Nitefly SA Posted August 9, 2005 Report Share Posted August 9, 2005 I am going to buy an RG and my plan is to make it the most versatile guitar ever, my plans include a coil tap for both of the humbuckers and an active boost circuit, but i can't decide whether to get EMG's(81 and 85) or DiMarzios(evoulution and PAF pro) and in the single coil i was either going to get another EMG , a YJM, or a HS-3.if any one has any suggestions, pros and cons, please help me out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
borge Posted August 9, 2005 Report Share Posted August 9, 2005 well if your going for versatility i would vote against EMGs as(allthough i love them) they dont do much else asides from a heavy rock/metal tone and they cant be split (asides from the 89). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitefly SA Posted August 9, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2005 well if your going for versatility i would vote against EMGs as(allthough i love them) they dont do much else asides from a heavy rock/metal tone and they cant be split (asides from the 89). ← But Kirk hammet's setup has 2 EMG 81's and a five way switch so they have to be able to split....right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Churchyard Posted August 9, 2005 Report Share Posted August 9, 2005 (edited) But Kirk hammet's setup has 2 EMG 81's and a five way switch so they have to be able to split....right? ← AFAIK it has a three way switch. (And in fact: ESP specifications of Kirk's guitar). Besides, except those EMGs with dual output (e.g. EMG 89, don't know if there are others), none of them is able to split the coils. If you want to go for versatility I would definitely not suggest EMG 81s. And the Kirk Hammett Signature is not exactly what I would define "versatile"... The Evos are able to split for sure... If you go for passive pickups, you cannot use (or at least it is not advisable) to use an active EMG singlecoil extra... The real question is, what should your guitar be able to do? What do you want her to be? Edited August 9, 2005 by Mr.Churchyard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted August 9, 2005 Report Share Posted August 9, 2005 dave gilmour seems to do well with emg. BUT...you will get more combinations from the dimarzio's. if you ant to use emgs(which i would...i love them...)i would use an 81 at the bridge(no coil tap),an s in the middle,and an 89 at the neck(it will split.) that would give you a pretty dang versatile instrument. all of my emg equipped guitars give a good clean...better really in my mind than a split passive humbucker. but if versatility is what i wanted...i think a duncan jb(bridge) duncan cool rails(middle) and a duncan 59 or jazz(neck) is pretty gnarly.and both of those humbuckers split. drak runs what he says is a very versatile setup...ask him what he uses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted August 9, 2005 Report Share Posted August 9, 2005 Go either way, is up to you at the end, no matter how much we post your ears are the ones that will tell you which to get. What type of music you will be palying? That's a big factor, and since you want tap, you can get the EMG =89 and 89R for the neck, this way you can get single coil at both ends, and ad an S or SA to the middle. Or go the passive way... me I prefer EMG, no matter what, they are less noisy that any passive you can get Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitefly SA Posted August 9, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2005 I do play metal/rock so the EMGs may be good but i also play surf so thats why i want a coil tap, i do really like vais sound though and DiMarzios do tend to be pretty crunchy (ME LIKEY) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorecki Posted August 9, 2005 Report Share Posted August 9, 2005 I expected to pickup some evolutions but got the impression they are too hot for most situations. I would lean toward Wes's suggestions of 81-SA-89 or if possible an 89-SA-89 will give you the largest flexiblity EMG's can do I believe. Just keep in mind hot pickups narrow the scope of flexiblity. You mentioned a booster circuit and that would be my choice of 'pushing over the edge' on a fuller range pickup than a pickup that is hot and overly mid'y you will have less control over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egdeltar Posted August 9, 2005 Report Share Posted August 9, 2005 Dimarzio Tone Zones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted August 9, 2005 Report Share Posted August 9, 2005 also keep in mind that i BELIEVE that the 89 acts like an 85 when it is in humbucker mode....therefore i would not put it in the bridge...the 85 in a bridge position is a bit muddy...but in the neck it can't be beat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitefly SA Posted August 9, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2005 also keep in mind that i BELIEVE that the 89 acts like an 85 when it is in humbucker mode....therefore i would not put it in the bridge...the 85 in a bridge position is a bit muddy...but in the neck it can't be beat. ← I was just about to ask what the recommended position was for the 89,couold anybody tell me what the numbers are for? (61,85,81 etc.) do they have anything to do with the level of output? could i just get a dimazio in the bridge and a 89 in the neck? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
borge Posted August 9, 2005 Report Share Posted August 9, 2005 could i just get a dimazio in the bridge and a 89 in the neck? ← no, not at all. passives and actives dont mix. allthough ive read about people saying they are going to try it, ive never heard about it working. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted August 9, 2005 Report Share Posted August 9, 2005 also keep in mind that i BELIEVE that the 89 acts like an 85 when it is in humbucker mode....therefore i would not put it in the bridge...the 85 in a bridge position is a bit muddy...but in the neck it can't be beat. ← I was just about to ask what the recommended position was for the 89,couold anybody tell me what the numbers are for? (61,85,81 etc.) do they have anything to do with the level of output? could i just get a dimazio in the bridge and a 89 in the neck? ← they are just model numbers,that's all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Executioner606 Posted August 9, 2005 Report Share Posted August 9, 2005 You can mix passive and actives but its too much trouble. Ive seen Neal do it at least once. http://www.nealmoser.com/images/Rave%20full%20size.jpg " I've converted it to 2 pickups, 1 passive and one active and put them on a one or the other switch." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnewman Posted August 9, 2005 Report Share Posted August 9, 2005 It's not hard... get a double pole double throw switch, and take the passive output to one pole and the active/preamp output to the other pole, center lugs to the standard mono 1/4" jack. That's all it takes for one or the other. Trying to mix the two together without a special preamp (like the L.R. Baggs Ctrl-X does for their piezo bridges and passive guitar pickups) wouldn't work well because of impedance differences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorecki Posted August 10, 2005 Report Share Posted August 10, 2005 could i just get a dimazio in the bridge and a 89 in the neck? ← no, not at all. passives and actives dont mix. allthough ive read about people saying they are going to try it, ive never heard about it working. ← We've had this discussion before, I've never done it with EMG's but have done it with Duncan LiveWires for a very long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted August 10, 2005 Report Share Posted August 10, 2005 both cam be mix, it is not advisable, but there is a way, go to the EMG site they have it under the FAQs. Wes, I don't think that the 85 is too muddy at the bridge like you say, of course it is not as bright as the 81, but it is plenty for any metal-rock tone. Just a bit more on the treble EQ and that's it. This is the same as my 707 and i have no complain about it. And if you go with 2 89 and an SA yoiu need an 89R for the neck, not to many people know they exist, since they are not on the EMG humbucker guide online. But on the specs sheet. the 89 have the single coil that gets tapped in the bottom while the 89R got it on the top closer to the neck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saber Posted August 10, 2005 Report Share Posted August 10, 2005 If you end up going with DiMarzio's, instead of a HS-3 or a YJM I'd go with one of the VirtuAL 2 or Virtual Vintage pickups. They have a bit higher output, and less string pull due to the Alnico 2 magnets. And they sound a lot more like real single coil pickups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoJo T. Magnifficent Posted August 10, 2005 Report Share Posted August 10, 2005 Out of those choices, Id go with the Dimarzios, with an HS-3 in the mid, im not really a fan of the YJM. EMG's are good, but they wouldnt be my choice for versitility, except for the single coils, EMG single coils are great. Wes's suggestion of the duncans is pretty good too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saber Posted August 10, 2005 Report Share Posted August 10, 2005 (edited) The HS-3 and the YJM are almost identical except that the YJM has "vintage 50's staggered" poles, and it's just a tiny bit brighter sounding. Anyway, the HS-3 was introduced 25 years ago and is the "old technology" where "hum-cancelling single-coil" pickups are concerned. And at 23.75kOhm, 93mV, I doubt you would get great results when used in combination with any humbucker that's either in humbucking or split mode. If the HS-3 sound suits your tastes, fine, especially if used with other HS-3's, HS-2's or YJM's. But if you're looking to get as many sounds as possible by combining it with humbuckers and you want a pickup that sounds closer to a genuine single-coil pickup, I think a better choice is one of the newer VirtuAL 2 or Virtual Vintage models. Just my 2 cents worth. Edited August 10, 2005 by Saber Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted August 17, 2005 Report Share Posted August 17, 2005 OK check out www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk these sound better than anything else out there and he's a fast growing hand-wound company. I have aMiracle Man that pisses all over my EMG ZW set in terms of tone and harmonics (pinch harmonics are awesome!!!) and cos its passive it splits well. Or Go for the Warpig, this has more output than an 81 but sounds so good that by winding back the volume it cleans up great!! this is because it uses an Alnico magnet and all are scatter wound, apparently French jazz players love them so they must be able to clean up well as well as splitting very well. I strongly reccomend them and if you talk to Tim the guy and al of the BKP staff, then they can point you in the right direction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted August 17, 2005 Report Share Posted August 17, 2005 these sound better than anything else out there Are you sure? I mean, I wouldn't want to buy anything if it wasn't the best... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank falbo Posted August 17, 2005 Report Share Posted August 17, 2005 Right! all those famous records, all those various favorite guitar players we have, they're all idiots. They need to all dump their signature pickups and custom winds and switch to these. Remember, there's no "best" in art. And if your pickups are urinating all over your EMG's I'd have that checked out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted August 17, 2005 Report Share Posted August 17, 2005 But in the case of the Great Bill Lawrence Pickup Controversy, it's okay to choose sides Bill and Becky! Bill and Becky! C'mon, they're a sweet old couple! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivin Posted August 18, 2005 Report Share Posted August 18, 2005 OK check out www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk these sound better than anything else out there and he's a fast growing hand-wound company. I have aMiracle Man that pisses all over my EMG ZW set in terms of tone and harmonics (pinch harmonics are awesome!!!) and cos its passive it splits well. Or Go for the Warpig, this has more output than an 81 but sounds so good that by winding back the volume it cleans up great!! this is because it uses an Alnico magnet and all are scatter wound, apparently French jazz players love them so they must be able to clean up well as well as splitting very well. I strongly reccomend them and if you talk to Tim the guy and al of the BKP staff, then they can point you in the right direction. ← I'll just add a quick sidenote to that: 1x Miracle Man Humbucker = ~$180USD + Delivery If anyone here has played Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas... "we've put a price on salvation, and beleive me, its a price worth paying" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.