EMG ZW 81 85 Set

Humbucking, active pickups.

1981 Black Gibson Les Paul Custom, replaced the original pickups. Everyone knows this as the Zakk pickup set, although I had these in this guitar since before Zakk Wyldd became a household name.

I bought these in the late 80's, before the 81 and 85 came together in a set, and before they came with the long stemmed pots that fit into a thicker Les Paul. I originally had them rigged in there with three screws, screwed in so the screw heads held the pots in place with just barely enough room to attach the knob-- worked great for years and I never thought about it until.... Years later, I found out that the ZW set does come with pots that would fit a Les Paul. Back in 2000, my band was about to start a US tour and I thought it would be a great idea to get the Zakk pots to replace my sometimes jiggly original pots but i didn't wanna buy a whole new set of PU's just for the pots.

I called EMG from a phone number that was listed on their website, got through to a real live person who transferred me to another real live person, and ten minutes later a new ZW pot set was packaged and mailed to me, free of charge. Now THAT made me a happy customer!

Wide open sound with heavy rhythm playing, can clean up beautifully with the volume knob on the guitar. Solos are juicy with a good mid bite, but not as boomy or chunky/wooden as some other pickups, and I like that because I need to hear some flesh in my fingering (guitarists will get that one.) Balanced volume between both pickups; makes you wanna use the selector switch.

I disagree with other reviewers who say all guitars with ZW EMG's sound the same. I use mostly the same exact equipment as Mr. Wylde, and my guitar sounds nothing like his when I play it. I will also assume HIS guitar will sound nothing like his if I played it, as your sound is mostly in your fingers. Develop it with that in mind and no equipment will make you sound like anyone else but you.

My amp of choice- mid 80's Marshall JCM800 single channel half stack, 100 watts. Guitar straight into the amp for rhythm, using the guitar's volume and tone knobs to affect the sound for different songs (something of a lost art in today's "bridge pickup on 10" society.) With the 800's gain maxed and the master volume hovering around 4 or 5, I am louder than the drummer.

The EMG pickups sound fine straight into the amp-- very good clarity, way better than a few other brands I have tried, and alot better than the stock Gibson pickups (i have stocks in my other Les Paul.) If you want AC/DC, you got it. If you want Cannibal Corpse, you don't without a distortion pedal.

For solos, I use a Boss DS-1 distortion and DD-3 delay for a bit of sustain and ambience, using the tone knob on the DS-1 to round out the sound. I know, I read the reviews of the DS-1 and lotsa kids say it sucks or it's too tinny or whatever. These kids most likely never bend down and move the knobs away from "10," or they are playing this pedal straight into an M-Box or something. For my setup, and for the loud, bluesy rock and roll music I play, there is no need for a $400 wonder-pedal because in the loud ******' NYC dive bars i usually play, you'll never hear those heavenly harmonics that guitarists rave about anyway.

Plus, using **** that you can get at any Banjo-Mart if you need a replacement just makes things easier on tour. Bottom line, adjust your settings on the cheapy pedals, they might not be as bad as you think-- and use a good tube amp (obviously.)

I also use a crybaby wah.

Playing 25 years, have only really had Gibson Les Pauls and Fender Strats, and have no interest in trying anything else, guitarwise. Call me a snob, but I just love the old classic rock sound, and it was all mostly played on one of these two guitars. This is my sound, not searching at all anymore (though sometimes I love to also play my Fender Strat thru a Twin Reverb, totally different sound but just as exciting to me as well-- but that's for another review.)

The 81/85 EMG pickup set (branded as the ZW set, but existing before Zakk's name was on it) lets me re-create any sound I want, from AC/DC to Skynyrd to Kill 'Em All era Metallica, and the combo of the Les Paul with EMG's and the 100 watt Marshall is my dream tone. No pedals necessary except for a bit more sustain and ambience during some soloing. Soloing without the DS-1, by the way, sounds great too, and i do not hear this sterility that other reviewers seem to get. I am getting a wide open sound that fuckin grooves. Total 70's rock if ya want it, and metal as well if ya want that too.

