All user reviews for the EMG 85

I mounted on my EMG Ibanez a month ago now, I'm very happy because it gives me better sound than my old pickups, BUT they generate against by many more blows a passive pickup. I tried several guitars mounted original EMG and all with the same problem of breath. And it seems logical for these mics have a built-in preamp. So all those who say that the EMG does not generate a breath, it is pure fantasy.

If you plan to buy EMG thinking they produce less than a micro passive breath, then look elsewhere.

[edit] Do not confuse the breath and the background noise (for indeed the electronic microphone removes parasites by definition), more than I did a test with just the jack and the microphone (and the battery of course) without mounting it on a guitar, and the same breath is perseptible. I even try with a micro nine, after, and always the same breath. Even my 85 produces the same breath (test on multiple amplifiers with multiple cables), however, a good noise gate will do (what I use)

I want to say I use a cable ProCo Excalibur very high quality for my guitar, and all my rack is wired Proco too.

I use it for a few weeks on my ESP LTD Viper 500.

I love the natural sound rather warm and can play more bluesy than the EMG 81. In his clear, it is also more beautiful than the 81, with more mediums. This is done for a micro or rhythmic arpeggios.

Otherwise, a micro power, high output level, very quiet (no breath at home even with the knob maximum) and generates a lot of harmonics (attention to the game so the mediator), the sustain is correct but not worth my SD Alnico II.

The value price is right even though they are quite expensive microphones, they are worth their price.

I use them on my second guitar but I'm not sure I use them on a lead guitar, I think it lacks a little charm, his successor for my taste too little grain, but then it depends clearly your amp. I recommend a big tube amp behind or it will not ring.

I possde this microphone since 2001.
In dpart, I used a solid body type strat (Yamaha PAC604w) which I then replaced by an EMG 89 to enjoy the split.
As lead is a good micro trs undoubtedly the big powerful sound, great sustain with nice bass and a register harmonic trs open!
Perfect, but have APRS replaced by the 89 (which splits the same non Boulo the way) I had no other use for this microphone. But I kept it in my inventory in anticipation of a need ultrieur.
Having read many times contrary views on the use of this clear in his microphone, n'tant not too happy with the sound of my Epiphone "Emperor" and knowing the capacity to impose its grain of EMG (see I think the set SA/SA/89) I shall decide to test the 85 on it.
Is not your exact dtour!
Claims to the EMG are cold or EMG85 is not sound clear, I rponds this:
go therefore cost the title "Acid Corporation" on my Myspace www.myspace.com / mikkagrytviken (http://www.myspace.com/mikkagrytviken)
This title was recorded with a t Epiphone "Joe Pass" upgrade EMG85 with a branch in the neck position of a PV Classisc 50 212.
<p class="bbcode-offtopic"> Off topic: <span>"If in the meantime the link is dead, let me know"</span>
A round, soft, moleux, rich with nice bass and well Dfine beautiful harmonics and sustain open poustouflant ...
I am the first surprised but clear as in the saturated micro wonders.

- I used the 85 intermittently since 2000, I had three in total

- On mounting of microphones and blast generated (or not) by them: I always had a very slight hiss in the first five trials of EMG that I had: then suddenly, in contravention of requirements of the instructions I connected my EMG EMG successive sets to the ground like common passive pickups and the problem was solved (I have never caused damage to my hardware or not to me).

- This microwave has a good definition, good output, increased sustain of the magnetic field lower than on liabilities ... A micro versatile that I find much more suited to the bridge 81. The bass is very present and make the core alnico sound pretty hot

- I came across on the net that you could make a slight modification of the circuitry to switch the microphones on 18 volts (actually we add a clip battery + battery in series with the first). I did the mod and I must say that the result is interresting that the sound becomes more cramped, but then it's a matter of taste.

- In the neck or bridge 85 is equally at home with the clean sounds with distortion. This is the micro bridge that I used since I'm playing. (I have a history: Dimarzio evolution, emg 81, DiMarzio Steve's Special, d-sonic, tone zone, Seymour Duncan JB).

- I mounted successively on mahogany washburn dime, and a jackson ps2, and finally a MusicMan JP6 ... I think the 85 particularly adapted to the jackson (wood in his brilliant and floyd)

Hi All Guitarists,

The EMG 85 is a micro Grand trs mic, I use it for 8 years or so, and I t trs sound surprised that you could get with. The microphone is mounted in a position Acute Japan Fender Stratocaster Reissue 60 MODEL, rosewood handle, and the middle position and I have two serious EMG SA, and well with this setup, I can get almost all modern guitar sounds.

For the micro EMG 85 in acute, I get a super clean in his trs Clean and friendly, I get a sound saturated with low trs Chaud clean, sound like a Gibson PAF (a kind les paul custom but modern), but with cleaner harmonics SIFL kind Seymour Duncan SH4.

If you want a vintage sound a little warm, but with the precision and power dynamics of a micro active, the EMG 85 for you.

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Here I added the opinion on the EMG SA, and this, to show the possibilities of EMG 85 EMG SA coupled with 2, and with this config you can do miracles.

