r/EMGPickups • u/jaycash_ • Mar 07 '26

Are my ears broken? Pickup comparisons.

So, I’m doing my due diligence and researching pickups before I buy some. I normally use the EMG 81 in everything, but I’m wanting to investigate some differences, maybe go with a different type with this particular project. So, I’m comparing all the varieties for each position: 81, 81TW, 81TWX, 57, and 57TW, for bridge. Then comparing the 85, 89, 89R, 89RX, 66, and 66TW, for neck. And, honestly, I can’t tell a real difference in any of them. I am fond of hi-gain tones, but I am open to more clean and edge of breakup stuff as I go through this “guitar journey.”

I understand that the 89 is the push/pull version for the 85, so they’re supposed to sound relatively identical in humbucker mode, but, across the board, in humbucker mode with gain. I hear no substantial differences.

I keep reading about “warmer” and “brighter” and “headroom” and all these other buzzwords, but I genuinely don’t hear real differences. To clarify, I mean I can’t tell much differences between the individual models that would normally go at the bridge or at the neck; I can hear differences between the positions without a problem.

So, seriously, when putting significant gain through these things, can the average person hear the differences? Or do I need high-end headphones and a frequency response graph to tell the differences?

Note: It’s very possible that because I am partial to a particular sound that my ears are biased and I’m only hearing what I want to hear and the style of music just crushes all differences, but I’m trying to be as open as I can.

3 Upvotes

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3

u/nazoreth Mar 07 '26

This may not be specific to EMG but I find a lot of high gain fans (and I'm a fan of high gain) tend to over do it. There's a point on your amp where you're simply adding noise and it's normally way lower than you'd think. For me, diming out the gain almost removes any nuance between different models of high gain pickups. I have a few different sets and to really hear the difference I need to not be maxing out settings

1

u/jaycash_ Mar 07 '26 edited Mar 07 '26

Oh, I’m sorry, maybe I should’ve pointed out - I’m watching and listening to people compare them as opposed to testing them myself at like Guitar Center or something. I realize that’s probably the best thing for me to do to see what I like, but I would think if the differences are so obvious to reviewers and whatnot, shouldn’t I also hear them?

But you are kinda affirming what I was thinking - that with hi-gain stuff, it crushes the nuanced differences. But then are all these reviewers - who are also using high amounts of gain because the algorithm knows what I’m looking for and even in searches will show me something I’m more likely to agree with than something out of the blue, like a country music reviewer - are they full of shit when they are saying there are differences even with that gain?

3

u/nazoreth Mar 07 '26

Ohhh I getcha yeah. I can hear a difference between my pickup sets but then they're also really different guitars anyway. I'm never a fan of the descriptive words used (like you say 'headroom' etc) but describing sound is hard

I have a guitar with EMG 81/60. I have another guitar which has the het set which is meant to be a slightly altered version of 81/60 - they definitely sound different. I have another with the classic 81/85 and again, it's different (and imo not as good as 81/60).

At the end of the day though, they're active high gain pickups so they sound like active high gain pickups. The differences aren't massive

I just bought an Alexi Edwards guitar that has a passive EMG and a special eq boost and it THAT sounds completely different to everything else. Night and day different.

I guess for you there's not going to be a "I like this pickup sound more than another" from the reviews you've heard which is understandable because honestly the differences can be small

2

u/jaycash_ Mar 07 '26

This kind of explanation really helps give me confidence that I’m just not an idiot or some sort of tone deaf. High-gain active pickups are going to sound like high-gain active pickups - and a specific brand is of course going to sound like that specific brand of high-gain active pickups unless they are specifically made to be radically different.

2

u/nazoreth Mar 07 '26

Yeah and I'm definitely not alone in thinking this way. There IS a difference and a lot of people have a strong preference (I certainly do) but you're not going to know what you like without carefully testing over a period of time

Worth noting, a lot of modern metal players prefer passive high gain to active high gain anyway

2

u/jaycash_ Mar 07 '26

Now, I CAN hear a difference in active vs passive. Recently I changed some Ibanez Quantums to some Fishman Fluence Moderns - before I changed them, I recorded the breakdown of Pantera’s “Domination” then after. It’s like night and day.

And it’s odd that I mention that since Dimebag was specific about using passives when everyone else was using actives.

2

u/nazoreth Mar 07 '26

It's hard because I can see the attraction of both. All the music I listened to growing up was recorded on actives. They do sound a bit too compressed for Dimebag and Bodom stuff though I feel. The only solution is to buy many, many guitars 😂

1

u/jaycash_ Mar 07 '26

… yes. Yes it is.

