EMG SEHG

Passive humbucker.
If that lengthy description isn't enough, here's their site: http://www.emginc.com/products/index/154

I put it in a Samick LSE-450. That's basically a Samick Les Paul clone. I replaced the stock Samick neck pickup; the bridge is still (temporarily) a stock Samick pickup. I've only been playing for a few years, i wasn't sure on how much improvement I'd notice by changing pickups, but the stock pickup seemed a bit muddy and lacked definition ie when playing chords, it was hard to distinguish each note. I wanted a project for the school holidays, and thought patching up this guitar would be a good idea, and boy was it ever.

The output level isn't bad. Noticably quieter than the bridge but maybe you always get that. I use it through a Boss ME-50 pedal to a Fender FM212 amp. The tone is absolutely amazing compared with the sound produced from my other guitar (Line 6 Variax) the tone is completely unique. Love the clean sound, put a little bit of chorus on and i'm in heaven, very sweet. EXCELLENT definition. I usually play rock, jazz or ambient reverb-dripping sounds. Occasionally stray into metal, and this pickup works well for me for all of these- although I have to crank the drive level right up to get enough distortion for heavier stuff, but it gets there! Excellent match for the other 2 styles also.

I'd probably buy a different pickup if this one were stolen (can't understand why you'd bother stealing just a pickup though). I've been playing for about 5 years- for an average of about 5 hours a day for the last 2 years so I'm getting a good grip on what I like! My variax has helped introduced me to good guitar tone, and the Samick showed me how much tone could be improved. I love this pickup, it's an amazing change! That said, this was my first delve into swapping pickups so there could be better out there. But this one is fantastic. Anyone considering doing it for the first time- do it! Anyone looking at this particular pickup, all I can say is that it is a fantastic acquirement.

Passive humbucking with low noise, light to moderate gain, and a coil-tapping option.

Select by EMG SEHG pickup replaced neck pickup on an Ibanez Artcore AFS75 hollowbody electric. Original pickups were extremely weak, the neck being too bassy to do anything other than an occassional low jazz run. Inexpensive guitar that sounds good with a new inexpensive humbucker that sounds good.

To start:

The humbucker itself is cased in a nice flat black casing with no holes or screws protruding from the casing. Very clean look and looks great on my hollowbody (red maple f-hole style, chrome hardware, black knobs on the pots). Fits like a glove and gives the guitar a gritty look to it.

The output level is extremely high next to the original hardware, which is so low you'd have to drive a Marshall stack just to get any volume out of it. That being said, if you're looking for an inexpensive alternative to a Seymour Duncan SH-6 or a Gibson Dirty Fingers, this particular humbucker is going to come up short by a long stretch. The output is very fair and balanced to sounds ranging from a blues or heavy jazz to a moderately heavy rock. Push it into a heavy rock/metal sound though and it sounds a bit too sterile and... Well, cheap. I wouldn't go past, say, AC/DC levels of gain with it.

Sustain is moderate, again being balanced for blues, jazz, softer rock, and classic rock. Good for both slow and quick solos, but not really prone to pick up nuances if the fretboard is getting shredded. More distortion makes for faster solos, and more distortion means less character in this pickup, so again, it will work great for your own personal rendition of "Freebird" but probably not "Enter Sandman."

Tone quality is absolutely excellent for a humbucker of this price. Maybe just a tad bit middy in the neck position, but you can rock and roll all over the fretboard with nary a flat spot in any range. It put a lot of character in my hollowbody, and with a small turn of the tone knob, or a tweak on the overdrive, or just a slight EQ adjustment on the amp I can pretty well get whatever particular sound I'm looking for. Excellent clean channel, with crystal clear highs and punchy lows, with neither overpowering the other. Push it into a little dirt and you get a beautiful tube-like resonance up high in the fretboard and a gritty low-end. A very experienced and talented guitarist (he also teaches one of my best friends) commented that if he did not see the price tag, he would have guessed it would have been a very expensive pickup. Since he has quite a few pricey guitars at his disposal, that's saying a pretty good about this pickup.

I am extremely satisfied with the purchase for the neck pickup, which actually satisfied me so much that I forgot to replace the bridge pickup. I would definately purchase this product again for it's clarity, bright tone, and punchy bass.

