All user reviews of 5/5 for the EMG 81

When someone says active pickup you think EMG. When someone says EMG you thing the EMG 81. The EMG 81 put EMG and active pickups on the map in the guitar industry. The EMG active pickups use a pair of rail magnets with a built in preamp. As you probably know active pickups require a battery to power them. Rail magnets are better than the normal magnets used in pickups because there is no gap in the signal. When you bend a string with normal pickups the string moves slightly away from the magnet that string is associated with, and you get a slight decrease in signal. With rail magnets there is no gap in detection of the string vibration. The 81 first came out in 1981 along with the EMG 85. The 81 is the more focused pickup of the two. It has a searing high gain metal sound. When I play music with a lot of palm muting I can get an awesome tone. The 81 really shines when you are playing tight chugging riffs. Tight chugging riffs and single note lines are what this pickup is best at. When you downtune all these traits just help to keep the sound nice and tight. It is very hard to get a muddy sound from this pickup. With the built in preamp it has a ton of output. Because of the built in preamp the magnets dont have to be as strong so there is less string pull so you get more sustain. Because the pickup is so focused on metal it may for some people be lacking in other areas. Sometime if I am playing with a clean tone I can feel like the tone is a little cold or sterile. It can also sound a little “off” when you are playing wide open chords. If you are looking for an active metal pickup for the bridge position this is the way to go.

* For how long have you been using it? I received it last week and got into the stride, no problem.

* What thing do you like most/least about it? What really pleasant surprise is the quality of packaging, assembly plan super simple (even in English) that is in the Plugg !!!!( excellent, no need for soldering iron ...!) and especially SOUND!

* Did you try many other models before getting this one? No, I was already 85, I knew what to expect.

* What is your opinion about the value for the price? For 71 € is really present in German. Included in the pretty box: the 81, 1 volume, 1 tone, 1 jack, battery buss, various cables and pickup buss B157.

* Knowing what you know now, would you make the same choice? Yes without hesitation. Roll on next! Mount it on my old Epi SG 99 (Set-Neck, Mahogany), I thought it could sound and indeed it sounds!