So, my first experience with EMG’s. The 81 in the bridge seems a bit dark and scooped compared to my others with JB in the bridge…

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So, I always heard they were bright and hot and super gainy. Anyone else. New guitar, put in a new battery, sounds the same. Just curious. Definitely not what I was expecting. They still sound good, just dark and a little muddy. Just upped the mids and treble on the amp and it’s fine. Huh.
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Maybe your guitars tone more than the pickup in a way because I found the EMG 81 to be brighter and not much gainier than the JB. Maybe I'm remembering it wrong, idk. o_O
I much prefer the 85, but it's lacking in highs maybe a touch. I have the splitable 57/66, and so far, idk. More listening to do.
Do u have any ESPs? :ROFLMAO:
 
When I put an EMG 81 in the bridge position of my mahogany bodied guitar with a maple top, I thought it had such an extended treble response that it sounded like it was part single coil.

EMG 81's are the farthest thing from "dark" on my experience. They aren't quite as bright as the brightest pickups I've ever heard (Bill Lawrence XL's like Dimebag used), but they're bright.

They're actually not all that hot though. A lot of people think they are but they're really not. They're slightly hotter than medium output. They get the reputation of being hot mostly because people think "well metal players use them so they must be hot," even though, again they're really not. What's happening is that they are slightly compressed, and their low impedance output retains their brightness across long cable runs, and that extended, retained treble impacts the way amps feel and respond to playing, in a similar way to how a boost pedal might change the feel of an amp, so they feel hot, but they're not actually all that hot.
 
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TheGreatGreen said:
When I put an EMG 81 in the bridge position of my mahogany bodied guitar with a maple top, it had such an extended treble response that it sounded like it was part single coil.

EMG-81's are the farthest thing from "dark." They aren't quite as bright as the brightest pickups I've ever heard (Bill Lawrence XL's like Dimebag used), but they're bright.
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Yes that’s exactly what I have always heard. I was nervous when I flipped on my amp plugged in to hit that first cord I thought it was gonna be bright and explosive it was just the opposite. Strange
 
Just loaded an 85 in the bridge, 81 in the neck for my LPC. It thumps and had plenty of mids, highs not so much but I have a maple neck and ebony board which balances it out.

I hate 81 in the bridge normally, too bright and scooped for my preference.
 
Not surprised… another terrible internet myth: EMG’s sound the same in everything… couldn’t be farther from the truth in my opinion. Differences are gonna vary in every guitar, although they definitely have a signature type of tone.
 
Of course guitar itself depend. I compared LTD EC-1000 and EMG Eclipse, both with EMGs 81/85. ESP has much more bottom end and clarity overall. LTD sounded flat and lifeless in comparison. So ‘problem’ is in the guitar. 😀
 
bubucci said:
Of course guitar itself depend. I compared LTD EC-1000 and EMG Eclipse, both with EMGs 81/85. ESP has much more bottom end and clarity overall. LTD sounded flat and lifeless in comparison. So ‘problem’ is in the guitar. 😀
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Sure you did
 
I really love the EMGs in my Les Paul. It’s a welcomed break from playing super low output vintage pickups (T tops, A2 BB2s/BB1, etc). It will spoil you 😂

With that said you don’t have as much dynamics from your pick attack transfer through to your playing but on the flip side, you can pull off some pretty gnarly runs blues style and chicken picking without worry of needing to hit the strings hard to ring out.

You need to have a good sounding guitar regardless - acoustically they can’t make up everything on their own.
 
glpg80 said:
I really love the EMGs in my Les Paul. It’s a welcomed break from playing super low output vintage pickups (T tops, A2 BB2s/BB1, etc). It will spoil you 😂

With that said you don’t have as much dynamics from your pick attack transfer through to your playing but on the flip side, you can pull off some pretty gnarly runs blues style and chicken picking without worry of needing to hit the strings hard to ring out.

You need to have a good sounding guitar regardless - acoustically they can’t make up everything on their own.
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That’s definitely what throws me off about EMG’s. Losing the dynamics makes them easier to play but if you like to dig in and get “more” you can’t.
 
glpg80 said:
Just loaded an 85 in the bridge, 81 in the neck for my LPC. It thumps and had plenty of mids, highs not so much but I have a maple neck and ebony board which balances it out.

I hate 81 in the bridge normally, too bright and scooped for my preference.
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I've been running my EMGs this way for a few decades now... I love the 85 in the Bridge, and the 81 in the neck.
 
VESmedic said:
Not surprised… another terrible internet myth: EMG’s sound the same in everything… couldn’t be farther from the truth in my opinion. Differences are gonna vary in every guitar, although they definitely have a signature type of tone.
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See, this myth is proven correct in the one example I had...EMGs in 2 of my Charvels, about 7 years back. They sounded damn near identical..one was a custom shop the other a USA Pro Mod. I liked the tone...until I got bored and wanted to go back to Duncan Customs. After the switch back, each guitar was far different in tone than with the EMGs. So, in my experience that internet myth was proven correct. Maybe it was just a coincidence.
 
psychodave said:
I like EMG’s and I never found the 81 dark. It’s usually on the brighter side.

I wish EMG would make an 81/85 with faux pole pieces and aged nickel covers. I’d load them in my LP right now. 🤣
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Word✊
 
The 85 is a brighter pickup than the 81. EMG never specified neck or bridge, alot of players used the 85 in the neck though. Both have the smooth / compressed attack deal.

Ive sold and installed Lots of EMGs over the years…they really take the guitar differences out of the mix. Being low impedance they were nice driving alot of rack gear or long cables. Might be why they were thought to be high output. Very quiet noisewise.
Never cared for them myself.
 
I have 81 in almost every guitar I own/owned. I love them and don’t find them Dark/bright. :)
 
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The EMG 81 is anything except dark and muddy. It was wired wrong or the pup is defective. Especially compared to a SD JB. User error.
 
This:

“When I put an EMG 81 in the bridge position of my mahogany bodied guitar with a maple top, I thought it had such an extended treble response that it sounded like it was part single coil.”

I totally agree and had the exact same experience running an 81 in a Mahogany bodied slap-together sooper strat build. I was a die-hard EMG player for a long, long time and ultimately gravitated to the 57 as my favorite EMG bridge pickup. I have since swapped an assortment of passives in almost all of my guitars, but left the 57s in a few builds just because I still dig ‘em!
 
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