EMG HZ-H4

Passive humbuckers from EMG. It's the HZ pair which means that there's a pickups for the bridge and one for the neck. The bridge pickups has bar poles and it has ceramic magnets while the neck pickup has Alnico magnets.
They both suit Floyd or Tune-o-matic so there's no F-spaced version.

I have an Epiphone Les Paul Custom and I mostly play metal. The stock pickups were good for rock and blues but I needed more output. I installed HZ H4 in the bridge position and HZ H4a the neck.

I belive Alexi Laiho used to use this pickups but I heard he switched to Duncan Blackouts...

I run them through a small CUBE 15X practice amp. They definetly have higher output than the stock Epiphone Alnico Classic Humbuckers.

Clean bridge - Sharp metallic sound. More on the treble side.
Clean neck - Warm bassy sound, lots of bass and mids with less treble. You can get a nice sound with this pickup by tweaking the amp.
Dirty bridge - Quite scooped sound. It has that palm-muted "bum". Awesome rhythm sound.
Dirty neck - Slash sound, at least on my les paul. Better than most pickups in it's price range. A little too bassy on the low strings, but it has definition... is not that kind of pickup that you can't understand what you're playing.

It could be alot better if the neck pickup had a little less bass and more treble - the reason I give it a 9.

If it was destroyed I would probably try the active EMGs. I must say that I bought both HZ pickups with half the price of a Gibson Burstbucker, so they do the job for me.

I love the sound and I love the price I payed for them =))
I hate when people say that they are crap... it's a matter of taste, dudes. If one doesn't like them that doesn't mean you won't like them.
I also hear a lot of ppl complaining that there's no difference between the neck and the bridge version... well, on my les paul IT IS. actually a big difference.

I'm more than satisfied with them.

-> Anything else you'd like to share? Yea, buy them second hand, from someone who's guitar came stock with hz and he switched to other pickups. you get them at a decent price.

I'll give it a 10 here, but remember, it's just my case. If I was going to pay the full price I would probably give them a 7 or an 8.

EMG HZ H4

BRIDGE AND NECK POSITION OF A JACKSON RR 5FR
I'M REPLACING THE STOCK JB/JAZZ SET UP.
ALEXI LAIHO IS CURRENTLY USING THIS PICKUP
I NEEDED A LITTLE BIT MORE BITE, I TUNE IN D AND SOMETIMES DROP C, SO I ADDED THE HZ WITH AN EMG AFTERBURNER. IT'S SICK SUSTAIN FOR DAYS AND HARMONICS ARE EVEN EASIER. I HAD TO WORK HARD TO GET NH WITH THE JB.

WITH THE AFTERBURNER IT'S PERFECT, I NEVER TURN IT OFF, I TURN IT DOWN FOR RHYTHM AND BLAST IT FOR LEAD AND SOLO WORK.
i USE A MARSHALL LEAD 12 FOR PLAYING AROUND.
TONE I'D SAY IS A LITTLE ON THE MID SIDE, BUT KILLER FOR DROP TUNINGS.
WITH THAT GUITAR I PLAY ONLY METAL, CHILDREN OF BODOM, DISTURBED, LAMB OF GOD.

I'D BUY IT AGAIN
5 YEARS, A WARMOTH CUSTOM WITH SEYMOUR DUNCAN SCREAMIN DEAMONS, AND AN ESP KH-2 WITH EMG-81S
I'VE PLAYED WITH SEYMOUR DUNCAN BLACKOUTS, EMG 81S, DIMARZIO D ACTIVATORS, AND SCREAMIN DEAMONS.
I WISH I HAD A MARSHALL RANDY RHOADS HEAD.
THE HZ HOLDS IT'S OWN I JUST LIKE THE SOUND IT MAKES WHEN ADDED WITH AN AFTERBURNER. I HAVE AFTERBURNERS ON ALL MY GUITARS, THEY ARE JUST KILLER.

Passive Humbucking version of the Active EMG 81 Humbucker

Installed it in a Jackson DK2 in the bridge position. There's two other pickups, Seymour Duncan's on the guitar.

