EMG 81 - 85 Pickups 18v Mod Sound Test - Clean & Dirty

[awsomericskate]

i prefer the using my 85 for clean and 81 for gain but thats just me

[Aderiann]

@awsomericskate It's not just you bro. I owe a PRS SE Torero with this set and I use my 85 for clean and 81 for gain. Unless I want a fat sound, then i gain the 85 xD

[NewYorkSportsSource]

spoke in the wheel nice...any how to videos on how to mod..i dont want to stick an 18v battery on my pickups n short them out...

[spoke03545]

what song is playing this guy in the solo section???????

[NewYorkSportsSource]

@spoke03545 thats gets me through from Down to earth..ozzys album

[LEATHERNECK290]

if they made a flat black les paul with that neck it would be the sickest shit ever and a higher nut

[Niemandx]

@LEATHERNECK290 I totally agree dude!

[race1717]

I hate delays...

[Sehnomatic]

Careful guys, if you have pre-2004 emg pickups (still has solderless) harness the preamp section of the pickups has a different modulation chip and will short out when you have the 18 volt mod attached. Be careful, contact the manufacturer or check the serial number before attempting this!!

[Zhorellski]

Question I have a washburn x50 that's got 81/85 neck & bridge. the neck p/u 81's sounds fuller and fatter? than the 85 bridge which sounds dull and thinner.. is that the norm?

[spudvader86]

@Zhorellski U have them in the wrong positions. 81 should b in the bridge and 85 in the neck... could b ur problem or u might have just typed it wrong

[livepunx]

those are solderless pickups?

[emoboi311]

wow what's with the effect

[ryanchatfield1313]

@Hingable so can i put them in like a gibson? or a guitar without active pickups in it already?

[JasontheGuitargod]

@ryanchatfield1313 you can put them in any thing, but be prepard to rip out all your wiring and rewire it with soter less stuff and then soter your p/u selector in.

[Hingelable]

fucking ugly guitar

[kawasaki811]

@Hingelable

agreed.

[rjambi]

You forgot to post clean... alls we got was super chorus and super distorted.

[ryanchatfield1313]

i wanna try these pickups and i dont know to much about them sorry im a noob..but is there a passive version of the 81 and 85? and can i still put active pickups in a guitar without the batteries? would i need to have a battery installed? thanks

[Hingelable]

@ryanchatfield1313 you need a battery to get active pickups, but mostly there are room for it in the soldering room in the back

[frogboy122192]

just throwing this out there.. uhm your clean section wasnt clean. you had chorus and echo on.... id prefer to hear it actually clean with absolutely no effects. just straight amp would be the best no pedal. in fact run it through an acoustic amp lol.

but yea. i hear these pickups are really good but im just not sure if there worth the money

[Vermillion2176]

The title says Clean and Dirty. Where is the CLEAN part?

Big Ron

[koryutheriverflow]

spoken to the wheel BLS

[TheCountofTuscany11]

@koryutheriverflow *spoke in the wheel

[xcaluhbration]

My 81/85s are excellent for brutal crunchy metal but im afraid they aren't all that versatile. Your technique has to be impeccable to control those wild horses otherwise it'll sound like crap, and im really into getting a crisp clean sound even when playing fast so my work is cut out for me. All in all if your into heavy heavy heavy metal go EMG 81/85s, they,re just strong as hell.

[blackwidow88812]

Are you Dutch???

because 'niemand' is a dutch word

sorry, I've to know

and can i put these pup's in my epiphone goth explorer without replace or change the toggle switch??

[arsenicRG120]

its not skynyrd!

its BLS!!

[ShortFingeredShreder]

Where's that clean riff from, I know it's a Lynyrd Skynyrd song?

[sam8404]

@ShortFingeredShreder The first one? Sounds like Simple Man

[TURBO2U2]

EMG 81 ? "Chunk The Junk" ! Combo's BEST for EMG's as follows: 85/85 or 85/60 !~

[SKAuthenticDank]

i find it hilarious that people "test" and "demo" pickups with effects, its like a 13 year old thought of it

[emoboi311]

you don't have to point to the pickups we're not stupid we're guitarists

[leejackson13666]

what does the voltage change do to the sound ?

