EMG 81 vs EMG 85 - Active Bridge Pickup Guitar Tone Comparison / Review
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- Опубликовано: 1 окт 2024
- Distorted and clean rhythm comparison between EMG 81 and EMG 85 on the bridge position. Settings are the following:
GUITAR
Model: Custom strat (alder body with canadian maple neck)
Tuning: Eь / D#
Strings: D'Addario EXL140 (010-052 gauge)
AMP
Distortion: Peavey 5150 profile (Kemper Profiling Amp)
Clean: EVH 5150 III profile (Kemper Profiling Amp)
RECORDING TECHNIQUE:
- One centered mono track per pickup (this differs from previous comparison videos, which had two tracks in stereo).
- Same config and EQ for both.
TIMESTAMPS
00:22 Clean
03:06 Distortion
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#pickups #comparison #guitar
EMG 81 - dirty #1 - 3:06
EMG 85 - dirty #1 - 3:18
EMG 81 - dirty #2 - 3:31
EMG 85 - dirty #2 - 3:43
For those who just want to hear the distortion (which may include me) here's the timestamp: 3:06
Lame that most of the vid is clean lol I mean come on it’s EMG
81 has balance and the 85 in the bridge sounds like it ruins the tight fast rhythms. 85 in the bridge did fatten up lead sounds though. There's a reason for the 81 bridge and 85 neck. I'm keeping it that way.
81 is the reigning king of metal. If you play extreme metal also check out the Maxon OD808 as a boost. It complements the 81's tight lows and subdued upper mids without turning your single note palm mutes into noise. I also recommend trying the Boss SD-1, depending on your amp. The 85 is too loose and has slightly more upper-mids than the 81, which is the bane of technical palm muted riffs as too much attack obscures note clarity.
The 81 sounds way tighter and more aggressive, if only a bit nasal (especially when it comes to clean tones) and louder in the high-end. The 85 is beefier but also muddier, which doesn't really appeal to everyone's taste. Both are absolutely great for metal, tho.
Before I realized I was watching in 2x speed, I was quite confused. 😂
So basically 85 is more pleasing clean, but the 81 is untouchable for high gain rhythm tones.
I'm turning my strat into a super strat I'm getting a 1h pickguard and a EMG 85 to play Thrash Metal
You should look at the dimarzio x2n
@@DonnieFreymoyer thanks that is a great pickup Chuck Schuldiner from Death used one I believe.
I remember the 85 sounding sexy in the bridge position.
The 85 just sounds more like a natural bridge pickup. It’s a warmer, livelier sound. Those low-mids are deadly.
I had the typical Metal 81 bridge and 85 Neck combo in my les paul for along time... Anyways years later I swapped the position of the 85 and the 81 for the 85 to be in the bridge and its remained there ever since....... I don't know if its better but I find it just fitted maybe its just me or what ever I don't know but I thought it sounded warmer and smoother.. but i could be make shit up because they were not back to back tests.
81 is better for high gain rhythm clearly. It just brings out so much attack and definition. That's why it's not as pleasant with clean tones as the 85. It's always a compromise. Perhaps for hard rock or punk with more rawness and less gain the 85 would have more character, and I suspect it's better for lead but for metal rhythm tones, nothing has beaten the 81. Not the Fluances or the Blackouts, or any passives.
Imagine my reaction when I first played my LTD with Zakk Wylde's EMG 81/85 pickups after selling a Chinese Strat-like guitar which I had used for years.
i have emg 81/60 in my ltd f50 right now, i was feeling like a king of rock when i first got them lol
Same here i threw a set 81/85 in my pacifica for a lol and it turned out to be no laughing matter, it chugs hard now
The 85 definitely sounds CHUNKIER. I can surely say from listening that the 81 provides a “cleaner chunky sound”. This is cool because not everyone is looking for that ultra chunky sounds of the 85 and I can see why there are people who would prefer the 81 in the bridge as opposed to the 85. 81 is a tamed monster while the 85 seems to be a rampaging brute 😂🤙🏻
They are similar, but both clean and with distortion, the 85 sounds a bit fuller and round, whereas the 81 is a bit clearer in the high end.
85 больше понравился. Видимо, из-за Alnico V магнита у него более сбалансированный звук, нет этого зудящего верха, как у керамического 81.
Man big difference. I could see putting the 85 in the bridge for rock or a "jack of all trades" but if it's for metal it's got to be the 81, just much tighter
The 81 sounds tighter than the 85 while the 85 offers that muddy distortion sound I like. It also feels slightly thicker than the 81
85 sounds better imho
85 sounds better imo too
They sound much more similar than I’d expect them to.
