EMG SEHG

Pickup features: Passive EMG Humbucker, Split coil option (3 wire)
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Abilene/Silvertone ALK35DOS
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: stock humbucker
Other pickups on guitar: stock single coils
Artists using this pickup: me!
You musical style(s): Christian, Rock
Reason for pickup change: The tone of the stock humbucker was very mid and high
with no bass really. The intresting thing is that the sound
of the pickups going from bridge to neck went from a more
high/mid compressed sound to a low-mid blues sound.

Perceived output level:
Tone: Blues somewhat. This pickup, in my guitar (Agathis body, maple neck, rosewood fret) makes the sound of the strings, amplified. A very nice acoustic sound.
Sonic evaluation: I use a nice $139 guitar, the Abilene/Silvertone ALK35DOS, an
agathis bodied (and on some, oak veneer) S/S/H strat.
Lite body, nice paint job. If you know how to correctly intonate
the guitar (mainly the bridge and truss rod) when you first get it,
It stays in tune very well. The tuning machines are standard Gotoh,
and look very good. I've seen some epiphone guitars, and this guitar
dwarfs any epiphone I've ever seen in person.
A peavey rage 158, a 15 watt British sounding amp with an 8" speaker.
Very low-end. But -- this is the first guitar I've ever had sound
good out of this amp! And before I switched the pickup out, I used
my guitar in a couple different amps, and it was really nice, imagine
what it sounds like in a better amp now!

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play Christian, mainly Praise and Worship. What I try to sound like it dependent on my guitar's sound. Very acoustic sounding: good for blues. This pickup is good for any position. (Player's taste.)

Comments: If It were destroyed, I would immediately kill the person who did it,
or in my case, cry very loud and for a long time. Then I would get
$40 for the pickup and 2 day air service to get the pickup.
I've been playing for over a year, and some people say I'm very good
for only being a year. I love the fact that it sounds great.
I wish I had a coil splitter for it, because it supports it.
I'm totally satisfied with this pickup where it is in my guitar,
I will probably buy the double blade single coil EMG Select pickups
next.

Pickup features: Passive Humbuckers
Impedence or other specs: 8.4 K.ohms

Model of guitar or bass: My own guitars (K.M.)
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced:
Other pickups on guitar: EMG Select compact dual-coils (single-coil housing)
Artists using this pickup: None I'm aware of
You musical style(s): All types of guitar-driven music (excluding '90s rock and punk)
Reason for pickup change: I used to install these stock on my Strat-style neck-through guitars.

Perceived output level: Relatively low. My guitars are louder than most when played unplugged, but when using these pickups, that inherent volume unfortunately wasn't translated into a loud amplified sound.
Tone: Flat. It's probably the single magnetic bar that causes this. With pole pieces, you get a much better tonal coloration.
Sonic evaluation: This particular model is an all-mahogany, neck-through-body Strat-shaped guitar which I designed back in 1989 and have been making ever since. I installed the SEHG in the bridge position with the Select 'single coils' rounding out the neck and middle positions. Personally, I've been playing over the years through a 1982 Acoustic 200-W head paired with a 4X12 cabinet housing Celestion speakers, a Carvin 50-W combo amp, a 100-W Dean Markley head and cabinet, and a 30-W Fender Champ.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Stylistically, all types of rock and jazz from about the mid 1960s through to about the mid '80s. This pickup is a halfway good jazz pickup---decent for any type of clean playing. It has a very flat distorted tone. Bright, with little inherent warmth.

Comments: This is not a pickup I'd install in a professional instrument. It would be a good pickup for a beginner-intermediate type player. I've been playing 20 years; an 'amateur' luthier for about 16 years. The pickups are inexpensive, and they look great. When I was learning how to build guitars, I didn't want to put the most expensive pickups in an experimental guitar. In the past, I had played through EMG 81s and the EMG H, and initially bought into EMG's good reputation when I first started buying these passive pickups. No one's ever complained about them---except one guy who bought a bass from me (using Select Hybrid pickups) who immediately had it routed out for Bartolinis.
This pickup has poor output. I have a Les Paul Custom that is a relative mute when played unplugged, but those Gibson pickups really have a lot more drive and character. Consequently, that guitar is louder through an amp than any of my hand-built guitars that used the SEHG. I don't use them anymore.

Pickup features: Passive Humbucker
Impedence or other specs: 8.someting

Model of guitar or bass: Steinberger GU-7
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: none
Other pickups on guitar: none
Artists using this pickup: No artist would use these
You musical style(s): classic rock
Reason for pickup change: no change

Perceived output level: output is fine to drive most amps
Tone: balanced tone
Sonic evaluation: these things are truly one dimensional and have absolutely no character. try listening to Rush's limelight (less solo) and then applying that sound to anything that you do. I like this song as much as anybody, but the sound is very limiting. on top of this, forget about soloing, because even a very funky player will be reduced to a sterile mass of indistinguishable notes. the problem is that you can't say anything bad about anything to do with steinbergers because they have a fanatical following. I personnaly, love the guitars and the stability, but these cheap korean pickups suck major ass. if you want an active pickup and all the baggage that goes with it, buy emg. . .if you want a more classic tone buy something else, but whatever you do, don't buy these

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: for Rush "Limelight" that's it!