[Mo7Vsta]

what exactly does the mod do?

[Harrysound]

@Mo7Vsta You shove 2 battaries totaling 18vots into the pickup and it overloads the preamp in the active EMG's to give a higher clipping point when playing clean you get more definition and brightness.....something like that.

[benten613]

Like another spoke in the wheel, good shit man

[AlexWolfking]

how often do you need to change batteys ???

[zWhu5tiFFIE]

@AlexWolfking I think they are passive so no batterys

[scotty688]

@zWhu5tiFFIE no EMG 81, 85's are active pu.

[chrismortloch92]

@AlexWolfking the batteries are supposed to be upwards of 3000 hours for most guitars

[TheCurseOfMetal]

is tht a gibson?

[guitarnub3]

@TheCurseOfMetal unless he got a custom paint job no.gibson only does bull's eye they don't do camo or orange

[TheCurseOfMetal]

@guitarnub3 Actually they did do the camo and "orange"(Buzzsaw) But they didn't sell so well..

[guitarnub3]

@TheCurseOfMetal didn't know that but i looked at one of his other video's and it is an epiphone.

[Gunslinger956]

amzing sound what amp are you using?

[TheRSWatch]

Are emg's the best thing on the market for great metal sounds, squeals, and tone?

[911SHIZBO]

@TheRSWatch seymour duncan blackouts, bill lawrence 500xl, duncan 59' , bare knuckle pain killers are amazing also, probably the best out of all IMO.

[Stevespeeze]

You can run up to 3 nine volt batts,, There is very little difference between sounds but it does give you a longer battery life if you run two in series. Ive done this mod on several guitars including my basses

[danecook321]

Is the clean lick from something or is it just improvised?

[speedjunkie66]

skynyrd baby!!

[VexRavnen]

nice.. just getting my B.c rich warlock Neck-thru to the shop to get emg 81 / 85 on it... they sounds amazing planning on getting that sweet ass camo coloured les paul you got there soon too.. ;P also gonna order som seymour duncan blackouts home soon heard they should actally come up and compare themselves to emg 81 85.. thats quality in the highest class man!

[naroto32]

are your pedals on bypass?

[cyclist911]

try palm mutting...

[rrgert4]

@cyclist911 if u run a pedal with clean is it the same like plugging without a pedal

[thehefolomp]

blast

[cardsin2005]

"IT GETS ME THROUGH" Nice

[DustyR101]

thanx for the sound test, just picked up a set of the zac wylde 81/85, they sound pretty damn good

[matej1408]

your guitar *.*

[MarckDaniel]

ola muy buen sonido. Una pregunta....

Yo tengo las mismas pastillas en mi les paul, pero me las pusieron al reves, digamos boca abajo, eso tiene algo que ver en el sonido?!

Gracias

[AdalbertoSalazar]

@MarckDaniel YA INTENTASTE CAMBIARLAS ?

LO PUEDES HACER TU MISMO Y RESPECTO AL SONIDO LA VERDAD NO SABRIA DECIRTE SI HAY DIFERENCIA PERO POR ALGO LES PONEN LOGO ?

[mikevmpr3]

Im really sorry to point this out. im not trying to troll or anything but i hate the distorted tone (palm mutes) in this vid. sounds solid state-ish.

[Prostheta]

@TheGuitarGodfather33 No need - two 9v batteries....connect the positive (+) of one to the negative (-) of the other, and use the remaining +/- connections on either battery as your circuit power leads. Just two batteries in series.

[jmdb1994]

i think those frets are too big.. are those X-j?

[TwDfp2010]

Do you think you could play more than 5 notes next time? Thanks.

[P2GearsOfWar]

At the beginning it's not clean dude, it's chorus in case you didn't notice :L

[Golfinnder]

is there any sound difference between 18v and 9v on the Les Paul?

[raquel1234ful]

@daveed793 zakk has done it in the past i think and his sg v has it and they produce models with them in them so im sure it would worrkkk

[raquel1234ful]

what does the 18v do and what is it lol

[zortchik]

If I were to get a set of these pickups, Is it possible for me to install in into my Ibanez RG?