I don't know why, but to me the 81 sound more percussive than the 85, making it better for a rhythm guitar pickup. Aside from that, they sound just about the exact same, and they both make me think of Metallica.
The 81 past the test of time.This PU shaped Metal more than any other does. Its a legend. I own both and the x versions.Great.
81 is tighter and has more bite, clean tones sound too harsh for me, the 85 has more musical cleans but is a bit muddy and thick with distortion. An 81 in the bridge and 85 in the neck offers the best of both IMO, warm beautiful cleans and fluid liquid leads in the neck position and then crushing tight rhythm and punishing face melting leads in the bridge position. Also, the pickups will accentuate the natural tonal characteristics of each position so the neck position will sound more neck-like and the bridge position will sound more bridge-like which I think forces one to use each position more :)
They both have the same clarity and tightness, it's just a bit more mid range and open feeling that the 85 has imo
I prefer an 81 in the bridge way more.
The 81 sounds like Metallica, the 85 sounds more like Megadeth (more mid range).
Probably because James Hetfield uses an EMG 81 as his bridge pickup.
Back in the day, the 81 at the bridge and 85 necks were standard on most Jackson and Gibson made "metal" guitars
kh-2 has 81 and 60A
The 85 has a lot more midrange content, which is what I prefer.
By far the best EMG comparisons ive heard!
I hear more mids and bottom end from the 85
Put the 18 volt system to work and the 85 will be your friend forever! Now there is a 24 volt mod that plugs up where the one nine volt plugged up, On eBay for about $30. It only takes the space of one 9 volt battery!
5:02 is the best comparison I've heard on yt so far.
The emg 85 has a nicer punchy heavy tone, the emg 81 sounds a bit brighter and lighter. I think it would be good for the 85 for the bridge and the 81 for the neck
The 80's reverse combo, nice
81 sounds better in the bridge of a mahogany body guitar, while the 85 would sound better in the bridge of an alder body guitar
Jeff Hanneman had an 81 in his bridge with an alder body.
can you tell me the difference?
Villagers with Ukulele. Personal preference is the difference.
This video should be the model/mold/template to how which every comparison video on RUclips should be. BTW.... the 81 all the way to my ears.
The 85 is better clean, and the 81 is better dirty, though neither are my cup of tea. Great comparison.
I agree, I hate the 85 on my neck on my crunch channel. Way too dark and muddy. The 81 on my bridge sounds amazing on the crunch. Could be mostly my fault with EQ too, but I just like the sound of 81 more maybe.
After nearly four decades with both here’s my thoughts in a live situation.
If you’re in a 2 guitar band then get an 81 in the bridge to cut through the mix.
If you’re in a power trio or one guitar band then get an 85 or even a 57 to fill the void. Lots of guys use the 85 in the bridge for that thump. Reb Beach for one.
I found the 81 lacking in one guitar band situations but often great in a full band.
at 2:17, we have a glorious Behemoth style riff.Gave me chills bruh.
Its 4:17 .sorry
lol I thought you were messing with us
@stiffupperlip4
Yeah i have false info
lol
bro trolled me for real... i literally expected a behemoth like riff
I have a Jackson with an 81 and and 85, of you are playing standard tuning heavy riffs, the 81 is the go. If you play drop tuning or lower tunings the 85 has a little more grime.
I wonder what the middle position of an 85/85 sounds like.
Juiced-Up-Telecaster-Twang-like
I really liked how straight to the point this video was. I got exactly what I wanted/ needed to know. Thankfully the one I liked more clean was also the one I liked dirty. Very helpful video for me. Thanks.
85 for me.
Unless they were being compared side by side, I’d never tell the difference.
Indeed. Wonder what is the big fuzz around 85 in the bridge. No remarkable difference
100 percent agree with that
3:30 vs 3:42
I had twin emg 85s on my Ibanez RGA121 with the 18v mod. That guitar was very bright until the emgs were put in. If you ever get tired of same tone on same guitar and you have emgs try the 18volt mod on your guitar 🎸
Preety clear difference at 5:00. The 81 is more focused on the high mids but still kinda similar in the overall tone structure.
Exactly. I can't believe what some of these people are saying. I could see sticking the 85 at the bridge for rock or a "jack of all trades" application but if it's for metal it's got to be the 81 at the bridge. The 81/60 or 81/60a is a good metal combo. I use a 89R in the neck however because I like the option of the single-coil neck sound
i have both on my old first guitar. i used 85 on bridge and 81 on neck for many years ... last month i have decide to switch position ... and i don't why i don't test that before ... the 81 has more punch ... the 85 is not bad, but today i prefer the 81 :)
I can see why most use the 81 as a bridge and the 85 as a neck; Definitely planning on a set of 81 and 85 solderless pickups with an 18 volt mod in the future, I dunno they may both be 85's, the 85 sounded awesome with distortion.
