EMG 60A

Active Humbucking pickup with alnico pickups.

I installed a pair of these pickups (actually P60A's, which are the same electronically but fitted for a p-90 rout) on a Warmoth mahogany tele body with tune-o-matic bridge and wenge/ebony neck. They are the latest in a long series of p-90's, starting with Gibson's current offering and most recently Chandler CC-90's. I was drawn to EMG pickups because I'm tired of the hum. The 60A's seemed to be the least offensive of their humbucker offerings.

As is typical of active pickups, the output is hot and low impedance. I use a fair number of stompboxes (no more than I can carry to a gig, mind you), and these pickups don't get hung up on the varying loads that different pedals present. My amp is a 15" combo I built myself that's modeled after an old Selmer amp. The tone on these PUs is very balanced, with a little bit of honk in the top end that can be fussed out with your amp's tone controls. With a little work, I've got these sounding smooth and glassy. I think it helps to be playing into an amp that's at least a little overdriven; the compression takes out some of the sharpness.

One bonus feature is that the tone stays pretty much the same as you turn your guitar's volume down. very cool.

When I first got these I was pretty frustrated with their tone, but I really appreciated the bullet-proof hum resistance and a certain matter-of-fact quality they bring to the sound. After playing for a while and making other tweaks, they've become my favorites. Beyond simply solving problems of hum and complex signal path, they sound really good.

They are a shade too honest at times. Be prepared to fuss with them for a while. Once I had that sussed out, I've come to depend on the solid, cohesive tone these pickups offer.

These pickups are devoid of any sort of boutique coolness or vintage mojo. They have precious little to do with "classic guitar tones". Despite that, they are very musical and toneful, and they bring things out of my playing that I've yet to find in any other pickups. I feel like after 25 years I'm finally hearing the guitar rather than the pickups.

Active humbucker

Custom made (by myself) guitar. I put it on the neck, the other pup is a EMG 85.

It matches the 85 at the bridge perfectly, no volume diference between switching. Very balance tone, an excellent pickup. Clean, very clear, rich tone. Clean with reverb, great bluessy sound. The most bluessy of all EMG humbuckers. With distorion, a great lead pickup.

I think EMG made "the" humbucker with the 60a. Imagine mixing a 85 with a PAF. The sound it's amazing. I work as a guitar maker and repairman, and have tested a lot of pups trough the years on different guitars. Easily one (if not the) of the best humbuckers ever. I can't believe how well it mix with the 85 at the bridge, the perfect mate. If you've been away from EMG's because the ridiculous comments of some dudes, you won't believe what this pup can make. I just love it.

Mini humbucker in full-size housing.Active.
See EMG website for the specs!

I used it in a Peavey V-type Neck-thru hardtail guitar.Maple thru neck ,Basswood wings ,24,3/4" scale.
Bridge Position
Seymour Duncan PATB2
none
?
curiosity!

Hot!Lower than PATB2 (that's a monster tho)
I use it with a Vox ,A Marshall sometimes and with recording gear
Well balanced in my axe.
I play mostly Heavy Metal ,Alternative metal and Thrash Metal
I would use it in any position.I mostly use only the Bridge PU 'cos i love teh full bodied bright tone for leads ,and the tightness for Riffing action!
The PU is amazing clear.It's really silent and works well with the MXR 10 band EQ.The Harmonics are amazing ,and they sound totally round.It solved many tonal problems for me ,like lack of highs and the domination of the Lows.Now i have a well balanced tone ,wich sings right and pushes well if needed.

Well that's a 10 over 10.Since i am not an active fan ,and don't like teh 81 , 85 ,reflex PU's etc ,i was really sceptical about it.A friend of mine recommended it,and i really respect his opinion!
So he had right.This thing is amazing!It's underrated!And hard to get in Europe.

Pickup features: Active Humbucker, alnico magnets
Impedence or other specs: Impedance=10Kohm, Resonant Freq=4.08K, RMSOut=0.8V, PeakOut=1.1V, Noise=-91DBV, Logo=Gold

Model of guitar or bass: Russ Lackey Custom; mahogany body/maple cap, set mahogany neck/ebony fingerboard, 24.9" scale, Gotoh tuners/bridge, 24 jumbo frets.
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: EMG 60
Other pickups on guitar: EMG 89/bridge, + PI-2 and VMC circuits.
Artists using this pickup: More should!
You musical style(s): Jazz, fusion, blues, rock, older metal
Reason for pickup change: 60 was nice but still harsh, and freq response was too narrow and focused.

Perceived output level: More than passive PAF, medium-high, less than regular 60 but not as much as the 1.10V-3.0V discrepancy would suggest!
Tone: Tone=10: bright, snappy, crisp attack, clear but not shrill or biting. Tone=1: Warm, jazzy, nice mids, more bass than regular 60. Regular 60 is more brittle, focussed, and not enough bass for jazz, but still nice full mids. Mids are the same for both models, very distinctive.
Sonic evaluation: First, some history. I first used EMG's 15 years ago with the typical 81/bridge 85/neck combo, in a Gibson Explorer. Yep, it was good for metal, but for cleaner tones, the 81 was too shrill, clinical and sterile. The neck was too bassy, muddy, and thinner than I would have liked, although some of that was probably due to an all-mahogany instrument.
Several years later, I got tired of buying then modifying factory guitars, and had something built. The search was on for the right pickups to make it a versatile, unique, bold instrument, and I have finally found that. Cudos to Bill Lawrence, he was the runner up, and I would recommend his pickups to almost anybody. (www.billlawrence.com). I will probably put his single coil pickups in my strat in future.
I was skeptical, but tried the regular EMG 60 in both positions, after much prodding by a friend. I was very impressed. The greater midrange gave the 60 more of that elusive "warmpth". Over time, I found the freq. response curve to be a bit too narrow, especially for a tone-rolled-back neck pickup jazz tone. But, I was impressed overall, and cut EMG some slack after years of bitching, except to extreme metal fans of course.
When I noticed the 60A on EMG's site, I had to try one. A bit softer, warmer, less output, and a wider frequency spectrum, but still with that lovely midrange! It is that and more. Don't be fooled by the numbers; this is still a fairly hot pickup, and does fine along with the 89 model in the bridge. The noise floor is 2db quieter than the original 60, and I think quite a bit more versatile. The low end is solid but tight, and I finally found something vocal and unique for jazz, but still able to sound throaty and loud for very distorted tones.
I've tried it through: Traynor YCV-40 1x12" combo w/upgraded tubes; Fender Twin; a crappy 15w 1x8" Park practice amp; several solidstate keyboard and bass amps at my college. It sounds good through all of these, even the annoying Yorkville keyboard and bass amps that usually morph any guitar sound into something entirely different/nasty.
Also tried through my Behringer V-amp 2 modeller.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I prefer a fullsize humbucker sound in the bridge, and the 60A still has some brightness more reminiscent of single coil or mini-humbuckers. So, it would be too bright for me at the bridge. Try it though!

Comments: I'm finally happy with something from EMG, but not just happy, I like it more than passive models from several other manufacturers! The 89 in the bridge is also much more useful and versatile than the typical 81 most people go for. With the PI-2 and VMC circuits, plus two volumes and one master tone, I can get tons of useable tones out of one instrument, and taylor my tone depending on what I'm plugged into.
Don't rule EMG out for non-metal styles. If you stray a bit from the recommended and more popular models, you may be pleasantly surprised, maybe even thrilled. I'm the happiest I've been about my tone in six years!
No country sound really, but I'll buy a Tele for that.
Also own a La Patrie classical, Carvin Bolt-T kit, inexpensive Aria archtop.