All user reviews of 3/5 for the EMG 60

The EMG 60 mainly got its popularity thanks to James Hetfield of Metallica. He ran this pickup in the neck for the longest time as his main clean tone pickup. This is the original ceramic magnet version of the pickup, and it’s an active pickup which means it runs off of a power source – in this case, it’s a 9V battery.

The EMG 60 is a pickup that’s getting a bit dated today, but it is still a decent pickup. It doesn’t push the amplifier as much as the EMG 81 or 85 do, and its main thing is to remain clean sounding. The biggest benefit is that it can be run without a buffer during long cable runs thanks to the built in active preamp. This also helps keep it very quiet and avoid RF interference, especially during live situations.

The pickup itself actually sounds very close to a single coil at times. It’s bright with some average bass and linear midrange. The pickup doesn’t sound that great with distortion, but it works pretty nice with clean tones. It almost has this hi-fi vibe going on. Some people have put this in the bridge, but I find it just gets way too bright. In the neck, it can work, but I still prefer the 85 to this pickup, personally. The 85 just sounds bigger, despite it not being as clear sounding.

If you’re looking for a better clean tone, I recommend checking out the EMG 60 or EMG 60A. They’ll deliver some decent cleans which tend to be somewhat dismal with other active pickups. However, if you’re looking for a good lead pickup, I recommend either the EMG 85 or the 81. I think both of those pickups sound much better under gain. The cool part is that the new EMGs are all quick disconnect, so you can experiment without having to resolder everything.