[JohnathenDavis]

I think it also reduces buzz. I like how you set up your tailpeice like, ZW's. I have all of mine set up that way as well.

[wpm2011]

You get longer battery life if you do the 18v mod right?

[WaldebeatZ]

damn the first melo in clean is cool .... have someone the tabs or could me they from which band that is ???

[xwanchaix]

hye sir, im using ltd m-50

can i used emg 81/85 like yours in the same position?

[kiravsshinn]

get me through??

[chuckbuntz]

how do you make the sound at 1:12 ?

[bulletdeposit]

the first litle clean bit you played was just beautiful. i'm getting emg singles for my strat. i have highway ones right now :\

[Jonybig69]

What is the first song you play in the begining?

[01xtreme]

@Jonybig69

it was spoke in the wheel from BLS

[JAMESZWAN]

Man if you wana taste the clean tone of EMG , you better not use a clean effect.

[henryexe]

no reverb / chrous then record the clean again please

[BleedingT]

at the beginning it sounded like simple man from lynyrd skynyrd :P

[ThexMetalxWithin]

did you notice a good difference in your tone? how would you describe the difference

[BinaryReaper]

sounded good but Should have been done without distortion

[TheGrail77]

hey man what Ozzy song is that at the end?

[XSafire]

like another spoke in the wheeeeeellll

[godlikecharacta]

i don't get why people mod em, just get the seymour duncan blackout metals. they're pretty much the modded emgs without the mod

[Superbowserfreak11]

im new at guitar playing and dont know much about it just 1 question:

How do you get the dirty rock sound?

[Norik666]

@Superbowserfreak11 look for a 'Gain' setting, and 'Tremble' too, you want to make these higher than the others, play around till you find a nice crispy distortion and rock out!

[ByPass117]

With a Metal Zone Distortion Pedal - Made by Boss. Best distortion pedal i've ever heard.

[soon2beae]

That guitar comes standard with EMG HZ 81-85's....youre a damn moron

[STARSmb3224]

is there a big difference between a guitar with the emg's 81 and 85 and a one with emg 85 and 60 =o?

[NEWCtheSHOW]

No. The only difference is the sound emitted by the pickups, which means it's all up to personal preference. An 81/85 would be better for leads, while I would personally say an 85/60 combo would be better for rhythm.

[STARSmb3224]

okay thanks =D

[NEWCtheSHOW]

@STARSmb3224 np :D

[PrsFenderJackson1980]

What is involved in an 18 volt upgrade?

[DarkMuhahaha]

@PrsFenderJackson1980

u simply put another 9V batterie in series to the first one to double voltage

[chillichomper]

What do u mean clean???? Turn off the blasted chorus!

[misterred0]

@chillichomper

and delay

[Morain42]

that guitar is slick man nice video

[Drumnbass25]

you say clean.. but it isn't really clean mate. you have a delay or an reverb on. put that off.

[mdan87]

right, i want to hear the pickup, not the effect pedal

[metalhead100693]

sup

[Deathhimself8520]

i love this pickup sound test when you can only here corus and delay nice guitar tho plus i think zakk wylde only use's a nine volt battery

[thatcoolG]

most players just use a nine volt battery on emgs they are active pick ups so there has to be an external power

[tburn66]

i rekon this guitar should come with 81/85 instead on hz for the price its should

[narfire214]

i just left my zakk wylde signature the way it is

[MrMikecarp]

what are the songs that you are playing?

[himesguitar]

clean is spoke in the wheel by black label society

[zinotakesnotes]

how do u switch between clean and dirty....

[torquemenistan]

prefer the 85 on the bridge,..with an SA in the middle and another SA on the neck....Caparison style

[Shyuum]

@torquemenistan

While the 85 is fucking great in the bridge, It isn't as good as 81 for, well you know, that Metal chugga chugga style

The 85 is kinda more organic and "real" sounding , like a Gibson PAF, it has that fat and warm thickness

While the 81 has more cuts and treble sound

[torquemenistan]

yea thats right...thats y more people prefer the 81/60 combo or just the 81 on the bridge...in these setup it feels a little balanced...but another good combo is 81/89..