One thing I did do, and have done since i bought these in the late 80's, was the two-battery mod. I believe EMG has the directions and explanation right on their site. Maybe this accounts for the success i am having with these pickups when other people hear them differently in their guitars? Its something easy and good to try.

These pickups are cheap too, compared to some 300 to 600 dollar sets on the market. I would buy again if lost.

Humbucking active pick ups.

93 Gibson Les Paul Standard. I'm replacing the stock pick ups so I can get a little more umph from my sound.

I really like these pick ups. They sound great, lots of output and they cut through nice. (Love those pinch harmonics!) If you take the time and adjust both pick up heights you can get a well balanced sound. I use the 81 (bridge) more anyway. It has a great hard rock, metal sound. The 85 is very thick sounding, good for a variety of styles of music. Plus they look really cool in a Paul too. Side note: I contacted EMG about pick up height (was having trouble getting the bridge pick up to the right height) Their tech support was fast, courteous, and bang on! I can't stress this enough!

I'd want these back in my Paul for sure. Don't get me wrong the stock PAF's sounded good but these have a little something extra that I needed. I've been playing 19 yrs & they sound great through my 50w Mesa Boogie Stiletto Ace, with just a wah pedal in front at the moment.

I installed the EMG's in my ESP horizon, before the EMGs I had basic esp-humbuckers!

My first impression wasn't very good... the EMG's totally deleted the character of my guitar, so now I had the sound of 9999999999999999 other guitarists!

Also, the pickups can do only one thing: rock! Don't expect to get a nice clean / warm sound out of it...

If you only play metal... the emg's are what you need! If you wanna have a clean and blues/rock sound as well? you should think twice!

Humbucking - active what else? If you know anything about these pups no need going into much detail here....

Have them installed into an ESP LTD MH-201, and a USA Peavey Wolfgang. Replaced Dimarzio Super Distortions on the ESP and custom pickups by a custom builder out of Canada on the Peavey.

I did the ESP first along with routing the bridge cavity out for an Original Floyd Rose and EVH D-Tuna and immediately had THE sound I was looking for!

I did the Wolfie a few months later and already ordered a set for my Les Paul Zakk Wylde Bullseye I just ordered to replace the HZ's.

Great chimey noise free clean and terrific metal growl and sustain. Excellent pinch harmonics and more versatile than I expected! I heard all the talk about how sterile and un natural EMG's were but buddy, let me tell you I tried Duncan's, Dimarzio's and custom types and they all left me wanting. For ME, these are the shit! Not muddy, not bad in any way to my ears at all. I have a custom board setup with too much shit to mention and I have a Boogie Mark III and Peavey Ultra combos which I connect to custom built cabs and I can put down some serious volume AND tone with my setup. I play mostly Ozzy, Van Halen, and Metallica, but I also love the tone I get rolling the volume back and switching the pups for SRV, Hendrix, Zepplin etc.

I got great deals on ebay for the (now) 3 sets I've purchased. I love them for the versatility and tremendous power they put out. I've been playing for over 25 years and have owned all kinds of gear and recently re-built my collection from scratch after the divorce thing. I may try the pre-amp by EMG at some point in one of my rigs. Anyway, as someone previously said, why would anyone steal pickups. That would mean my rig was stolen also and that would justify deadly force imo!

2 humbuckers included in the set, 81 and 85, active, for other specs you can check out the official homepage of emg.

I installed them into a Gibson Les Paul Studio Plus, replaced the original factory Gibson pickups. Basically I wanted to have a heavier sound, which is not muddy has a nice edge for some heavier type of music.

I'm using a Randall G3 head with a Randall cabinet, and some pedals, like boss delay, chorus and a crybaby. My main distortion sound is from the amp itself. I wanted a bit more modern tone than my Gibson could give me. I think the Pu-s are perfectly balanced exspecially the 81. The 85 in my opinion is a bit bassy and a little dark, but I think it has a great sound, perfect for crying leads, and it doesn't relly kill the les paul type of lead sound, I think it actually enlarges it. I play some punkish flavoured metal and it suits me perfectly. If you want a pu with lots of crystal clean distortion, and no mud messing around in lower frequencies then this is a perfect choice. I'm only giving it a 9 because I don't believe that there is a 10.

