Why Ibanez players hate EMG's? - Page 7

Trapezoid · #91 12-24-2012, 04:26 AM

It's either me or my flawed earing, but I always found EMGs to distort the sound even when playing clean. I dislike pickups that don't sound clear, and I have never heard a guitar with EMGs on it that sounded clear enough for me.

LonePhantom · #92 12-24-2012, 05:08 AM

Well the pickups were too high then. Too many people jack them right up just because they can. Lower them and then you'll get some cleans.

DistAndMoreDist · #93 12-24-2012, 07:24 AM

Exactly, you can definitely get an appropriate clean tones out of EMG, just lower the pickup and tweak the EQ/roll back the volume pot... I love EMG in every possible way. Emg X didn't get such positive reviews because it sounds more natural but it lacks the bite and crunch of the original. Still the new 57/66 combo sounds beautiful.

HoosierDaddy · #94 01-16-2013, 09:34 AM

Yeah, or the pickups were to blame for something that could be solved with amp settings. You have to really use a clean channel with loads of headroom or turn down the volume. The nice thing about EMG's is that when you roll back the volume, they don't get darker sounding, but retain their clarity. EMG's have so many good things about them I love them. They are so quiet for the amount of gain I use and it's quite a bit. Not as much as NuMetal or something, but that's not the point. They are quiet. You can't get shocked as you're not the ground with EMG's as you are with Passives. You can use a cord that's 2945 feet long if you want and the signal doesn't degrade, etc, etc,. Now, you do have to get used to active tone, which is different, but I don't think it's bad. That's the cool thing about Music. You do what you want and hope others like it... I think if Randy Rhoades were here he'd use EMG's. I'm sure of it.. :-). Not sure, but I think he would.. at this age especially.. Us old guys like them .. LOL

silverctr · #95 01-16-2013, 02:07 PM

After having just put a set in my RG2EX2 (thanks LonePhantom!) I love these things! I put the 85 in the bridge and the 81 in the neck. Although the 81 is a little gritty on the clean channel regardless of its height, the 85 in the bridge totally creams my twinkie! I wanted a guitar just for downtuned(drop C) chugging (djenting?) and now I have it. Totally stoked!

LonePhantom · #96 01-16-2013, 02:50 PM

Good stuff. Glad they worked out for you.

MatiasTolkki · #97 01-19-2013, 05:22 AM

Does EMG make single coils also? I might wanna put those into my GRX40 Gio Ibby to make it sound better. I really cant touch the thing because it sounds so bad with the stock pups.

t1mman · #98 01-19-2013, 08:33 AM

Yes they do, just look on the website to see if it would fit your needs.

You can also look for HotRails from Seymour Duncan for a single coil with high output.

63Blazer · #99 01-22-2013, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DistAndMoreDist

This was always interesting to me. Ibanez artist and players generally avoid putting
active pickups in their guitars. Why is that? Is it because Vai-Gilbert-Satch-Petrucci(ex) and others have always prefered Dimarzio so I should too? I am planning to put EMGs in my new Premium because I simply love the sound of the pickup. But I would love to hear your opinion on this one. Which passive pickup could ever have similar specs?

Ibanezes would do just as fine with EMGs as rival ESP.

I think where someone like ESP has pretty much cornered the OEM thing with EMGs, Ibanez has done well with lower cost DiMarzios and it's what we got used to with either aftermarket DiMarzios or IBZs. Neither one is better and if a player wants a guitar right from the start with EMGs, then ESP/LTD seem to be the best dollar for dollar choice.

Schechter seems to have partnered most with Seymour Duncan and have the most stock with them.

Other companies have some small offerings with those major pickup companies (Gibson - EMG and DiMarzio, Fender -Seymour Duncan and DiMarzio) but for the most part the three major pickup companies have their favorites and EMG is married with ESP/LTD and Ibanez with DiMarzio and it's been that way for a long time.

Oddly, nobody picked up Seymour Duncan in a big way for years until Schechter came along with a lot of models. ESP has a few with Duncans in more modest offerings but that company is more metal based and likes EMGs.

The cheapest path by far is to buy a guitar stock with a major pickup.

Gibson and Fender have their own pickups as does PRS.

t1mman · #**100** 01-22-2013, 01:44 PM

The new line of iron label will be either with EMG's or Dimarzio's

Quote:

Meet Ibanez’s new made-for-metal guitar series, Iron Label. Built on the
“chassis” of our famous RG and S-Series models, we modded and tweaked
with nothing but metal in mind. We took our legendary super-thin, ultra-playable Wizard neck, and upped the ante to Nitro
Wizard— fast and comfortable with added road-tested durability. Whether it’s a 6, 7 or 8-string, every Iron Label axe is matched
perfectly with American-made EMG® or DiMarzio® pickups. Purposefully Spartan, you won’t find a feature here that doesn’t
contribute directly to rattling bones or waking the dead.

There's also a lot of current line models with stock EMG's.

OLIE_ROCKS_THE_80'S · #**101** 01-22-2013, 02:16 PM

This topic has already been debated to death, here and in other guitar forums! EMG's are great pickups for clean and distortion!! Listen to David Gilmour, Steve Lukather and Reb Beach amongst many others if you have any questions...

