Added: 1 year ago
From: yharr666
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  • the 81 and 85 with an 18v battery sounds great!

  • What song is that on the cleans?

  • which is better in the neck for clean parts and sometimes distortion solos? 60 or 89?

  • i hear little difference but you would wait a long time to change batteries i don't care 4 active pickups they sound dead to me

  • Looks like Pmanderson and howycrap have been having some fun. I just got out of one of these disputes with a fellow you-tuber. He thought Kirk Hammett used a piece of shit LTD KH-602 on stage. Man....good times...

  • If you can't tell any difference between the 9v and 18v versions, you're either hearing impaired or you shouldn't call yourself a musician, or you need to get some decent ass speakers. Now stop bitching. Thanks.

  • @pmanderson youre an idiot. there is no difference, i have very good headphones and this video shows no difference so obviously you are on drugs

  • @howycwap You're calling me an idiot after that comment? Hah. GTFO.

  • @pmanderson i was ready to believe your comment and with 200$ headphones and putting on the highest quality setting i can officailly say there is not a noticeable difference. a sligth difference ill give you that. but not enough to tell peoplethat because they think they sound the same they arent musicians. grow a pair kid and stop trying to anger people on guitar videos.

  • @howycwap Well, this isn't going anywhere. You just proved my point by saying there is a slight difference. That's all I wanted to point out. And why would you care whether I think you're a true musician or not? Having that said, it's not like I feel threatened by you calling me a "kid", when you have no idea how old I accually am.

  • @pmanderson if youre fighting and calling people on youtube names you obviously cant be over 20. and put what i said back into context

  • @howycwap Says who? You're the one who started bitching about my comment. 

  • @pmanderson

    Because you had no right to try and insult and put down people because this video doesent show very clearly the difference between these pickups. you were being a dick for no reason and you need to act with a bit more respect or you wont get very far in life. and in your words, GTFO.

  • @howycwap Fine, now go cry to someone else, lol.

  • @pmanderson he must not have ears at all... and @howycwap you're the one on drugs if you hear no diff between 9v 18v

  • Toanlly..all the same. EMG 60...less bass/treble Power wise.....slightly more in 81/85

  • @Lobo777x LOL dude his mouth probably was shut while he TYPED "U mad, bro?" hahaha

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  • What is the name song of the melody (2:33-END)? you play very nace !!

  • I can hear more beef with the 18V and to be honest I'm not sure if that's what I want all the time. I've got a set of 85's in my guitar and I'm wondering if an 81 in the bridge wouldn't be more what I"m looking for so I appreciate the comparison.

    Will rolling back the volume a bit bring it back down to sound the same as the 9V?

  • @Lobo777x Is there a problem, bro?

  • The 60 sounds great on the clean setting :)

  • When you play in clean..Is that some kind of song or just improvisation?

  • Can someone help me out, I've got a nice Ibanez RG3EXFM1 and the stock pickups are great, but now's my chance to toss some of these EMGS on it, and I'm considering the 81 85 combo. Will it really make that big a difference in tone? Will they have to put separate knobs on my guitar to control it? Answer please.

  • @xInsidious these arent the sort of pickups you want to just 'toss' into ur guitar, they are expensive and you or may not like the tone difference..i cant comment on what the difference will be for your guitar, but i can say that these pickups are super sharp and the sound clarity and definition is amazing even with very high distortion. my old stock pups were american made humbuckers (50sr/60st) they were nice but sounded a bit 'muddy' with distortion, even though the tone was good

  • @DKxSLIPKNOTxDK figure it out by yourselves, lazy tab players

  • The 18v sounds much fuller and not as brittle as the 9v. Im listening on a desktop with premium sound card and speakers too, so my ears def hear the difference. But IMO, just toss a peizo setup in your guitar if you really want blistering acoustic cleans...I have 2 guitars like that and they're awesome.

  • yeah the battery voltage matters, can't you here it? I love just the 9 volts. To me it's just fuller sound. This is a great comparison though. Not even the emg site plays the same riffs for each one of these pickups.

  • hey does the battery v matter really?

