynamic, because depending on how hard or soft you pick the pickup will output pretty much the same volume (at least for 9V). Btw, I use EMG exclusively for that reason!
The most sterile pickup I have ever played was a Crunch Lab. I can see it being a useful tool but it's also the most compressed/tightest least dynamic pickup I have ever played. I'll stick to my 81/60.
Sounds great! I mainly use 81 in the bridge and only low gain on my 6505 (pointing to LED) without any extra pedals or any boosts. And that’s more than enough for me. I must say, it sounds as dynamic as any high grade passive pickups. The same effect with 85 or 60 in the bridge on my other guitars :).
By design actives have a flat response which guitarist call sterile what they don’t get is that flat means they are dynamic you can get any tone by using eq which you can’t with standard pickups. Sometimes designs are to smart and people just don’t get it.
Las emg tienen un pre amplificador programable Lm741, y este preamp comprime el sonido para que suene nivelado todos los cleans.. a eso hay que sumarle la distorsión que está usando, lo cual comprime mucho más de lo que ya está
Sick tone man. Sorry if you already said it but what tuning is that? I hear people doing the squals like that but it's not the same in standard tuning or in slightly dropped tuning with normal strings. At least for me anyways
I got emgs with kvxmg slime and it's my dream guitar if I would have have speced it my way it just would have been matalic in paint the pickup would sound better if your distortion was tighter too begin with bother!
They aren't, compared to passive. You still have a lot of compression. This isn't a bad thing. Just about preferences... I prefer the punchy attack of passive pickups.
Nice video my man. If it's not too much trouble what are the height on your EMG pickups from low E to high E on both pickups? I just bought a Fernandes Ravelle with EMG pickups 81 and 60 on it and I've never played EMG pickups before. Will really appreciate it thanks.
Since he may or may not answer you, and i believe i can understand you, i could recommend you always set your pick high to be at around 2 mm. Away from both your low and your high e strings
That’s a mean tone. Im actually not a fan of the overly hi-fidelity sound that actives like EMGs and Fishmans have (even though my strandberg Boden has fishys) but this is just nasty.
Yes, EMG 81 is always my go to pickup. However some people think EMG are not dynamic, but I feel that even in proper gain for metal, it reacts well with your picking hand, if you play sloppily, it won't sound any good IMO.
@@chesterchen2331 yeah a lot of the “dynamics” has to do with the player as well. I can tell there is some dynamics in them, But not as much as a passive pickup. I just never seem to understand why people just totally label them as shitty pick ups, because “they’re not dynamic” they aren’t built for that reason.
i dont think this really helps the argument because youre soft playing in the beginning and it's still clippin to a gain sound very much. If you had done that to a DiMarzio it would have damn near sounded clean on the same setting (Depending on the model)
dynamics? what a bunch of bolony. why do we all use compressors? why do we all saturate the living crap out of our guitars and add more compression on top of it? Yes, it compresses a bit but that's what almost every musician wants. Tube amps? guess why people like them over solid state? Because they compress your sound when you crank them up so that your sound clips inside the tubes. That warm sound people ignorantly keep saying to describe a tube sound? yeah that is compression. Another thing if your guitar is over 7 string you need active pickup as they are better because. . . . they compress your sound thus making your playing evenly. There you go. Active pickups on the contrary are immensely better for metal. This is coming from a guy that uses passive pickups.
lol the whole EMGs are sterile/no life/sounds the same in every guitar/bla bla bla dimarzios, duncans, BKPs are better omg bla bla has been going on since internet communities became a thing and over the years, i've come to the opinion that most of the people that keep bringing that up are either people who never tried EMGs but wanted to make a name for themselves so they join on a hate bandwagon or are just really bad guitar players and they needed to diss on something within the nerd space of guitar playing to make themselves look 'cool' and 'well-informed' on the nitty-gritty things of being a guitarist also, you almost never hear an EMG guy diss on other pickups yet it's always someone who is a diehard fan of that is broiling with hate on EMGs :)
Dynamics aren’t everything.
Love the EMG sound.
Yeah EMG pickups are really great, just love EMG.
