SeriesEMG Signature Sets

James Hetfield of Metallica has been playing EMG pickups for decades now. All his classic tones were done with the 81 and 60 EMG setup. Now he has a new set of pickups which are based on those old designs but are completely new. Hetfield said he went through 20 sets of EMG pickups to find something new. He didn't want to just slap his name on the old EMG 81 and 60 set like Zakk Wylde did to the 81 and 85. He wanted a completely new set of pickups that encompassed his new appreciation of passive pickups and his more refined tastes. Overall the tone is a bit different. It seems the pickups have less of the high end active fuzz but make up for it by being slightly brighter overall. The note definition is a whole lot better. Not that it was bad with the old ones but it is really improved now. The sound to me is a bit more round but with the better note definition they do not get muddy under high stress. The sound is more focused but in a way that is not harsh. They sound a bit more natural than the normal EMG's but they still have the super attributes of an active pickup. They are a bit more versatility because they are less compressed and metal'y. With these they have great dynamics and the hot output helps this because when you roll back on the volume there is still some output there. If you are looking for a set of EMG pickups that can do more than just metal these pickups are great. They have a new look for EMG's as well with their black nickle cases which I think looks pretty sharp. These pickups do not cost much more than a normal set of EMG's but they have a lot more modern and refined sound and if you do not like them it is very easy to swap them out with another set of EMG's with their quick connect system.

They could call this set the “All purpose EMG set.” When you get a guitar with EMG pickups the odds are good that it will have this set of pickups in it. This set contains the EMG 81 and 85 pickups. Both of these pickups can be used in the neck or bridge position but traditionally with this set you will have the 81 in the bridge and the 85 in the neck. The 85 is great in either the neck or bridge but the 81 is only good in the bridge. These pickups are well known and have been around since the 70s and kings of the metal guitar scene since the 80s. The 81 is a workhorse bridge pickup for heavy music. The active preamp on the pickup gives you a ton of top and sizzle that lets you cut through no matter what you are playing. It is pretty much impossible for an 81 to sound muddy. The 85 is the 81s fat cousin. It has way more low end beef to its tone. It does not have as much top end sizzle but makes up for it with the thickness. The 85 can get muddy because of this so be careful. This extra beef makes it better in the neck position than the 81. In the neck position the 85 is as smooth as silk with its extra beef and low end. The 85 is great for singing high gain leads. The 81 in the neck isnt as great. Because it is so high end based it does not give you a proper neck position tone. The only people who use 81s in the neck are people who want their neck position to sound like the bridge position but if you want your neck pickup to sound the same as the bridge why bother even having it. With their active design these pickups provide great sustain because they use slightly weaker magnets but with the signal amplified later on by the active preamp. You need a 9v battery for these pickups to operate. If you are looking for a trusty set of active EMG pickups there is a reason so many guitars come with these.