Anyone Keep Going Back To EMG?

[Hoss632]

The brighter, more high-middy sound of the Dimebucker gives it a slight edge over the P91 for lower tunings imo. Helps with the clarity, as you can hear here. The P91 has a more growly, grunty sound, the Dimebucker is more cutting.

EMG P91 is first, Dimebucker is 2nd

I think I'd have to hear them in a mix as my ears hear the opposite. The p91 is much clearer and tight and more "mid rangey" while the dimebucker lacked the clarity, mainly on the low string chugs. Over all though both sounded good.

 

[Spaced Out Ace]

The EXG and SPC sound great with the H1A and H2A. I have not tested my Morley Little Alligator to see if it replaces the volume pot for my two LTDs effectively, but I like them a lot regardless.

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

...Kinda wanna check out the Revalations set. Kinda hesitant because I have a history of not jiving with Alnico II pickups.

 

[Spaced Out Ace]

...Kinda wanna check out the Revalations set. Kinda hesitant because I have a history of not jiving with Alnico II pickups.

I kind of want a set (maybe two) to try in my LTDs. Really enjoying the EMG H1A and H2A with the EXG and SPC. Really versatile and sounds killer.

 

[vertibration]

I ordered an 81 P90 for my modded baritone paranormal. I keep going back to EMG, just feels good to play

 

[Hoss632]

The Revelations set to me are the most versatile and musical of all the pick ups that EMG makes.

 

[lewis]

The Revelations set to me are the most versatile and musical of all the pick ups that EMG makes.

I want these in white for my daughters pink Ibanez haha

 

[fabronaut]

got an EMG 85 and 60 incoming. never owned any, looking forward to it. solderless will hopefully make the install that much lazier.

is there a default wiring / parts selection in every box? place I ordered from didn't say, and they didn't have separate harnesses listed on the site, I don't think.

 

[lewis]

got an EMG 85 and 60 incoming. never owned any, looking forward to it. solderless will hopefully make the install that much lazier.

is there a default wiring / parts selection in every box? place I ordered from didn't say, and they didn't have separate harnesses listed on the site, I don't think.

You'll get everything except solderless toggle switch. They sell them but don't include those so you would need to buy one separately if you want to keep everything solderless.

All other pots and input Jack's are included.

 

[Spaced Out Ace]

got an EMG 85 and 60 incoming. never owned any, looking forward to it. solderless will hopefully make the install that much lazier.

is there a default wiring / parts selection in every box? place I ordered from didn't say, and they didn't have separate harnesses listed on the site, I don't think.

Should've been a 60A. Are they new?

 

[gclef]

While I haven't gone back to them, I just installed a set of 57/66TWs in my new warmoth build.

Bottom line is I really like them. They feel good under my hands.It's my first fully active setup too. I have only played with an active circuit with passive pickups (clapton setup).
I love the volume and tone controls. The volume doesn't change tone, and the tone gets warm and jazzy without any mud.

The coil split makes them even better IMO.

Oh, and the solderless connection system is tits. Super easy to do. When I wired everything up, the bridge and neck positions were reversed. A simple wire swap was all that was needed. No resoldering. Sweet!

A few questions:

What are the recommended heights for these things?

Can someone explain the whole compression thing? I hear precision and clarity. Is the compression a facet of the higher output driving the amp input harder? I mean, I kinda hear it, maybe? But without tone loss, I drop the volume to 7 or 8 and whatever it is, disappears.

Overall, I am very impressed with my EMGs. I wish I would have tried them sooner.

 

[Spaced Out Ace]

While I haven't gone back to them, I just installed a set of 57/66TWs in my new warmoth build.

Bottom line is I really like them. They feel good under my hands.It's my first fully active setup too. I have only played with an active circuit with passive pickups (clapton setup).
I love the volume and tone controls. The volume doesn't change tone, and the tone gets warm and jazzy without any mud.

The coil split makes them even better IMO.

Oh, and the solderless connection system is tits. Super easy to do. When I wired everything up, the bridge and neck positions were reversed. A simple wire swap was all that was needed. No resoldering. Sweet!

A few questions:

What are the recommended heights for these things?

Can someone explain the whole compression thing? I hear precision and clarity. Is the compression a facet of the higher output driving the amp input harder? I mean, I kinda hear it, maybe? But without tone loss, I drop the volume to 7 or 8 and whatever it is, disappears.