  • your guitar tone just sucks in general.

  • Mate, I think this is one of the best ways that I've come across of pickup comparisons. Thanks!

  • I definitely heard a difference, the 18 volts to me give it a more wider, stereo like sound especially thru headphones

  • just got a used espex with the 81/60 combo. debating the 18v mod

  • You have more dynamics and headroom with the 18volt mod...that much I can hear...but as always with EMG's, all 3 of these pickups are sterile and don't sound much different from one another. If clarity is what you seek than EMG's are for you, otherwise don't waste your money.

  • i am listening thru Adam a7x...no difference

  • isnt the 60 usually in the neck?

  • @plpamparius yep

  • 85 FTW!

    

  • 18v 81/60 combo , fuck yeah !

  • nice song of the cleans...nice video

  • Im on a laptop, and i heard a difference. :P

  • sounds like it gets a lot tighter with the 18 volt

  • 9v have a much more bass.

  • 18v definitely adds more presence and headroom, hardly difference between them all. but the 60 is the clearest.

  • From 5:57 afterwards must be the sound of heaven...

  • BAMM WHAT A SOUND!!! DUDE

    

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  • If anything it sounds cleaner with the 9 volts!

  • um i have a problem with emg 81(b) &85(n),81 sounds like he has too much treble and not enough bass and it's not really clear when I palm mute(you can still hear hum noise a bit)and 85 in combination with 81 or when its only switched to 85 sounds the same=/plus emg 85 sound so damn muddy and really not clear at all,like sound just feel apart,i have ibanez rg09ltd and 0.54 sets of strings,any thoughts?

  • I'm a firm believer in the 60 in the bridge!! It almost sounds single coil ish... But still has the humbucker power. I don't know why everyone is hell bent on the 85 in the neck with the 81 in the bridge.... too much of a difference in tone... they go muddy in the neck to harsh in the bridge... I have a guitar with 2 85s, a guitar with 2 60s, and a guitar with an S/S/81 combo with the afterburner... good stuff!! I have an LP custom with a FRED and SH-11... that thing screams as well!!!

  • first time I heard an emg 60, I like the clean tone a lot:-) good vid man ty

  • This is amazing video!

    Thank you very much for your work, it very helps!!!!!

  • what tunning is this

  • In Distortion no changes. Clean its louder.

    This Emg 18Volt Mod screams in clean like Tom Araya \m/

  • i think the distorted tone needs a bit more bass

    but other than that, it's great

    out of all, btw, my fav is 18v EMG-81

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  • yeah. there are small differences.

  • no fucking differences

  • @Proxima1310 I have to disagree. At least on the clean tones. The distortion parts all sound the same to me, yes, but on the clean tone stuff, the 60 is brighter and has more chime, the 85 is a bit fuller but with a nice balance of highs and lows, and the 81 sounds a bit muddier. the 18volt mod doesn't seem to do much either.

  • @GearhartGuitar Hear again the EMG-85(dist. mod) If u can't find any difference so hear the sounds betwen Seymour Duncan AHB-3 and these EMG.

  • @Proxima1310 since you got no fuckin' speakers

  • @Proxima1310 wash your ears buddy

  • EMG 9 volts 85 is the best! My opinion! :D

  • Dude, you have way too much mids XD

  • @Brutalyeah Sounds better than shitty scooped tones.

  • @Abyssvx

    Point is, scooping mids on your amp makes your amp sound so much more heavy and makes the disortion so much more awesome, then boost the mids with an EQ pedal and tadaaa... Best sound ever. At least thats how Dimebag did it.

