EMG X-Series 81X & 85X Pickups
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- Опубликовано: 9 дек 2009
- For more gear reviews and videos check out guitarworld.com...
In this video Guitar World's gear editor Paul Riario demonstrates the features of the EMG X-Series 81X & 85X pickups. 
Развлечения
How about removing the thick wool cloth from the speaker?
thats the joke
whats the difference between the regular emgs and the x series
Thanks for this review!! You helped me make my decsion, I will be getting these 81x & 85x with the gold covers.
So I am new when it comes to installing new pick-ups.My question is: will it be any more difficult trying to install emg x series,zakk wylde,or regular emg pick up set on my DEAN VX ?
Are there any passive emg pickups that sound like these x series pickups
Goodevening...I would like to know if you use a tube amp or a solid state one...And what model of course...
Awesome demo from Paul!
i just got mine a week ago and installed it according to the diagram that came with it but theres a little extra noise when im not playing do yours do that too?
@criticon0078 What do you think about a 81/60 combo? The guitar I want already comes with that so I don't want to pay extra to change the 60 into an 85 when I've heard good stuff about the 81/60 combo lol
I have an Ibanez S470 (HSH all passive config). I just bought the Zakk wylde emg 81/85 combo set together. Is there a way I can hook up the 2 active EMGS and still have my passive mid Single hooked up? or do i need to go buy that $130 emg SA my guitar shop has.
PS: Is it easy to install these pickups? Does the battery fit well in these guitars? I know the S-series are well known for being extremely thin.
Thanks for any input, im looking forward to replace my stock pickups!!
@thespartenkid what do you use?
@misterred0 myquestion would be how could they get a bad sound from an amp they only carry top of the line stuff ranging 600 dollers plus so idk bout a bad amp
Are they ever going to fix the hi gain sound. it didn't always sound like that
Does anyone know if the x series pick-ups are characteristic of a passive pickup in the sense that when your on a high gain setting and you roll of the volume on the guitar it clears/cleans up to a more crunchy classic rock/blues tone?
there great for that
whats the difference between these and the reg 81/85s
I play an 85 in the bridge.. sounds great... with the proper amp and settings you can really get a great sound from these pickups.. you can get a different tone with the 18 volt mod as well
A nice, musical review. Thanks.
wat amp did you use?
I get that it's 2009 and all, but if they had a decent 60 fps camera, they could as well have an sm-57 to mic the thing up.
what type of Washburn is it?
i wonder what those would sound like wired to a strat?
The pickups sound incredibly solid
@criticon0078 and is that true? blackouts are for black and death metal? I listen to metalcore so I guess I'd get some EMGs for that.. 81, or 85 or 60?
I think its also the guitar's construction that gave it such a mellow sound.
@PrsFenderJackson1980 Could be the EQ on the amp. Or, the pickup selector is in the middle. Could be a lot of things. I still have my 81/85s installed. I think I need to change the strings.
@guitarworld I don't mind the quality and sound, just having it in HD or HQ would be nice.
@AirgunAddict256 thx dude. Ya I ended up getting actually the exact config you got(the S mid pickup) I got the tech to put it in because I couldn't find any wiring diagrams for 3 pickup installations. It sounds amazing now through my marshall tsl 100.
@thespartenkid i was thinkin aboutdoin that myself if these blackouts dont work out
well people used to complain that it was too bright a sound. I think they're still using line 6 (i think) but just moved the mic further from the speaker cone center and now it sounds muddy
@SanctuaryShred I agree in part with you, but I don't if you say actives are not undynamic, because they really are, they are as plate as a plane dish. In fact that's one of the reasons why they are chosen in some kinds of music: if a pickup has no typical and peculiar timbre, it means that it can be succesfully effected at 90%, while a passive pickup, when effected, always keeps its original and typical characteristics. That's why for example David Gilmour often uses actives: to effect them
@CrushedJustice lmao thats my question..course as r4anger says, the current lines both x and original series have a solderless connection now..big deal..sound wise..all i hear is these have a lil more bass to them to balance them out..basically copied Duncans Blackouts which was based on the SH4 and SH2 but made active..more balance rather more leaning to mid and treble as EMG did...but over all..whats the difference?
