EMG81: love/hate relationship

[Detroit1973]

But did you have that same 81 in other guitars too? It might just be that specific combo hits perfect.

I know the general word is that an 81 is an 81 no matter it's host, but I've certainly found that to be false after many years of playing musical-chairs with all my pickups and guitars. I really got into that between 2006-15.

Yeah i did. That set just has more low end for some reason. I have a Beautiful Limited Edition Les Paul Standard that is a tad anemic in the low end & that set fixed that. I Put that set back into the original LP they came out of. Bought a Set of Anniversary EMGs and installed those....anemic in the low end again....Thought it was dead strings, changed those....Nothing gave me the same low end punch. Tried a JB in that guitar and it sounded better which is why i wanted to switch most of my guitars to passive.

 

[MetalJim]

and i keep hearing that the Het set sound like the older 81's from the 90's......which is when i bought my favorite set of Emg's. That set in my les paul standard will never come out but the rest of my les pauls will probably get switched over to passive pickups

You know I have a emg 81 old don't know the year but I have that one for around 24 years and it was old when I got it used, has the cables Straight into the epoxy and it sounds great, not like the newer models where you can connect the 3 pin female connector.

 

[Searay]

EMG 81,…love them when I install one, dislike it by the time I remove them. Repeat…and again…

Great, now I’m thinking about it again,…Even now, I long to put one back in

 

[rottingcorpse]

You have to do the corpse mod to the 81 to get the most out of it. Scrape off the EMG logo with a razor and draw it back on with a fine tip black sharpie. This tightens it up and gives it more output. Works on all EMG pickups. Trust me.

 

[anomaly]

Actually, if you want more output out of a 81, remove the tone control, 3 db's extra of output is available if you do this so I've been told. I have one guitar like this and it does seem to be a bit hotter.

 

[angelspade]

Actually, if you want more output out of a 81, remove the tone control, 3 db's extra of output is available if you do this so I've been told. I have one guitar like this and it does seem to be a bit hotter.

Yup...This actually works.

 

[dave74]

Agreed, no need for tone pots with an 81,

 

[SonVolt]

Some of you guys already know this, but I'm gonna let you in on a little secret. Apparently changes have been made to the 81's over the years, and specifically the opamp. In my experience the sound is drastically different, with the recent ones sounding really bad to my ears. If you have different vintages, compare your '03's and earlier to more recent. I have 00's, 03's, and 88's and they are totally different than my '16 and '22. The most recent sounds absolutely gross. It's got that mid hump but is totally missing whatever sweet sauce that made the earlier ones great, and is quite abrasive. I don't have any between '03 and '16 so I don't know precisely when things changed, but I'd consider starting with the old logo versions and see what you think. YMMV.

Do we know when the change took place? I have an old EMG 81-loaded ESP from 2010 that sounds incredible. Every new EMG 81 loaded guitar I've picked up since then sounds weird and honky.

 

[Fiesta Red]

I tried the 81 a couple of times and it always had an odd honk I couldn't dial out. I have a Jackson with an older 85 that I like much better.

 

[TheGreatGreen]

I recently picked up a pedal EMG makes called the ES-918. You use a TRS cable between your guitar and the pedal, and the pedal uses the middle Ring section of the cable to send DC power to the guitar so you don't have to mess with batteries. The power supply I use to power the pedal is switchable between 9 and 18 volts, which means I can swap back and fourth between the two voltages instantly to try them out.

My advice for EMG's is to wire them for 18 volts. I never bothered with it before but I'm a believer now. I don't notice much difference with headroom between 9v and 18v, but I do notice that with 18v, the pickups have clearer treble and significantly reduced low-mid honk some EMG's have when running 9v. To my ears, they're much better pickups at 18v.

 

[SonVolt]

I recently picked up a pedal EMG makes called the ES-918. You use a TRS cable between your guitar and the pedal, and the pedal uses the middle Ring section of the cable to send DC power to the guitar so you don't have to mess with batteries. The power supply I use to power the pedal is switchable between 9 and 18 volts, which means I can swap back and fourth between the two voltages instantly to try them out.

My advice for EMG's is to wire them for 18 volts. I never bothered with it before but I'm a believer now. I don't notice much difference with headroom between 9v and 18v, but I do notice that with 18v, the pickups have clearer treble and significantly reduced low-mid honk some EMG's have when running 9v. To my ears, they're much better pickups when run with 18v.

That's interesting. If the damn batteries didn't last years for me I'd consider one of these. Having to unplug the cable is the only gripe I have.

I snagged an EC-1000 in full thickness, ebony, stainless (etc) when Sweetwater blew these out for half price last month. Yanked the Fishman Classics out for EMG 81/60. Much better. I've heard the Moderns are good, but I didn't not jive with the Classics.

 

[Simon Dorn]

Do we know when the change took place? I have an old EMG 81-loaded ESP from 2010 that sounds incredible. Every new EMG 81 loaded guitar I've picked up since then sounds weird and honky.

