EMG vs SD Blackouts

  • Thread starter Thread starter Flavatrocious
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Flavatrocious":3h3g8dik said:
What kinda music you playing there boss?
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Melodic southern metal. The Blackout is more organic and open sounding, and they clean up beautifully when you need them to. I have used EMG's for ages, and when the BO's were released I tried them just to see if they were going to be an EMG in a different wrapper but they are their own animal for certain.
 
SwampDonkey":119f9ohx said:
Flavatrocious":119f9ohx said:
What kinda music you playing there boss?
Click to expand...

Melodic southern metal. The Blackout is more organic and open sounding, and they clean up beautifully when you need them to. I have used EMG's for ages, and when the BO's were released I tried them just to see if they were going to be an EMG in a different wrapper but they are their own animal for certain.
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Similar story, I used EMG's since 1986/7 and tried the AHB1's when they came out and it was instant love. I really like the AHB1's and like the AHB3 in the bridge even more. They have great output but clean up better than EMG's imho and they are very quiet.

I have since gone to Suhr Aldrich on my Modern and my Les Paul. I still have Blackouts in my PRS and my Indie Gotoh Floyd, but I don't play them much since I started playing the Aldrich passives. I never have bonded with passives in the past, but I really dig the Aldrich's.

Back to the topic, I much prefer the Blackouts to the EMG's. I was pleasantly surprised that they didn't sound like the Livewire series...hated those.


Mark
 
Mark Day":2hb38sox said:
Similar story, I used EMG's since 1986/7 and tried the AHB1's when they came out and it was instant love. I really like the AHB1's and like the AHB3 in the bridge even more. They have great output but clean up better than EMG's imho and they are very quiet.
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I used to have EMG's ( years ago in a Les Paul & a Strat ) .... Loved 'em !

This time around I put the Blackouts in my Jackson PC-1 largely based on Mark's experiences. Keep in mind this is a radically different guitar, but I CAN NOT imagine that the EMG's could be even close to the Blackouts in this guitar. It really screams, but a can't believe how it cleans up when I turn down the volume.

And I used John Suhr's EMG mod for a simulated coil-tap on the bridge pickup and that worked flawlessly as well !
 
I use both. The Blackout in the bridge of my 1979 Hamer Sunburst is crushing, AND it cleans up really well. I tried the 81 and 85 in the bridge and they were too harsh for me. I think they are guitar dependent. That is a Mahogany body maple top and is darker than other guitars.

I have 1985 Guild Liberator that is Hum single single. Set neck 24 fret rare guitar ABM Solid Brass Tremolo and Sperzels. I tried the Blackout in the bridge of that guitar and it was too bright and harsh sounding to me. Poplar body, Mahogany neck with an Ebony fretboard. I now have an EMG 85 in that position and it works perfectly, and I have a single coil sized blackout in the neck spot. The single coil really surprised me, it does the SRV kind of stuff, nice cleans, and the liquid lead lines I like. I like them MUCH better than the EMG single coils. Dead quiet too.

I think they are guitar dependent really. I have not tried the Mick Thompson or EMG-X pickups yet.
 
RoidRage":2p29iajz said:
I have both...

IMO, The Blackouts are vastly superior, and I highly recommend them!

They are much more Organic sounding than the EMG's


Roid RAGE
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I usually go for medium output passives when I want organic. I feel like using active pickups is supposed to get you that "non-organic" tone, and that's whats desirable about them.
 
I'm curious about Blackouts. If they are more organic, and have high output, then why am I not just running some high output ceramic passive (eg SD SH-6) through a clean overdrive/boost. What's the difference in sound between that and a SD Blackout.
 
srinivassa":1m4khpyu said:
I'm curious about Blackouts. If they are more organic, and have high output, then why am I not just running some high output ceramic passive (eg SD SH-6) through a clean overdrive/boost. What's the difference in sound between that and a SD Blackout.
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while i only use passives, i would think the low impedance buffered signal coming straight out of the active pickup'd guitar into the pedalboard/amp would make the difference too, no matter how good your signal path is, and probably makes up a part of the sound
 
university81":1xcs8nvw said:
srinivassa":1xcs8nvw said:
I'm curious about Blackouts. If they are more organic, and have high output, then why am I not just running some high output ceramic passive (eg SD SH-6) through a clean overdrive/boost. What's the difference in sound between that and a SD Blackout.
Click to expand...

while i only use passives, i would think the low impedance buffered signal coming straight out of the active pickup'd guitar into the pedalboard/amp would make the difference too, no matter how good your signal path is, and probably makes up a part of the sound
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It's hard to decide. I have been thinking for a long time about making a rockin' metal guitar that would basically be a cheap copy of my Les Paul. I wanted to put in similar pickups to my LP, a ceramic bridge and a bluesy neck, say SH-6/SH-1. People keep tempting me with blackouts though. I've never heard anyone say, "I hate blackouts because..." and make any sense. Soooo many people make the switch away from EMGs too, almost immediately upon trying out the BOs.