That recap thing was pure win. :D
sounds great.
@Lydomina ya its just the recording....these sound GREAT in heavier woods, like mahogany or something of that nature....beast at metal...and when they're played on cleans, they almost have this eerie boom sound that is amazing
watched this vid for years and just realized he's wearing a San Fernando valley shirt . Nice :) !!!
it is possible on any guitar except it will cost u more because you will have to make space for a battery in the back so there will be drilling involved and more craftmanship
im glad i bought the SD AHB-3
wow those sound good. I just wish i could demo them through my guitar and amp :S 81/85 sound so good already... do i realy want an explorer with x's... a double EX...YESSSSSSS
Seymour Duncan came out with blackouts, they've became a great hit since their more bassy and "natural" sounding then raw emgs. EMG didn't wanna stay behind so they released X series which pretty much is the same thing as blackouts but with a different name, and made by a different company.
sooooo....active pickups require batteries?
love them
Because the way that they are designed is to be in those positions.Yes you could switch them around but EMG designed them to be in those positions: 81: bridge, 85: neck
CtrlFREEK nope
In a nutshell,same gain more sustain?(in the bridge)
@SanctuaryShred There would be a lot to say about Steve Vai pickups too, DiMarzio in general, which often are less versatyle and colder than active ones, ah ah, but this isn't the time. If you like comparing tones, I suggest you go here on RUclips and tape this: "Duncan Distortion SH-6 vs Blackouts AHB-1 vs EMG 81X". It is very well done and complete.
I'm sure you'll find that video comparison very interesting. I hope you'd enjoy it, let me know!
Yeah. Something going on with the gain settings. Sounds muffled like some recent vids.
@Phil4Helen Bill Kelliher has a EMG 81x in one of his explorers...
@PietroRumenta I agree with what you say, in that Actives do not have as much flavour as passives. Passives have been proven to have much more flavoursome tones, which is why artists such as Steve Vai use them, but I do not think that actives are sterile flavourless pickups with boost and nothing else. I am a tone conneseur, and I pick up many tonal variances between, say an EMG 81 and a Duncan Blackout. But yes, if flavour is your thing, and you aren't so demanding on boost, go passive.
Well yeah, when you listen to one of his (properly-mic'd) demos, he usually has the EQ set to be extremely bright.
@bkobshat99 I think thats because the mid is too low... at least thats how my metall muff sounds if I do that with the mid control
@poplepo3 i completely understand that, just wanted to make sure there was an understanding that money doesn't necessarily equate to quality
if someone till now loved the sound of bands that used old 81's and old 85's he probably liked the coloring of the old pickups.. why try replacing whats already good?
those are amazing companies and personally if i could afford a dbz guitar they are far and above the highest quality i've seen in a while i mean one of their guitars is hand carved on the top to represent the leather design work of a western saddle and i think its around 1500 which for the quality of work is a great price.
@prayersofanathema persnolly i dont have a setup yet, but im buying a esp ltd ex360 in august (which has stock emg 81/60) and im gonna trade the 81 for a 85
@khaostheory117 costed you say 150-200 dollers wont stand up to a marshall half stack that costs say 1000 its a good indicated that a higher doller point usually means higher quality but its not the only factor ever and should never totally make up your decision
good natural tone
Sound much better than the standard 81 and 85s.
Damn straight.
Andy James... nuff said
@khaostheory11 well that simply was a generalization in general terms the more you pay the better you get i mean you cant expect a 100 doller crate to stand up to say a matchless amp at more than 800 but there are exeptions like the marshall mgd series or marshall micro stacks they sound terrible imo and cost a fortune
I enjoy the blues.
I wish i was Paul Riario
wouldnt this sound better if the 85 was in the bridge??
People are always so fussy about pickups when really the amp will affect your tone way more than any pickup could
You should try an Eclipse model from Merlin Pickups. They're made in Poland and sound amazing. Much better than the EMG's.