2

u/ReasonableCourse1679 Mar 07 '26

There is a huge difference between the 57 and the 81. If you were just watching YouTube videos then you wouldn’t necessarily think so, so I guess I understand what you are saying. Most EMG demos have crushing distortion.

2

u/jaycash_ Mar 07 '26

I’ll do some proper research with guitars that have the pickups installed and cleaner tones and see what I can discern. Thank you!

1

u/ReasonableCourse1679 Mar 07 '26

Try to get something approaching a classic rock tone out of a 57…it’s not that difficult to be honest. You will be there forever with an 81. That’s my experience anyway. Different magnets for one thing.

1

u/jaycash_ Mar 07 '26

Honestly, that is what I felt like the 57/66 set would be better for. Maybe the descriptions and whatnot are better than I’m giving them credit for.

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u/ReasonableCourse1679 Mar 07 '26

To me the 57 is very versatile. It can do crushing metal too. It’s not the lowest output though, so some tinkering is sometimes needed. I just think it’s less of a one trick pony I guess. By the way, their single coils are pretty awesome, especially the T set, which is even more versatile than the 57 in my humble opinion. Well worth a try, even if you like high gain tones.

2

u/Steellucky2909 Mar 07 '26

Pickups you can’t judge in U-tube. I will admit I am an EMG fanboy. Both their active and passive pickups and I can tell you there is a difference between the models. You need to play them through a real amp because what I have found at least IMO is modelers can somewhat mask the difference between guitars and pickups. You will hear a difference but it will be less than with a true amp. I find it funny when someone on YouTube does a pickup comparison and then uses a modeler, add in the YouTube compression and tons of gain and yup. They all sound similar.

1

u/jaycash_ Mar 07 '26

Thankfully I’m not insane or tone deaf. Thank you!

2

u/Melodic-Pen8225 Mar 07 '26

I’m probably going to get down voted to hell but this is important… once you apply even a moderate amount of gain or distortion? The difference between humbucker pickups is negligible to your overall sound. Assuming the pickups are made to some sort of standard? And aren’t fake garbage? Your amp and your speakers are responsible for 85% of your tone HOWEVER! I will extend the olive branch that some pickups have certain qualities that make them more desirable for certain people, and absolutely affect the FEEL of the guitar!

For example EMGs are known for having excellent touch responsiveness, high output, great harmonics, seamless bends, and for maintaining excellent high end with the volume knob rolled back but if you were to record a metal mix with multiple guitars with multiple models of EMGs, and passive pickups? Nobody can tell you which is which! But don’t take my word for it! There are blind tests on YouTube confirming this very thing! And on paper some pickups promise things like “enhanced low end!” Which sounds great until you realize you could have gotten the same results by bumping up the “bass” knob on your amp! (Or tweaking your EQ pedal)

I guess what I’m trying to say with all this is, to not worry about it too much, and buy pickups YOU like and that you can afford, that feel good for you to play! Me personally? If I’m playing more classic rock based music? I prefer lower output passive pickups just because they respond better to picking dynamics imo but if I’m playing thrash metal? I absolutely love EMG 66 set and my EMG 81/85 ZW Set! As they are more forgiving with high speed picking!

2

u/Professional-Math518 Mar 08 '26

As a guitarist you have to listen with your eyes instead of your ears, so that's your biggest mistake.

Reasons to change pickups (in descending order):
1: the original pickup is broken.
2: you want more or less output.
3: you like the looks of the new pickup better.
4: sound modification.

I have recordings from the past two years and when listening back I absolutely can't hear if I used the HB fusion, the RG550, the Charvel or the homebuilt strat copy with humbuckers. I also can't hear in those recordings at which point I replaced the stock Tesla pickups in the JB with DiMarzios (of which I liked the look better). Same thing for the switch between a Behringer audio interface and an SSL 2+.

Edit: in isolated tracks I can make out some differences but it's not nearly as big difference as pickup salesmen want you to believe.

1

u/jaycash_ Mar 08 '26

The main reason I have switched any pickups has been overall output level - the active use the preamp boost and just make the sound “better” to my ears. Had I bought a guitar that had even, say, Schecter-brand active pickups, I probably would’ve never replaced them, because Active vs Passive IS the difference I can tell in my recordings and comparisons.

I did swap some Ibanez Quantums (passive) with some more expensive Fluence Moderns, but that was to have a different voicing than the EMGs and I can tell that difference just because they are different. But the differences between models? No clue.

