EMG81(B)/60(N) vs Dimarzio Tone Zone(B)/PAF Pro(N): The Comparison

[ThrashTilGrave]

3 years im using the EMG 81...currently im sick of them...i cant wait to get passive pickups.

emgs are not bad...but i dont enjoy playing with them anymore...passives>actives by far

[GATvsGAT]

@ThrashTilGrave

Its nice to have a guitar with actives and another with passives. That way if you have taste swings you can just switch between them. :-)

[frethand101]

DiMarzios are the best,they breathe new life into any good to great sounding guitar amplifier & all DiMarzios have a very balanced frequency range that seem to never over distort whether your playing clean or dirty channel riffs,lead or rythym..EMGs are like chicks with fake tits,they lack natural beauty & require batteries to achieve a climax..lol

[youztuber5000]

I would choose the tone zone, based off of this vid...but in real life, I have fallen for the EMG's

[TheCemgesx]

Thanks for video dude, it really helped me. Man, after this, I definitely choose dimarzio tone zone, it is full of natural sound, just awesome, nothing else to say.

[mankasban]

EMG is not good for soloing but its good for rhythm playing only...

[nikolass359]

which pickup has more output???plese answer!!

[DJsqueely]

tone zone seems to have more sustain. it seemed quiter. . . but then you can just turn your amp up i guess.

[angelsg1000]

tone zone B and emg 60 on the N

[klogg4]

Imho, two completely different guitars, just look at fingerboards of both guitars :)

[dashizzler]

1 question. Are your EMG's soldered in or are they the solderless setup? I put the solderless kind in and they sound thinner/twangyer than the old fashioned ones. I'm considering buying passives, The Tone Zones in particular because of there output and eq rating. I like the Dimarzios, I suppose I want both in one pup....

[GATvsGAT]

@dashizzler

Hey hey

They are the old fashioned solder type. I prefer the Dimarzio Tone Zone as the EMGs seem to have quite a flat EQ curve. The TZ are very punchy and have a big mid range.

[dashizzler]

@GATvsGAT Well I just bought one last night so I'm about to find out. I also going to to buy the old fashioned solder wiring harnesses for my EMG's. I'm betting that's one of the issues with they're tone. I should've done that in the first place. Thanks for getting back to me!

[LiquidInertia]

imo the EMGs were great for the rhythm, but the Dimarzio's were better for soloing.

[Fluffypopcicle]

The EMGs sounded a bit better for the stuff you were playing, but as an overall pickup the Tone Zone destroys any EMG pickups.

[strangerhythm]

I can hear the fundamental tone better with the Dimarzios (more pronounced mids). The EMGs have more sizzle, but also sound a little too "scooped" for me.

[charvelstrat81]

I prefer the dimarzio's overall

[dbergonzoni]

thank you for this video!!! DiMarzio all the way

[habitualstudios]

Well, I am an EMG guy, been using them for years. I have 2 guitars with passive pickups, and the difference is a "looser" tone, not as crisp on the attack. That does not mean passives are not good, just different. It's up to the player to sound good no matter what equipment he is using. For example, I have heard GOOD guitar players make a junky guitar and crappy practice amp, sound GREAT!!!!! My point is don't put too much focus on the equipment

[santisizable]

great! great info man.... no wonder u have such a great tone...:)

[badacidbadacid]

filtered through the medium of my cruddy work laptop ...

I reckon the EMGs have it for rhythm - more presence but a little lacking in personality for the solo section compared to the TZ and Paf.

Did you have it cranked up in the room and if so/not do you think that had any bearing on the difference in sound?

[GATvsGAT]

@badacidbadacid Haha laptop speakers! Put it through your Roland monitor phones! Then again don't.... you'll hear how sloppy some of it is!

The sound was recorded at a neigborhood unfriendly volume.

heres my take:

I think the EMGs are smoother, creamier, fuller in the mids but also duller and muddier. The passives are lively and vibrant, less fullness in the mid range and have more of a trebly edge to them. Food analogy:

EMG= Thick rich and creamy.

TZ= Spicy, zesty and crunchy

[brandonmarks13279]

@GATvsGAT the only bad thing about passives is that with higer gain you have more pickup noise and in turn you have to put the level of the noise gate up which in turn gives you less sustain

[tdgamblin]

i personally like the sound of the tone zone over the emgs better

[GATvsGAT]

@tdgamblin Lets start a discussion.

Why do you prefer the Tone Zone over the EMG?

[VoraciousBlood]

@GATvsGAT I prefer the EMG´s, but.. anyone knows wich pickups use Buckethead in his Gibson Les Paul Signature?

[GATvsGAT]

@VoraciousBlood

Bucketheads LP has Gibson T100 s I think....