The 85 is smoother, but also not as clear. As a rule, ceramics are great for bridge and alnico for neck. The active element takes it to a different level. The 85 kind of schmeres all over the place as a bridge pup but is great in the neck. The 81 is tight, sharp, focused and has great clarity and definition. It's been my main pickup since 1986.
81 seems more punchy, pierces a bit more, while 85 seems more open, a bit wider, both sound great tho, I've always felt like I'm a seymour duncan guy, but is changing my convictions a bit xd
That was a great video thank you!
The EMGs I have in my active guitars, I have a 81/60 in my childhood guitar, I have a 57/66 in my single cut, and I just put a 77 combo in my ESP strat.
By FAR the best sounding and my favorite to play is the 57/66. It seems like it would be more of a vintage sound but it’s honestly as modern as it gets. Super SUPER hot when they are getting driven by an OD. Super harmonic. Out of all pickups, I recommend the 57/66. Never had Fishmans myself, but I have heard them enough to hear the underlying honk or quack that they all have. EMGs in general are not necessarily better or immune to the quack, but I’d take my 57bridge over 99% of the pickup market
The 81 has more presence, which makes it perfect for the bridge position. Cuts through in a mix.
You have helped so much to the guitar community with these videos! Thank you so much for your contribution to society 🙏🏽
Imagine trying to make a signature guitar and you have to choose between all these pickups and then the strings
That's the best part of the game, :P
I think the Alnico vs Ceramic argument has come to the Active pickup realm. I have a handful of both from pulls out of guitars...I think I like the tone of the 85 in the bridge personally. Selling a guitar with the 81 in the bridge position works wonders. I don't shred enough for the 81... I'm sadly lacking in those skills.
I have no preference over them because I believe they were meant for different purposes. If you think of it like the 81 was meant to be a pickup for rhythm guitar, then it's just perfect because to me, it seems like the percussive attack of the 81 is digging into your ear canals harder, making the 85 a better lead guitar pickup.
@@dathandsometroll1852 i agree. 85 captures the waves better and puts more 'theoretical' power behind them. 81 is more precise, i can feel that it would be perfect for rhythm
Same as in seymour duncan sh/tb4, emg81 has universal sound that is requested commonly. EMg85 has own character. I like emg85 too much why it has muddy sound.
The 81 is more open. You can hear more of the top end. The signal isn't too heavily compressed and it's almost airy, or light in tone. The 85 is short and punchy. The signal is tightly compressed. Not as open, so the subtle top end doesn't exist. Killer in the trash because of this. 85 is a punch to the throat, 81 is a kick to the balls.
So my Ltd 1000 has 2- 81's and it sounds good. I'm just getting back into playing.... I put 81/85 set in an epiphone les paul before and it was good... And I know this guitar is metal ready which is why I got. Is there a better setup for this guitar to make more versatile? Some have put seymore and took the 81s out. Just curious about future options if I want a more blues neck pu maybe?
81 is articulate like a Taylor and 85 is thick like a Martin.Your Welcome.and Great vid sir.
Team 85 all day
Both are the best for a Paul, but the 81 definitely takes its place in the bridge and personally like it better for metal and the 85 neck clean
I never bothered to consider swapping the pups since I got my Ibanez RG series about 10 years ago (81 in bridge, 85 in neck)...81 sounded good in bridge with metal tones, shitty for everything else, 85 on neck sounded nice and warm for clean tones, and just distorted badly with way too much low end for anything kind of dirty tone. With the selector in the middle they sounded bad for pretty much everything. Then today I swapped them over and holy shit! Way more balanced and I can use either pickup for clean or dirty, a lot more clarity. Although bear in mind the guitar has a (probably not the best quality) basswood body.
85 has that Les Paul Marshall lead tone!
85 reminds me of the Duncan JB
Both use Alnico V’s if I’m not mistaken.
81 60 set is way to go
Thanks for making the video. I liked the way you seamlessly transitioned from one pick up to the other. I think it could be improved (maybe for any future tests), following are some possible improvements.
1) Instead of always starting with the 81, mix it up. So the 81 starts the riff, but the next riff is started by the 85. This is because I found myself hearing sounds in the 81 and then listening for those sounds in the 85, if I didn't hear those sounds in the 85 I was disappointed. Also, it seemed that in some riffs you played them slightly differently, so, once again, not hearing an expected note or timing changed my view of the pick up. Changing which pick up we heat 1st might help balance that.
2) A couple of the riffs on the 85 sounded to me like the guitar was out of tune. It might just have been different finger pressure?