Overall, I am very impressed with my EMGs. I wish I would have tried them sooner.

I set them height wise similar to what I would set a pair of Gibson humbuckers. Look up online what the recommended height is. Then I play around with them a bit, usually lowering them a quarter to half a turn with a screwdriver, though not always.

The compression is coming from the active preamp in the pickup. If you don't want the compression, either raise the voltage to 18 or 24 volts, or back off on the volume. 7-8 for chord work typically is good, then turn it up to 10 for solos.

 

[Spaced Out Ace]

Just looked it up. It says 1/16th for the bridge and 3/32nds for the neck. I do about 3-4/32nds for both and move slightly up or down from there. This measurement is based on fretting the last fret on your guitar and the under part of the string.

 

[gclef]

I set them height wise similar to what I would set a pair of Gibson humbuckers. Look up online what the recommended height is. Then I play around with them a bit, usually lowering them a quarter to half a turn with a screwdriver, though not always.

The compression is coming from the active preamp in the pickup. If you don't want the compression, either raise the voltage to 18 or 24 volts, or back off on the volume. 7-8 for chord work typically is good, then turn it up to 10 for solos.

I have them set somewhere between 2 and 3mm when the strings are pressed at the top fret.

Re: compression: the thing is don't really hear any compression. I think the x series preamps eliminate the old school compression. I do hear perhaps a little bandwidth compression. As if the high high end is not there. That's not a bad thing to me. It makes them appear smoother playing?

am I off base there?

 

[Screamingdaisy]

I have them set somewhere between 2 and 3mm when the strings are pressed at the top fret.

Re: compression: the thing is don't really hear any compression. I think the x series preamps eliminate the old school compression. I do hear perhaps a little bandwidth compression. As if the high high end is not there. That's not a bad thing to me. It makes them appear smoother playing?

am I off base there?

The compression will depend on how heavy your attack is. If you have a moderate touch you'll never run out of headroom. If you're beating the strings like they owe you money you'll notice it more.

To put it another way, with passives, the harder you hit the strings the louder they get. With EMGs, you'll find there's a point where hitting them harder doesn't make them any louder, that's the point where they're compressing.

 

[gclef]

The compression will depend on how heavy your attack is. If you have a moderate touch you'll never run out of headroom. If you're beating the strings like they owe you money you'll notice it more.

To put it another way, with passives, the harder you hit the strings the louder they get. With EMGs, you'll find there's a point where hitting them harder doesn't make them any louder, that's the point where they're compressing.

Now THAT makes some sense. So the compression is in the circuit, the way it hits the amp, or both?

Probably why the feel a bit smoother?

Does dropping the guitar volume somewhat negate the compression?

 

[Screamingdaisy]

Now THAT makes some sense. So the compression is in the circuit, the way it hits the amp, or both?

Probably why the feel a bit smoother?

Does dropping the guitar volume somewhat negate the compression?

The compression is in the preamp.

I think the smoothness is a mix of compression and frequency response, but that's just a guess/not scientific.

I don't think dropping the guitar volume lowers compression as I'm pretty sure it attenuates the volume after the preamp.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

Rolling the volume back is after the effects of the string vibrations hitting the magnetic field, so compression inside the pickup as a function of inductance is unaffected by a volume rolloff. What is affected by a volume rollof is how whatever that volume happens to be hits the front end of your amp, or your "pre" effects prior to the amp. The compression within the pickup, prior to the pickup itself hitting the housed preamp is a function of VCA ("Voltage Controlled Amplification") which is more synonymously referenced with synthesizer filters, but it applies to this as well. Compression is the affect of the strings vibration hitting the sensing of the pickup based upon how many winds on the coil, the type of magnet used, the gauss strength of that magnet and the balance of all of these elements working with one another to provide the sound/tone of the pickup. Changing only one element or another may not yield obviously noticeable artifacts where changing multiple most certainly will.

 

[NoodleFace]

My EMG81-7X in my Kiesel is just the least ballsy pickup I've ever had. It feels super weak to play through. Would a regular 81-7 be better? Or should I just rip the actives out and go all passive.

 

[Spaced Out Ace]

My EMG81-7X in my Kiesel is just the least ballsy pickup I've ever had. It feels super weak to play through. Would a regular 81-7 be better? Or should I just rip the actives out and go all passive.

What do you mean by least ballsy? What is lacking? Low mids, gain, etc.