All user reviews for the EMG 81

Hi!
hehe good first I advise you if you have not not rely pa has a reputation as one can have surprises
g gained 2 EMG 81 g that is mounted on a randy jackson rhoads by a luthier so impecable wiring, very precise knob no fault cables losses gnagna guitar set by him, half tone lower drop over 1 ton
lack of group g sold my powerball, so I am plugged into one pod mixer (Soundcraft), sound card connected directly to the computer (mac) and everything comes out of 4 moniroring speakers (Mackie) .. .son very very clean so no breath
I play technical death grind and sorry to tell you my friends ... the big avalanches of notes and riffs complikés in severe mite ben..on nothing ..., ca tro drool. c certainly powerful, but too much treble, c too dry, there are notes but dégeulent on each other .... so for precision c ... voila missed
Fortunately ke ga second scraper (esp ltd kirk hammett) equipped with a 500 l and xl ben same level of output seen higher LOT more bass and more accurate xuxa the EMG is for trash and treble solos yeah but his attacks too ba ears yen a ki likes it, I prefer the big sound heavy and powerful PRECIS
So a board .... especially try before you buy !!!!! fashionable things are expensive ...
c c pa parcke expensive and kerry king ke (ke I love) has a contract with them kil be bought with eyes closed (in addition to him c pa even the ones kil) hehe veiled

stay fucking brutal and supporting the underground saludos locos !!!!!!!!!!

Unmute ceramic 2 conductors (not split-except perhaps with manipulation shows the EMG website) which will very well in bridge, clear sound quite cold compared to the EMG 85 but very nice despite everything!
These microphones are active, so no bottom to noise, unless you with rotten jacks in your effects chain, if you have a naturally Pramp blowing, etc.

A default of personality almost palpable as 85 b'en the 81 has more gain, is clean, and harmonics out super easily, it has all the same dynamic coronation and pr sence.

WARNING if you want to install it even. EMG have really carrs angles, unlike Duncan, DiMarzio, etc., with rounded corners. The installation of an EMG can then ncessiter enlarge the dfonces pickups on your guitar, violin forcment not working the door of everyone.

Luthier and worthy of the name makes you complte installation kit (wiring + violin) for cheap! Not much GNER rather than do anything with his guitar.

And thank you Rowerfox convinced me to take the plunge (still good old anchors beliefs about active pickups, its cold, lack of versatility, phobia of a battery dcharge).

Moreover, the batteries are given for close to 2,000 hours. Provided good dbrancher think his guitar when you do not play!
Added 30/03/2004: EMG meet the basic sound, the acoustic sound of the guitar ... I had forgotten to point out, thinking that cel was obvious.
Adj there a huge difference between my two teams in Jackson EMG my DR2, poplar has a darker sound and dug in my mdiums SLSMG mahogany! At the same rglage on my amp, I have a sound diffrent between.
Those damn microphones really respect the sound of each guitar!

I used the 81 on my ibanez rg sending her to death
the + no breath
precision
grain standard
the - no versatility
dynamically compresses the sound too
its cold
EMG 81 with no attempt versatility but of his own edged
compar has my old inf1 & 2 they sound more colder but what a potato
I have changed to 1 & 1 SH13 SH6 I gained in heat, gain level is similar and I have more versatility
I'll put them on my next guitar which will surely be a destiny to explore Bourrain
little info for those who happen to have a blast with 81 check your cabling or change the amp, I played on a lot of guitars equip emg never heard of it
Amateur big sounds of EMG and lamps ass and go for any dchire
edit: I come back 2 3 Things the ceramics magnets is good for for potatoes but that's it nothing like alnico magnets h yes what was the point of having to be HiGain amps 6 Max and again and I do not speak of dynamic heat so for me the EMG are good for 300 shovels tried a jackson usa sg Standard or a 6505 or better (no shit transistors) if you have had under the fingers and you doing your emg the trash and for purists lamps if the microphone is pramplifli so there are transis..ahhhhhhhhh !!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!

Mounted on a Lag Rockline Light to replace a Tone Zone in the bridge position and a Lag Arkane Absolute. Of course, the metal will playground with a large saturation. The clean sound is obviously not his forte. The grain is tight, very incisive, very clinical. However, the Absolute Arkane this mic is more versatile than the Rockline Light (Maple Mahogany / Basswood versus ...). The top for a certain style of edgy music, unusable in other cases ... Not possible versatility but it is not the purpose of this very typical microphone.