85 for me
I’ve always preferred the 85 in the bridge. It’s just chunkier.
Thats the word I was looking for. Chunky!!! Perfect! My 85 is in the bridge too!
Let's start with the distortion player. Great job though
1:22 the song ?? Please
81 all day for me
3:54
4:06
85 plus sustaniac dream
81 forever
81: FOCUSED, LOUDER, TOP END, BUT NERROW
85: SPRED UP, MODERN, THINER, BUT WIDER
AGAIN THERE IS NO COMPETITION HERE
JUST PREFERENCES
3:55 81
4:06 85
Great stuff! Really liked the high gain sounds.
Is it possible to make 85 sound a bit like the 81 with a change in tube amp settings like the Orange micro terror ?
you might be in luck, i might be getting a gibson les paul witha set of 81 and 85 on friday. I also have a micro terror. If you respond to this comment on friday i might be able to tell you.
@@chriscosgrove1516 I actually ended up getting 81 instead , as it was being delivered earlier. So now my question is reversed, wheather I can get the 85 sound from it if tweaked. Thanks man , I’ ll wait till when you’re ready to test it out .
I used both on my guitar 81 is for bridge, neck is 85 then other guitar is both 81 Bridge and neck.
I really like how the 85 sounds on the bridge, it sounds so smooth but I think I would rather use it as the neck for leads. Even though I prefer the 85 on the bridge, I prefer to put the 81 to do what it was intended to do. It does have a tighter sound, not as smooth as the 85 but I rather have tight sounding riffs and smooth sounding leads
81 in bridge is very bright but i guess that's what tone knobs are for
very similar
What's that riff around 4:15-4:20?
85 rules 😎
81の方が好きだな🤔
They sound pretty much the same to my ears. On a whole l think l like the 81s better
3 dislikers are seymour duncan or di marzio uzers
85 cuts more but loses bottoms and chunk
Thanks for this. I probably should have tried an 81/81 setup when I still had the 81/85 and a spare 81.
My Ltd 1000 come with 2-81s. I wonder why they didn't do 81/85? Made for metal I presume. But wondering about other options of I want to throw in some blues or other sounds later on
the 85 in bridge for a SG...and another 85 in neck (or a 66)
what songs did he play? i've heard a lot of the licks but don't quite remember the song names :( especially from the 2.20 moment onward
Great comparo. 81 slightly better on dirt, 85 substantially better on clean. I'd put the 85 in a bright guitar for sure, but I'd use the 81 in a dark guitar that I rarely/never played clean
This test shows that the pickups is not important because 90% is in guitarist hands. This guy has a very good hand to play guitar. Good job. Thx.
Try to play rammstein or metallica with single coils bro. Good luck.
@@Kurdtgerardo No problem
idk why people have a hard time telling the two apart, sure they have similar voicing. but the 81 clearly pushes the highs more and breaks up earlier (To stand out in a mix for lead guitar) the 85 is has more mid range with less break up which lets you push chords and resonating notes with more definition. I feel like a lot of rock/metal pickups are starting to emulate the freq response of an 85 more that 81 these days. Since recording gear has gotten better, people have been looking for a pickup thats more versatile and dynamic
The 85 has too much low end for rhythm imo. Probably killer for lead though.
for clarity in heavy tones i'd prefer the 81 bridge. unfortunately high notes sound a little toooo sharp
Damn son
Hallo Mike, thank you for your pickups test and corison, they are the best.
I've a 85 / 89
That was my setup on a budget ESP guitar I had in the early 2000s. 89 in the neck and 85 in in the bridge. The tonal range was remarkable!
How about 81 /89 and how is the sound of 89 pickup is it similar to 85
WHY DOES THE CLEAN SOUND SOO GOOD AND THEY ARE MOSTLY USED IN METAL
EMGs are basically painted by their 80s popularity in thrash metal. Because of that, people avoid them because "they're just metal pickups". Honestly I've never played a more versatile pickup than EMG. That's all I use on my basses and guitars.
wonderfully flat allows them to be incredibly versatile
81 in the bridge and 85 in the neck is the way :)
I just put a set of these pickups in my les paul. 85in the bridge and the 81 in the neck. These things thump.
85 sounds more bassy. I prefer it. More of a saturated feel under less gain than the 81.
For sure. I used 85 in all of my single pickup San Dimas style superstrats for this reason, I always preferred it as a bridge pickup.
For whatever reason i don't know, i prefer ceramic pickups on cleans and alnicos on the overdriven sounds.
Same here, the punch n glass from the 81 sounds incredible on the clean, but the rounded top end of the 85 gives it a slight edge over the 81 on the high gain.
85 for clean but hell they are a set for a reason
1:23 tabs pleaseeeee