EMG KH-20

Pickup features: 1 EMG-81 in the brige (active humbucker) & 2 active single coil (emg-s)
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Fender Squire Strat
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Crap Single Coils
Other pickups on guitar: N/A
Artists using this pickup: Kirk Hammett
You musical style(s): Blues, Rock, Heavy Metal, Classic rock
Reason for pickup change: The old pick-up's were shit, it was a cheap guitar with cheap hardware so i deceided to upgrade it, i also tweaked the action and the intenation

Perceived output level: Really, Really loud, great sustain, lovely clean sound, incredibly full
Tone: Full range of tone, everything from really trebly to very bassy
Sonic evaluation: i use a 50watt Marshall Combo amp with BOSS foot-wah and BOSS OS-2 Distortion pedal.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: These pickups wwould suit almost every kind of music, i play raock/metal and they're perfect

Comments: If my guitar was stolen i would definatly buy EMG's again. Ive been playing for about 6-7 years, and this is the best sound ive ever gotten out of a guitar, besides going into a shop and playing a les paul! I own an Epiphone '67 Korina Explorer and it sounds dead compared to the EMG's. i think that if you are thinking of upgrading a guitar, these are the pickups to get. it took a bit of routing of the body to fit it into the strat to it fits in quite nicely, the sound is perfect for the music i play, i wouldn't get anything else....untill i get a les paul that is

Pickup features: 1 EMG-81 in the brige (active humbucker) & 2 active single coil (emg-s)
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: jap strat
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced:
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: kirk hammet of metallica
You musical style(s): I play mainly metal , clasic rock, and some blues
Reason for pickup change: My Guitar has a scalloped fretboard and scalloped fretboards sound shitty with passive pick ups.

Perceived output level: awesome
Tone: whatever
Sonic evaluation: customized strat with a marshall AVT20

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: anything heavy and has hard solos-it comes already put together

Comments: i

Pickup features: ActiveS(single)-S(single)-81(hum). Beautiful white pearl pickgaurd w/ black pickups.
Impedence or other specs: see www.emginc.com

Model of guitar or bass: 1994 Fender Mexican Strat
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Stock neck, middle, Seymour Duncan Hot Rails Bridge
Other pickups on guitar: N/A
Artists using this pickup: Kirk Hammett, Zakk Wylde, etc., etc., etc., ......
You musical style(s): Blues, Rock, (Old) Metal, Contemporary Christian
Reason for pickup change: Wanted EMG's for a long time. Wanted to try something else. Stock pickups and Duncan Hot Rails are great pickups, but just wanted a change and to "juice" up my Strat.

Perceived output level: see www.emginc.com. S's are a bit louder and smoother than stock and 81 is more cleaner and clear than the Hot Rails when distorted. All 3 are more pronounced.
Tone: S's are VERY Stratty. Beautiful Glassy and Bell tones. CLEAN! Almost acoustic. 81 is loud when clean, a bit brite and trebly when distorted, but simply use your volume and tone for adjustments.
Sonic evaluation: I am using a 1994 Arctic White Mexican Strat w/ maple fretboard. Currently plugged into a Rouge stereo chorus; into a Peavey Classic 30 and a Fender J.A.M. With this setup, I can get the cleanest possible sound, almost acoustic when in the neck/middle position. This is great for the type of music I play in church. Turn up the gain on the Classic and I get a very cool Texas blues sound, ala S.R.V.(almost). When I want to jam, I plug my Boss Metal Zone pedal into all this. Of course, you can't sound exactly like someone else unless you are them and have their same exact setup. These pickups are EXTREMELY QUIET and do make a BIG difference over the stock ones. I have read many evaluations here and alot have said that the 81 is only good for metal and never country. Well, when I'm playing clean, I can get a very twangy sound out of the 81. This to me is a very versatile pickup. I guess the Hot Rails were too hot to do this. I don't see how you could get a better pickup than an EMG.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Blues, Rock, (Old) Metal, Contemporary Christian. The S's are better for clean work, but have a good creamy, warm overdriven sound. The 81 is better for harder stuff, but twangy when clean and with the right setup.

Comments: If they were destroyed or stolen, I'd buy them again when the money provides. I have been playing for around 15 yrs., so I know just a little bit about guitars and pickups. I have several other guitars including 2 Warmoth's.(See the Warmoth review section for one of them) I love these EMG's for the clairity and quietness of them. The only thing I dislike is the fact that it takes 12-14 weeks to get them after you place an order. Reason for this is that EMG is a very IN DEMAND and respected pickup company. Well worth the $219 I paid for them and well worth the wait! Don't give up if you've spent a chunk of chang on your EMG's, just try different approaches and you'll get it! I believe that once you do try other things, you'll nail the sound that's in your head. It's not how much you spend on equipment, but how you tweak it. I still haven't found "that" sound, but I'm still tweakin' and in about 20 or more years I might have it down.(he-he)But that's just the nature of the beast. Anyway, I am EXTREMELY satisfied with my KH-20 setup(Thanks Kirk!).