[overclockerfx]

yea isn't the 85 more heavy than the 81? thats a bit strange to have 81 on neck...

[torquemenistan]

yea it is..and the 81/81 combo sounds a little too "treble-ish"..

[DGBV69]

na the 81 just effects the strings more induvidually, you get more crunch and hard cut metal sound out of the 81 coz its a bar not an alnico magnet

[Byzantic]

It's usually a 81 on treble pickup and 85 on rythm one... Not strange

[noritsueco]

nice demo but thats not clean it have delay. but whatever, nice

[PersianUtopia]

i like the EMG 60 in the neck position more than the 85

wll its a different sound ;)

[Wrathofkala]

Me too love the 60 in the neck!

[Ilsdrak]

hey

I was just wondering if that chorus effect was on the dirty takes?

Or if it was just dist

[Guitargawd13]

nice demo

[Sasquatch230]

Hey, I just noticed, but is there any particular reason why you wrap your strings over the top of the tailpiece?

[Niemandx]

Well, I notice less string breakeage by doing so. Its suspossed to increase tuning stability a little. Doing this will scratch the finish of your tailpiece, do it if you dont mind that.

[cdavis1516]

what did you do at 3:21

[Luxorcist]

@cdavis1516 he was using his pickup selector as a killswitch

[travisbutlerrocks]

@Niemandx I do the same man! I notice less string breakage too! Just saying like, its the best way to do it :)

[GhostOfAE]

@Niemandx I have a prs that has grooves so that you can wrap it around, (but that doesn't do anything except make it easier to string), and It stays ridiculously in tune, and I don't ever break a string. I play very hard with heavy picks, and I play very often. Pretty sure the wrap-around is a big part of that. Hmm, about the vid I'm not sold on modding mine to 18v yet. Thanks for the vid though, but I'd have liked a before/after comparison. Nice riffs :P

[Prostheta]

@Niemandx String breakage happens more if the strings rub somewhere along the line, or there's a tight break angle over the bridge saddles. Badly cut saddle notches can cause it too....a lot of people ram their stoptails down to the bottom of their adjustment range which creates a big ol' break angle over the bridge although I've never found any real world advantage in this, other than imaginary ones ;-)

Nice vid.

[TheIn2Nation]

@Niemandx sick idea.. thank you.

[mgyouro]

@Niemandx It decreases the angle between the stop bar and the tail piece.

[Stonedpimpin76]

its called top wrapping. jimmy page, billy gibbons and joe bonamassa also do it.

[Nyxu]

@Sasquatch230

It's said to add a bit more sustain, thickness and warmth to your sound.

[Prostheta]

@Sasquatch230 You can whack your stoptail studs down to the bottom of body inserts, which apparently helps *tone*. It's all subjective really. The whole "s" word (the one ending in "ustain") is a big lie made in the heads of marketers and crammed into the heads of players. X'D

[Zawone80s]

I'm about to get an 81 and I was just wondering is it easy to change those batterys? Never had an active pickup so I don't no :)

[Dagrwolfrokrokr9]

hell fucking yea! on a zakk wylde guitar too

[WeAreCumming]

gay guitar

[jonwylde16]

Is spoke in the wheel the first song you played. Beautiful song. love it

[ironmaiden0393]

is there a way i can put a switch on my guitar to change between 18v and 9v can anybody help

[911SHIZBO]

Look in the discription there bud.

[santanalives]

bealtifull sound

is perfect pickups

very nice man.. xD

[josephtylerschuster]

truthfully, i like the h3 h4 :)

[DistortedBrain]

It get's me through yeaaaaaaah

[OstryRuchacz]

Beautifull sound. I probably buy EMG 81/85. Can you tell me more about your experiences with those pick ups ? how they work with metal music ?

[biro753]

the emg 81 compared to the seymour duncan JB is that the 81 has more brightness and is tharshier but the seymour has a more warm heavy feel to it

[dorklord101]

emg 81 and 85 are amazing for metal

zakk wylde uses them in all of his guitars

you can get a real bluesy sound out of them or just crank it up a couple notches and the distortion is amazing yet still clean

[CallumzWorld]

What song are you playing at 0:13?

Thanks.