There is a dark bassfull sound when you record the distortion try to solve it
The X series is a response to the Seymour Duncan Blackouts, which did what the original 81/85 did but better. I still think the Blackouts have a better tone, after having played all three sets.
Thank ee, thankee, i try hard.
yeh i agree the mic sounds like it's in a box 5 metres from the amp, but still, i think his tone in general leaves a lot to be desired, but each to his own, still, I don't think many people here can actually honestly say they want their guitar tone to sound like pauls. whatever.
why does it sound so muffled?
he tells you in the video!
in time he will get his attention
i agree
@CrushedJustice less welding required
i tried them both and ill still prefer the SD blackouts
Treble where are you?
@poplepo3 ESP/LTD have always been the best to me, i always thought the higher price the better (tho it is sometimes) some time ago, but playing more guitars and feeling them over teh year, is what helps :P
@prayersofanathema yeah, i personally dislike the 81 all together, i love the 85 in the bridge and the 60 in the neck
It's not entirely his fault, the last few videos have been mic'd wrong.
In a Washburn? Who uses those things?
ahah, to summarise, Active pickups are quiet, and works well with loud amps and effects, cause it has a preamp to support them. But the downside is that it has almost no dynamic range when u pick harsh or soft, and u have to change its battery when it dies
ScreamingBloody-gore, I gotta say that I will subscribe to your channel just because these taunts and replies and sarcastic hostility amuses me greatly. You sir, indeed, are a master of über trollage, and I mean all this as a compliment. :D
is it just me or is paul getting better at guitar because he's doing all these demo videos haha
@khaostheory117 exactly man i never buy the top ofd the line brand names they usually are severly overpriced i mean theres still some quility but a gibson lp is worth maybe 500-700 in my opinion that would be a fair price for the quality with me i buy from people like schecter esp jackson or bc rich cause they gennerrally charge the actuall value of there guitars not some drastic markup for there name
The cleans rock ,the highs and mids scream and the sounds is crystal clear unfortunately the bass isn't as good so u don't get the same rythym feel but these are definetly lead guitar pickups
as long as you have enough room for the battery
i prefer the blackouts, but yes the 85 is emgs best
"We wont be looking at this fine washburn idol guitar" he is meaning "Look at this fucking guitar, NOW GO FUCKIN BUY IT YOU IDIOTS CUZ I TOLD YOU!" before he goes on to saying "BUY THESE FUCKING PICKUPS!"
yeah but u wont be able to hav the pre amp circuit cause epi lp are passive guitars
I'm just saying that's the way it sounds. If you see his review for the Orange OR50 (maybe a different one, but I know it was an Orange amp), his clean tone almost hurts my ears.
@poplepo3 couldn't agree with you more. glad to see there are people in this world that aren't just going around going well it say gibson on the headstock and it costs $2000 so it must be good, it disgusts me. its like for me since i actually play drums a bit, found pearl is actually kinda shit and tama isn't all that fantastic but since they have such aggressive marketing and most people buy stuff like blind sheep being led by a wolf that they don't actually take time to find what's worthwhile
@PietroRumenta listen up: It ALL hinges on tone and taste. I know and love Exodus. And Exodus isn't the only band that doesn't use Actives. But that is not my point. My point is that Exodus and other bands "Give up" certain tone traits that band with active pickups can handle because of the active pickups. And when it comes to versatility, dynamics and so forth, people with active pickups do "Give up" some of that. But not everything. Actives are not clumsy toneless undynamic gimmicks.
emg 81's n 60's... look at my vids and the sound coming from the amp (and its a lil marshall ten watt) is awesome (saying that, I'm not sure I've got any vids with my most recent metal tone on youtube with the amp cranked to get a bigger/better sound)
ahah, amen my friend XD
Hey Marty!
@PrsFenderJackson1980 They just soaked the sound in reverb
i might just be expecting too much out of em since they claim to be some of the quietist pickups ever or whatever i guess i figured they wouldnt make any extra sound at all idk
sader??? solder mate ;)
@speedjunkie66 I think that you shouldn't think that
In the intro did anyone sense a 'Call Of Ktulu' by Metallica?
@xaleu or maybe the guitar is made of basswood their sound is like that...