Talk me out of Active pickups...

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nigelpkay

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Been going crazy lately with pickups swaps, guitar swaps, looking for the right tone and feel. I like a sound somewhere between Yngwie and modern power metal, tight but fluid.

If I had to describe the tone, it would be like the JB but super tight, less muddy, more low mids, less harsh in the upper registers. The closest I've come is the BKP Holy Diver, but I find that while the pickup is good, it's a little flat EQ-wise and lacks aggression and punch, but I do like the mid-range "smear" that it has. I'm wondering if I just haven't found the right guitar for it. I've tried a superstat, then a Gibson Custom Lite (this sounded pretty good, but a little plinky on top), and now I'm thinking of jumping up to an Axcess for a little more beef than the Custom Lite. In a full Les Paul, it's a little too dense. I use a Marshall amp. I'm starting to wonder if I should find a used Boss SD-1 and plunk it front and that should tighten things up enough and clear out the mud of a JB just like the old days.

I've been listening to a lot of videos of EMGs and Duncan Blackouts, and now wondering if I should try and ESP Eclipse or similar guitar. It seems to be standard in the metal world from bands I've seen (at least live).
I've always avoided actives for the usual reasons, too much compression, lack of dynamics, a little on the sterile side... but, I think I've come around to wanting a more evened-out compressed tone for a recording situation since I'm so tired of trying pickups and different guitars trying to find the right match, that I want to take the pickups and wood mostly out of the equation (crazy I know). I'm leaning towards the Blackouts since they seem to have the good mid-range Seymour Duncan sound but with lots of tightness and output. From clips it also seems closer to passives than the EMGs which might help me along.

I just need to get to work, get some quality recording done, and stop thinking about my damn tone ... I know I'm probably in the wrong forum for that ;)
 
I am not going to talk you out of actives.

I put EMG's in all my guitars. Love em. :rock:
 
Me neither....just replaced the Holydivers in my LP with a lower output boutique set, and bought an Eclipse with EMGs for drop tunings. Get some.
 
Yeah I have a couple of traditional LPs already, one with a Motor City Detroiter, and the other with Bare Knuckle Black Dog. I'd like to keep those as my "rock 'n roll" axes. Both can do metal quite well, but not the sound I'm looking for.

I'm thinking of maybe selling/trading my Les Paul Custom Lite for an Eclipse so that I have one guitar with active pickups.

I guess I'm just looking for something with a consistent plug-in and go sound and that sounds like it. But then I have to decide EMG or Blackouts ;)
 
I guess I've narrowed down my question to: will Seymour Duncan Blackouts give me the tone I'm looking for (a hot, tight, punchy JB/Holy Diver with the same good mids). EMG seemed to have a good biting midrange too, I'm just worried about lack of lows/low mids as it definitely sounds thinner than the Blackout, but maybe that's better in a recorded mix anyway.
 
Active pickups = sterile one dimensional
Passive pickups = warm sweet versatile pleasing to the ear !!

Give Steve Lukather past with emg active and present dimarzio passive a listen .
No comparison IMO !!
Passive all the way !!!!

If all you want do do is play blistering metal active is good for that !!

If you want every note to count , then passive it is !!!
 
I have 2 les paul standards with emgs and have never gassed for pickups. get an 81 in the bridge and move on with your life.
 
Kidkramer71":3u3x874t said:
Active pickups = sterile one dimensional
Passive pickups = warm sweet versatile pleasing to the ear !!

Give Steve Lukather past with emg active and present dimarzio passive a listen .
No comparison IMO !!
Passive all the way !!!!

If all you want do do is play blistering metal active is good for that !!

If you want every note to count , then passive it is !!!
Click to expand...

What he said.
 
I play active, passive, humbuckers, single coils, p90s... I don't care as long as they sound good. Even people like David Gilmour who came from vintage Fenders can appreciate EMG's and active pickups.
Never understood the whole active vs passive thing.
 
EMGs hurt my ears, make them fizz out
That never happens at any volume with passive
 
Not a fan, myself. I have limited experience, but each time I used them I felt that articulation was completely thrown out the window with the design of the EMGs I was using. Very 1-dimensional wall of compressed fizz through a mid 2000 Mesa triple rectifier with matching cab and V-30s. Killer harmonics! Crazy sensitive, in that regard. Which I liked at the time. I would almost call the effectiveness of choice tone woods into question when paired with actives though. I'm sure many here have experimented with that and I'd be interested to hear their conclusions.
 