Comments: Hopeit gets stolen, wouldn't buy again
been playing for 20 years
one dimensional piece of crap

Pickup features: Humbucking, Passive
Impedence or other specs: 8.5k. Three-wire lead for coil splitting

Model of guitar or bass: 1984 Ibanez Roadstar Carvetop Custom RG1600
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Ibanez Super 58 Humbucker
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: Unk
You musical style(s): Variety, classic rock, blues, contemp jazz
Reason for pickup change: Damaged a coil winding on neck pickup and needed to replace; elected to replace bridge p/u to maintain the tonal and aesthetic balance

Perceived output level: Slightly less (but almost negligibly) than the Super 58. Have a '79 Les Paul Custom for comparison, and the EMG output was slightly under.
Tone: Relatively flat EQ and fidelity across all strings. Upper harmonics are more evident than on the Super 58 or the Gibson
Sonic evaluation: Amp is a Line 6 AX2-212 usually set for Mesa Boogie Mark II+ tones (think "Santana") and JC-120 clean tones. Pickups were adjusted for 1/16" string clearance like a traditional humbucker. After first plugging in, the amp's initial input was setup in typical fashion by strumming aggressively and adjusting the input gain until the clipping LED just went off. Then after playing a little and testing various blues and jazz tones in the neck position, the pickup seemed to do a fair job of duplicating the original humbucker, except I wasn't quite as satisfied as I'd hoped to be at first; there seemed to be these very subtle high harmonics hanging overhead that were adding a harshness to an otherwise very balanced tone (e.g.; I kept wanting to look closely at the clipping LED for an answer, but all seemed well). Then just on a hunch, I double-checked to make sure the gain was set just below clipping--and then I rolled it back an additional notch (from 7 to about 6). Voila! Not only did the guitar sound better to me, it practically "became" my Les Paul Custom--as warm and a baby's blanket. For the next several hours, I pulled out and tested all sorts of mental and tonal benchmarks--Black Magic Woman and Europa for the "meat" test; "Diamond Girl" (Seals & Croft) and "Feels So Good" (Chuck Magione) for that clean, liquid "ES-335" test, etc. The bridge pickup responded to every fat full-bodied Neil Schone or Steve Morse lick I could (pretend to) hobble through. Kicked in a bit more drive, and the pickup handled "Comfortably Numb" with all the open tone and ethereal harmonics of the album without sounding shrill in the process.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Seems a good match for all styles in either position provided the player thinks of the guitar and amp as system and not rely on the guitar to do all the work.

Comments: I'm quite happy with these pickups and feel they produce all the tone I needed them to (and then some), but have to caveat that by saying I first had to alter my mindset and think in terms that I was dealing with a "full-range" component rather than a traditional high-roll-off humbucker. Once I came to grips with this, I focused on using the amplifier's gain and tone-shaping abilities in the manner they were intended (what a novel concept!). I consider these pickups a bargain. Granted, they don't respond like a traditional humbucker right out of the box, so there's going to be a certain special intangible "something" that vintage humbucker aficionados may feel is missing. But I think an objective musician will find these passive EMGs a respectable alternative for the money.

Pickup features: Humbucking with Single coil option
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Ibanez EX series
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Ibanez stock humbucker
Other pickups on guitar: Stock single p/u in middle and EMG SES at neck position
Artists using this pickup: Me
You musical style(s): Metal and t=rock
Reason for pickup change: I wanted a better distortion than my crap stock pickup.

Perceived output level: Suprisingly low
Tone: balanced
Sonic evaluation: Im using a Marshall Valvestate 15R and a DOD FX69 (Grunge) pedal for distortion.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play heavy and this pickup is good for the bridge pistion

Comments: I would get an EMG 81 if it were stolen for higher output. Since I didn't pay that much for it, I wouldn't be too sad. I hate it's low output on my amp so It's lonly good for studio use. This is a very unique pickup. I am satisfied with it.

Pickup features: S-S-H from neck to bridge, passive
Impedence or other specs: Hi-z (specific info n/a)

Model of guitar or bass: J.B. Player Pro
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced:
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Prog, jazz etc
Reason for pickup change: I did not replace the pickups - they're original.

Perceived output level: Louder than stock pickups.
Tone: Single coils give Strat-like sounds. Humbucker gives a clear defined tone also good for harder rhythm parts. All pickups sound balanced, perhaps little middy.
Sonic evaluation: J.B. Player Pro, Rocktron VooduValve On-Line, Cry Baby, H.H. Electronics 100W Combo.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: This is not my main guitar, but when I need Strat-like sounds I'll grab this one. The single coils work well in neck and middle positions and the humbucker is good in bridge position (I will possibly try it in neck position someday too). With my custom wiring I can get so many different tones that it always gives me the vibes when I start playing.

