EMG EXG Guitar Expander

Pickup features: Guitar Expander Active EQ pot
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Jackson USA Custom RR-1
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced:
Other pickups on guitar: EMG 60 (neck), EMG 81 (bridge), EMG Afterburner
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Hard Rock/Metal
Reason for pickup change: Wanted a more lively sound. This adds fullness to your sound. Don't know if it would replace an EQ pedal/processor though.

Perceived output level:
Tone: Gives you a fuller tone, more bass and treble, adds life to an otherwise dull sound.
Sonic evaluation: I run my Jackson into a Marshall JCM900 and use the 81/60 combination with an Afterburner.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play almost anything. I prefer Hard Rock. This is great on cleans and distorted sounds. Beautiful addition!

Comments: I suppose I would buy this again because with it turned all the way down my tone goes into a "mono dull" type of sound. With it up, I get a fuller stereo-like type of richness added to my tone.

Pickup features: pot that adds bass and treble while reducing mids
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: gibson sg standard
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced:
Other pickups on guitar: emgs: 81 in bridge, 60 at neck
Artists using this pickup: not sure
You musical style(s): metal
Reason for pickup change: i wanted a little more bass, and thought that this item would work similar to a 7-band eq set in the typical V paattern of many metal players

Perceived output level: doesn't change the output of my pickups
Tone: it does what emg says it will- boosts bass and treble while simultaneously reducing mids- the higher you set it, the more it does it
Sonic evaluation: i tune my sg drop B (like drop d, but everything down a step and half before detuning the e-string down to b) and plug into a boss od-3 followed by a boss noise gate into a Marshall tsl head and valvestate cabinet. i like keeping the rig simple and thought the exg would serve the purpose of a 7-band eq. with a gibson and a marshall, i had enough mids but wanted more bass. this little add on works beautifully. i can't really imagine a much heavier sound without using extreme distortion that makes your tone suck. it added bass and treble, like advertised, providing a very thick tone, but clear, too. when playted through channel three with the gain at ten and my overdrive on, i get heavy, heavy tone, but just that- very toneful. through the clean channel and neck pickup (no od pedal), i get a real strat like sound, great for blues (not that i am great at the blues, but if i was...). however, i never turn it past halfway- that makes the sound too thick and just not what i want. the reviewer below that disliked this product so much may not have realized that- you don't need to turn everything to ten for it to work well. an effect should go from barely noticeable to too much and you find your desired amount of coloring somewhere between. it's not a volume or tone knob.
anywho, this accessory gives me exactly the sound i want- well done, emg. i owe my sound to that company.
ps- it makes no noise whatsoever

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: like stated, i play metal (shai hulud, the haunted, slayer, etc- not nu metal) and the exg was a great match for me. i also think that used with single coil pickups, this could be great for the blues or just clean style music in general- almost twangy.

Comments: while i am a metal player (for the most part), tone is really important to me and i take it and the pursuit of a perfect one seriously. this add-on to any guitar (if you don't have emg pick-ups, you need the pa-2 to use this) is a great value (under $40 and better than any pedal i own). if stolen, that would be quite a feat since the thief would have to dismantle my guitar, but i would definitely buy another one. i've been playing seven years and also own a usa bc rich stealth that kicks butt. it only has a volume knob and i am considering drilling another hole to install this device, but it's my baby and i don't want to hurt it. i do have a seven band eq (danelectro fish and chips- also ~$35 and works great) for that and it really does do exactly what the exg does. the nice thing about the exg is that it is on your guitar (no extra pedals or cords) and it is literally adjustable on the fly just by turning the knob- a seven band eq takes a lot more twiddling than that.
i put this thing in myself and it works fine and i'm a moron at that stuff. the guys at emg helped me out by faxing a diagram of the tone/volume/accessory setup i wanted. i feel that this addition has put me SO close to THAT sound... for now...

Pickup features: n/a
Impedence or other specs: n/a

Model of guitar or bass: n/a
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: n/a
Other pickups on guitar: n/a
Artists using this pickup: n/a
You musical style(s): n/a
Reason for pickup change: n/a

Perceived output level: n/a
Tone: n/a
Sonic evaluation: n/a

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: n/a

Comments: just a note to add. someone also stated in these reviews that the exg added too much bass. well that person is a little bit mistaken on the exg's purpose- it add highs and BASS. looking his setup, he had enough bass already. a 7 string guitar (probably tuned to A), EMG-707's which are a 7string version of the 85, and a line-6 SOLID STATE amp. emgs have a history already of overloading solid state amps, adding however many decibles of bass couldnt help. now im not attacking him personaly, but i dont like it, say for an example, if someone picked up a triple rectifier and tried to play blues and folk music on the lead channel in a 1 person apartment. dont give gear a bad review if your using it out of its purpose. if you have a emg81 or 60, maybe 85, and either have a tube amp or low gain input on your solid state then get the exg. but when you complain about too much bass on something that only adds it, well its not fair to the product.

Pickup features: EMG accessory-bass boost/dipped midrange and boosted highs
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Shecter C7++
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced:
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): grindcore/death metal rock & roll
Reason for pickup change:

Perceived output level: puke
Tone: way too much low end
Sonic evaluation: EMG 707 equipped Shecter/Line 6 Flextone HD

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: not too good of a match for distorted mayhem/does sound good for clean stuff

Comments: if this thing didn't have so much low end mud and had even more highs it'd be worth a shit. If you dial in just a a bit of it it's ok. If you max it out and play open stuff you might kinda like it, but for now I more then likly have the effect flat most the time. I love EMG pickups to death but I did not need this thing. The 707s alone are deadly enough by themselves. I'll give it a 5 because it does sound alright for clean tones.

