I have two guitars with both these EMGs, the one with the RA Hot 70 is very punchy and dynamic while my other guitar with the 81/60 just has that raw active sound I just love, so really all of them sound great
Well you just saved me a huge headache. I was going to get this guitar and drop in my trusty 81/85 but that is off now. Thanks for taking the time here and in the previous video. Very valuable content!
Try an 85 in the bridge. It's the ceramic magnet on the 81 that makes it sound "brittle". The 85 has an alnico magnet and I believe it even has more output. I would also try a 57...or the 57/66 combo.
Yes, it sounds like the 85 is perfect for what he is looking for in the bridge. It does have both more output and more bass. I set my 85 in the bridge a lot lower than how I set an 81.
Thank you, this was very helpful! What have you end up with? Did you make any more mods to the guitar? Have you swapped the pickups for something else?
85 in the bridge man! I have a Les Paul with 81 in the bridge and an SG with 85 and although they both sound awesome, the SG sounds 10 times heavier than the LP (of course with same amp, settings etc)!
I have a bad noise problem with my guitar[PRS se custom with passive pickup]. I think its from electro magnetic interfearence in my room [ when I turn the guitar around, the hum goes away in certain angle]. I dont have this problem with my another guitar with active pickup. Will changing my pickup to this EMG retro 77 solves the problem? Does this EMG retro picks up EMI noise in the air?
Hey there i have the same guitar and i need to swap out the pickups, any tips ? The holes for the neck pickup are right by the fretboard was that no problem?
Yeah definitely try the 85 in the bridge. A way to fix your height issue is to get screws that are the same diameter and thread depth as what is in the guitar just get longer screws that way you don’t run the screw deeper into the guitar, let the springs under the pick up do the work.
Thanks for the video - I think it would have also been a good to include a set of demo's where the gain is dialled down to to give more of a crunchy distortion. That way we could get a better feel of the dynamics before going into full on overdrive. With that said. My personal preference would be for the Duncan's. They just sounded more natural while the actives were a bit too muted until you turned on the distortion and even then the difference between the retro and 60/81. While i could hear differences, It wasnt a whole lot. The clean on the retro was decent but the Duncan set is *better* - There is just more to the sound.
Quick question, are the retro active pickups in the guitar quick connect? Just watched an agufish review that said they aren't, which would be a shame as I have a emg mini humbucker which could be cool in this guitar, and it'll be small enough to fit without extra routing.
@@AcceleratingUniverse This is specifically about this guitar. If you buy those pickups from emg they are quick connect, but a couple of reviews of this guitar say it's not wired that way. I have the guitar now, I'll find out soon enough.
So I have a guitar where I tried both the Super 77 bridge pickup (which is the Hot 70 bridge pickup) and an EMG 81. The EMG 81 was much better. The Super 77 came across as muddy and indistinct.
Oldish video but just goes once again to prove why i have never liked EMG pickups, SD 59`/JB all the way for me, the jazz/Custom5 sounds good and clear!
Well, it depends on what music you play. I´m a EMG guy, plays only metal and 81/85 or 81/60 is the only option for me. Comes down to personal preference :)
@@spett74 even for metal just use a compressor and/or boost pedal before the amp and/or use a modern high gain amp such as diezel or engl. Emgs had a point when the most you had was a jcm800 with a basic overdrive pedal. They suck in any other context than music devoid of any dynamics.
I have two guitars with both these EMGs, the one with the RA Hot 70 is very punchy and dynamic while my other guitar with the 81/60 just has that raw active sound I just love, so really all of them sound great
Well you just saved me a huge headache. I was going to get this guitar and drop in my trusty 81/85 but that is off now. Thanks for taking the time here and in the previous video. Very valuable content!
Thanks mate!
Try an 85 in the bridge. It's the ceramic magnet on the 81 that makes it sound "brittle". The 85 has an alnico magnet and I believe it even has more output. I would also try a 57...or the 57/66 combo.
Yes, it sounds like the 85 is perfect for what he is looking for in the bridge. It does have both more output and more bass. I set my 85 in the bridge a lot lower than how I set an 81.
Thank you, this was very helpful! What have you end up with? Did you make any more mods to the guitar? Have you swapped the pickups for something else?
85 in the bridge man! I have a Les Paul with 81 in the bridge and an SG with 85 and although they both sound awesome, the SG sounds 10 times heavier than the LP (of course with same amp, settings etc)!
I have a bad noise problem with my guitar[PRS se custom with passive pickup]. I think its from electro magnetic interfearence in my room [ when I turn the guitar around, the hum goes away in certain angle]. I dont have this problem with my another guitar with active pickup. Will changing my pickup to this EMG retro 77 solves the problem? Does this EMG retro picks up EMI noise in the air?
Maybe try a 85 in the bridge? It's a fuller sounding but still cuts. There's videos on it
Hey there i have the same guitar and i need to swap out the pickups, any tips ?
The holes for the neck pickup are right by the fretboard was that no problem?
Yeah definitely try the 85 in the bridge. A way to fix your height issue is to get screws that are the same diameter and thread depth as what is in the guitar just get longer screws that way you don’t run the screw deeper into the guitar, let the springs under the pick up do the work.
Thanks for the video - I think it would have also been a good to include a set of demo's where the gain is dialled down to to give more of a crunchy distortion. That way we could get a better feel of the dynamics before going into full on overdrive.
With that said. My personal preference would be for the Duncan's. They just sounded more natural while the actives were a bit too muted until you turned on the distortion and even then the difference between the retro and 60/81. While i could hear differences, It wasnt a whole lot. The clean on the retro was decent but the Duncan set is *better* - There is just more to the sound.
Quick question, are the retro active pickups in the guitar quick connect? Just watched an agufish review that said they aren't, which would be a shame as I have a emg mini humbucker which could be cool in this guitar, and it'll be small enough to fit without extra routing.
why don't you ask emg
@@AcceleratingUniverse This is specifically about this guitar. If you buy those pickups from emg they are quick connect, but a couple of reviews of this guitar say it's not wired that way. I have the guitar now, I'll find out soon enough.
The EMG Hot 70'< 81
@@martinemesguitardid you find out?
@ Yep, I bought one and it was indeed set up for quick connect. So I changed the pickup no problem.
So I have a guitar where I tried both the Super 77 bridge pickup (which is the Hot 70 bridge pickup) and an EMG 81. The EMG 81 was much better. The Super 77 came across as muddy and indistinct.
Put an EMG 85 in the bridge Next test the EMG Super 77 set
Oldish video but just goes once again to prove why i have never liked EMG pickups, SD 59`/JB all the way for me, the jazz/Custom5 sounds good and clear!
Well, it depends on what music you play. I´m a EMG guy, plays only metal and 81/85 or 81/60 is the only option for me. Comes down to personal preference :)
@@spett74 even for metal just use a compressor and/or boost pedal before the amp and/or use a modern high gain amp such as diezel or engl. Emgs had a point when the most you had was a jcm800 with a basic overdrive pedal. They suck in any other context than music devoid of any dynamics.