player opinions

EMG 81 Pickup

EMG 85 Pickup

  1. Name: Web

  2. Band: Organized Khaos

  3. Model Year: 2002

  4. Price Paid: If you break it down, it’s about $65 each

  5. Performance

  6. This is the sickest setup I have ever played! I recently replaced the three humbuckers in my SG les paul custom guitar over to a set of Zakk Wylde plus an EMG-89 in the center. The Zakk Wylde set is an 81 and an 85, with just this set my guitar screams. Now for those of you who don’t know an 89 is switchable, it switches from a humbucker to a single coil for the cleanest sound you will ever hear out of EMG’s. When its played as a humbucker it puts out the same sound as an EMG-85. This is the next set up I’ll get for my les Paul with only two humbuckers. An 81 and an 89 is all Ill ever need. As for my SG, through my 500 watt Peavey amp. You can never have enough power!

  7. Performance Rating: 10

  8. Sound Quality

  9. Through the 89 the guitar sounds clean, no noise at all. With the 85 I get that muddy sound I want, and through the 81 its the strong in your face rock sound. Any type sound I want, I can get from this set up.

  10. Sound Quality Rating: 10

  11. Construction

  12. With the advanced electronics in my set up I decided to have it put together for me. I feel confident that the construction is strong and reliable. I put it through the fire every time I play, and I haven’t had any problems yet. I have the guitar set up with three volume controls and one tone, each pickup has its own volume, the 89 is also a push pull switch, and the one tone controls the whole guitar.

  13. Construction Rating: 10

  1. Name: Jason

  2. Band: -----

  3. Model Year: -----

  4. Price Paid: $85+

  5. Performance

  6. I’m using the 85 with an Ibanez through a Boogie DC-5 head and a Marshall or Mesa cabinet. It sounds great through both, and I’m happy with the EMG 85. I tried the 81 in the bridge before this and it was a little to harsh for me with my setup. Highs through the roof (almost to the point of being kinda ridiculous). My guitar does have a basswood body and a Floyd bridge though, so that may contribute to that.

  7. Performance Rating: 10

  8. Sound Quality

  9. The EMG 85 is a severly underrated pickup, because the 81 seems to get all the attention. Give the 85 a try in the bridge! It’s very powerful, full and smooth sounding with a great EQ balance. Not to mention it has a much better clean tone next to the shrill EMG 81. The only reason I don’t give it a perfect 5 is because EMG humbuckers don’t have the best clean tone. Although the 85 is smoother than the 81 for a clean sound, it still is a little rough around the edges.

  10. Sound Quality Rating: 9

  11. Construction

  12. EMG’s seem really solid. You have to love the easy switch out capability after they’re installed too. Just pop the clip off the back and you can try another one! Overall a really solid pickup.

  13. Construction Rating: 10

  1. Name: David Ruxton

  2. Band: Angry Scots

  3. Model Year: -----

  4. Price Paid: $80 each

  5. Performance

  6. A little bit confusing at first, but once I took everything apart and laid the guts of my guitar out on the table they were pretty easy to install by following the well written instructions.

  7. Performance Rating: 10

  8. Sound Quality

  9. These are the ultimate overdrive pickups. It brings my Jackson JK-20, which I recently reviewed at performance-5, sound-4, construction-4, up to straight 5’s. The harmonics are really incredible through a decent amp (Marshall!!) they sound a lot like Zakk Wylde (he uses the 81 and 85 as well). Also great for Metallica stuff, and any sort of metal lead you can think of. Clean sound is pretty basic, and I could probably get more out of them if I wired in a tone control, but that would mean routing the Jackson and I really don’t feel like it right now.

  10. Sound Quality Rating: 10

  11. Construction

  12. Rock solid. These things are well made, fairly easy to install, and have an extremely low noise level when you plug in. Of course there is a lot to say about a good installation. Make sure all the ground wires are well connected! I had a little problem with the clean channel for a while, but it was my fault because I had missed a clearly marked ground connection when I wired it up.

  13. Construction Rating: 10

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  1. Average Ratings
  2. Performance: 10
  3. Sound Quality: 9.6
  4. Construction: 10
  5. Ratings Key
  6. 10: Excellent
  7. 0: Useless
  8. Available At Guitar Center
  9. EMG EMG-85 Humbucking Active Guitar Pickup Black
  10. Company
  11. EMG

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