I decided to do some pickup swaps after being dissatisfied with the EMG 81 which sounded hollow and undefined in the bridge of my ESP LTD Arrow guitar. (Mahogany body, maple set through neck, rosewood fingerboard).
I tried the Seymour Duncan Ahb-3 EMTY Neck pickup in the bridge today and was underwhelmed. Being an Alnico pickup, I was hoping it would be like the EMG 85 in the bridge, but it's very different.
What I liked: The tightness in the low end, It's almost as tight the Ahb-3 bridge pickup. The output is perfect, slightly less output than the bridge version so you can raise it higher towards the strings and it won't be crazy hot. The palm mutes are punchy and tight. Great harmonics.
What I didn't like: Although it has less treble, there's a brightness somewhere in the high end that makes it harsh and unpleasant. The mids feel almost unnatural. Just feels like it belongs in the neck as intended.
What I'm undecided about: The low mids are more pronounced, nothing too over the top, but I prefer the overall sound of the AHB-3 bridge pickup in the bridge as the treble extends further making it more cutting with better pick attack, and without the harsh brightness.
Conclusion: The EMG 85 and especially 85X sound better and more natural in the bridge than the AHB-3 N. It may not be as tight but it sounds full, beefy, and the mids are more pleasing to the ear for riffing.
So far, the pickups that sound best in the bridge of this guitar from best to worse are:
1. AHB-3 Bridge (Tight, punchy palm mutes, balanced mids, cutting top end)
2. EMG 85X (Slightly tighter bass and more high mids/treble than the 85)
3. EMG 85 (Fullest mids, more low mids, deeper bass, rolled off treble)
4. EMG 81X (Slightly more open mids and more dynamic than the Emg 81)
5. EMG 81 (Very tight, scooped low mids, pronounced high mids, hollow sounding, poor note definition)
6. AHB-3 Neck (Tight, punchy, harsh brightness, unnatural mids)