Pickup features: Treble and bass boost
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Fender Mustang and Strat
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced:
Other pickups on guitar: Variety
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Blues and Rock
Reason for pickup change: Wanted more treble and bass for certain clean leads or chording

Perceived output level: Does what is supposed to, it boosts highs and lows. When used with a single coil pickup, in my case Fralins, it sounds great when playing clean blues.
Tone: Plenty of treble and bass enhancement. Caution: I do not think it sounds good on distorted tones with single coils. I think even Albert King would have felt it was too bright! If you like to play some clean tones ie Hendrix Little Wing, SRV Lenny it cannot be beat. Just remember to turn it off when you play another tune with distortion.
Sonic evaluation: I use this with Fender tube amps which tend to be very bright sounding. The EXG gives you the ability to add more treble and bass for songs that have a woody clean solo or chording sound. You need to dial it in with the pot it comes with otherwise it can get too harsh.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play mostly Blues.

Comments: I think the EMG EQ products are great. Their service and technical support is a pleasure to talk to. If you use their products they will tell you how to use them with other products that are not theirs. I must say that you have to add their PA-2 pre-amp in order to use their EQ products with passive pickups. They will make custom set ups of their EQ products for you if you call them first and order it through a dealer. I find that the EXG works best for me when I am using cleaner tones. The EXG adds a little hiss to your sound when it is on but that is due to the treble boost it is adding. When you are done using it just turn it off and the additional hiss goes away. 1 point knocked off for the hiss, although most frequency boost products suffer from this as well and you really don't notice it much when you are playing a solo. For clean blues or any type of bright clean chording this product is tremendous!

Pickup features: (Active Tone Knob)
Impedence or other specs: for use only with EMG pickups

Model of guitar or bass: Ibanez RG-470 Lefty
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: N/A
Other pickups on guitar: N/A
Artists using this pickup: ?
You musical style(s): Metal, Classical, Blues, rock..... And METAL
Reason for pickup change: Because I woudlnt' accept anythign less than EMG's on my new guitar.

Perceived output level: N/A
Tone: Full to flat. And I mean FULL. The clean with a EMG 60 sounds AMAZING.... it's crystal clear sound. With distortion, you get a THICK-ASS crunch... so thick you have to cut bass. Turn the knob opposite way and it becomes thinner and more crisp. VERY versitile expansion, worth every penny.
Sonic evaluation: Ibanez RG-470 Lefty, with EMG: (BR,M,NCK) 81,S,60 w/EXG, Digitech XP-100, Metal Zone, Beckemer GC-100R Amplifier

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Metal. The toen knob is very good for clean. It'll flatten the sound to get fat tones , or brighten it to get a nice clean sound. GREAT with the EMG 60.

Comments: IF it were stolen, i'd replce it, and rip the B@lls of the @#$had that stole it. I've been playign for 3 yrs, and a pacifica for 3 yrs....and this guitar is brand new and I've been waiting for a new one for a long time... I'm still learning how to use this guitar (like what soudns I can get, and what I want when I want). It's very versitile and I owe alot to the tone knob.

Pickup features: Add-on Preamp (for use with active EMG pickups)
Impedence or other specs: low

Model of guitar or bass: Fender American Std. Strat
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: n/a
Other pickups on guitar: EMG-SAs
Artists using this pickup: David Gilmour
You musical style(s): Rock, Blues, Metal, Jazz, Country, Experimental - you name it!
Reason for pickup change: Experimental.

Perceived output level: HOT
Tone: MONDO Highs and Lows dB boost
Sonic evaluation: This is the other essential element to my "Ultimate Weapon of Tonal
Flexibility", my Strat. As I stated in my SPC review, I don't know
what I'd do without these add-on units--they've become that much a
part of my tone. Running the single coil EMG-SA's alone were great
IMHO, but now they are just that much better! Whereas the SPC gave
a tremendous midrange boost (inverted "V") perfect for cutting solos
or fattening a Strat up to sound like an Studio Les Paul or SG with
P-90's, the EXG does the exact opposite! David Gilmour has his wired
directly to it's own pot for greater control (as I now wish I had
done as well, except on a concentric pot instead). But since I
have the EXG wired to a mini-toggle so that it's either 'OFF' or
it's 'ON', I have to be careful when I use it for the bass freq
boost alone is enough to shake one's moneymaker! I can really
only use it when running on my amp's clean channel with the neck
pickup because with distortion the lows become way too muddy.
But I tell ya though... I have yet to hear a guitar come closer
to capturing that coveted Stevie Ray Vaughan tone than when I
use the EXG and my neck SA pickup! Talk about bluesy and
vintagey--this combo is *IT*, baby! Also works great for
playing cleaner "acoustic" parts on the electric as well.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Great for clean/slightly overdriven bluesy stuff, but without being able to better control it's mix via a pot, I couldn't really say if it would work well for distorted rock without getting too muddy.

Comments: Buy again?--Yes, but I'd leave it on it's pot controller.
Love?--The incredibly "Phat" bluesy tones I get with the
neck/neck-middle SA pickups.
Hate?--Not much.
Wish?--It wasn't quite as boomy when maxed out, or perhaps
some dip switch controls to dictate whether you want it to
be voiced with either a little more/less highs/lows.
Satisfied?--For the most part, yes.
Share?--If you get it, get it on the pot controller so that
you'll have more control as to how much of it you dial in,
otherwise it's a totally FAB addition to an already great
setup (EMG-SA's w/ SPC mid boost)!