EMG ZW

Pickup features: Active Humbucker
Impedence or other specs: what the ?

Model of guitar or bass: Gibson Gothic Explorer
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Gibsons 496 and 500
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: Metallica , Zyck and a bunch others
You musical style(s): Heavy Metal
Reason for pickup change: All the Hype about these Active EMG's and the fact that Metallica uses them.

Perceived output level: Sweet spot ! Blew my mind. No pedal can do what these Pickups do.
Tone: Butter Sweet ! The Hype is for a good reason, the pickups are incredible.
Sonic evaluation: Pitched down $1250 for a Soldano Hot Rod Head and Cab. Talk about Tone. I never knew how important tone was until I turned it on in my room. Those Yuppie 'old school' guitarists talking down about the poor quality of Marshall's really hurt my feelings. I love my Boss metal Zone and Ibanez hooked up to the AVT100 Marshall. The distortion drowns out all of my errors and no one can tell I really suck. Those yuppies were right though about Soldano, "If you want tone so you can here your errors and get better then Soldano is hands down the best Amp out their today. What you here on the radio is not what it sounds like live. Throw away your Metal Zone he says. Unless you buy a Marshall made in 1974 or earlier and some of the 800's are OK." Anyway I should talk about the EMG's. I love them. If I had to do it all over again, I know now that all one needs are EMG's and an Ibanez Tube Screamer to rock.

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

Comments: Ofcourse. I got the ZW set so I think that is the 85 & 81. Butternuts. These things are sweet. Love em'. Paid a Pro $40 to install. This is critical. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO SAVE A BUCK AND DO IT YOURSELF!!!!! I had to shop around the Twin Cities for awhile and some guy wanted $85 just to put them in without adjusting the hight. Then I found some guy selling Soldano's to do it for $40. And he adjusted the hight and raised part of my bridge for free. These active pickups are worth the money hands down. You got to pay to play!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pickup features: Active humbuckers
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Jackson DXMG
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: EMG-HZ
Other pickups on guitar: EMG-HZ
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Thrash Metal
Reason for pickup change: The HZ's really didn't have any balls to them at all. They are good pickups for the price, but just not sufficiant enough for the type of music I play.

Perceived output level: The EMG-85 in the neck seems to have more output than the EMG-81 in the bridge.
Tone: As good as it gets
Sonic evaluation: I tested my pickups out on my Jackson through a Marshall AVT50 head with a 1960B cabinet. They really sounded great. There was a huge difference from the HZ's that were in the guitar. As people have previously stated they are dead silent when the strings aren't vibrating.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Since I play thrash, this pickup was a perfect match to my style.

Comments: If it were stolen, I would have to buy them again. I have been playing for about 10 years now and I was seriously impressed. They sure know what they are doing at EMG. I also have a Gibson Explorer which has an unbelievable crunch to it, and this guitar now compares. I really wanted to submit this because most everyone else has a Gibson Les Paul Custom, and more power to them, nothing beats a Gibson. I just wanted to show that even a realitivaly cheap guitar can greatly benifit from purchasing these pickups. They supply the regular pots, wiring, and diagrams for any type of guitar, not just the Les Paul.

Pickup features: Active Humbuckers
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Epiphone Zakk Wylde Les Paul
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: EMG HZ
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: Zakk
You musical style(s): Rock, Blues, Avant-Garde Jazz, Polka
Reason for pickup change: The stock EMG HZ passive pickups that came with the guitar sounded nice, but lacked the "punch" that I desired.

Perceived output level: Hot, but not too hot.
Tone: Balanced and clear
Sonic evaluation: I am using the Epiphone Les Paul Zakk Wylde model with these EMG ZW pickups. The amp I use is just a lower end Marshall practice amp. I have the 81 at the bridge and the 85 in the neck. I highly recommend this particular setup. It sounds great.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: This guitar/pickup combination is extremely appropriate for playing Rock music. The sound really isn't as hot as I expected, though it is right at the border of losing its ability to be "clean." You can also get some really nice blues tones with this setup too.

Comments: I have to say that I'm extremely pleased with the EMG ZW set. They should have come in the Epiphone Zakk Les Paul as the stock pickups, because the passive HZs were a little to inadequate to be in a Zakk model guitar. These active pickups are the real deal, and can play pretty much anything you need in term of Rock and Blues tones. If you run your guitar through effects pedals, you can easily create the kind of heavy "crunch" that will help you lose friends and alienate your neighbors. But who cares? You will have a damn good time doing it.

Pickup features: Active pickups (EMG-81 and -85)
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: 1999 Gibson Les Paul Standard
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Stock Gibsons
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: Me, and also Zakk Wylde
You musical style(s): Classic rock, southern rock, heavy metal
Reason for pickup change: I like the way Zakk's Les Paul sounds, and I thought the pickups would improve my sound overall.