I was curious too, after i read your post. Here's some AI-Stuff about that:


"Official EMG datasheets indicate a shift in the resonant frequency of the EMG 81, lowering it from 2.25 kHz to 1.63 kHz, which creates a more congested mid-hump. Additionally, the transition from older, slower op-amps (like the LM4250) to modern, faster SMD components has removed the soft-clipping characteristics, resulting in a more abrasive and sterile tone in newer models."

Summary of the Op-Amp Change
The core of the sonic shift is the replacement of the legacy LM4250 Op-Amp. This chip was a "programmable" micropower amplifier that allowed EMG to set a specific Slew Rate. This resulted in a natural, tube-like compression and a resonant peak at 2.25 kHz, providing that classic "liquid" lead tone.
Modern units have transitioned to high-efficiency SMD (Surface Mount) components. While these are technically "better" (lower noise floor of -100 dBV), they lack the characteristic saturation of the old chips. The shift of the resonant peak down to 1.63 kHz creates the "mid hump" you described, losing the high-end clarity and making the pickup feel more abrasive and less musical to the ears of vintage enthusiasts.

 

[WizardAmpIphoneClip]

Lol at "vintage Emg enthusiasts"
Come on guys

 

[Omnipotent1]

Some of you guys already know this, but I'm gonna let you in on a little secret. Apparently changes have been made to the 81's over the years, and specifically the opamp. In my experience the sound is drastically different, with the recent ones sounding really bad to my ears. If you have different vintages, compare your '03's and earlier to more recent. I have 00's, 03's, and 88's and they are totally different than my '16 and '22. The most recent sounds absolutely gross. It's got that mid hump but is totally missing whatever sweet sauce that made the earlier ones great, and is quite abrasive. I don't have any between '03 and '16 so I don't know precisely when things changed, but I'd consider starting with the old logo versions and see what you think. YMMV.

Spot on. Never liked 81s until a buddy threw out the one that came with his esp mii & put a vintage one in it… soon as I played that thing I had to have it. Was using an early 2000s 85 in the bridge of my Schecter prior to that. I love the 85s as well sad EMGs aren’t consistent because I prefer them over Fishmans any day..

 

[Omnipotent1]

Try, the EMG 81-x. It has more headroom, and sounds amazing to me.
I have them in the bridge position of my main guitars (Ibanez RGD2120Z)
I personally feel they make the original 81 obsolete.

Been looking for this exact guitar in the crackled blue finish… hard af to find lol.. bout to just make one of those “searching for” post on here..

 

[Rackman]

This is actually kinda interesting though. That's a big change in the resonant frequency, and explains quite a bit about why various things sound how they do.

 

[Omnipotent1]

Right.. at that point they shouldn’t have even dubbed it the same model… manufacturers do stupid shit to keep up with the times…

 

[Tone Monster]

I recently picked up a pedal EMG makes called the ES-918. You use a TRS cable between your guitar and the pedal, and the pedal uses the middle Ring section of the cable to send DC power to the guitar so you don't have to mess with batteries. The power supply I use to power the pedal is switchable between 9 and 18 volts, which means I can swap back and fourth between the two voltages instantly to try them out.

My advice for EMG's is to wire them for 18 volts. I never bothered with it before but I'm a believer now. I don't notice much difference with headroom between 9v and 18v, but I do notice that with 18v, the pickups have clearer treble and significantly reduced low-mid honk some EMG's have when running 9v. To my ears, they're much better pickups at 18v.

. Always run mine 18V

 

[Simon Dorn]

Lol at "vintage Emg enthusiasts"
Come on guys

Is 1981 not "Vintage" enough? The intersting part is the change of the OP Amp and the specs in this context here. Not the wording of the computer.

 

[Uzi Nein Millimetah]

I was curious too, after i read your post. Here's some AI-Stuff about that:


"Official EMG datasheets indicate a shift in the resonant frequency of the EMG 81, lowering it from 2.25 kHz to 1.63 kHz, which creates a more congested mid-hump. Additionally, the transition from older, slower op-amps (like the LM4250) to modern, faster SMD components has removed the soft-clipping characteristics, resulting in a more abrasive and sterile tone in newer models."
View attachment 441738
Summary of the Op-Amp Change
The core of the sonic shift is the replacement of the legacy LM4250 Op-Amp. This chip was a "programmable" micropower amplifier that allowed EMG to set a specific Slew Rate. This resulted in a natural, tube-like compression and a resonant peak at 2.25 kHz, providing that classic "liquid" lead tone.
Modern units have transitioned to high-efficiency SMD (Surface Mount) components. While these are technically "better" (lower noise floor of -100 dBV), they lack the characteristic saturation of the old chips. The shift of the resonant peak down to 1.63 kHz creates the "mid hump" you described, losing the high-end clarity and making the pickup feel more abrasive and less musical to the ears of vintage enthusiasts.

Nice to see some facts rather than just guitar witchcraft claims.

I have a Love-Love relationship with the 81......when I'm in the mood for it. And the 85 at the bridge is superior for leads and arguably better for some rhythm playing, although not max crunch and Thrash. Then again, all of my EMGs are pre-2017 (between ~2010 and 2015), so of course they rock.