Oh well, I promised myself no new guitars anyway, and I like my EMG's too well to replace them. This thread has got me thinking again about what pickups "Snowflake" should be born with.
 
I have some AHB 1 bridge PU's available and an EMG 85 if anyone needs them. Make a fair offer and pay the shipping they are yours.
I have a Sustainiac too :)

Mark
 
Just had to chime in here that I've got the EMG 81/85 loaded into my ESP-FRII. Do I like them? Meh. Very sterile.

I had the chance to try out the Blackouts (original model, not the MT model), and albeit they didn't seem to have as much OUTPUT, they sounded waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better. More defined mids, more "organic", more like a natural passive pup but on some serious roids. It was a tastier pup. Sure, sure, A/B the two (and yes, the BOs were loaded in the FR-II for direct comparison purposes) and the EMG will sound more in-yer-face. But it's when you actually crank up the amp, EQ the amp accordingly, and start working with each pup, that you may finds the BO is a sweeter sounding choice.

YMMV,
V. :thumbsup:
 
My buddy had two of the exact same guitar (one black and one red). They were ESP LTD M200FM, and they both had EMGs (81 & 85). He put Blackouts in one of the guitars and we did a shootout. Same gauge and kind of strings and same tuning into the same amp. The only difference was the pickups.

It is like night and day. As sterile as the EMGs sounded, was as deep as the Blackouts were. The Blackouts were more like a passive pickup, while both had about the same output. In my opinion, The Blackouts were all the good characteristics of an active pickup with the tone of a passive.

The best part is the clips. If you have newer EMGs with the clips in the back of the pickup, you can just switch the pickup without re-wiring your guitar. The Blackout used the same exact clip as the EMG. All you have to do is take the EMG out, switch the pickup ring or pickguard, and plug the Blackouts in. The only difference is you use the clip from the EMGs backwards on the blackouts. You don't even have to solder to put the Blackouts in a guitar with EMGs! Try them!
 
BeZo":2pfx91a6 said:
My buddy had two of the exact same guitar (one black and one red). They were ESP LTD M200FM, and they both had EMGs (81 & 85). He put Blackouts in one of the guitars and we did a shootout. Same gauge and kind of strings and same tuning into the same amp. The only difference was the pickups.

It is like night and day. As sterile as the EMGs sounded, was as deep as the Blackouts were. The Blackouts were more like a passive pickup, while both had about the same output. In my opinion, The Blackouts were all the good characteristics of an active pickup with the tone of a passive.

The best part is the clips. If you have newer EMGs with the clips in the back of the pickup, you can just switch the pickup without re-wiring your guitar. The Blackout used the same exact clip as the EMG. All you have to do is take the EMG out, switch the pickup ring or pickguard, and plug the Blackouts in. The only difference is you use the clip from the EMGs backwards on the blackouts. You don't even have to solder to put the Blackouts in a guitar with EMGs! Try them!
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Thank You...

My sentiments Exactly.

RR
 
BeZo":2p3dycvj said:
My buddy had two of the exact same guitar (one black and one red). They were ESP LTD M200FM, and they both had EMGs (81 & 85). He put Blackouts in one of the guitars and we did a shootout. Same gauge and kind of strings and same tuning into the same amp. The only difference was the pickups.

It is like night and day. As sterile as the EMGs sounded, was as deep as the Blackouts were. The Blackouts were more like a passive pickup, while both had about the same output. In my opinion, The Blackouts were all the good characteristics of an active pickup with the tone of a passive.

The best part is the clips. If you have newer EMGs with the clips in the back of the pickup, you can just switch the pickup without re-wiring your guitar. The Blackout used the same exact clip as the EMG. All you have to do is take the EMG out, switch the pickup ring or pickguard, and plug the Blackouts in. The only difference is you use the clip from the EMGs backwards on the blackouts. You don't even have to solder to put the Blackouts in a guitar with EMGs! Try them!
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That is cool about the clips. Could you even A/B between a neck and a bridge? What about +18V EMGs? Did you compare those? 18V EMGs are way more natural sounding to me than 9V. Of course, that is at low volumes, and I have yet to compare to a blackout.

Everybody who does the comparison seems to pick Blackouts though. No one has an AHB-1 to trade straight up for a EMG 60 do they? j/k :m9:
 
Would a Suhr Aldrich humbucker work in the bridge position of a Strat?
 
is the EMG X series less noisy than the regular ones?

i like the emg tone for some things just hate the noise
 
I played an MTM2 at a sam ash today, It was a really nice guitar for 650$, I want to buy one, but I have no money :aww:
I thought the bridge was pretty interesting on the MT, had the floyd/kahler look, but it was a hard tail, pretty cool
 
rumblebox":mm5trb5h said:
why wouldnt it?
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Dunno, I'm just wondering if the characteristics of the Aldrich would match well with the sound of a Strat, and beef up the tone a bit.

Or would an SD Blackout be better?
 
as far as EMG's go, i would recommend trying an 85 in the bridge instead of an 81 before ruling them out. the 85 has a way fuller tone than the 81.
 
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