I am currently looking at finding something a tad hotter for the bridge, such as a Seymour Duncan SH-1 or possibly a P90-humbucker just for the experimentation of a hot single coil in a hollowbody, but for the price it's very tempting to walk back in and grab me another SEHG. Cheap? Yes. Artist sponsers? Nay. Excellent nonetheless? Yes, and it might just eat your stock middle-end Gibson Les Paul pickups while it's at it.

This PU is an EMG-style humbucker, but it is passive. It is a perfectly made EMG-style humbucking pickup, a completely closed black block (waterproof I believe :-) ). It has a coil-split option (two-conductor cables and shield) The resistance is about 8,5 kOhm - resembling the original P.A.F..

I installed it in 335-style guitar in neck and bridge position to replace the stock pickups. The stock neck pickup was intolerably muddy and the bridge pickup intolerably microphonic.
I do not think any artist uses these, they can afford active EMG or Duncans.

I like it in the neck position for its clean tone (very much so) and the lack of muddiness (even more so). I like in the bridge position for its clean tone and its absolute refusal to produce microphonic squeals. It works fine with overdrive sounds too, although the pu won't kick your amps butt like a DiMarzio SuperDistortion.
I used it in a 335-style guitar with a Hiwatt Custom 50 head and a 4x12" Cabinet loaded with EVoice Speakers. I put Ear protection on and turned the amp all the way up and the guitar full on. The result (bridge PU) was a great fat Crunch Sound, but no squealing at all and believe me, this combination is a loud one. The neck PU sounds great on my JazzChorus 120, warm fat, clean, hifi sounding and still sparkling if I use the plektron in the right way (especially If I use a 1mm one instead of a 2mm). I like and play Jazz and Rock.

The brand name "Select by EMG" is what attracted me. I was not disappointed and have bought them again. You really get quality here. It is perfect value for money.

Everyone with a rather cheap guitar should not waste money on real EMGs but buy these instead and get a good amp (most important thing anyway: the amp. Just imagine a 300 Dollar guitar through a 3000 Dollar amp and vice versa. The better amp will win the match.)

The PU is on the rather weak side outputwise but clear and hifi-sounding. Very balanced, not muddy at all. In my opinion it does not add a significant amount of "color" to the sound of the instrument. To me that is good news. For someone who wants a fat scorcher for metal and only metal - have a look at the carvin sd22 (a real "screaming demon"). For a jazz player who wants dark tone -> a working tone knob ust be present to roll off treble.

Pickup features: Humbucking, black case, no exposed polepieces or screws
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Epiphone Les Paul Special
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: EPI OEM
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Blues, Classic Rock
Reason for pickup change: Better soune

Perceived output level: About normal
Tone:
Sonic evaluation: These pickups sound very very very much like Gibson 490 open coil humbuckers (ie without the covers). Really good. warm humbucker sound.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Blues, classic rock

Comments: These are really good pickups and a great deal for the $$. I put them on an inexpensive guitar for a friend. They sound surprisingly good, very much like my LP. I have played for (too many) decades and have worked on guitars for the same. I highly recommend these as an excellent low cost humbucker!

Pickup features: Humbucker; Passive
Impedence or other specs: Bridge 8,6 Neck 8,4

Model of guitar or bass: Steinberger Spirit GT Deluxe Spirit
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: None
Other pickups on guitar: An EMG Select SC
Artists using this pickup: Me
You musical style(s): 80s Shredding Hard Rock / Heavy Metal / Hair Metal / some Jazz and Blues
Reason for pickup change:

Perceived output level: They have a normal Output, a bit higher than a PAF like LP PU
Tone: Very Balanced, the neck got a nice middy Shred Sound, just like Petrucci
Sonic evaluation: I use this guitar, a Zoom GFX 8, a Reu?enzehn Tube Based Poor Boy boutique Overdrive Pedal and a Hughes and Kettner Edition One with 50 Watts

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: 80s Shredding Hard Rock / Heavy Metal / Hair Metal / some Jazz and Blues => This PU Matches all kind of guitar based music

Comments: If it were destroyed or stolen, would you buy it again or get something else? ==> If I hadn't more money yes, if I could afford a package of OBL XL HBs I would probably buy these
How long have you been playing?
I play for over 11 Years now
What do you love about it? What do you hate?
I love the Shred sound...But same time I hate the a bit too low output
Anything you wish it had?
I'll soon buy a Build Inside Guitar Preamp, that make all my Output Problems go bye.

