Which Passive pickup resembles the EMG 81 best???

[Metaddict]

I have the JH Set in my main guitars and i love them.
But what about the SH 13 the Dimebucker or the Mark Tremonti?

 

[Code001]

The Dimebucker is probably the worst pickup ever created.

 

[racerevlon]

My vote is for the Dimarzio D-Activator

 

[NinjaRaf]

I went from an 81 to a dimarzio dominion, and Im NOT looking back. Shit is tighter, clearer, and heavier sounding.

 

[HELSTRUME]

I heard the D activator X did a better EMG then the regular activator.

 

[HELSTRUME]

Dimarzio Deactivator is real close. I thought they were great in comparison.
HZ is fatter, not as fast or articulate. Big and crunchy, but cloudy too.
Haven't heard anything else that really came close to the 81.

So is the HZ H4 a decent pickup?

 

[JimmyTheSaint]

I found this old thread after Googling about using EMG 81 or 85 passively. I've shorted my guitar's battery terminal, and then accidentally discovered that this gives just the right input level for my Focusrite Scarlett 2i4, which is notoriously intolerant of guitars with active pickups. Everything sounds fine, only I'm not an expert with the sound of these pickups, especially going through my DAW with monitors and not a real rig. I can't judge if the good sound I'm getting is close to the 81 used actively.

So I'd just want to ask if people are looking for a passive pickup that most closely resembles the 81, why not simply use the 81 passively by bypassing the battery as I've done? In theory, all you're doing is cutting out the pickup's pre-amp and substituting an outboard one, which is what you wanted when you wanted passive. Or does this change the pickup's character in some way that a different passive one will give a sound that's closer to the 81 used in active mode? That seems unlikely to me, but perhaps the 81's pre-amp has such a distinctive character that that's what people want to hear.

 

[DET1973]

Try the EMG 57/66 Combo, from everything i have heard they are just as tight but more organic sounding. i might buy them for one of my les pauls soon. also have you looked at the black winter from seymour duncan?

 

[The Traveller]

Lace Deathbucker

http://www.lacemusic.com/Alumitone_Deathbucker.php

 

[JimmyTheSaint]

But if you want to sound exactly like an 81, why not simply use the 81, but passively?

 

[JimmyBlind]

I had a miracle man in the bridge of my old Horizon.

Didn't sound anything like an Active 81. Sounded to me more like a JB with a little more clarity & slightly higher output. It's a decent pickup though. Think it was the first model BK made.

 

[jsp]

IMO, the Dimarzio Dominion is the closest, even closer than the D-activator.

 

[benduncan]

A parametric EQ

 

[Vrad]

Personally I have yet to come across a passive pickup that is like an active EMG. I've searched high and low and they were all passive-sounding if that makes any sense.

Also, I have not experienced any of the sterile, lack-of-dynamics etc... that people talk about. They're awesome cutting modern metal tone.

 

[ke2]

Wilde L500XL

 

[LeftyCatton]

Bare Knuckle Blackhawks will do the job nicely. I've got a miracle man in a les Paul and find it to be an amazing pickup but not quite as midrange focused or bright as an 81. The Blackhawks is much more aggressive and brighter. It's also the tightest pickup I've heard!!

 

[thegame]

Personally I have yet to come across a passive pickup that is like an active EMG. I've searched high and low and they were all passive-sounding if that makes any sense.

Also, I have not experienced any of the sterile, lack-of-dynamics etc... that people talk about. They're awesome cutting modern metal tone.

I agree. Though this "awesome cutting modern metal tone" was developed in 1979 !

 

[moltenmetalburn]

Not sure how you guys aren't feeling dynamics loss, meg are so compressed it's crazy.

Almost no dynamic range left. Switching to a passive will reveal a huge change in those terms.

You guys should try the 18 volt mod it definitely adds a good amount of headroom and dynamic back.

 

[thegame]

Not sure how you guys aren't feeling dynamics loss, meg are so compressed it's crazy.

Because I use completely different amp settings for passive vs. active. It also helps that I don't have any overly compressed amps to begin with.

 

[Vrad]

Personally I have yet to come across a passive pickup that is like an active EMG. I've searched high and low and they were all passive-sounding if that makes any sense.

Also, I have not experienced any of the sterile, lack-of-dynamics etc... that people talk about. They're awesome cutting modern metal tone.

I agree. Though this "awesome cutting modern metal tone" was developed in 1979 !

Yeah I know that.. but it works for metal. That's what I was getting at.