  • @Brutalyeah I've "Heard"... Idk if it's a fact, but I'll go with it. I've Heard Dimebag use 2 EQ pedals, stage especially, to get his tone. He has a scooped tone, but it still has that mid-range crunch every one likes when you have those mids cranked. I don't know in which order, he has one pedal in front of the amp... then one after. One is scooped, and One has the mids boosted. He has the mids cranked on his amp. Boom. Dimebag tone. :P

  • @Abyssvx actually, I think he scooped the tone on his amp and used the eq pedal to boost the mids again..I think...lol

  • @Brutalyeah Most scooped tones suck. The only way they don't... Is if you have a high gain tube amp, or if you're Dimebag, a very warm solid state. Now, If you're playing live. You NEED Mids. If you're playing with 2 guitarists including yourself, a bassist and a drummer. Otherwise your tone will eat up the bass frequencies and you and your buddy's will be battling for the space in the mix. Look at Metallica's live concerts in the 80s. The tone sounded good. But it was muddy and hard to hear.

  • @Abyssvx

    Thats also how I did it, and it's the best sound I ever had :D.

  • @Abyssvx

    You do need a noise gate tho...

  • Distortion: 9v EMG 81. Clean: 9v EMG 81. 18v EMG 60.

  • @Vandude13 i got an emg 81 in the bridge and a 85 in the neck i have an epiphone lespaul and i play the exact same as you do these pickups work very well together and sound really nice i would recomend these pickups

  • why go through the hassle to demo these pickups only to mask it with frickin chorus???

  • How do you use 2 batteries. You have to solder in another battery-clip or something?

    Also, what does it do? Because it doesn't seem to do much for the sound.

    I guess more gain...

  • Disappointing....yet another video that hides the terrible clean sound of EMG's by using effects. No one wants us to hear what EMGs really sound like.

  • @metallitech That's because real clean un-mutilated EMG tone is SHIT. The unbalanced internal's are a horrible flaw in design. They waste batteries, and everyone's time.....go with Dimarzio D Activators.....Same specs, no stupid distortion in tone, no batteries needed and they ARE reliable. Maybe look into an actual EQ before preamp setup before WASTING MONEY on EMG's. "Don't believe the hype" There are options.

  • @AblueSHADEofMETAL correctamundo.

  • this might sound stupid but is it just the pickups that control how good a guitar sounds or is it the guitar itself as well? Its just that ive got a fairly cheap guitar and wanted to buy some emg 81 and 85 for it because it sounds terrible at the moment. would getting new pickups solve the problem? Cheers

  • @gitarleg1 yes. i had the same problem you have. i have a dean that was fairly cheap. i didnt even get the active ones, i got the passive emgs and the guitar sounds 10x better!

  • @pivetlord13 Thanks for your help :)

  • 81 9v wins..clearer more defined

  • and bro nice song!!! in the clean tone!

  • not different at all really

    

  • not much different...

  • Oh, and btw, finally a comparison worth the name, a real AB, cheers to you for that!=)

  • Wow, I´ve always had the 81 in bridge position and the 85 at neck, but I must say the 85 sounds much better the the 81 and the 60 at bridge...

    Have you tried the three of them in the neck position as well?

  • what chorus do you use on the clean sounds?

  • kinda sucks to have mics with batteries

  • The EMG 60 sounds warmer than the 85. It seems like the 60 has the mids scooped out, where the 85 has the mids turned up higher than the lows, which, when set at the neck pickup, raises the lows to make them even.

  • I think 85 is better for clean in the bridge but the EMG 81 for high gain can't be beat, rhythm and lead.

  • SICK SONG SHOW US IT

  • great work!

  • best emg comparison video on you tube nice job.

  • does anyone know what song is it in 2:33

  • @Gambit7Beyond i wrote it.

  • @yharr666 Wow....it's very beautiful!!

  • @yharr666 Will you tab it?

  • @yharr666 ,PRODUCE THE WHOLE SONG, MAN!!! IT'S SOUNDS AMAZING!!! I COULD LISTEN TO IT ALL DAY!!!

  • @Gambit7Beyond please send tabs!!!

  • For my like, 85 neck and 85 bridge . Metal hell yeah!

    

  • @MrJesusthered Can you hear much of a difference in tones between the two positions?

  • Should've done the clean without effects.

  • this is what i need to hear, thanks so much man!

  • I was actually expecting the 18 V mod to make the sound muddy and give it too much treble and make it unclear, surprisingly I think it sounds the opposite to that, I think it sounds alot clearer and brighter with 18 V mod than with just 9 V.