Kidkramer71":1fltyrjb said:
Active pickups = sterile one dimensional
Passive pickups = warm sweet versatile pleasing to the ear !!

Give Steve Lukather past with emg active and present dimarzio passive a listen .
No comparison IMO !!
Passive all the way !!!!

If all you want do do is play blistering metal active is good for that !!

If you want every note to count , then passive it is !!!
Click to expand...

You ever heard of David Gilmour? :lol: :LOL:
 
nigelpkay":1b4u1irk said:
I guess I've narrowed down my question to: will Seymour Duncan Blackouts give me the tone I'm looking for (a hot, tight, punchy JB/Holy Diver with the same good mids). EMG seemed to have a good biting midrange too, I'm just worried about lack of lows/low mids as it definitely sounds thinner than the Blackout, but maybe that's better in a recorded mix anyway.
Click to expand...

My 2 cents-
Actives are cool but definitely not for everything. Personally, I prefer EMG's. I have EMG's in some guitars (ESP eclipse, ESP Horizon, PRS CU 22, a Jackson, Tele and an Explorer). All of mine are modded to 18v which I find really opens up your sound and gets rid of any "fizz". Sounds crushing, tight and articulate (and very expressive for the right kind of music) thru either the VH4 or Herbert absolutely crushes for metal/hard rock. No lack of lows or low/mids. If you go the EMG route def do the 18v mod. I also think it does still pick up a small bit of the tonal properties of the wood but some would disagree.

That being said I also have plenty of guitars with passives (LP Custom, LP standard, Two strats, Tele, Tom Anderson, PRS CU24, Gretsch etc..). Really dig the passives when you are trying to get as organic and expressive as you can.

I hear the EMG Het Set is pretty cool and provides a bit of a blend between active and passive p'ups. Also heard good things about BKP's Blackhawk as a very "active" sounding passive. Bottom line IMHOP, actives and passives are both good, just depends what you're into, what sound you hear in your head and what you are playing. Good luck! :rock:
 
I have found when I have bought guitars with EMG's I go "holy shit tis sounds awesome, listen to how "hot" it sounds" then after about 2 weeks I go "um this sounds kinda boring" and I go back to passives....I would say if you want a different flavour then go for it, you can always flick them later
 
nigelpkay":10kcwayq said:
Been going crazy lately with pickups swaps, guitar swaps, looking for the right tone and feel. I like a sound somewhere between Yngwie and modern power metal, tight but fluid.

If I had to describe the tone, it would be like the JB but super tight, less muddy, more low mids, less harsh in the upper registers. The closest I've come is the BKP Holy Diver, but I find that while the pickup is good, it's a little flat EQ-wise and lacks aggression and punch, but I do like the mid-range "smear" that it has. I'm wondering if I just haven't found the right guitar for it. I've tried a superstat, then a Gibson Custom Lite (this sounded pretty good, but a little plinky on top), and now I'm thinking of jumping up to an Axcess for a little more beef than the Custom Lite. In a full Les Paul, it's a little too dense. I use a Marshall amp. I'm starting to wonder if I should find a used Boss SD-1 and plunk it front and that should tighten things up enough and clear out the mud of a JB just like the old days.

I've been listening to a lot of videos of EMGs and Duncan Blackouts, and now wondering if I should try and ESP Eclipse or similar guitar. It seems to be standard in the metal world from bands I've seen (at least live).
I've always avoided actives for the usual reasons, too much compression, lack of dynamics, a little on the sterile side... but, I think I've come around to wanting a more evened-out compressed tone for a recording situation since I'm so tired of trying pickups and different guitars trying to find the right match, that I want to take the pickups and wood mostly out of the equation (crazy I know). I'm leaning towards the Blackouts since they seem to have the good mid-range Seymour Duncan sound but with lots of tightness and output. From clips it also seems closer to passives than the EMGs which might help me along.

I just need to get to work, get some quality recording done, and stop thinking about my damn tone ... I know I'm probably in the wrong forum for that ;)
Click to expand...


Man, I think you might be taking years off your life putting so much thought/stress into pickups(or anything really). :lol: :LOL: If the BKP HolyDIver is the closest you've come, maybe it's as close as you can get from just a pickup. A pickup itself is only gonna get you so far. A boost or EQ pedal and twisting a few knobs might fill in the void your feeling with the HolyDiver. Or just get a set of actives and try them out.
 
bubbastain":3l9vjw6v said:
nigelpkay":3l9vjw6v said:
Been going crazy lately with pickups swaps, guitar swaps, looking for the right tone and feel. I like a sound somewhere between Yngwie and modern power metal, tight but fluid.

