emg

i'm thinking about putting some EMG 81 and 85 on a strat. what do you guys think of these pickups? any good?

actualy I haven't played any of those, but I konw that Kirk Hammett uses two EMG-81s, and Zakk Wylde uses EMG-81 in the bridge position and EMG-85 as the neck pickup..

EMG's sound very clean, and very sterile. If you're a metalhead, you can't go wrong really. But if you like versatility, I'd check into some other pups.

Get the EMG 81 for your bridge and get the 89 for your neck! The 89 is the same as the 85 cept it can be slpit into a single coil(EMG-SA) if desired. also you should add a EMG-PA2 Preamp Booster switch...your ready to rock!

This is what my main guitar is setup plus it also has a EMG phase inverter switch.

yeah, Duncan pickups are more versatile, they have over 300 models of pickups, on the other hand EMG has only 7 humbucker models in their production line.. if u like to play zeppelin a lot, I'll recomend Duncan instead ..

i mainly want versatility. i want to be able to go from rhoads to zeppelin to malmsteen to skynyrd

well, I don't think that you'll be able to get all of these versatility from a pickup, all the guys you mentioned uses very different gears, from gibsons to fenders, dimarzios to duncans...
to come very close, you need effects, not pickups.

well the setup I gave would give just that. But really the pickups won't make you sound like that...It is "You" who will sound like that if you put in the time and effort. The best pickups in the world won't give you that sound if you don't have it to begin with. Take anyone of those players...put in a stock pickup and they will still sound like they do. Give Zakk Wylde Dimarzio's he'll still sound like Zakk. Give Yngwie EMG's...he'll still sound like Yngwie.

Basically in a nutshell...A top of the line pickup will enhance you...but it can't create miracles and make you sound any better if you haven't put in the time.

Even if your a beginner or not...go ahead and get the pickups...but make sure it's the ones you want. Goto your local music store and try out different guitars with different pickups.

Originally posted by zepp_rules
i mainly want versatility. i want to be able to go from rhoads to zeppelin to malmsteen to skynyrd

In that case I recommend going with passive pickups, not EMG's.
One pickup that's always a safe way to go is the Seymour Duncan JB.

emg are great if you dont have much money...but if the money thing is not a problem then id have to say go for bartolini...theyre the most versitile pups in the world...they fo jazz to even metal!! the HEAVIEST OF METAL...but unfortunitly they are hard to find and an arm and a leg to pay for...but you get what you pay for if your looking for the absolute tone

The most versatal pickup I've ever seen (Forget the name) but they can mimick any pickup on the market by using a screwdriver to dial in the different tone frequencies.