I would definately buy it again if I needed to. I've been playing for 6 years now, in several bands each of different genre, and had a few types of guitars and amps, from a 79' Fender and JCM800 marshall to Gibson and Peavey Triple X. I've basically "tasted" many sounds, and the Emg's have by far the best overall sound compared to the other humbuckers I've used. You might not like it if you're a really oldschool tone junkie, but if you like rock music than you can't go wrong with it.

active humbuckers

epiphone vintage g-400
crappy stock epiphone pickups are being replaced
zack wylde, slayer, metallica
my epiphone pickups died, everyone i talked to raved about EMGs

output is hot as hell
im using a peavey special 212 with a EHX metal muff and small clone
i play every type of heavey music from hardcore to deathmetal; awsome match
the pickups are great no matter where you put them, except the 85 thats meant for the neck not the bridge but the 81 can do fine in the neck

if it were stolen i would like to buy it again, but moneys hard to find these days and id prolly find somthin cheaper, or just used EMGs
one thing i wish these had were cleans. i like playing blues by myself when im just practicing, but you can achieve a decent clean tone by using the neck pickup and rolling the tone knob back a bit.
im VERY satisfied with with pickup i couldnt be happier. these pickups not only sound awsome, but make the guitar look great. EMGs are the best looking pickups out there.

Active humbucking pickups.

Gibson Les Paul Standard
All positions
Stock pickups
Zakk Wylde!!!
I want a clear and heavier sound

High output
I'm using a carvin amp
Tone - very clear, every nuances of the guitar is heard
Heavy metal
Great for everything.

I'd get a new set in a heartbeat.
i've been playing for 12 years. I have a carvin 747 and 2 custom made guitars.
I love the pickups.
Totally satisfied with the sound.

Pickup features: active h-buckers
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Jackson Sl2h
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Came on guitar
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: Wylde,King and many more
You musical style(s): oldschool rock and metal,hardrock,blues,thrash
Reason for pickup change:

Perceived output level: one of the hotest pups ouththere(probably bit less than duncan metal wire)
Tone: 81 is nothing but piercing treble(in a good way),85 is dark sounding.
Sonic evaluation: Jtm vintage marshall all tube,ds1 but mainly amps dirty channel-i like natural sound of guitar and amp and EMG s are just a bit too sterile for that

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play a bit of everything and these are deffinitely not for that,not versatile even a bit.I would not say they are not good,they are awesome but they just dont have any warmth and niceness.

Comments: I am replacing them with duncan custom 5 trembucker and PRS mccarthy,with coil tapping/splitting push pull pot(which you cant do on EMGs except 89).I have played for 14 years mainly strats,and just realised that you cant get anything better than strat,just different.If you find yourself to be EMG player nothing will come even close to them(max distortion with no feel or soul and lousy clean),they also look beautiful on any guitar.Also if you like using lots of effects they are awesome for that,i just like natural amp and guitar sounds and EMGs are just too sterile for that

Pickup features: ACTIVE HUMBUCKER
Impedence or other specs: NOT SURE

Model of guitar or bass: GIBSON LES PAUL STANDARD
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: SEYMOUR DUNCAN LIVE WIRE[HM SERIES] AND STOCK PICKUPS.
Other pickups on guitar: EMG 81 BRIDGE EMG 85 NECK
Artists using this pickup: ZAKK WYLDE
You musical style(s): METAL AND CLASSIC ROCK
Reason for pickup change: I WANTED SOMETHING A LITTLE DIFFRENT I WAS GETTING A LITTLE TOO BORED WITH YOUR ORDINARY STOCK PICKUP SOUND.I WAS ALSO GETTING INSPIRED BY OTHER GUITAR PLAYERS SUCH AS JAMES HETFIELD,DIMEBAG AND SCOTT IAN WHO WERE USING DIFFRENT PICKUPS FOR THEIR OWN SOUND SO I WENT FROM THERE AND NEVER LOOK BACK.