If I had to describe the tone, it would be like the JB but super tight, less muddy, more low mids, less harsh in the upper registers. The closest I've come is the BKP Holy Diver, but I find that while the pickup is good, it's a little flat EQ-wise and lacks aggression and punch, but I do like the mid-range "smear" that it has. I'm wondering if I just haven't found the right guitar for it. I've tried a superstat, then a Gibson Custom Lite (this sounded pretty good, but a little plinky on top), and now I'm thinking of jumping up to an Axcess for a little more beef than the Custom Lite. In a full Les Paul, it's a little too dense. I use a Marshall amp. I'm starting to wonder if I should find a used Boss SD-1 and plunk it front and that should tighten things up enough and clear out the mud of a JB just like the old days.

I've been listening to a lot of videos of EMGs and Duncan Blackouts, and now wondering if I should try and ESP Eclipse or similar guitar. It seems to be standard in the metal world from bands I've seen (at least live).
I've always avoided actives for the usual reasons, too much compression, lack of dynamics, a little on the sterile side... but, I think I've come around to wanting a more evened-out compressed tone for a recording situation since I'm so tired of trying pickups and different guitars trying to find the right match, that I want to take the pickups and wood mostly out of the equation (crazy I know). I'm leaning towards the Blackouts since they seem to have the good mid-range Seymour Duncan sound but with lots of tightness and output. From clips it also seems closer to passives than the EMGs which might help me along.

I just need to get to work, get some quality recording done, and stop thinking about my damn tone ... I know I'm probably in the wrong forum for that ;)
Click to expand...


Man, I think you might be taking years off your life putting so much thought/stress into pickups(or anything really). :lol: :LOL: If the BKP HolyDIver is the closest you've come, maybe it's as close as you can get from just a pickup. A pickup itself is only gonna get you so far. A boost or EQ pedal and twisting a few knobs might fill in the void your feeling with the HolyDiver. Or just get a set of actives and try them out.
Click to expand...

Just what I was gonna say. Perhaps try an eq pedal in front??
 
bubbastain":7epwsdux said:
Man, I think you might be taking years off your life putting so much thought/stress into pickups(or anything really). :lol: :LOL: If the BKP HolyDIver is the closest you've come, maybe it's as close as you can get from just a pickup. A pickup itself is only gonna get you so far. A boost or EQ pedal and twisting a few knobs might fill in the void your feeling with the HolyDiver. Or just get a set of actives and try them out.
Click to expand...

I _am_ taking years off my life lol. I think I just got myself to a place where nothing seems to sound right so wanted to force myself into using something that will stop me from thinking and get on with it. Thank god I'm 100% happy with my Marshall!
Actives are the only style pickup I haven't really tried so it's worth a shot to get it out of my head.
I know it's only one part of the equation, but sometimes you just have a certain tone in your head and it gets frustrating when you can't nail it. But hell, it's metal, it's like horseshoes and hand grenades.
 
just let them talk you out of them. Install them, try them if you don't like em sell em :)

I'm personally not a fan of them but I did have a set in a mahogany V and they sounded pretty good in that guitar but left me feeling cold after a while
 
Try them and find out is all you can do. I hated EMGs for years, until I tried them in a guitar where they sounded great. I have two guitars with them now and both sound killer, I've heard others where they sound like garbage.

One important lesson that I've learned over the years is that speaking about tonal variables (pickups, strings, tubes, pedals, woods, etc) in absolute terms is the stuff of hacks, amateurs, and wannabes in most cases. Experiment and see what works for your needs.

Players like Gilmour, Knopfler, Buchanan, Hetfield, Beach, etc have gotten some pretty great tones with EMGs that don't exhibit the stereotypical "issues" associated with active pickups.
 
Oh no the David Gilmour argument for active pickups .
Well he makes them work for him .
I would hardly call him a versatile guitarist with a versatile sound .
So I stand behind my statements !!
Active = sterile one dimensional

I had engaged back in the 80's and loved them !
I was playing metal and they worked .
Then I grew up and started really working on tone !!
If you like passive and changing batteries tear it up !!
 
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