Comments: The special thing about these pickups is actually the wiring. I have a 5-way switch, vol pot, tone pot and an extra push/pull pot. I use the extra pot for running the humbucker's other coil to ground and the DPDT switch for switching the humbucker on no matter what position the 5-way switch is in. This gives me two extra options: all the pickups on and neck&bridge pickups on. The wiring for the humbucker makes it possible to use it as a single coil or as a full humbucker or anything between. Imagine how many different sounds you can create with this setup! Please contact me for wiring diagram.
As I stated before, the pickups are great for Strat-like sounds but the humbucker gives also power for heavier distorted sounds. These pickups are very versatile and they should not be expensive! I bought the guitar second hand and rewired it. The pickups are original so I don't know how easy/hard it is to get them nowadays but there is information at EMG website. They would be a good choice for a person who wants to get his/her backup guitar a little(/a lot) better but doesn't want to spend too much money for pickups.

Pickup features: Humbucker w/ a single coil option. Passive both ways.
Impedence or other specs: Bought two, one was 8.7k, the other 9.1k. Single coil mode about 4k.3

Model of guitar or bass: Epiphone-ish "V" copy
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Stock
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Classic rock
Reason for pickup change: Wanted more drive and clairity.

Perceived output level: Medium-low, less than stock.
Tone: Bassy, scooped mids, clear treble with no screech.
Sonic evaluation: They lacked the warmth and drive the stock PU's had. They had good clairity but the lack of mids made them sound very "sterile" and somewhat weak.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: They would be a very good "Distortion-Only" metal sound, except they lacked output.

Comments: I went back to the stock for now. They just had no warmth, no feeling. I've checked this website out, and I think I'll go with a Duncan Custom Custom in the neck with a Duncan Custom in the bridge.

Pickup features: passive humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: BC Rich Virgin NJ
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced:
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: hopefully none
You musical style(s): some alternative, rock, some metal and hardcore
Reason for pickup change:

Perceived output level: medium to low
Tone: very muddy, quiet though
Sonic evaluation: I use a marshall VS100 valvestate combo amp. These pickups are TRASH!!! They sound fair on clean, but they are the worst sounding pickups I have EVER heard for overdriving. EMG makes some good stuff (try the EMG 81), but these were designed to be cheap by EMG and are actually made by some other company in China.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: For all types of music, these are a TERRIBLE match. These pickups are suitable for a garbage can.

Comments: I wish the pickups were destroyed or stolen. In any event, I am replacing them with some gibson pickups which sound a hell of a lot better.

Pickup features: Passive Humbucker
Impedence or other specs: ???

Model of guitar or bass: BC Rich US Mockingbird Standard
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: DiMarzio PAF Pro and Fred?!
Other pickups on guitar: None
Artists using this pickup: None-for good reasons!
You musical style(s): Metal
Reason for pickup change: Someone owned this guitar before me and took out the stock Dimarzios and put in these EMG Selects..

Perceived output level: Uh.. mid-high? A tit more than my DiMarzio PAF Pros.
Tone: MUDDY everywhere. The low end breaks up and the high-end is shrill.
Sonic evaluation: I'm using a BC Rich with a Marshall Plexi and Boss Metal Zone.. This pickup sounds horrible! It breaks up once i step on my metal zone, and the neck pickup is not very warm.. No character and soul.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play metal. This pickup just sounds horrible. I think I'm gonna replace with EMG-81s.

Comments: I hate these pickups! i like the sounds of EMG-81s and DiMarzio PAFS which I have in all of my other guitars. I love this BC Rich guitar but I am seriously gonna replace these with some quality EMGs. I'm never buying these again.

Pickup features: Humbucking, Passive
Impedence or other specs: i dunno, but it's highs scream and it's lows aren't like mud. Good crunch.

Model of guitar or bass: Ibanez Pro-Line and B.C. Rich Warlock (bridge position only)
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: standard and one old throw in piece of junk
Other pickups on guitar: none
Artists using this pickup: Me
You musical style(s): Heavy Metal, Hard Rock, Gothic, Punk (Misfits only), a little classical
Reason for pickup change: Well I liked the standard neck but it had just too much bass. No high whatsoever. The neck was just a piece of crap. Probably was a refrigerator magnet with a paperclip wrapped around it. I wanted something that would crunch without haveing to be active. My friend has EMG 81's. They rock. but i like the crispness of the selects. Plus they just look cool.

Perceived output level: A litte better than normal.
Tone: Heavy clear bass, crisp highs, slightly knocked out mid-range.
Sonic evaluation: Anything i can plug in to. Basically i use a Peavy Basic 60 with some old bass pre-amp. Sometimes I use my friends Crate head/ Laney Cabinet. Most of the time, straight through my computer.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Great for Metal. If you have a good distortion you can make these things scream and growl!!! And when it's clean it sounds incredible.I like it in both positions.

Comments: I would probably buy them again. But i might look into the 81's just for the extra output. If i did get them again i would probably install a preamp in the guitar.
They're cheap, they're good. If you a beginning guitarist who loves METAL (not many left, too many grungers) get these if you pick-ups suck.