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The best EMG Guitars reviews

The reviews Audiofanzine members found the most helpful.
  • EMG 81
    « Great pickup but not my thing »

    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.

    by ejendres 11/10/11
    View the review page ›
  • EMG JH HET Set (James Hetfield Signature)
    « More passive EMG sound with a new type of case »

    This is James Hetfields current pickup setup. For decades now Hetfield has stuck with EMG pickups and a particular set. He calls his new signature set the Het Set. Along with the Zakk Wylde 81/85 EMG pickup set there is another setup with the 81/60 which Hetfield used for many years. This is a popular setup albiet not as popular as the Zakk Wylde set. The Hetfield combination of the 81 and the 60 is pretty straight forward. The 81 being a bridge only metal pickup and the 60 being a neck only clean tone pickup. These pickups did everything Hetfield wanted to do with them. He could riff away on the bridge position and use the neck position for the Metallica clean passages. Since he does not play many leads he does not use the neck position for high gain leads. If he did do this he would probably use the 85 like Zakk Wylde. Hetfield has modified his pickup set slightly for this new James Hetfield Signature Kit. The idea came around when Hetfield was doing more different types of pickups in his guitars. He had some reliced guitars he was playing and he had EMG make him EMG pickups that looked like reliced passive pickups. The most noticable change is finish of the pickups. They are in polished nickle cases with pole pieces that make them look more like passive pickups. When you get the Het Set it comes with all you need to install it in your guitar. It comes with a few pots and switches along with a jack. You also get a James Hetfield pick. Installing EMG pickups is pretty simple. Once you hook up the battery you are ready to go. Since these pickups have a more passive sound there is really no need to do the 18 volt mod on them. The 60 already had a good clean tone and now that it has even more of a passive feel the neck pickup is great for all types of clean and bluesy stuff. All this helps accomplish Hetfields goal of having a more passive sound from the pickups. The pickups have a more passive sound but they also have more bite. They have a little less low end than the original 81 and 60s. If you are looking for a set of EMG's with a bit more bite and more of a passive sound but also come in a cool looking finish the James Hetfield set may be for you.

    by tjon901 8/3/11
    View the review page ›
  • EMG S
    « Tone close to an 81 »

    EMG is a well known company when it comes to active pickups. With EMG pickups you get a truly modern pickup design that puts out modern tones. They use an active battery powered preamp to amplify the signal they get from smaller magnets to help give you quiet pickups that have big tones. The EMG S is one of their single coil sized pickups. To do this you will need to wire in a 9v battery to power the preamp otherwise the pickups wont work. With EMG pickups they use a rail magnet that is pretty weak. With this weak rail magnet you get two advantages. It does not produce must magnetic drag on the strings. This drag would lower your sustain and can even pull your notes out of tune if your magnet is too powerful. With the long rail magnet there is no dead zones in the magnetic field. On some pickups if you bend the string away from the pole piece you may get a slight loss in signal because the string is farther away from the magnet. The tone of this pickup is based on that of the classic EMG 81. It has the raw bright sound that you get from an 81 in the size of a single coil. The EMG S is a great pickup for most everything. It has a bright sound like a single coil yet has the power of a full sized humbucker. It has the high end searing grind that you get from an EMG 81 and because of the active preamp the pickup what lots of output so it can drive most any amp. Single coil sized EMG pickups arent the most popular pickups on the market but there is a market for the people who need them. If you are looking for a single coil sized EMG that has lots of high end tone and the power of a humbucker this pickup is for you.

    by tjon901 7/16/11
    View the review page ›
  • EMG 60
    nickname009's review

    The EMG 60 is probably the only pickup you should ever get if you decide to go active! It's clean, and it's dirty in the best ways! famous as a neck pickup only and never as the bridge pickup. I've never actually tried it in the bridge pickup. The cleans are glassy and shimmery yet not thin. It's VERY clean. Very very clean! Just listen to all the newer metallica or metallica S&M or EVERYBODY else that uses EMGs! 60s have been the trademark neck pickup for EMG. The EMG60 on the neck pickup is also, of course amazing. Clear, fluidy, not too muddy, not thin, and great for solos. I don't generally use the neck pickup on high gain for anything else as it's generally too thick for rhythms and chords etc. EMG pickups are one of a kind, and cannot be imitated. There has been many other companies making active pickups trying to match the EMGs but I've always been happy with them when I was into active pickups for years and years and years. Though this pickup sounds great. It again does have its faults. It being active, as I mentioned in my previous EMG reviews, cannot seem to be as dynamic as a passive pickups would be and do not clean up well with the volume rolled down. Thus the rating. And this is of course, aside from the fact that most non-active players don't like the whole changing battery thing. Though it's a very minor thing it's less often than changing strings! So this review is already assuming that one KNOWS it's an active pickup and does NOT base a review on the battery requirement. Overall, one of the better active neck pickups out there! Quiet, clean, tight, clear and smooth! Perfectly balanced and flexible!

    by nickname009 1 4/12/11
    View the review page ›
  • EMG SA
    « Thick and fat single »

    The EMG SA is very similar to being a single coil sized version of the EMG 85. This is the Alnico 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 SA is a pickup that’s getting a bit dated today, but it is still a decent pickup. It’s housed in an epoxy housing that allows the strings to always be under the magnets and never fade out like some of the regular single coils do when bending. 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. I said that this pickup is similar to the EMG 85, but that doesn’t mean they’re exactly the same. It has that fat low end that the EMG 85 has, but it has more clarity like a normal single coil would. I find it to be a better “all around” pickup than the EMG S in that it’s fat enough to be run in any position, hot enough to be run in both the bridge and/or neck and a bit more tame sounding when under gain. Don’t be fooled, it can still deliver those screaming tones, but it’s just not as picky when it comes to certain woods, I find. If you’re looking for a single coil sized EMG, this is a pretty good candidate. It can be a bit “linear” sounding and somewhat compressed at times, but it still delivers some good tones, especially in the neck and especially for heavy metal. If you find it to be too fat, get the S which has the ceramic magnet inside of it. It’s a bit more clear sounding.

    by Hatsubai 4/5/11
    View the review page ›
All EMG Guitar reviews