  • why use chorus reverb and heavy distortion for tone comparison?

  • my favorite setup is the 85 bridge and the 60 neck.

  • @yharr666 i like your song

  • how long do the batterys last before you have to change them?

  • Strange... Thought that 81 is a winner for bridge, but when I have heard 85 I said, it is better. Than, I heard 60 and I would say it is the best sounding bridge emg in the bridge... Hell and even considering guitar with 2x 81. Now I am really not sure.

  • i think i would go with 85 in bridge and 60 in neck. the 85 in the bridge would be realy punchy and the 60 is great for neck clean tones. plus it wouldnt be just the standard 81 and 85 like everybody uses.

  • Fastest guitarist alive. Do you know how quick you have to be to swap batteries and pups that fast? xD Honestly, though, the extra 9v battery only seemed to add a little more bass (and sometimes that wasn't a good thing).

    PS: You guys can always try out EMG pups at your local Guitar Center because that's pretty much all the Ibanez's and Schecter's have. Right now, however, I'm seeing what Bare Knuckle has to offer.

  • @haltrman93 Ibanez's using pretty much all EMGs? I've only seen like 1-2 6 string Ibanez models with EMGs.

  • @CoolKabbage At my local GC they seem almost standard in Schecters and most Ibanezes. Perhaps they secretly changed all the pups so n00bz would buy that and a Line 6 Spider amp, lol.

  • @haltrman93 Maybe haha. Almost every Ibby I've seen has either INF pickups, IBZ pickups, or Dimarzios. I think I've seen a few 7's with EMGs though.

  • Whats the clean song?

  • how was this recorded?

  • they sound kind of like the same, a little more bass on the 18v but bleh...and if there is a slight difference, chance a small part of the preamp eq and you'll erase any difference...anway...in the neck position there are some bigger differences between 81 and 60...bbut minimal if you use an eq before the preamp...wish is better than different pickups!

  • Nice video, after listening to it, I think i gonna use a 85 on the bridge and a 60 on the neck \m/

  • I use an EMG 60 in the bridge of my Fender HSS Mexican Strat (with an original Floyd Rose) and two SA's in the middle and neck positions and the tone is absolutely incredible for any type of music from country to Shred. EMG's are my favorite pickups.

  • One of my guitars has 2 81's and a yjm passive dimarzio, the other has an 81b,85n. Of course now I want a 60 and 81 combo............ lol

  • whats the clean song?

  • @granto425 I wrote it.

  • @yharr666

    Do you have tabs for it! Really nice!

  • i have the emg 60 en the neck and the emg 81 in the bridge and sound very good

    

  • im trying to decide weather to get a EMG 60 or 85 in the neck position on my ibanez guitar. i want to have a sound that mixes old thrash, like metallica, and melodic metalcore, like all that remains. so should i get the 60 or 85?

  • People sometimes don't realize that you can play any song on any guitar with any pickup. It's just that with every guitar comes a certain amount of fanagling in order to get a certain sound with every guitar. It's easier to play "Hell Awaits" on a B.C. Rich than a Rickenbacker. You can still do it and get the same sound, it will just be harder to get the sound. EMG's are tipically put down as a "metal-heads sidearm" but thay can play Clapton like a strat any day if you have the right effects.

  • @megahurtz30 I'd say that if you want a "full" and "warm" clean tone (like most people), then always use the neck pickup, since it gets a lot more bass frequencies and therefore sounds" warmer". If you use the bridge it'll sound a lot more "empty" and "cold". Easy to determine what is warm and cold isn't it? :)

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  • Holy shit, what was the first song you played????

  • Is this self-made song, or? (clean)

    If not... what's the name????

    desperate!!!!!

  • There is no difference between 9v and 18v, the pickup has a circuit inside which is a OpAmp, with some resistor and capacitors, there is no way the voltage could affect the tone in a significative way. you could damage the circuit inside of the pickup by applying too much volts.

