PeeMonkey Posted May 21, 2004 Share Posted May 21, 2004 Has anyone used these active set pickups on a stratocaster before, tone ? What do you guys think about these pickups, worth the money? or are there better alternatives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarzan Posted May 21, 2004 Share Posted May 21, 2004 dave gilmore of pink floyd uses them and he has a sweet tone. i have heard a strat at my local music store that was loaded with emg single coils and it sounded real nice. http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=193274 rock it, i will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werewolf by Night Posted May 21, 2004 Share Posted May 21, 2004 It all depends on what kind of a sound you want. They are a LOT hotter than stock passive pickups, and the very low magnetic pull is a guarantee against "Stratitis" when adjusting the pickups very close to the strings. If you would like the tone of vintage Strat pickups through a compressor/limiter with the output kicked up and tons of sustain but a seemingly rounded-off attack, then they may be for you. If you play with a lot of heavy overdrive or distortion, they'll probably really suit you well. If you go for a very pristine clean, even "hi-fi" kind of tone, you'll also probably like them a lot. If you go for a subtle, just-barely-overdriven, in-between clean and dirty, dynamic "touch sensitive" response, though, they may seem a little cold and stiff and sterile, never quite right, always a little too clean or a little too dirty... I have a sort of a "Super Strat" with a Warmoth neck and a Chandler body that has two SAs and an 85 ("P.A.F."-sized humbucker), that was my only electric guitar for over eleven years; and that thing is amazing for sustain and feedback and pumping through any amount of processing gear you could stack- or rack-up. Killer for modern rock, no matter which decade you say that in. But there's just "something" missing, that's very hard to explain. The easiest part to quantify is the aforementioned attack character, which seems almost truncated in comparisson to the rest of the note's envelope (full-bodied, and sustaining as it very gradually fades). But there's something else there, or not there, when compared to the better and best of "vintage"-style passive pickups. EMG also makes some active, vintage-voiced pickups similar to the SAs (Vs, or VAs?) that have exposed polepieces. They may have a little more of the "vintage"/passive character and attack, but I have not yet tried them. (I probably will, someday, in the aforementioned axe.) If you do get a set of EMG active pickups, also get the EXP "Expander", and the SPC "Strat Presence Control". The former boosts highs and lows and cuts mids as you turn it up; the latter increases the mids that a humbucker would emphasize, with a slight treble roll-off, as you turn it up. Both leave the signal alone when rolled all the way down. (Each is one "knob", taking the place of the tone-controls on a standard, stock Strat.) HIGHLY recommended with the SAs!! I'm very opinionated: stay away from the passive EMG "Selects", they $uck! Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeeMonkey Posted May 21, 2004 Author Share Posted May 21, 2004 is it possible to do the EMG81 and 2 EMG SA setup on a stratocaster? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werewolf by Night Posted May 21, 2004 Share Posted May 21, 2004 Oh, yeah, as long as the body is routed for a humbucker sized pickup. Worst thing would be having to have it routed, and getting a new pickguard. (EMG offers a variety of pre-loaded pickguards, too.) The 81 and 85 are the same size, and the 85 and two SAs are what's on mine. If I remember right, the 81 is a hotter, more "metal"-oriented humbucker than the 85. But the 85 has plenty high enough output as it is! The difference in output between the SAs and the 81 may be quite a bit, though. (They do also make a humbucker-sized model that is supposed to switch between an SA sound and output and that of the 85.) Their newer production-runs also solderless, using clips to connect (although you may still have to solder to the output jack; mine were put in the guitar about 1986 or so, they're all soldered). If you go with a H-S-S set-up, you'll especially benefit from the aforementioned EXP and SPC controls; very versatile! Super-clean bell-tones and fat, round leads. Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daddyelmis Posted May 21, 2004 Share Posted May 21, 2004 Originally posted by Caevan O'Shite: Their newer production-runs also solderless, using clips to connect (although you may still have to solder to the output jack; mine were put in the guitar about 1986 or so, they're all soldered). I love the SA's --- I have the Gilmour set up on my 82 American Strat. Extremely versatile. I don't find it "digitally sterile" at all, and in fact get a lot of tone compliments on that middle/bridge in-between tone when just overdriven (especially on the Steely Dan tunes). Not to hijack this thread, but I'm wondering when guitar makers and pickup makers will go to a common connector-interface so switching pickups would be effortless. Some say that they don't do this because it forces a buyer to stay with one pickup -- but with GAS being what it is, I think most players would have a dozen sets of pickups and would regularly change them if it was as simple as plugging in the new ones (basically like you'd change out a hard drive on a computer). Anyway, sorry for the rant but Caevan's connector comment hit a nerve that's been raw since I've been trying to replace JB's on the LP, install 59's on my Sheraton, etc. www.ruleradio.com "Fame is like death: We will never know what it looks like until we've reached the other side. Then it will be impossible to describe and no one will believe you if you try." - Sloane Crosley, Village Voice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werewolf by Night Posted May 21, 2004 Share Posted May 21, 2004 I very much agree with ya, daddyelmis! Changing pickups can be a royal pain in the @$$; if it were simpler and quicker, sales would probably go up. Look at how well pedals do- and ask yourself, why... As for the active EMG SAs, I just found that I'd often hear something when I picked up a Strat- or Tele-style axe with passive DiMarzios or Seymour Duncans, etc., that made me go, "Oooh! There it is!", that something would be what was somehow missing in my SAs. But by the same token, the passive models didn't have the sustain, output, stamina (ability to force their way through any amount of effects and processing like a rhino with a firehose), and noise-free operation that the SAs had in spades. