Gimme your go to active pickups !

denialist said:
Is it just me or have they changed, even from my mid 2010s to my 2022 81’s…
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They (who? I don't know) say the preamp parts changed a few years back due to sourcing/availability. I like the old logo (pre-2011) and duller graphite look of the older models anyways, so those are what I have kept. If they also sound better then that is just a bonus.
 
I liked EMG's for the longest time, but the Opamp they used for the preamp got discontinued somewhere around 2018. If you can hunt down pre-2018 EMG's, those are the good ones. I've ordered a 57/66 and an 85 after that, and they all sounded like ass. I got rid of all of those, and bought some scratched up beat up 57/66's from 2017 which sounded glorious.

That's a PITA. And I like Fishman Moderns way better than EMG's nowadays anyway. They kinda I like about the 81/85 set, just better. Even more drastic low-end rolloff, so they're tighter. More clarity overall too.

People often describe them are being sterile and lifeless or maybe too thin... but at the same time, who buys EMG's because they're soulful and fat? LOL

The Duncan original Blackouts are HORRIBLE, IMO. They set out to "fix" issues people had with EMG's, and came out with kind of the antithesis. They're fat and bloated and loose, and they're super high-output, so to me, they just come out sounding like mud-city.

If you want fat, passives do it way better than any EMG-soundalike can anyway.
 
denialist said:
@NowYou'rePlayingWithPower do you have the first blackouts or “metal” version? I’ve been wanting to try the newer metals. I really like the originals. I’d say they’re less neutral than the 81’s though.
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They're the AHB-1 Phase II. Not sure which gen that is, but they're a 7 string version in one of my MS guitars. Most of my emgs are in standard tuning guitars, so really haven't fully A/B'd them, probably should. I remember there are some Slipknot Mick Thomson ones as well, not sure if those are the metal ones or not. Either way, they're okay. Definitely better than the EMG 808s and 909s I have in some other ERGs. They do go through batteries fairly quick (10ish hours plugged in) for some reason.
 
The only actives I have..
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I used EMGs exclusively for a long, long time. Only went down the passive rabbit hole here recently. My favorite EMG (and I still have them in a couple guitars) is the 57. To my ear, the 57 has all the sizzle and punch of EMGs traditional 81/85 - but the 57 brings a bit more string separation and articulation than the 81/85. It also cleans up reasonably well with the guitar’s volume knob.
 
Rex Rocker said:
I liked EMG's for the longest time, but the Opamp they used for the preamp got discontinued somewhere around 2018.
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That’s really helpful, thanks. The recent ones sound awful to my ear.
Rex Rocker said:
The Duncan original Blackouts are HORRIBLE, IMO. They set out to "fix" issues people had with EMG's, and came out with kind of the antithesis. They're fat and bloated and loose, and they're super high-output, so to me, they just come out sounding like mud-city.
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They probably shouldn’t be considered an emg alternative as they are their own thing. I personally like them as they are warmer and much higher output. I can get a grind that’s impossible to replicate with the emgs, at least in my rig.
Rex Rocker said:
If you want fat, passives do it way better than any EMG-soundalike can anyway.
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Noise though.
 
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I felt they were similar to the 81's in the lack of low end, but they were also fuzzy and indistinct in an overgained kinda way, I guess. The pushed mids didn't bother me. I'm probably an alnico kind of guy. That was with the jumper removed for the lower gain setting.
 
shadow said:
I felt they were similar to the 81's in the lack of low end, but they were also fuzzy and indistinct in an overgained kinda way, I guess. The pushed mids didn't bother me. I'm probably an alnico kind of guy. That was with the jumper removed for the lower gain setting.
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Is this the ahb-2’s?
 
denialist said:
They probably shouldn’t be considered an emg alternative as they are their own thing. I personally like them as they are warmer and much higher output. I can get a grind that’s impossible to replicate with the emgs, at least in my rig.
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Yeah, each to his own.

I wouldn't say they're warmer, as they've also got more higs than EMG's. But you're right, that leads to more grind.

I guess if I gave them a try nowadays, my opinion would change, as I'm less of an "EMG or die" kinda guy. When I tried them, I was expecting "EMG but fatter/warmer", and they aren't quite that. In fact, I wouldn't say they resemble EMG's much. Fishman Moderns resemble EMG's a whole lot more to my ears. You're right in saying Blackouts are their own thing.
 
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denialist said:
Is this the ahb-2’s?
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Haha, I'm a dumbshit. I forgot to hit the reply to your post, it was meant to be one. Yeah, that was concerning the ahb-2 blackouts metal. I haven't tried the regular blackouts, but I'm going to try out the mustaines, which are supposed to be active versions of the jb/jazz set, I'm really looking forward to that. Plus, the alnico fishmans are looking pretty cool.
 
I really like boosting the classic 81/85 with my vfe focus pedal because you can set the hpf (lows) at max, the lpf (highs) at max, then set the focus output at just a bit over unity so that it is a wide slight clean-boost,,,,,,,then I roll-off the lpf (highs) just enough to cancel some of the extra sizzle/fizz.

It amounts to having about the same mid-boost as normal with an 81/85, but the lows are thicker and the highs a bit more lively.
The focus has no clipping circuit so there is not that extra "softening" that you get if you boost the emgs with a standard screamer or any other gain booster.

The mxr 6-band can be close to the same, but I always found it to introduce more hiss and sound a bit more processed.
 
Rex Rocker said:
Yeah, each to his own.

I wouldn't say they're warmer, as they've also got more higs than EMG's. But you're right, that leads to more grind.

I guess if I gave them a try nowadays, my opinion would change, as I'm less of an "EMG or die" kinda guy. When I tried them, I was expecting "EMG but fatter/warmer", and they aren't quite that. In fact, I wouldn't say they resemble EMG's much. Fishman Moderns resemble EMG's a whole lot more to my ears. You're right in saying Blackouts are their own thing.
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Have you tried the Xs? Big fan of those.
 
I like what the X-series and 18v mods do for the 85, but not so much the 81,,,,,except in basswood and/or with mahogany necks.
 
Most of my guitars have the 57/66 set and one with the 81x/60. I thought the 81 was way too compressed for me and the 81x was better. Always wanted to try some fishmans but haven't yet, so can't say how they compare. I saw where Agufish swapped out his EMG's for fishmans and said it wasn't much different.
 
81/60 and 81/85 is still my favorites, i have a couple guitars with the hetset and i like them too, i had blackouts in a few guitars but didnt like them, the hammets with the metal covers i liked but the set without the metal covers sounded different to me and i didnt like them even though they are the same pickup. I had the fishman stef pickups and they was ok.
 
Bram576 said:
Have you tried the Xs? Big fan of those.
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EMG's? Yep.

They're good... but they're not radically different from the regular EMG's @24V.

I had a set of the 81X/60X in a guitar that didn't have enough space in the cavity to fit two 9V. They were good. But at the same time, they weren't different different from th 81/60 set running at a high voltage other than being very slightly lower output.

I remember reading they're just a couple of resistors apart from regular EMG's in the preamp. What that does is that lowers the output before the preamp, so they squeeze out less clipping from the preamp. Then, the output resistance is less (or more? can't quite remember), so that makes them less lossy with the 25K pots, thus boosting the output up back a bit to compensate.

Try the regular EMG's at 24V. They're pretty much the same just like 0.5-1 dB louder.
 
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