Replaced a Seymour Duncan JB, just for some more skull crushing abilities...

This pickup is also in most ESP guitars, including the ESP Alexi 600.

Very, very high output. Amazing sound from it, better than I was expecting. Using with a Peavey ValveKing 112 50Watt.

It's a very balanced pickup, good mids, lows and highs. I would recommend the slightly lower output version "EMG HZ H4a" for the neck position mind, slightly warmer I've heard.

If stolen I would defiantly buy this pickup again, has such a "Hench" sound to it for the money.

Heard this pickup in my friends Zakk Wylde Epiphone Les Paul and it was an instant must have. A very professional sound and tonal range.

Reccomended for Blues, Rock, Metal(Like Killswitch, Metallica, BFMV, Black Label Society) for its awesome gravely sound.

Check it out. It also looks pretty awesome :P

Been playing guitar about 5/6 years now and own:

1998 Fender USA Strat - replaced bridge pickup for Seymour Duncan Hotrail
2005 Fender USA Tele Deulxe
2007 Jackson DK2 - replaced bridge pickup for EMG HZ H4
2005 Crafter Acoustic
1998 Gibson USA Les Paul Special 50's re-issue

Its a Passive Humbucker

Well,i heard good things about this pickup so i installed one in the bridge position of my Epiphone Explorer!

Its sucks *** hard!on Clean,Crunch Overdrive or anything on this range

Its pretty ''okey'' on crazy distorsions with no middle

I give it a 2,beacause its kind of useless.This pickup was made for kids who thing that if you buy one of these you will have that METALLICA sound.

i would probably buy a seymour duncan,which i have :))its offers much more versatility than this pice of crap.

I just wanted to give an update. I failed to install pickup correctly, resulting in bad sound exaggerated. This pickup is not bad. The main thing that sets it apart from any other good, high-end pickup is that it is very Quiet! It is so crazy to get awesome harmonics with no added noise, I would recommend.

A lot better than I originally thought. I think it is up there with other high end passive pickups (personally, I don't like the idea of having a battery operated pickup for live music play). However, for my set-up the evolution responds a little bit better, but this pickup is worth a buy, it is good!

Humbucker, passive

Installed it into a schecter c-1 diamond series replacing the stock HB-103 duncan designed pickups. Pickup is in both postions.

Clean tone Bridge- Sort of dull, mid ranged, not weak and airy. Great sounding with lots of reverb and a little chorus. A real dark, metal clean.
Clean Tone Neck- Bassy, smooth with less mids, good for the upper register. A little too bassy in the lower register.
Dirty Tone Bridge- Very little feedback, well balanced, Responsive, very good heavy distortion. Again Well Balanced.
Dirty Tone Neck- Too boomy for any rhythm. Smooth for upper register leads. Again less mids here.
More of a metal pickup. Not extremely versatile.

Love it for distortion. It is okay for clean. I play Many styles of music. If I were to only play one guitar for everything this would probably not be the pickup i would choose.

Passive, Humbucker - supposedly "hot".

This pickup existed in a Epiphone / Gibson; thick, tuned-down guitar for metal. Other artists are the "usual suspects" of current metal (Metallica, Slayer, Zakk Wylde, Children of Bodom).

The output is supposedly "hot". I don't see what the big thing about this pickup is. Tone wise, you can sound like a current Metallica cd, or Zakk; I mean, this pickup has distinctive characteristics and tone, it is just like what you hear from those guys. That being said, tone wise, I don't think any of those dudes have a "good" sound. First, let me describe the pickup tone, it is muddy with a weak top end, and it DOES NOT do better with pinch harmonics than ANY other pickup! I have four guitars with a JB, an EVOLUTION, an BILL LAWRENCE L500XL, and finally the H4. The bottom line, this pickup will make you sound like dudes previously mentioned (really listen to their sound, and decide if this is the sound for you). Personally, I know for a fact that if you want to play metal, their are a lot of pickups that are "tone full" and not muddy, to me the H4 is extremely limited in "tone", and thats what its all about.

p.s. - This pickup does not remind me of the JB, I think the JB is better; check your dc resistance differences, and output (makes a huge difference).