  • Very good comparison thanks yharr666. :]

  • what's the diference between active and passive pick-ups? I feel kinda nooby asking this, but I noone has ever told me :P

  • Hi, I have a ibanez 170dxjb and boss mt2, but i want to know, what is the tones and volts of the emg for the blackmetal, deathmetal and symphonic metal?? what is the combo perfect for my guitar??(please respond in basic english, my english is bad).

  • @Ryukenshinkurono27

    i play the same music i use emg 81 85

  • @Ryukenshinkurono27, EMG 81/85=good for any kind of metal. For good metal amp cheap, try Bugera 333 212/333xl 212. For good metal amp expensive, try Mesa Mark 4 112 OR Mesa Mark 5 112. Ibanez = great guitar! DO NOT USE PEDAL FOR DISTORTION. pedal distortion = fake/digital, in time you will see this! if not playing metal, buy passive pickups, Passive pickups have better clean tones and more natural response, however not enough juice for metal, especially when playing lead guitar

  • 60 на 18 вольт ваще рулит

  • i bought a dean ml shadow a while back used. The douche who had it before me took out the original pickups and put in some other ones. Anyways, i dont know whether or not i want the emg 60 and the 85. *i know its not emg but bare with me* Or a seymour duncan dimebucker in the bridge and a dimetime in the neck. im trying to get somthing similar to dimebag or zakk wylde type sound. :D

  • May I ask for tabs for the clean tone melody?

  • i've don't hear about 9v and 18v :o

  • @TheSnkes 18v Is a mod.

  • 81 and 60 sounds best to me :)

  • Hi guys.

    I have a Les Paul and I'm considering to put a EMG 81 in the bridge and a 85 or 60 in the neck.

    Most of the time I play music like Guns N' Roses, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath. So which should I choose the 85 or the 60?

  • @Vandude13 I used the 85 in the bridge and 81 in the neck, wired at 18v. This combo, to me, at least, sounded best.

  • @yharr666. okay thanks mate.

  • @Vandude13 James hetfield uses 81 in the bridge and 60 in the neck!

  • @Daan7000, hey thanks for your comment bro. But I already bought the EMG 81 and 60.

  • @Vandude13 81 B 60 N is great for cleans and heavy thrash riffs

  • @Vandude13 this video doesnt really do justice to the MAJOR difference in tone that going to 18 volts does. 18 volts takes SOOOOO much noise out of the pickups...and it takes out harshness...i always thought the emgs sounded a little shrill...18 volts makes them sound way more natural...also i like using a 60 in the bridge position. vsuper meaty and clear. great for clean or distortion

  • @Vandude13 if your playing that kind of music i'd use an alnico 2 pro saymour duncan pickup cuz songs like sweet o child O mine just wount sounds as good on other pickups plus slash used pickups similar to the alnico 2 pro at the time. and its the reason i just bought one and i luv it!!!

  • @Vandude13 I have the 81 and you will get tired of that dead sound really quickly.

  • You need to show more variety of sounds. Why only playing a single riff 20 seconds, it's need solos, different riffs and neck position too.

  • @BachTeen1 You should make an own video doing that then =P

  • I think i like the 60 more then the 85, just not as muddy. Guess i'm going for 81 60 :)

  • really diggin the clean tune

  • EMG 60 > all others

  • funny how these pickups are.. almost the same. there are differences but they are barely noticeable.

  • Thank you very much. This is the video i was looking for, you helped me a lot. Will get 85 for bridge and 60 for neck. P.S. Liked the clean melody. Trying to play it too:)

  • i cant tell the difference :/

  • @bmuffboy I believe the main difference is that the 18V mod is more compressed and a liiiiittle more middle boosted. Can anyone else see something more?

  • @LordD69 i trust you lol im kinda tone deaf  lol thanks any way lol :P

  • @bmuffboy No problem mate. There might be differences that even I cannot understand and somebody else might be able to listen and explain :)

  • wait is there two types of emg 60s?

  • @Samaus699

    Not in this video but there are actually three types of EMG-60's. The original 60, the 60A, and the 60X .

  • @darthinfurnus Actually, there is also the 60AX, making there four different types of 60's.

  • Thanks man, this video really helped me alot! =)