Perceived output level: HOT PICKUP WITHOUT SOUNDING LIKE A DISTORTION BOX SO YOU CAN PLAY CLEAN WITHOUT THE MUDDINESS.BUT THE 85 IN THE NECK IS A LITTLE MORE HOT SO BE A LITTLE BIT EASY ON THE VOLUME .BUT SOUNDS GREAT FOR THAT CREAMY BLUES/SMOOTH JAZZ FEEL ..
Tone: CLEANER LOWS AND THICKER HIGHS =TIGHTER BASS/FATTER LEADS W/TIGHT SCREAMING HARMONICS TYPE OF QUALITY.
Sonic evaluation: I HAVE THESE PICKUPS IN TWO OF MY GUITARS A BLACK LES PAUL STANDARD AND A CHEAP CORT LES PAUL COPY.I USE THE MARSHALL VALVESTATE HEADS OLDER AND NEWER MODELS AND GREAT PRETTY GOOD RESULTS IN MY OWN PERSONAL GUITAR TONE.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I PLAY MOSTLY THE CLASSIC STYLE OF ROCK AND HEAVY METAL WHETHER IT'S JUDAS PRIEST,BLS AND THE STANDARD 80'S TYPE OF THRASH IT'S A GREAT MATCH BUT IT WOULD ALSO DEPEND ON THE SPEAKERS YOUR USING AND DIFFRENT AMP AND EQ ADJUSTMENTS TUBE OR SOLID STATE ,WHAT TYPE OF TUBES VICE VERSA.. BUT IF YOU WANT THE ROUNDED BASS FOR THE CLASSIC BLUESIER FEEL THIS MIGHT NOT BE THE PICKUP DEPENDING YOUR OWN PERSONAL TASTE.

Comments: I WOULD DEFINETLY BUY IT AGAIN .I'VE BEEN PLAYING ALMOST 18 YEARS NOW APART FROM THE LES PAULS AND MARSHALLS I ALSO USE VARIOUS WAH PEDALS[CRYBABY AND MORLEY] AND A MARSHALL BLUES BREAKER OD/BOOSTER BOX THAT GIVES ME MORE THAN ENOUGH GAIN FOR MY HEAVY CRUNCH TONE.LIKE I SAID EARLIER I LIKE THE TIGHTER CHUNK AND THE FAT SUSTAINING LEADS W/HARMONICS.ITS NOT THAT I ACTUALLY HATED MY OLD STOCK PICKUPS BUT WHENEVER I GO TO A MUSIC STORE AND PLAY A GUITAR WITHOUT MY EMGS IT SEEM LIKE SOMETHING WAS MISSING.IN BETTER WORDS WHEN I FIRST TRIED EMGS I DIDNT THINK MUCH AT ALL AT FIRST BUT AFTER A COUPLE YEARS GETTING USED TO THE SOUND ALL SUDDEN THE STOCK SOUND BECAME VERY DISSAPOINTING SO IM SATISFIED TO SOUND ONCE YOU GO EMGS YOU DONT WANT TO GO BACK.OF COURSE THE SEYMOUR DUNCAN PICKUP I USED TO HAVE WAS NOTHING BUT A DISTORTION BOOSTER THAT WAS EQ'D FOR METAL BOTH RYTHYM AND LEAD NO CLEAN SOUND WHATSOEVER.WITH THE EMGS YOU GET THE CLEANS AS WELL.

Pickup features: Active humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: epiphone les paul standard
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: stock pickups
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: metallica, nickelback, limp biz kit, puddle of mudd.....
You musical style(s): fusion jazz, hard rock
Reason for pickup change: low output on the stock pickups that only suit classic rock sound. Changed to EMG for an agressive sound when playing rock music such as linkin park,metallica and crystal clear clean sound when playing fusion jazz.

Perceived output level: very hot
Tone: balanced
Sonic evaluation: epiphone+boss MT 2 + hughes and kettner attax 40(old version)

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play fusion jazz and all kind of rock(except really CRAZY DEATH METAL)...These pickups will suit all kind of music depending on your setup of effect pedals and amps.

Comments: IF it were destroyed, for sure i would buy it again..because these pickups have thousand of possibilties in every genres of music! GO FOR IT! My epiphone with EMG can sound better than gibson with stock pickups...:)