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/icons/icon3.gif P.S.- Peemonkey- if you do get the EMGs, make absolutely sure to get the Volume (and, if you don't get the EXP and SPC controls, the Tone) pots from EMG, too. They have their own specific values and tapers that work best with their pickups. Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeeMonkey Posted May 21, 2004 Author Share Posted May 21, 2004 Thanks everyone for the info.. I have a few more questions? If I do the H-S-S setup on my strat, ive seen on the website that they have already made pickguard setups, do these fit on my stratocaster? Its the KH20 kirkhammet setup of EMG 81 and 2 EMG-S's (heres the link) http://www.emginc.com/displayproducts.asp?section=Guitar&categoryid=11&catalogid=106 Heres a link for the combination system on EMG website:(http://www.emginc.com/displayproducts.asp?section=Guitar&categoryid=7&catalogid=103) Whats the main difference between the EMG S and the EMG SA? Also is it better to just buy the parts and the pickguard and peice them together, or just go for the already setup one made by EMG. ALso if I do get all the peices and stuff I have no knowledge of putting in pickups because i have never done it before, so how much would it cost for a store to do it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daddyelmis Posted May 21, 2004 Share Posted May 21, 2004 The EMG "complete pickguard" setup works great IF IF IF your strat is routed for the humbuckers already. Otherwise, you (or your local guitar tech) will have to rout the single coil body cavities to make them big enough to accept the humbuckers. The Gilmour set I bought for my strat (3 SA's with the EXP and SPC on a pearl pickguard) dropped right into the strat with no mod's. Simply soldered the ground and input jack wires, attached the battery, and BANG! in business. One other unsolicited piece of advice . . . I'd use a 9v lithium battery rather than the regular 9v alkaline. You can get the lithiums at Radio Shack for $5 or so, but they last something like 5x as long a alkaline. Considering you'll likely have to remove the pickguard to replace the battery, it's not something you want to do often. Also, ALWAYS unplug your guitar when you're not playing . . . the battery drains whenever there's a cable plugged into the guitar. www.ruleradio.com "Fame is like death: We will never know what it looks like until we've reached the other side. Then it will be impossible to describe and no one will believe you if you try." - Sloane Crosley, Village Voice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werewolf by Night Posted May 21, 2004 Share Posted May 21, 2004 Their pickguards generally fit any "standard" Strat configuration; what exactly is your guitar? If it's a Fender Strat, or if a standard Strat 'guard will normally fit it, the EMG guards will likely fit fine. The EMG S is a brighter (and, perhaps, louder) pickup than the SA. The SAs use alnico-magnets for polepieces, while the Ss use ceramic-magnets for polepieces. Well, is there a big difference in price, between getting the parts separately, and getting them in the package-deal? I would tend to think that you may as well go with the convenience of the package/pre-mounted pickguard, and likely "get it right the first time"! Sounds worth a reasonable price difference to me... Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StinkMonkey Posted May 22, 2004 Share Posted May 22, 2004 I have a MIM Canadian Limited Edition Fat Strat you can kinda see at www.stinkmonkey.com. I installed the SA/SA/85 active set up. Because of the Custom Shop color I couldn't find a pickguard already set up. EMG's come with everything you need to install them, parts and diagrams. I had to use my die grinder to enlarge the humbucker cutout on the pickguard just a hair as the corners weren't as rounded on the EMG as the stock humbucker. I also had to drill a center hole because my humbucker was the 2and1 hole config and the EMG was the 1/1 hole config. No one notices the other two holes unless I point them out. I still need to route the botton of the jack hole (as the EMG jack is just a tad deeper) a little more but so far it hasn't been a real problem. I didn't route the back for a battery compartment, I was able to isolate the battery under the pickguard and every six month or so during a string change I pop off the pickguard and change the battery. If your not comfortable with or aren't prepared to handle any unexpected situations that come up, pay the money for a good tech to do it. Tone? Friggin'awesome. I'm glad I did it. One thing I love about my Strats is they're pretty easy to modify. I've got a FrankenStrat 'almost twin' I put Texas Specials in. Now I got almost all the tones. Play really loud and everything will be allright. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeeMonkey Posted May 22, 2004 Author Share Posted May 22, 2004 Do you guys think putting 2 EMG 81's is better, or to get the EMG 81/SA/SA set up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeeMonkey Posted May 22, 2004 Author Share Posted May 22, 2004 Do you guys think putting 2 EMG 81's is better, or to get the EMG 81/SA/SA set up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werewolf by Night Posted May 22, 2004 Share Posted May 22, 2004 That depends on whether you want a little "Strat" mojo or two-humbucker muscle... By the way, the EMG 85 might make a good neck-position pickup, with the EMG 81 in the bridge-position. The 85 is a little bit lower in overall output, and a little more "vintage" in tone. That would make it a clearer sounding HB for the neck-position, paired with the hotter, mo' modern 81. Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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