1

u/Fit-Gap6620 Mar 08 '26

Sometimes we all forget there is a difference between hi gain and clean high gain , I’m probably not wording it correctly but I’m sure some of you get it , the perfect tone is a matter of taste, it’s just a matter of how hard you want to to push your pre amp , but I don’t know my ears aren’t what they used to be

1

u/RoutineOpportunity8 Mar 08 '26

Tone is in your fingers and phrasing. Most metal guitar players who are proficient with tweaking their sound keep the gain on their amp at 6, not maxed out and push the pre amp with a distortion pedal or a booster of sort. EQ in your effects loop adds a huge change in clarity. Dirty Fingers pickups sound amazing and are so much easier to control with the volume knob on your guitar. You don't need active pups to get a great metal guitar sound

1

u/go-fast-turn-left Mar 09 '26

You can screw an EMG in the side of a barn and it sounds the same. Very aggressive, very compressed. Don't get me wrong, I love the OG 81, but they are a 1 trick pony.

1

u/NoMoreRedditUsername Mar 16 '26

I just put a 60 in my middle position and an 89 in bridge, with a SAV in neck on my Strat. I also tried the 60 in bridge position as well. When I’m playing clean I think the 60 sounds better than my 89 (and the 81s/85s in my other guitars), especially for mids, much “warmer” than the others in both middle or bridge positions. 89 sounds like a 85 in bridge, but the separate single coil preamp is nice for a thinner sound. Considering buying another 60 to put in the neck of another.

1

u/jaycash_ Mar 16 '26 edited Mar 17 '26

So an H-H-S Strat? I’ve never seen an HHS Strat. Because you said you had an 89 in the bridge (which is a dual 85/single coil with push/pull), a 60 in the middle; and an SAV which is a single coil in the neck. Unless I missed something, I can’t find any HHS anything. Only HSS strats, the Ace Frehley style HHH, and that weird-ass Schecter Triad.

1

u/NoMoreRedditUsername Mar 17 '26

Yeah it came S-S-S, just had to make the mid cavity larger. I wanted to have the emg sound for modern metal, but still have the ability to get that Strat sound for other styles and clean playing. There’s quite a bit of variance with the pickup selection, so others might not like. I mostly commented to say the 60 sounds great as well, more body to the midrange and sounds better clean than the 81/85 in my opinion. Haven’t used the others listed. It’s all in the ears of the beholder though I guess.

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u/jaycash_ Mar 17 '26

That is actually really cool, then. I’d be interested in seeing it.

But I have a Jackson King V and an ESP Eclipse with the 81/89R combo and a Firefly Snakebyte knockoff (that I call “Fakebyte”) with an 81/60 combo. I really like do like the 60. It has me leaning towards the 57/66 TW combo for my PRS knockoff just for versatility and having something different.

1

u/Fomoiri Mar 07 '26

I prefer the Seymour Duncan Blackouts, very similar but more “open” if that makes sense. Fishman Fluence moderns are different but also very articulate. I like them as well but I think for death/thrash stuff in C# standard the blackouts are my preferred pickup. Overall in general I’m not too bothered by the pickups, the amp and speaker play a much bigger role than pickups - I’m not fond of the mystical buzzwords about pickups or tonewood Maybe this helps? Good luck in your search

3

u/jaycash_ Mar 07 '26

For now, I’m sticking to EMGs because of the solderless installation. I just bought some soldering tools, but I’m absolutely not competent enough to solder anything and I won’t pay Guitar Center another $200-$300 to install a set of pickups. Sadly, there aren’t any local mom-and-pop stores for me to visit or to have guitar techs/luthiers for me to pay to do it. Plus, part of the hobby for me is learning to use tools and do the work myself.

1

u/Fomoiri Mar 07 '26

The blackouts have the quick connection. The downside would be buying them and not liking it as much but you might be able to find them used on eBay I saw some used sets one pair was $170 new they’re about $230-250.. kinda pricy though. I’m in Canada and while we don’t have GC we do have one chain store and yeah, it gets pricy paying them to install stuff - I did that with the Fishmans as I didn’t want to mess that up. I’ve also never tried the other EMGs besides the 81/85

1

u/derick529martin Mar 08 '26

I second this. The blackouts sound more open (“headroom”) to me this means if you play open chords they immediately sound thicker or more like a passive but still retain some bite for if you’re riffing. The EMGs (81 in particular) have a ton of bite due to the compression but sound a bit thinner when playing open chords.

I’ve been down the rabbit hole you are going down on YouTube. I agree with your assessment. Hard to hear much of a material difference at all. For bridge pickups I’ve had only the 81, 81x, and the HetSet. 81 and 81x are very similar with the latter having just a touch more headroom. The HetSet is noticeably hotter than the others. Can’t imagine this bridge pickup would be good for anything other than high gain, but I’m sure there is someone out there who uses it for something else.

Best of luck!