Annonces EMG S
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Anyhow I remember this pickup (as being in the neck) being a really clean pickup when on clean with no possibility of breakup unless you overdrove the amp a bit. And once in the...…
Anyhow I remember this pickup (as being in the neck) being a really clean pickup when on clean with no possibility of breakup unless you overdrove the amp a bit. And once in the distorted mode I also remember the distortion sound to be quite clear, not thick, maybe a bit piercing but it wasn't shrill nor was it muddy. A very transparent or shall I say balanced sound? Most people compare the word sterile and lifeless with sounds like these, cause it's so transparent it doesn't seem to have any mojo of it's own. Though that may be true, the transparency part, not the lifeless part, it doesn't mean it can't be worked with! I liked my EMG S when i had it. It was an overall great pickup and noiseless too!

great great great
Published on 01/29/12 at 19:37The EMG S is a very different type of single coil. It's true that it's very sterile. People act like that's a bad thing. But for some styles this is fine. A lot of blues and jazz players love...…
The EMG S is a very different type of single coil. It's true that it's very sterile. People act like that's a bad thing. But for some styles this is fine. A lot of blues and jazz players love these for the clarity and sterile sound they produce. Make no mistake though, it is still very much a single coil. And it quacks like any single coil should.
For cleans it helps to have two of them running at once, or maybe an 81 split running together with one. By itself it can have a tendency to lack bass and be a treble monster. These aren't super warm in the first place. But make no mistake they are wonderful at taking effects and not imparting their own sound into the mix. The clarity and pureness of sound comes in handy when you have a lot of delay or effects going on.
Can't recommend enough, but make sure this is what sound you want. These aren't warm or organic pickups. You trade off that warm vintage sound for clarity and noiselessness. It's just a different flavor of strat pickup. Good for metal, blues, and jazz in my opinion. Not much else.

Tone close to an 81
Published on 07/16/11 at 12:17
Bright and powerful single
Published on 04/05/11 at 10:33The EMG S 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...…
The EMG S 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 81, but that doesn’t mean they’re exactly the same. It’s got that bright grind going on like the EMG S, and it’s a fairly hot pickup thanks to the preamp, but it still has that single coil tone going on. The treble is fairly strong, the midrange is decent and the bass seems to be even to maybe pushed back a little bit. I find this works best in the bridge of a strat. In the neck, it goes too piercing for me, but some people really like that bright, clean quality for soloing.
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 bridge and especially for heavy metal. If you find it to be too bright, get the SA which has the Alnico magnet inside of it. It’s a good bit fatter and more even sounding.
Tech. sheet
- Manufacturer: EMG
- Model: S
- Series: Active Strat
- Category: Stratocaster guitar pickups
- Added in our database on: 03/26/2004
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Other names: s