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Hatsubai « Thick and powerful »
Published on 04/05/11 at 10:21The 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.
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.