For EMG SA I clean a crystal-clear sound trs kind Fender 60s, position 2 and 4 are fabulous for Arpges (hello Slows).
In saturated fat and the sound is clean with a Fender Vintage Grain, but more powerful than Fender pickups.
NB: The sound of the micro EMG SA position is saturated serious Cut breath so it is extraordinary, his type was a David Gilmour, Santana and Jimi Hendrix Isle of Wight concert in 1970.
With EMG SA serious position we can go far with trs, we enter the Quatrime Psychdlique Dimension. (Provided you have a good amp like lamps and super pramp SansAmp PSA 1,
Marshall JMP 1, and a good multi-effects)
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On a Marshall JCM 800 amp with a Tech 21 SansAmp, plus a multi effects ROLAND BOSS GX 700, I can get the Sound: Joe Satriani, Steve Lukater, David Gilmour, Michael Schenker, Yngwie Malmsteen, Jimi Hendrix, Dave Murray Kirk Hamet, Ka Hansen.

There are those with EMG pickups, that I can get as many sounds, really love the EMG 85 and EMG SA, and when we play live we have the best possible sound for the Live, Bravo EMG.

Trs good report quality price.

If c'tait again, I would do without this choice hsiter.

Nordin

History of breath ...
I agree with the comments previous ones. I have several guitars with EMG Teams (85-81-60-SA) and I did not breath .. If there is breath, it is probably another source: welding, jack, combination pdalier-amp, compressor and noise gate rgl evil ... etc. ...... but certainly not micro se.
PS: knowing enough about the 85 and 81 (5 teams in personal guitars EMG) I urge the 85 teams with Floyd tremolo guitars, and 81 on Lespaul Gibson guitars or vintage Tremolo unless you want more mdium and harmonics in the register ..
APRS and several years playing with the microphone, and compared with the number 81 or DiMarzio, Seymourd and others ... I am madly with pleasure every time. Everything is dynamic but not nag, rich in harmonic with a superb DEFINITIONS across the spectrum, warm and crystalline ... nothing more to say, it's top.

Config.: Gibson SG bridge and neck
I "graphitquot; the cavity in which is the potentiomtres, a copper foil on the front of the indoor access plate

The -
Potentiomtre no hole for the son
Connector without dtrompeur!
potentiomtres short (adios les paul)
It takes a good half Journe work to install these microphones
(Others too ... but it's worth to rflchir, especially if you have to pay someone to do it, I ask no hsiter 100-120)

Most
The gear is complete (pot, Cables, jack)
Enjoy the world of silence. It's amazing
I plugged two guitars successively in the same amp without changing the rglages (lots of volume and gain). The lighting is a pice of low voltage halogne dims. This type of lighting means in the micro so much that usually I play in the dark!
I plug a Les Paul: IMMEDIATE buzz, followed in the second of a feedback
I plug the SG almost no noise, the amp in a smooth dcroche disaine second.
For that reason alone, these micro worth, my sense of being called a micro "pro"
The conditions are similar in my living room or on a scne found mainly lighting dims also.
The sound quality is good, sg returns with low balance and low mdium accentus trs. The high notes are also heard, but "araches" wallpaper.
I wanted to place a dpart 89 in bridge, but there is no room for a switch-potentiomtre SG

Exprience with (I did not) I do it again this choice. I bought these mics to sell an SG by giving it a bonus. T have the microphones are on ebay. The ratio quality price is good I think trs.

EMG pickups are active pickups. An active pickup is a pickup that requires and outside power source to operate. These pickups operate by using a preamp that is battery powered. With the battery powered preamp the magnets in the pickups do not have to be super powerful. With the lower power pickups the guitar picks up less outside noise. Also with the lower output magnets the pickups pick up less radio frequencies which is good when you play outside at a gig. The EMG 85 came out around the same time at the 81 and while the 81 was a searing metal machine the 85 was really the more versatile one of the two. The most common setup for EMG pickups is an 81 in the bridge and an 85 in the neck but if you are adventurous you can try an 85 in the bridge. The EMG 85 is the low end metal tone answer to EMG 81s searing high end gain. If the EMG 81s tone was a pointy square the 85 would be a round circle. The EMG 85 offers a more smoother or rounded tone than the EMG 81. The EMG 85 can be used in the neck and bridge position with good results. In the neck positions you can get super smooth lead tones or even bluesy tones. In the bridge positions it can make any decent guitar sound gigantic. Its tone is more focused towards the lower end so you may not want to downtune much with it for fear of getting too much of a muddy sound. Overall I think the EMG 85 is a better overall pickup. It being less sharp than the 81 makes it more useful for more kinds of music. The 81 is better only in the realm of high gain metal. If you are looking for an active pickup that can do more than just metal the 85 may be the way to go.

I have the EMG 85 for a while already on a Gibson LP, the kit with Zakk's cousin 81!

It is a very versatile mic is really hot in color, plain as in full.