Pickup features: Passive Humbucker
Impedence or other specs: about 8.4 k

Model of guitar or bass: Ibanez Iceman
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: Di Marzio Fred suprisingly enough
Other pickups on guitar: Dimarzio Tone Zone
Artists using this pickup: Not A one comes to mind
You musical style(s): Grunge, Classic Rock, Blues
Reason for pickup change: I wanted to try a different tone and its one of my other 10 pickups lying around.

Perceived output level: Very Clear Balanced Slightly Less than the fred
Tone: Balanced
Sonic evaluation: My Beringer 212 with the trusty old GT6. And my Iceman with the Tone Zone in the bridge and now the select in the neck.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play a lot - o - stuff and actually I like this pickup better in the neck It has great neck clarity.

Comments: If someone stole it I would buy another they are so cheap anywho. I still have my les paul copy with the EMG 81 85's in it. I love the clarity of this pickup much to my dismay I have decided that the select will take the freds place as my neck humbucker because of its added clarity. Its a good pickup like emgs through effects especially but unlike my actives it pulls of the clean tones so much better I think its a very warm pickup and when split with my tone zone its just creamy good. For the price its a damn good pickup and i think it was superior to my fred in a lot of ways.

Pickup features: Humbucker, read the rest of the reviews
Impedence or other specs: Read the reviews below

Model of guitar or bass: Hondo II Les Paul copy, probably mid to late 80s
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Unknown aftermarket
Other pickups on guitar: Stewmac's Golden Age HB in the neck
Artists using this pickup: No clue!
You musical style(s): Mellow groovins and early 90s alt/grunge
Reason for pickup change: The previous owner of my LP copy installed a new HB into the bridge position. It was pretty big, massive magnets, but way too muddy and middy. I had my two humbuckers (the Golden Age (mimics a '59 PAF) and the SEHG) from an older guitar project, and I installed my Golden Age some time ago. I thought it was time for a change, the old bridge HB was getting me frusturated. Anyway, I *JUST* finished installing and testing out the SEHG and must say I'm very very please, especially for the price I paid.

Perceived output level: It's definitely hotter and more ball busting in the first (or is it third?) position, when all the sound is coming from it. It's almost too quiet when used in the middle position. I honestly can't describe it to other HBs since this is my second one (the first one being the Golden Age). With distortion (I use a Boss DS-2) it's definitely an ear pleaser, and I use a shitty Crate amp too.
Tone: It's a tad middy, but very clear and warm. Overall a very good balance of tones, especially for such a budget-friendly humbucker.
Sonic evaluation: Like I said this is being used in a LP copy, through a Boss DS-2 Turbo Distortion and a 15 watt Crate practice amp. On clean it sounds as good as it can get with such a limited amp, only thing that could fix that would be a better amp (and that's just about anything). Through the DS-2 though is where it really shines, at least for me. The tone from the SEGH definitely has that sweet layered distortion sound to it, the kind that gives you goosebumps. I'm very glad I decided to swap it in.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: This is an excellent match for me, any hotter I'm afraid I would be too much for myself. This pup is pretty versatile, I can see someone using it in many situtations. But I think as long as you're playing through nice distortion/overdrive/whatever this will do you and your checkbook good.

Comments: I've been playing for a couple of years now, I'm getting to that point where I'm looking for a specific sound. Being on a budget is hard, like you all know, and I'm glad I took a chance on this without even hearing it first. (I bought it online.) I think the only improvements I could make in the sound department would just be a new amp in general. Go check this shit out, it rocks.

Pickup features: Passive Humbucker
Impedence or other specs: I dunno

Model of guitar or bass: Custom guitar built from bits and pieces I have found and liked
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced:
Other pickups on guitar: Unidentified single coil in the bridge and unidentified humbucker in the neck
Artists using this pickup: What difference does that make?
You musical style(s): Rock, metal, blues, classical, prog
Reason for pickup change:

