New Guitar

--Kaiser--

Bought me a new guitar last week, its an LTD/ESP M-50 , amazing guitar, perfectly set-up, fantastic action and sound,
it was pretty cheap, and i've been playing for 2 years and want to fit new pick-ups, any suggestions?
I was thinking of maybe EMG's

padraigmyers

I'm assuming from the type of guitar you bought that you are mostly into Rock/Metal, therefore I would reccomend EMG-81's. They just simply are the best pick-up around for that style of music, in fact for most styles, although for country or jazz there are probably better specialised ones.

Giblet

You're going to have to get a new hole routed into the guitar for a battery for those pickups, but if your willing to do it, I'd recommend them pick-ups 100%

Karl Hungus

Right, I'm planning on getting EMG 81's fitted soon myself, but I've also noticed the 89's. Can anyone tell me what kind of sound these have?

feylya

Originally posted by Giblet
You're going to have to get a new hole routed into the guitar for a battery for those pickups, but if your willing to do it, I'd recommend them pick-ups 100%

No holes have to routed. The battery will fit in the control cavity. AFAIK, the 89 sounds like an 85 but you can coil-split it to make it sound like a single coil. More expensive though. I have an 81 in the bridge and an 85 in the neck of my M-100 and you wouldn't believe the clean tones that comes out of it in the neck position. Lovely. Flick it onto the neck, crank some distorsion and it's unbelieveably clear.

Must say however, I never liked the M-50. Hate that rough matt finish they gave the neck and body. You should try the M-100 neck just to see the difference. Oh, and the EMG's will add a LOT of weight so be sure to get a wide strap!

juno75

dang it, i luv you guitar geeks:)

makes me feel normal!

EMG's are rockin pick ups for sure, I dont play that kind of music.
here is the crunch with EMG's (no pun intended)
Amazing for hi output/hi gain sounds but I find them lacking in warmth and very sterile sounding, not 3 dimensional enough.
When the vol is rolled down
they lack character compared to ,say a decent PAF Pro.

but for metal /heavy stuff they are definate workhorses.

Personally I like an EMG loaded guitar for those moments of
Wraaaak but the rest of the time I need a more colourfull pick up.

me? I'm fitting PRS HFS pick ups now you can buy em for 100 stg
wid out dishing out the other £3900 for the actual guitar.

Classic case of one mans meat.

Any quality pick up will be far superiour to a stock pick up (unless of course its a reasonablly high end guiter)

feylya

Juno, have you ever heard an emg 85 in the neck position? Full of warmth. Absolutely gorgeous. I'd post a clip if I had my gear here.

juno75

Lo feylya mate,

na have not heard it.

TBH its been 5+ years since I dabbeled wid EMG's
so maybe I should check out sum diif new ones.

They all still got black covers wid EMG in the corner? they do look
well kool

feylya

Trust me, lovely lovely tones :-) A bit of chorus, neck pickup, Mmmmmmmmmm.

Yeah they still have the cool little metal coloured EMG in the corner. I almost look at them as often as I play them, they just look great. I think they've released silver ones. Very nice too but I think I'll stick with my black ones for now :-)

Karl Hungus

Here, how often do you have to change the batteries, and is it easy to change them? Eg, opening up the back of the guitar and all...

Feyla, I might take your advice on the 85 at the neck, I definetly go for a more warm sound, and being a lead guitarist, I play a lot of widdley things.

feylya

I haven't change mine in about two years of playing. You get something like 3000 hours of playing from one battery. To change them, all you have to do is remove 6 screws or so and replace the battery.

Also consider the EMG 60 for the neck. I've heard really really good things about it. Also you might want to find someone to install them for you if you're not any good with electronics.

Karl Hungus

Wow! That's amazing...
What kind of batteries are they though?

I'm brilliant with electronics, I could take a guitar apart and put it back together again easily, but generally I'd always watch someone do something if I've not done it myself before. So chances are, I'd get them to do it in the shop for me, and ask them if they'd let me watch...

Also, I really go for a lot of Reverb myself, what position and pickups is best for this?

feylya

Square 9v Duracell. I doubt a music shop would let you watch because they wouldn't do it on the spot. It's not hard if yoi're "brilliant" with electronics.

For a clean tone, I find the 85 has more warmth. The 81 is really sterile but it's great with distortion.

Giblet

Zakk Wylde uses a '85 for the Neck, and a '81 for the Bridge, seems to be the preferred configuration.
Great Pickups, and will make your guitar sound much more expensive.

feylya

James Hetfield uses a 60 for the Neck and a 81 for the bridge so if the Metallica tone is what you're after, use those!

Karl Hungus

No, not really looking for a Metallica tone, more of an Emperor, or Enslaved kinda tone.

feylya

Well, according to EMG, the 60 is there most under estimated pickup. I'd love to try it. It's not as high output as the 85 which is a good thing. The 85 is a very high output pickup.

--Kaiser--

Thanks for your help guys
I'm probably getting an EMG-81 for the bridge

as for the neck, a friend of mine has an Ibanez GAX with a Gibson '57 pickup in the neck, he said he found an offer for a set of Jimmy Pages Seymour Duncans for 155 dollars, and he could take the bridge pick-up and i could take the neck one

feylya

That is really not a good idea. AFAIK, Seymour Duncans are passive. EMG are active. The two cannot be mixed. At least not easily!

--Kaiser--

Hmmm, my friend told me i need to install a stereo jack in my guitar or the battery on my active pickup would be used constantly and run out quickly, is this true?

Hass anyone used EMG-H4 pickups? appearantly they are like 81's but without the 'active'

feylya

I've had EMG in my guitar for a year+ and I still haven't changed the battery. A stereo jack is required which is why one is supplied. AFAIK, the emg hz are basically poor men's emgs. They won't sound as good as actives in my opinion.