Micro installed on a Gibson Explorer 76 RI
Installation is already con, EMG provides a seamless kit, there is a volume knob, a tone, a jack, a plug-circuit battery connection and son is fast plug ... except that the user guide is in English, the home ground is black with us is short green have to watch it is the detail that you can spoil the evening ...
Otherwise the sound is heavy Mesa Mark V sends severe mashed high gain mode Metallica fans are warned ... if I have compared to SH5 Duncan (Dave Mustaine) with EMG was more acute, a High level out more and especially palm are silcencieux it does not bleed is awesome, on the other hand I have a parasite compared to SH5 therefore see if it does not come from wiring or other ... if I coupled with the super 60 wedding

I tried to avoid active pickups for the longest time, just didn't want to have to deal with batteries and all the negative views on them. Eventually I just bought one and was pleasantly surprised. They do have a different sound from passive pickups but it's in no way a negative difference. They are very tight sounding, low noise, and have a great crunch to them. They are pretty bright so that's all personal taste, but I like it. Hard to describe the stale sound but it's like they're so tight and clean sounding it's almost unnatural, but in a good way. There's no fizziness or any annoying spiked frequencies to these, just overall a great pickup. On cleans they really excel IMO. I like a very bright, sparkly, chimey clean tone and these just nail it. Perfect example is the clean tone off MetallicA's And Justice For All album. They used EMG 81's in the neck into a Roland JC120 for that album and the EMG 81 is a huge part of that tone. Later they switched to using the EMG 60 in the neck but that album is all 81.
Anyways there’s a 18 volt mod that some people are doing, it increases the headroom. The new X series are designed to be like the 18 volt mod but more dramatic, and only run on a single 9 volt. I tried the mod and wasn’t really impressed. I didn’t notice much of a difference at all. It was slight, the overall tone was quieter and thinner, but nothing you’d ever notice in a band setting or multitracking. I’d prefer to stick with 9 volts to save batteries.
I own 3 along with some of the X series and various other EMG pickups, this one is by far my favorite. Check out my 81x review for a little more in depth comparison.

I tried my first 81 model probably a decade ago in an ESP guitar. At the time it blew my mind. It was super aggressive and super hot. It always cut through and seems to slice through every amp I used with it. It had killer bass response too. Sure the cleans don't sound too hot with it but isn't that what the EMG 60 is for? I really think this pickup only lends itself to heavy metal type players. It's way too overdriven for light rock or anything like that. It's hard to get a sound out of it that's not blistering distortion.

These are active pickups of course and so your EQ will be a bit more responsive. One problem I always had with my 81 was a lack of dynamic response. Rolling down on the volume knob never seems to do too much to clean it up (god forbid when you want a little less DISTORTION) from it. A friend of mine suggested a mod he heard about where you wire another battery in the loop to make it an effective 18 volt pickup. I figured heck why not and gave it a go. The result is a very responsive and dynamic pickup with tons of headroom. It almost turns it into a passive pickup in some ways. It makes the 81 sound more organic and less machinelike if that makes any sense at all.

I don't really recommend this to anyone but hard rock and heavy metal type players. I have tried it for other genres and it's just not fit for it, even with mods. Still, for my prog metal playing it can't be beat. I love it. The clarity is just so much better than passive pickups. notes really pop. It's really a love or hate kind of pickup.

The EMG 81 is a classic design in the guitar world. It has stayed consistant throughout its history. For a lot of people the active tone is what they wanted but they didnt like the sterile mechanical look of the black plastic covers they all came in. They wanted the tone but without completely changing the look of their guitar. For the longest time if you wanted a different look from your EMG pickups you had to do it yourself. You had to grind down the plastic covers and place the metal cover over it. This was a messy job and could damage your pickups. Now you can get Chrome and Gold covered pickups from the factory and lots of people are taking advantage of it to put in their Les Pauls and other guitars. They are not exactly like if you did it yourself. The pickups do not have pole pieces on them so you can kinda tell they are not normal humbuckers. If you did it yourself you could glue on some pole pieces to complete the look. The tone of these pickups hasnt changed but lots of people listen with their eyes instead of their ears. The 81 tone is classic metal tone. It has a razor sharp high end sound to it that keeps the clarity now matter how fast you are riffing or how much gain you have piled on. Since it has more of a high end voicing the clean tones are not that great. Personally I do not like the lead tones from the 81 either. To me they come out way too harsh when playing leads with a bridge position 81. If you are looking for high gain metal tone but want to keep the classic look of your guitar these Chrome covered EMG pickups are what you need.

The thing I like most about EMG pickups in general is the absurd amount of clarity. The note separation is awesome and there is absolutely no mud. Its also dead quite due to the active preamp.

What I like least about the EMG81 is the low end response. Its very very punchy, which is good, but its also tight to the point of stifled in my opinion. I have a very tight rig to start with, so that combined with the tightness of the EMGs pretty much takes away the low end from my rig. That said, the EMG 81 would work really well with a looser rig.

Also, the EMG 81 is really bright, which adds to the clarity, but also needs to be compensated for with eqing on the amp or it can be too bright.

A lot of people give say the EMG81 is a one trick pony, I don't agree with that. It definitely has more output than most passive pickups, but if you expect that and setup the gain on your amp with respect to it you can get great crunch and clean tones out of this pickup.

I think the real trick to getting excellent tones out of EMGs is knowing that you'll have to eq your amp differently than you would for passives. Personally, I don't like them, but that doesn't mean they're bad. I've heard a lot of guys get amazing tone out of them.