Perceived output level: Pretty hot. Not nearly as hot as EMGs active pickups, but what is?
Tone: They seem to be pretty balanced.
Sonic evaluation: I am using a custom built guitar. The body is like a soloist, H/S/H, and a very nice neck by Warmoth (Explorer-style, koa neck, ebony fretboard, 22 frets). I run my guitar through a Line 6 POD to a power amp, then into an old Marshall 4x12 cab.
Overall I am very impressed with this pickup. The current pickups will be replaced shortly with EMGs active pickups (b:81 m:SA n:89) but I will keep this on hand in case I decide to build a guitar with passive pickups.
I also own a Parker Fly Deluxe, and it's custom made dimarzio pickups can't hold a candle to these. The sustain is incredible, it really cuts through, and I can get perfect chunky palmutting with this for rhythm work. My guitar at the moment doesn't have a tone knob, so I haven't been able to tell whether that will soften up the tone some, but I did notice that rolling off the volume doesn't seem to change much.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play a lot of stuff (Pink Floyd, Metallica, Rush, Yes, Alice in Chains, Radiohead, GNR, etc. etc. etc.) This is definately a great metal or hard rock bridge pickup, and it can pull off a great lead tone (think Gilmour's tone on Comfortably Numb). It doesn't work well with Yes and other bluesy or classical music from my experience (that is what I use the neck and mid pickups for)

Comments: I had previously heard these pickups describe as cheap and crappy, but I was very pleasently suprised. These are a tremendous value, especially since the retail price (according to EMGs website) is $45.00.

Pickup features: Humbucking passive.
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Ibanez rg170
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Ibanez Powersound(more like weak sh*t)
Other pickups on guitar: weak sh*t
Artists using this pickup: Beer core speed metal thrashers from the arctic abyss of Canada
You musical style(s): Beer core speed metal.
Reason for pickup change: The stock pickups in Ibanez RG170's are CRAP! Ya know how much
better a humbucker sounds than a single coil? This pickup sounds
about 10 times better than that switch.

Perceived output level: Hot enough for metal! Lots of Gain
Tone: I'd say overall this pickups tone is pretty balanced. Maby with a touch more bass.
Sonic evaluation: Well like I said after months of feeling weak with my stock pickups I noticed these cheap humbuckers and asked about them. At 50 bucks I could afford to try it. Anyways I'm running this through a Kustom KGA 65 and it works great. The output is super high and with the gain cranked the walls shake. Just like the should.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I'm using this pickup for speed metal in the bridge position. If you going for straight up LOUD and your only using your bridge pickup any this is a great pickup.

Comments: The one *problem* I ran into with this pick up is that it is so much hotter then the stock on my RG that I can't split it with my other pickups or the tone turns to crap. So in the rare ocation where I want to use the single coil I'm forced to use the stock one by itself.
If my pickup were stolen from my guitar. Even though I'm not sure why someone would steal the pickup and not the guitar then I'd go straight to the music store and purchase another one.

Pickup features: Passive humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Several different guitars, the last one is a cheap Eagle Full Throttle
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Stock, Seymour Duncan Custom, APC Felny X, and others
Other pickups on guitar: Stock single coil in neck position
Artists using this pickup: Don't know, probably not many
You musical style(s): Heavy metal, with this setup.
Reason for pickup change: I've tried several humbuckers on the Eagle, without getting a good result. The SEHG works very well.

Perceived output level: Not very hot
Tone: I would say balanced
Sonic evaluation: I plug the Eagle (bolt-on neck, 25.5 inch scale, top-loaded non-vibrato brigde, like a Fender hard-tail) directly into a Zoom GM-200 amp simulator. I listen in head phones and record on a PC.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Metal riffs, some Zeppelin style stuff, and it works well. I think this pickup works best in the bridge position. I've tried it in the neck position on other guitars, with pretty bad results.

Comments: I would definitely order another one if I needed one. It's cheap, but I live in Sweden and will have to pay for shipping from the US. When I bought the one I have the Swedish customs saw the package and added about $20 to the price (the bastards).
I bought it because I was curious of EMG's Select range. The funny thing is, I've tried in four or five other guitars with pretty bad results and I've tried a number of other pickups on the Eagle, also with pretty bad results. But the Select on the Eagle works very well. With other pickups, even high quality ones like Duncan, the Eagle sounded muddy. I nearly gave up on that guitar before I tried the Select. The sound is clear with good definition for riffs. I seldom play solos, so I don't have an opinion on how the Select sounds for that.
The fact that I play with a simulator, instead of an amp, may have something to do with my findings.