What about more than my LP has really become a weapon of war as much ds super crystalline arpeggio solos in the darkest lol.

I love this microphone in his neck position and of course his cousin on 81!

Cons by saying that there better I'm wondering because most of the metal bands and other servants of the Abyss music use ...

For me the EMG 85 is a must in terms of big sound and really one of the best mic at all!

Cheers and thank you for EMG provide me the dream!! 666

This is the EMG 85! I'd say it's the better of the emg bridge pickups from the original line compared to the 81.

Cleans are thick and rich, with plenty of headroom unlike the 81. good for rhythms

The distortion is where it's at! Unlike the 81 it's got smoother highs, but is still aggressively tight, even though it seems to have more lower mids and bass than the 81 would. It sounds relatively well rounded overall and doesn't seem to matter how much gain you throw at it, it's still tight, even with downtuned guitars. If I had to choose between only active EMG pickups, the 85 would be the one for me for the bridge position.

The only thing it seems to be lacking is a bit of dynamics, it doesn't clean up with the volume, if at all. This seems apparent in all active pickups. Still, though this would be one of the versatile active pickups out there. It sounds good even in the neck! In the neck the cleans are also really good and there's plenty of headroom. on top of that there's a bit of a bounce with the clean. The dirty is also quite smooth but also sort of woody sounding overall, which I like!

I've had the 85 in a lot of guitars and found them to work quite well with nearly every type of guitar as the tone is pretty balanced. Although nowadays I've grown tired of active pickups now and lazier by the day so I've begun going back to passive pickups and I fancy cleaning up the volume on a pickup which, to this day, i have not found in active pickups. They have now begun the X series which I believe is supposed to be act more like a passive pickup but have the hi-fi quality and noiseless feature of an active pickup. I've yet to try them.

For years, EMG has been an instantly recognized name in heavier genres of music for their high output active pickups. And who doesn’t recognize the ‘blacked out’ look of their matte black covered pickups? Used by top acts such as Metallica, Slayer, Zakk Wylde, and MANY more modern bands, EMG has defined a sound of its own that some love, and others don’t.

The 85 an alnico magnet humbucker usually found as the neck pickup in EMG’s recommended sets. As with all EMG pickups, it features a quick connect interfacing of circuitry and pickup, so that pickups can be swapped easily. In an active design, pickups usually have weak magnets, and couple with a preamp (the ‘active’ part of the circuit) to boost and mold the signal. This is why EMG pickups are usually found set very close to the strings. The preamp is also why EMG’s tend to sound a bit more similar in different guitars than your average pickup.

The 85 is a very hot pickup, even more so, in my opinion, than the 81. In the neck, used under high gain application, it offers a very warm and almost ‘slurred’ sound, lending itself to more fluid legato when used in a shredding application. Cleans, if not EQed specifically for this pickup, can come off overly bass heavy and undefined. The hot response does pair well with finger picking though.

Though not the ‘conventional’ EMG setup, the 85 works great in the bridge position aswell. This is my personal preference, unless I am downtuning WAY low and need to keep an obscene amount of clarity. It offers a little more warmth, and a generally more organic response than the typical 81. Chords and single note runs sound bigger, though they do lose some of the very tight initial attack of the 81. Killswitch Engage is one band well known to use EMG 85’s in the bridge positions of their guitars. Again, the quick connect cable makes trying all these EMG combinations a breeze, so break out a screwdriver, and see what works best for you.

The EMG 85 is one of the pickups that, along with the EMG 81, helped make EMG a name for itself. It’s a pickup with an active preamp inside it. That means it requires a power source. In this case, it’s a 9V battery. It’s housed in a special cover with no pole pieces and has a ceramic magnet.

The EMG 85 is a pickup that’s getting a bit dated today, but it is still a great pickup. Overall, the pickup really pushes the amplifier, despite the pickup itself actually being low output. This is mainly thanks to the built in active preamp. It’s a quiet pickup that doesn’t need a buffer for long cable runs, and it doesn’t interfere with nasty RF waves like most regular pickups do. This is what helps make EMGs more appealing, especially in a live situation.

The pickup is much fatter than the EMG 81, and I find it doesn't sound quite as "in your face" as the EMG 81 does. This can be good or bad, depending on what you're going for. In standard, I find it sounds great in the bridge, but once you start downtuning, I usually prefer the 81. Some people swear by the EMG 85 in the bridge, so it all depends on your preferences. Personally, I love this pickup in the neck. It delivers a really fat and warm tone that is just killer for leads and not too terrible for cleans.

The biggest issue with EMGs is that they can sound a bit “linear.” They’re very compressed, and this can lead to some guitars sounding more similar than if they’d have passive pickups. Some argue this case, but it’s true to an extent. The guitars won’t sound identical, but they’ll sound a bit more similar than if they might have a pickup that’s more picky about woods such as the Seymour Duncan JB.

Overall, the pickup is great, especially for those who play metal. It can be a bit dated sounding thanks to the boutique market and other active pickup manufacturers out there, but I still feel this is one of the best active pickups on the market.