Dynamics are everything. Unless you're a one trick pony
EMG pickups are greatest ones!!! 💪😉
There were some component supplier changes in 2019 that impacted the overall headroom of some pickup models (including the 81). Newer 81s produce a signal that is less compressed, which is a huge benefit for clean tones but they might not interact quite the same with your gain channels and/or pedals. The best workaround we’ve found is to place a compressor/limiter pedal first in the chain (or immediately after a tuner) and set it to have a “hard knee” response. Some compressor pedals have a dedicated “limiter” setting to cover this application, and others respond like a limiter as you turn up the compression ratio." - EMG Engineer
Active pickups have dynamics, just not as much as passive pickups, i get cleans in most hi gain amps when I roll down. The actives don’t clean up much. That doesn’t mean they are bad, just different
For metal, it's perfecto 💯
A lot of people complain about EMG's lacking dynamics, and i think one contributing factor as to why this stereotype has circulated throughout different circles in the guitar community is that a lot of people seem to be boosting their amps with something like a tube screamer to try and get an even tighter sound than they already have.
Tube screamers do a very good job at helping passive pickups get into the same territory as active pickups in terms of how tight they are, how they compress, and how they push out a lot of gain to get you the output that you're looking for. With that being said, there are boost pedals that you can use for active guitar pickups like the Electric Eye Audio Mud Killer that has a switch to turn off any clipping circuit that the pedal has, allowing you to use the pedal as a clean boost instead of the traditional overdrive.
It's also worth checking out some pedals like the TC Electronics Spark booster, the Walrus Audio Warhorn, and the Joy Zip Amp for a few examples of pedals that can get you a tighter sound with active pickups.
I appreciate this bro
The amount of dynamics available and that squishy pick attack you get when you play hard are imo the best part of the EMG 81. It just works well in metal. And the eq curve is great too.
Still the best pickups for metal I have tried, and I've tried a lot.
Works great for rock period imo
I love EMGs and have loved them for years. There was a time when a majority of mid to high end guitars came with EMGs only as the 81 and 85 dominated the metal scene. I have a 6 string Ibanez RG with those pickups and a 7 string LTD Eclipse with 81-7 and 707. They sound fantastic for cleans, lead tones that cut through the mix and great heavy distortion. I have two other guitars that have passives and those are fine too but I play my EMG pickup guitars way more often
EMG 81 in the right guitar is the best metal pickup of all time. The pickup is a little compressed due to it's magnets being weak, slightly reduced upper mids, and two different coil windings; but combined with it's tone is what makes it so amazing. I play technical death metal and want all my palm muted 16th note rhythm spans to sounds fluid yet biting. The 81 performs the balancing act better than any other other pickup. There's a reason the 81 was used on thousands of the heaviest albums. If you want more dynamic range use two 9 volts, but personally I use only one.
No, active pickups just have different dynamics, and they do make actives that retain more of the characteristics of passives these days with all the benefits of active technology. I tend to prefer passives, but that's really because my favorite pickups these days just so happen to be passives. I'm big on the Duncan JB, Jazz, Custom, Screamin' Demon and Full Shred. They just happen to be passive. EMG makes fine pickups including models that have a lot of passive characteristics, and Fishman is really coming up. Keep an open mind and open ears. For full on metal the 81 is pretty hard to beat. It's not what I'm into at the moment but I can't knock it.
Proper set up of emgs. And they sound amazing 👏
You're showing dynamics on hi-gain, lol. I'd rather say that they react to dynamics in a different way, not as passive ones, but that doesn't make them worse.
I love EMGs for many reason, but i do think the 81 is a bit brutal for softer gain tones, even with the tone down. But it’s a killer pickup
One can get nitpicky about all these different characteristics of pickups. I have EMG pickups on my PV Falcon . I just play the damn thing and I'm happy with the sound. Even all the way across the spectrum.
Amazing tone 👌🏻
palm mute with spring, reverb and finger tapping neat stuff with actives
Your video perfectly demonstrates why EMG's are not dynamic, because depending on how hard or soft you pick the pickup will output pretty much the same volume (at least for 9V).
Btw, I use EMG exclusively for that reason!
Do the 18 or 24 volt mod and the dynamics are just fine.
With 9 Volt the dynamics are shitty.
The most sterile pickup I have ever played was a Crunch Lab. I can see it being a useful tool but it's also the most compressed/tightest least dynamic pickup I have ever played. I'll stick to my 81/60.
Could you do a comparison vid of this emg (old logo) with the new logo emg 81? Thanks
Engineers will compress a clean guitar anyway.
A tube amp and distortion compress as well.
Sounds great!
I mainly use 81 in the bridge and only low gain on my 6505 (pointing to LED) without any extra pedals or any boosts. And that’s more than enough for me. I must say, it sounds as dynamic as any high grade passive pickups. The same effect with 85 or 60 in the bridge on my other guitars :).