63Blazer · #**102** 01-22-2013, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OLIE_ROCKS_THE_80'S

This topic has already been debated to death, here and in other guitar forums! EMG's are great pickups for clean and distortion!! Listen to David Gilmour, Steve Lukather and Reb Beach amongst many others if you have any questions...

Excellent point.

I hope EMG would have space for Ibanez if they take the ESP path and offer several EMG'd models for every shape. It would be great to get a whole bunch of different RGs, Ss, X series, Vais, and JS models with an EMG option. I think Vai and Satch could also use the extra endorsement, too from someone like an EMG. Does every major guitarist only have one guitar maker and one amp?

I think too many players put EMGs as pickups used with the hardest forms of metal and while they can get regular tones, nothing beats and EMG for down tuning and death metal and black metal.

7 and 8 string guitars totally excel with EMGs which can retain single note clarity on those lower 7th and 8th strings.

It all depends on where the most popular forms of guitar music goes. I think with Animals as Leaders and others in djent music, more players are going to go with EMG and Tosin Abasi has some great crunch stuff as well as totally clean stuff on the EMG TV site that rocks.

DistAndMoreDist · #**103** 01-23-2013, 04:41 AM

Yesterday I installed EMG 81 in my RG870qmz Premium and these are my thoughts. At first I wasn't so thrilled. Don't get me wrong, it sounded much better than the crappy stock pups but still too bright, over-saturated and without any crunch. I needed to tweak my amp, lower the highs from 6 to 4, and roll back the gain knob from 8 to 6. Then it finally gained some body and I pretty much liked it. You simply need to know your equipment and set it up right for EMGs of which I've been a fan for years. I had it installed in my mahogany Les Paul and it handled high gain stuff much better than my mid-rangy basswood RG. This is a proof that EMG doesn't sound the same in every single guitar, if you think so, you sir, are a noob. I still have my doubts abut putting in Crunch Lab but let's wait and see. I'm not sure it would have enough bite I need for death/thrash I mostly play.

Saxopwn · #**104** 01-23-2013, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DistAndMoreDist

Yesterday I installed EMG 81 in my RG870qmz Premium and these are my thoughts. At first I wasn't so thrilled. Don't get me wrong, it sounded much better than the crappy stock pups but still too bright, over-saturated and without any crunch. I needed to tweak my amp, lower the highs from 6 to 4, and roll back the gain knob from 8 to 6. Then it finally gained some body and I pretty much liked it. You simply need to know your equipment and set it up right for EMGs of which I've been a fan for years. I had it installed in my mahogany Les Paul and it handled high gain stuff much better than my mid-rangy basswood RG. This is a proof that EMG doesn't sound the same in every single guitar, if you think so, you sir, are a noob. I still have my doubts abut putting in Crunch Lab but let's wait and see. I'm not sure it would have enough bite I need for death/thrash I mostly play.

I recently put a Crunchlab 7 and Liquifire 7 in my RG1527. I really like the crunchlab, but I'd say it had less crunch than an Evo. The one I can't seem to get a great sound out of is the liquifire. I've played with it at every height and where it is now and further from the strings sounds weak and and closer to them sounds "tinny", but it's still better than the stock pickup I replaced.

63Blazer · #**105** 01-23-2013, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DistAndMoreDist

Yesterday I installed EMG 81 in my RG870qmz Premium and these are my thoughts. At first I wasn't so thrilled. Don't get me wrong, it sounded much better than the crappy stock pups but still too bright, over-saturated and without any crunch. I needed to tweak my amp, lower the highs from 6 to 4, and roll back the gain knob from 8 to 6. Then it finally gained some body and I pretty much liked it. You simply need to know your equipment and set it up right for EMGs of which I've been a fan for years. I had it installed in my mahogany Les Paul and it handled high gain stuff much better than my mid-rangy basswood RG. This is a proof that EMG doesn't sound the same in every single guitar, if you think so, you sir, are a noob. I still have my doubts abut putting in Crunch Lab but let's wait and see. I'm not sure it would have enough bite I need for death/thrash I mostly play.

They are such friendly pickups when you want to tweak a signal with the amp or pedals. They retain their clarity so well.

But what I have found with any solidbody is that they do tend to sound about the same, as compared with let's say a passive PAF within different solidbodies. I got so much more movement with tone from fat to thinner with going from mahogany to basswood or alder with the passives. However, that same basic powerful tone sounds the same with EMG 81s whether it's in a Les Paul Custom or a Stratocaster with floyd. It takes a note and sustains it so well that the whole issue of not sustaining enough doesn't apply to the 81.

I don't know if that means I like the passives or EMG better but certainly the sound from the 81 is so much more predictable and I won't find myself wondering how to get a sound when I know what I can expect from the get go.

That being said, I don't know what the effect of my semi-hollowbody Artcore AS73 would have on a pair of EMGs. My guess is that there would in that case be somewhat less sustain but if my experiences with 81s over the years proves correct, it would basically sound the same as the strats and Les Pauls outfitted with same. I would concede that 81s in a full hollowbody would not sustain the same but many higher end jazz guitars have active humbuckers probably for the fact that they have superb note clarity.