Pickup features: Double(81)/S/S (pre mounted on a perloid pick guard--which was not installed on my Hamer)
Impedence or other specs: See EMGs' web site

Model of guitar or bass: Hamer Chaparal
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Stock Hamer Pick ups
Other pickups on guitar: none
Artists using this pickup: Metallica (KH-20 Designation) and several assorted others I am sure
You musical style(s): Hard Rock/Heavy Metal/Techno metal Ect.
Reason for pickup change: Not hot enough for my liking, and didn't like the way they broke up as volume started to drop off. Wasn't real big on the way that volume of the stock pick up seemed to be tied to the tone control either.

Perceived output level: Much hotter than than the factory P/U's, even managed to get a "decent" O/D tone out of my old Peavey 212 Renown
Tone: Brite, but backing off the tone control mellowed them right out ( rember this is through the peavey which doesn't exactly have a lot of balls in the low end
Sonic evaluation: Old Peavey 212 Renown, straight in from the guitar, tried my old ProCo Rat inbetween the two, and it resulted in way to much extra noise, and added nothing extra, so back to straight into the amp.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Metal/Techno Metal--Rob Zombie/Static-x/Megedeth/Rammestien Ect. Hard Rock (old and new) Van Halen/Deep Purple/B.T.O. Ect.

Comments: Been Playing for about 22 years now, and these EMG's are easily the best P/U's I have used very accurate & clean, with fantastic roll off as the string vibrationsslow down, no breaking up. I have used differnt makes of pick ups from Diamarzio, Semour Duncan Ect. and for me these ones are it! No need to look any more, any future guitars, will all be refitted with Emg's if they aren't already installed. Next step is to look into a new amp, or possible a new pre amp to go along with these EMG's (can we say a great mix with either a marshall amp, or a Tech-21 PSA-1)

Pickup features: 81 humbucker and 2 "S" single
Impedence or other specs: fucking hot whith long sustain

Model of guitar or bass: squier fender quitar whith floyd rose ( i put it there)
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: creepy stock ones
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: METALLICA,SLAYER,ZACK WYLDE , AND ME
You musical style(s): METAL
Reason for pickup change: I WANTED A BETTER SOUND BECAUSE THE PICKUPS THAT I HAVE THEY WERE MAKING A LOT OF FUCKING NOISE AND I WANTED TO HAVE THE SAME PICKUPS THAT METALLICA USES.

Perceived output level: ATOMIC SUPERSONIC SOUND
Tone: BALANCE AND PRETTY GOOD THE BEST I THINK
Sonic evaluation: I HAVE A REALLY CRAP AMP (ROGUE CG30) AND A DIGITECH PROCESSOR(RP14d) VERY GOOD BUT IM GOING TO BUY A STAGE 160

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I PLAY A LOT OF METAL AND THIS PICKUP IS VERY FUCKING GOOD ,THIS PICKUPS ARE SUITABLE FOR EVERY POSITION

Comments: I HAVE BEEN PLAYING FOR 4 YEARS NOW AND IF THIS PICKUPS WERE STOLEN I WOULD FUCKING KILL THAN SON OF A BITCH.

Pickup features: Active, 2 EMG-s single coils, 1 EMG-81, assembled in perloid pick guard
Impedence or other specs: I don't know?

Model of guitar or bass: 80's MIJ strat
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: 2 Seymour Duncan active live wire SC's, and Duncan hotrails
Other pickups on guitar: replaced them all
Artists using this pickup: James Hetfield, Kirk Hammet, Sepultura
You musical style(s): technical punk, metal, heavy stuff
Reason for pickup change: needed more gain, and the single coils were not doing the job.
A humbucker is much more suitable for the style of music I play
Besides, Kirk used religiously for years so they got to be good
right?

Perceived output level: molten-hot
Tone: good all around, and very clear. Made me realize what notes I was missing. Tons of crunch, a little sterile, but I like that. Just mess swith your tone and playing style
Sonic evaluation: I use a Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier Tremoverb head into a 4X12 recto cab. Can't get ,much more gain than that. I use a MIJ Fender Strat with the EMG-s in the neck and middle, and the EMG-81 in the bridge. Live, I enjoy deafening the audience with the rumble of my sonic fury.
They are killer if you play metal, and need a heavy clear sound. The single coils are good clean, but I don't really use them.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: great pickups for metal and metal/punk, leaves the chording heavy, and the single notes are loud and clear

Comments: I would never buy another guitar and not have an EMG-81 in the bridge.
I am looking for ESP's with an EMG-85 in the neck (i want to try that out) and an EMG-81 in the bridge. Basically I am looking for the metallica/rectifier gain. I am never satisfied with my tone, but I am forcing myself now, and focusing more on my playing style. Gear can only get you so far. I have learned this little tidbit of knowledge over the 10 years I have been playing. Don't buy crappy guitars, amps, or effects, just save up the money, because you will buy the good stuff sooner or later.