I would not replace if stolen, I plan to replace. I have been playing for 15 years. I will say a good thing about the pickup, it has a strange characteristic that is very smooth transition from rhythm chunk to solo style of play. If you want to sound like current Zakk, this pickup will give you a similar tone, but I get a better tone full metal tone from my other pickups.

Humbucking-passive

Installed on a samick. I have no idea what model because it had been modified bfore I bought it. Replacing stock bridge pickup.
Changed pickup because this guitar looks sick, but sounded like junk. It was way muddy, no bite and overly bassy. I had it for 5 yrs and almost only used it as a showpeice.

Medium/high
marshal mg 80 watt combo. Dist. reverb on amp $ vox wah (live)
zoom gm 200 amp sim (recording)
This is perfect for metal
perfect in bridge haven't used it anywhere else.

I am planning on buying another one for one of my other guitars...don't know which yet.
The only problem I have had is recording direct. I have had some trouble dialing in the sound with my amp sim, however I have not spent tons of time recording with this guitar. I am sure with more tweaking I will find it. For me though this is the end all pickup, I would say it's active brother (emg 81) would be but I hate dealing with batteries in my effects let alone my guitar. The emg has a killer bite and is dead silent when not playing. I am truly happy with this pickup and recommend it to any metal player who doesn't want active pickups. Worth 80 bucks.

Passive dual bar, ceramic humbucker.

I put this in a Hondo Revival Explorer in the bridge. Took out the rusted stock pickup and wired it to a single gibson volume pot to an EMG stereo jack ran in mono. So no neck pickup or any other electonics just the single EMG H4 to one volume. I got the pickup cause I know that Alexi Llaho of Children of Bodom uses it. Also cause its the stock pickup for some of the lower line signature series guitars for ESP/LTD. I mainly use the EMG 81 in my better guitars and was kinda hoping to get something similar in a passive pickup.

Its a mid to high ouput pickup about the same as a Seymour Duncan JB. I use this straight into a Ampeg Vh140C head with a Marshall vintage 4x12 and a Boss NS-2 Noise suppressor. Its very middy with tight bass and a smooth high. Has a great palmuted sound and pinch harmonics are very easy to get. I play Metal and I does the job really well.

I like this pickup. Its not an active 81, but its a good sounding pickup for what it does. Probably one of the better passives Ive played. Dont expect an active sound without a battery, I think thats why alot of people bag on these pickups. If you want an EMG 81 in a passive, its not goin to happen. As a pickup though, it very usable. Sounds great and is good for a different type of tone than its active brother. The mid range is sick in this pickup, cuts through very well which i why I like it. And again the harmonics pop out easily. Ive had Dimarzios(x2n, super distortion) and Seymour Duncans(JB, Full Shred, Distortion, Invader, Dimebucker) and this passive EMG is just as good.

Pickup features: passive humbucker and single
Impedence or other specs: medium-high

Model of guitar or bass: esp m252bb
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: none
Other pickups on guitar: emgs
Artists using this pickup: kirk hammet
You musical style(s): all
Reason for pickup change: none

Perceived output level: medium-hot
Tone: neck is mud,middle single is clean,bridge is middy for distortion
Sonic evaluation: on a hardwood mahagony esp the emgs are ok.the neck really has no use since its too muddy for clean and too muddy and fat for distortion.I like a nice tight distortion.The bridge emg is pretty damn good,it closely compares to a seymour duncan jb or a seymour full shred.Of course the middles single coil is good, even for distortion which is odd.I think these pickups are way more hyped up to be what they really are not.there really only ok pickups!!

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: all

Comments: hmm,yes im still searching for that sound!!!ive tried dimarzios and seymour duncans and out of all of them seymour duncans are absolutely
the best pickups out there.They are such quality pickups its unreal.I think emgs would be better on a softwood guitar, maybe basswood or agathis! I really found nothing to impressive about these and they are supposedly the new and improved emgs,if thats the case then the h-1s must really suck!overall,ok, emg single coils are very good though i would recomend them, but the humbuckers,well, they kinda suck ass!!!!unless there in bridge!!