EMG 81/85 Vs Seymour Duncan JB/Jazz

[metal]

EMG 81/85 is used by Zakk Wylde and Seymour Duncan JB/Jazz is used by Dave mustaine of megadeth...

Which pickup set do you guys think is better for playing 'heavy metal'....??

[Ayrton]

You could not be farther apart comparing those two sets of pups.

The only person in the world that got good tone with EMG was David Gilmour.

What pickups do you have now, and what do you not like about them?

[metal]

well right now i'm having the ESP LH-150 set in my guitar and im not quite satisfied by the overall sound of the pickups... the palm mute and stuff does'nt sound good enough

[JoonasJ]

I cannot compare at all those pups buuut. Active EMG's are great for metal and all kinds of distorted rumble. Loved those on my ESP EC-500 but didn't like the guitar otherwise. Many praises JB/59 combo but i've never got any seriously good tone from them. And heyy, if i'm correct Mustaine has used his own active pickups for quite long time so in that case EMG's should be great to you. In my opinion, if you want balls to your sound and heavier palm muting, don't go with those duncans.

Yeah and i understand why u want to change those LH's

[humpy]

I have EMG 81/85 in my Explorer and they're nice and tight, as JoonasJ said good for palm muting and all that cool metal stuff. I have Lil 59/JB Jr in a Strat and that's a nice combination with the Duckbucker. the 59 is a nice beefy warm (dare I say page-esq) sound. I've always liked the JB and have had them in SG's, LP's & Strats over the last 20 years or so.. great with Marshall & Crybaby when playing Metallica/Motorhead style metal. I've not used the SD Jazz though.

Can you try out some similar guitars with different pickup combinations? I personally don't think either is "better" for playing metal. That comes down to your style, your amp, your effects & your ear.

[kshands]

I can tell. I have had both sets in my main guitar. I traded my JB/59 set for the EMGs. I not saying they were bad or anything I wanted to see if I liked EMGs or not. to turn EMGs are now going into every guitar I have and my future guitars I will own. I like the SD set. I got a good tone with lots of bass, lots of high and about half way on mids. I got a good metal tone but they were plain out noisy with the distortion(i use my amp distortion). I dont use pedals, just plain tone and distortion with effects that are in the amp(a pedal that changes channels and effects). EMGs are awesome. I like the 81/85 set and the 81/60 set. Needs boosted mids with lots of bass and highs. To me the 85 is sorta like a Air Norton with some difference. you can get some scream out of EMGs with longer sustain. They're good for cleans too.

[metal]

Hmm....
I donno why i have seen many people hate EMGs ...they say it has a terrible plastic sound and you can't get your tones sound good with them....

How about the seymor duncan JB SH-4 humbucker?? If compared with EMG 81...which one would give a better metal effect and heavy palm mute??

[metal]

And guys... if im not wrong EMG 81 are active pups and seymour duncan JB SH-4 are passive ..right?? So what differenve does that make

[JoonasJ]

Originally Posted by metal

Hmm....
I donno why i have seen many people hate EMGs ...they say it has a terrible plastic sound and you can't get your tones sound good with them....

How about the seymor duncan JB SH-4 humbucker?? If compared with EMG 81...which one would give a better metal effect and heavy palm mute??

I'm a fan of the passive dimarzios but take those EMG's. They beat JB in every way in what YOU are looking for! Tried duncan distortion also, think that was little better for metal than JB, but emg's still win. Just listen for example Killswitch Engage and you'll get the idea how well those pups suit for metal.

PS. What i think is that people who hate active pups usually plays a lot more cleaner and lighter stuff or classic rock etc...I don't like actives at all either when practicing gilbert, vai or BB King >, actually they suck hard with those styles.

[Mustaine-who?]

Originally Posted by metal

And guys... if im not wrong EMG 81 are active pups and seymour duncan JB SH-4 are passive ..right?? So what differenve does that make

You need to do a little research on other sites (harmony central, seymour duncan, etc...) where you'll find all the information you need...versus just a few responses on here.

And honestly...nothing is better than just biting the bullet and trying them all. I have tried EMG 81, 85, Black Outs bridge and neck, Mustaine Live Wires, as well as many different SD passive PuPs. All have good and bad things about them that no one can tell you for your guitar set-up.

FWIW I have an EMG 85 / BO neck in one Jackson, and a SD Full Shred set in another Jackson. I'm putting a X2N / PAF pro in my Ibanez.

[FFFDFEFRFKFFF]

I actually currently have a Jackson SL4 with a set of EMG's, 81/60, and a MIA strat with two Lil' JB's and I have to take the JB's. I play in a progressive metal band, basically mix BLS, old Metallica, Megadeth, Opeth, Pantera, and some melodic death metal, and I like them better. I have to say that the EMG's are great for the BLS and trash stuff but cleans are nearly unbearable. The JB set, with coil tapping, is great for everything and may not be as tight for some of the quick tremolo picking stuff, sounds a little "straty"(if that is an adjective) but I think that is because they are single coil sized and the guitar is a strat. The Duncan Distortion, I'd say, it is a better match for the EMG's in terms of shear balls and clarity.
I think you could find a set of passives that'd do what you needed. It all comes down to, IMHO, whether or not cleans are that important. They are to me so I'm going for either a Distortion/Jazz set up or a Bill Lawerence XL500/L500Clean in all my guitars...probably just the BL pickups because they have the balls to do heavy stuff and great cleans.

[Destro 007]

I'm different than most of the EMG fans on here in that I prefer the 85 over the 81. I think the 85 in the bridge position gives you a bit more beef than the 81. The 81 in the bridge sounds a little thin.

Plus I run the 18v mod with them too, and that really opens the gates on them as well.