EMG S/SA pickups, any good?

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Tawlks

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I recently bought a 1985 Tokai superstrat which I love, it came with a single EMG 81 but no middle/neck pickups, I miss not having a neck pickup, I use cleans alot and an 81 in the bridge doesn't cut it for the smooth cleans I'm going for.

Since it's already got EMGs and I'm a fan of the brand, I was wondering what are your thoughts on the S and SA pickups by EMG, and how are they different to eachother.
 
I have SA's in in my Caparison with the EMG Afterburner pot thing. Even with that I don't care for them...
 
I had an S in my Gary Kramer Delta wing and it had a noticeable drop in volume when switching from the 85 in the bridge to the S. It wasn't anything special tone-wise.
10831_531106586655_67402512_31406141_5100076_n.jpg
 
i have both i switch between the sa and the s sometimes in the neck of my kamikaze and have had the single coil emgs in a number of the guitars ive sold

their okay but nothing special at all

i prefer the clean tones i would get from the emg 60 rather than the single coil emgs. the single coils just dont really cut enough

the S has sparkly highs with rounded out medium lows and the SA is just a cluttered loose dark sounding mushy pickup with horrible note definition and WAY too much bass. honestly the only guitar that i had the sa sound good in was my esp stephen carpenter, but that guitar was REALLY bright and on the thin side so it worked out good in that one

i love and use emgs in all my guitars so if i have a guitar that came stock with passives and had a single in the neck position that i need to swap out, i have no choice but to use one of them .... and if i did have to choose between the SA or the S id deff choose the S

its clearer and you could actually switch it on for leads cuz its much sharper in attack compared to the SA, but it still cleans up nicely
 
Big Rich":28qkw34e said:
i have both i switch between the sa and the s sometimes in the neck of my kamikaze and have had the single coil emgs in a number of the guitars ive sold

their okay but nothing special at all

i prefer the clean tones i would get from the emg 60 rather than the single coil emgs. the single coils just dont really cut enough

the S has sparkly highs with rounded out medium lows and the SA is just a cluttered loose dark sounding mushy pickup with horrible note definition and WAY too much bass

i love and use emgs in all my guitars so if i have a guitar that came stock with passives and had a single in the neck position that i need to swap out, i have no choice but to use one of them .... and if i did have to choose between the SA or the S id deff choose the S

its clearer and you could actually switch it on for leads cuz its much sharper in attack compared to the SA, but it still cleans up nicely
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Ooh. that's kinda dissapointing, are there any other active single-coils I should consider? Does EMG make a 60 or something in a SC housing? That would be ideal, I love the 85/60 combo. Sadly I only have 81s.. :P
 
the rossness":3r5wn8c2 said:
I had an S in my Gary Kramer Delta wing and it had a noticeable drop in volume when switching from the 85 in the bridge to the S. It wasn't anything special tone-wise.
10831_531106586655_67402512_31406141_5100076_n.jpg
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All my EMG guitars are wired at 18v, would that even off the volume difference at all?
 
I have an 85 from one of my guitars i could trade you for your 81, or you coukd just buy a dual humbucker pickguard and Put a 60 in. If your guitar has a pick guard. :dunno:
 
no they dont make the 60s in a single coil housing, i wish they did cuz id have them in all my single coil guitars

if your guitar is routed for a humbucker just throw a 60 in the neck and it will sound awesome
 
I have the SAs in my RBM2...they have a very pristine, almost hi-fi kind of sound on their own and a nice beefy fat single coil sound when used with EMG's mid boost circuitry (can't recall the name of the unit).

EDIT: The mid boost is the EMG SPC. Also, I just noticed Big Rich's comments...my experience is completely different.
 
roadifier":myyrfdn2 said:
I have an 85 from one of my guitars i could trade you for your 81, or you coukd just buy a dual humbucker pickguard and Put a 60 in. If your guitar has a pick guard. :dunno:
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That sounds good. :) How much would shipping from The US to England/England to US be? Definitely interested. PM me.

The guitar has one humbucker and two single coil routes so a 60 isn't feasible without routing, which I'd rather not do.
 
I like them better than any other EMG. That said, you could easliy find a single-coil that sounds better imo.
 
The S was too harsh for me. It has some insane treble that never smoothed out in my Caparison, and that's a naturally dark guitar. I much preferred the SA.
 
chunktone":1xoqshfd said:
I like them better than any other EMG. That said, you could easliy find a single-coil that sounds better imo.
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I'd rather stick to actives than have an Active/Passive circuit. Plus this guitar is my metal workhorse, EMGs are great for what I use it for.
 
the rossness":1jnm25s1 said:
Tawlks":1jnm25s1 said:
What about the SV and SLV?
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I think the SLV is exclusive to steve lukathur's EBMM guitars.
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You can buy it separately. It's supposed to be a slightly modded SA.
 
SA = Alnico
S = Ceramic

Both are great single coil EMGs. The S is brighter, more upper end chime. The SA has a warmer single coil tone. So choose accordingly.

Listen to any live David Gilmour with the red Strat and you'll hear the SA sound.

I use the SA in any single coil guitar I have with EMGs.
 
Death by Uberschall":1isnjv9q said:
SA = Alnico
S = Ceramic

Both are great single coil EMGs. The S is brighter, more upper end chime. The SA has a warmer single coil tone. So choose accordingly.

Listen to any live David Gilmour with the red Strat and you'll hear the SA sound.

I use the SA in any single coil guitar I have with EMGs.
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Ahhh I love Gilmour's tone.. all of it. :)
 
I want a neck pickup for cleans, really articulate clean passages for my own stuff and jazz. Couldn't hurt to have a good chunky thick blues tone, like a beefed up strat.
 
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