By design actives have a flat response which guitarist call sterile what they don’t get is that flat means they are dynamic you can get any tone by using eq which you can’t with standard pickups. Sometimes designs are to smart and people just don’t get it.
Las emg tienen un pre amplificador programable Lm741, y este preamp comprime el sonido para que suene nivelado todos los cleans.. a eso hay que sumarle la distorsión que está usando, lo cual comprime mucho más de lo que ya está
Sick tone man. Sorry if you already said it but what tuning is that? I hear people doing the squals like that but it's not the same in standard tuning or in slightly dropped tuning with normal strings. At least for me anyways
Hi there, the tuning is Drop C# with 10-52 string gauges. Thanks for the comments btw.
I got emgs with kvxmg slime and it's my dream guitar if I would have have speced it my way it just would have been matalic in paint the pickup would sound better if your distortion was tighter too begin with bother!
They aren't, compared to passive. You still have a lot of compression. This isn't a bad thing. Just about preferences... I prefer the punchy attack of passive pickups.
mooer 005?
Nice video my man. If it's not too much trouble what are the height on your EMG pickups from low E to high E on both pickups? I just bought a Fernandes Ravelle with EMG pickups 81 and 60 on it and I've never played EMG pickups before. Will really appreciate it thanks.
Since he may or may not answer you, and i believe i can understand you, i could recommend you always set your pick high to be at around 2 mm. Away from both your low and your high e strings
@@derekk.1750 appreciate it
@@bigchocolate8547 no problem
What is amp?
Reba Walks
How did you force emg to sound that good? Some eq?
Just with the amp sim :-)
That’s a mean tone. Im actually not a fan of the overly hi-fidelity sound that actives like EMGs and Fishmans have (even though my strandberg Boden has fishys) but this is just nasty.
I would say if your buying and active EMG for “dynamics” your buying it for the wrong reason. EMGs are great pick ups for metal tones.
Yes, EMG 81 is always my go to pickup. However some people think EMG are not dynamic, but I feel that even in proper gain for metal, it reacts well with your picking hand, if you play sloppily, it won't sound any good IMO.
@@chesterchen2331 yeah a lot of the “dynamics” has to do with the player as well. I can tell there is some dynamics in them, But not as much as a passive pickup. I just never seem to understand why people just totally label them as shitty pick ups, because “they’re not dynamic” they aren’t built for that reason.
@@Exsteeler Haha I am wondering the same thing, EMG active pickups are great, also they have passive pickups. For active I'd always go for EMG :).
Dynam8c in hands, not in pickups
Depends on the amount of gain in your amp emgs get cloudy w a super high gain amp your tone sounds more like crunch
play open chords near the bridge
Rockers relax, if your pickup doesn’t sound dynamic you need to adjust it or check if it’s bent.
I mean if a pickup wasn't able to manage those two strongly different levels of dynamics I'd be basically useless
i dont think this really helps the argument because youre soft playing in the beginning and it's still clippin to a gain sound very much. If you had done that to a DiMarzio it would have damn near sounded clean on the same setting (Depending on the model)
I like your channel tho!
Nichole Rapids
Stiedemann Well
Lonie Lodge
dynamics? what a bunch of bolony. why do we all use compressors? why do we all saturate the living crap out of our guitars and add more compression on top of it? Yes, it compresses a bit but that's what almost every musician wants. Tube amps? guess why people like them over solid state? Because they compress your sound when you crank them up so that your sound clips inside the tubes. That warm sound people ignorantly keep saying to describe a tube sound? yeah that is compression. Another thing if your guitar is over 7 string you need active pickup as they are better because. . . . they compress your sound thus making your playing evenly. There you go. Active pickups on the contrary are immensely better for metal. This is coming from a guy that uses passive pickups.
a lot of people are wrong then, talking without firsthand knowledge. There's a lot of that going around.
Compare to any passive pickup in a head-on comparison and you will find that there is no dynamics here.
Tierra Spur
At 24 v got much more dinamic
u play very low gain for an active pickup user
lol the whole EMGs are sterile/no life/sounds the same in every guitar/bla bla bla dimarzios, duncans, BKPs are better omg bla bla has been going on since internet communities became a thing and over the years, i've come to the opinion that most of the people that keep bringing that up are either people who never tried EMGs but wanted to make a name for themselves so they join on a hate bandwagon or are just really bad guitar players and they needed to diss on something within the nerd space of guitar playing to make themselves look 'cool' and 'well-informed' on the nitty-gritty things of being a guitarist
also, you almost never hear an EMG guy diss on other pickups yet it's always someone who is a diehard fan of that is broiling with hate on EMGs :)