[SrDeMaFp]

Spoke In The Wheel - Black Label Society.

[ekserchina]

How's that wilkinson roller bridge as an upgrade from the regular lp bridge that comes on the guitar?

[Niemandx]

Its ok honestly, nothing amazing about it. It produces less friction and if lubricated tuning stability will improve noticeably. It's major flaw is that if you wanna use thicker strings (.12 . 13) they tend tend to glide off from the rollers, gotta keep an eye on that.

Not a bad deal for $25 a worthy upgrade to a cheap factory bridge.

Regards,

Antonio

[ekserchina]

Thank you Antonio. I think I will stick to my regular LP bridge or get a tonepros when I get some money together. Cheers

[Niemandx]

You are welcome. Tone pros are a much better option indeed. Good Luck.

[halohater9]

they use two 9v batteries

[randythegod2]

WHAT SONG IS AT 0:13. I LOVE IT

[AlmarWinfield]

if i had to guess GnR

[rockinrudolf69]

u suck at guitar

[ermonski]

hey! it's the "Gets me Through" solo!!

[VincentValentineXIII]

is it possible to connect two EMG humbuckers to individual V/T concentric pots?

[BigMateo24]

It is, but EMGS are rated to 27v, which means you could put three batteries in it and still be safe.

[NirkEST]

A little tip Dont add effects then others cant see the real difference try basic tone !

[WIMartha]

Dude these pickups are awesome I was just picking up the Chinese International Radio Station with my guitar. I live in Wisconsin by the way. I didn't even know there is that station.

[kostakos1331]

hey ! sorry for disturbing you again but i have another question.. xD active pickups need battery, right? so... this battery is it easy to be changed? i mean if i buy a guitar with active pickups, can i change the pickup battery myself? or i have to go to a music store to change the battery for me?....simplier : is the battery easy to be changed?

[Niemandx]

Hi.

Yeah, guitars the come with EMGs included usually have a battery compartment on the back of the guitar that is mostly very easy to access. Some guitars have like a snap/clip on compartment like the kind you find on electronic devices that use batteries, other have a little slot with a plastic cover and a couple srcrews, easy to replace too you just need a screwdriver everytime. Batteries last a long time, I never really worry on having to replace them too often. C ya later.

[kostakos1331]

well :P something with my oder went wrong and i canceled,so i changed my mind and i am going to order a epiphone les paul standard.i think it's really good guitar! i thought about buying the ZW Bullseye but the paintjob it's to "extreme" for me.i prefer something more classic. oh.and if it is possible.can you record just clean sound with active pickups but with not any effects at all and upload to youtube? i really want to see a active pickups clean test.but .ofcourse if you want to. ty xD

[Niemandx]

Hi. Sure I could record something for you but I rather not upload it, if you'd like send me a Private Message with your email address or msn messenger and I'll try to send you something later on. I sold my Zakk Wylde guitar a little while ago but I still have a another Les Paul with EMG's. Dude, I would seriously recommend you not to buy epiphone, you can get more bang for the buck with an ESP or a Schecter. I had 3 epiphones and I am not buying another ever. I can tell you why later.

[sk8monster112]

what does modding to an 18 volt battery do to the pickup? im kinda new so i kinda wanna know

[kostakos1331]

man you rock!!! i got a question for you... do you think active pickups are worth buying them? i mean.. i love metallica but i want to also play other rock songs, so i can play rock and metal...and also clean riffs.... ppl say that they suck at clean riffs....but i want to ask sb that really knows about active pickups

[Niemandx]

Hey dude!! Thanks for the comments. They are well worth the $ and they dont suck at cleans, they just need some EQ work. I chose EMG because I feel they have an amazing harmonic response and a very defined attack under really hi-gain, in orders words they don't become as muddy as passives. Duncan Blackouts could be what you are looking for, they sound more organic and still have enough gain to metal, they are active too. If you are unsure, I'd recommend you to buy a passive Duncan JB / 59 combo.

[kostakos1331]

really ty..your message was really useful :P oh..and i order les paul ultra ii already....wel.... i choose passive pickups cause it's the "safe" choise for me...although i really wanna test the active ones - ty!