Perceived output level: Hotter than stock PUs, but not as hot as I expected. Doesn't overdrive clean amp.
Tone: Very, very balanced and uncolored. The 81 is brighter than the 85, but both are very transparent.
Sonic evaluation: The 81 goes in the bridge and the 85 in the neck, though some have good results reversing this. The Les Paul goes into a POD (for metal I often use the Modern Hi-Gain [Soldano] model with middle and treble dimed, presence boost, bass at 5, and gain at 8). After the POD is a Fender solid state bass amp. Sometimes I use a Boss SD-1 for a boost on the lower gain amp models and a Dunlop wah for solos.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play older hard rock, like 70s and 80s, and some modern metal stuff. These pickups are honestly great for ANY style, I'm not kidding.

Comments: The installation was fun; I burned myself with the soldering iron and stabbed myself with a screwdriver. It was actually pretty easy, and the instructions were very good.
I was ready for enormous output after what everyone else said, but it's not that much higher than the stock pickups. It seems to get harmonics more easily, which is good. I love doing that Zakk "squeal" on the low-E string. The clean sound is surprisingly good, and the clarity stays the same as the gain is turned up. The volume balance of the pickups depends on your amp. If you change amps, you have to readjust the pickup height to keep the output of the two pickups balanced.
The string-to-string clarity and definition are excellent. The stock neck pickup was nice for leads, but useless for chords. The EMG-85 is not muddy at all for chords and keeps the same sweetness for leads. The stock bridge pickup had an element of harshness that the EMG-81 gets rid of (while still being trebly). Thanks to the bar magnets, you don't lose output when bending a note.
I've been playing for six years, pretty seriously but not professionally yet. I had just started to prefer my new Kramer-style Mean Street guitar and the nice Seymour Duncan pickup in it, but now I'm in love with my Gibson again. I don't anticipate another pickup change. These pickups seem to let the strings, wood and amp do the talking, rather than adding their own color like passive pickups do. Some people think that means they lack character. I think it means they are simply better pickups.

Pickup features: Active
Impedence or other specs: See EMG web site

Model of guitar or bass: Gibson Les Paul Custom
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Stock pickups
Other pickups on guitar: n/a
Artists using this pickup: Zakk Wylde, possibly Metallica
You musical style(s): Heavy
Reason for pickup change: I wanted a heavy, saturating sound like Zakk's, but I just couldn't come off the hip enough to but a Zakk Wylde model Les Paul.

Perceived output level: The highest output pickps I've ever encountered.
Tone: Tones between the neck and bridge pickups are distinctly different.
Sonic evaluation: I plug into a Peavey 5150 II that drives a Mesa Boogie Recto cab. My effects come from a t.c. electronic G-Major. Both pickups sound as thick and rich as anything I've ever heard. The neck pickup has a very thick, singing type of tone to it; well balanced EQ. The bridge pickup has the high end frequencies accentuated much more than I normally care for, but the high end doesn't take your head off. These pickups are also the most articulate that I've ever heard as well. Every note is distinct, whether you're playing a full complex chord or a spine cracking power chord. Some have stated in their reviews that the bridge pickup is not as loud as the neck. Well, remember that the neck pickup is closest to the center of the string where the vibrations are the most vibrose, so you have to compensate by moving the bridge pickup closer to the strings. My neck pickup has about a quarter inch distance from the strings, whereas my bridge pickup has about a 12th of an inch distance. Since there are no exposed poll pieces to these pickups, string pull shouldn't be much of an issue. You just have to just how close to get the pickup to accommodate your own playing style.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: These pickups are definitely NOT for playing music in front of Mom and Dad.

Comments: For the harder types of music out there, EMGs may not be the only ones out there, depending on the tone you're looking for. For some reason, I own several guitars. And those guitars have stock Fender, DiMarzio, EMG, and Duncan pickups. Each one suits a certain style of playing and has a unique tone. But for this particular guitar, and the sound I wanted it to generate, there is no other choice but EMG.

Pickup features:
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Les Paul Custom
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Factory
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: You probably already know
You musical style(s): Heavy Music
Reason for pickup change: I always wanted to put them in my guitar because they sound great.

Perceived output level: So hot you don't need an amp!
Tone: Any
Sonic evaluation: I am using a epiphone Les Paul custom through a Marshall AVT50 halfstack. I run a zoom gfx8 and a dimebag darrell crybaby wah pedal to the halfstack.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play metal. These kick ass for any style you may play.

Comments: i would buy them again if they were stolen. I never want any other kind of pickups in my guitars from now on unless they are EMGs. I also have two 81s in my warlock that sound really good but still dont compare to the 81 and 85 set up. I love everything about these pickups. I am definately satisfied with these babys. go out and get these pickups.

Pickup features:
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: 2001 Gibson Les Paul Smartwood Exotic
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: 490r/498t
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s):
Reason for pickup change: Experimenting - felt the 490r accentuated and muddied the bottom end, and wanted more harmonics from the bridge.

Perceived output level: Gotta roll off the volume or you could clip the input on your tuner!
Tone: The 85 neck is full, the 81 is shrill and has no bottom end. I find the 85 to be significantly louder.
Sonic evaluation: I play the exotic into various amps. Peavey C30, Roland JC120, Mesas and Marshalls. Played a couple of Fenders also. I love the hot clarity of these pups, and the way the 81 just burns notes. The 85 chugs like a diesel locomotive, and even the 81 can kick out a good chunk if the volume is up and the amp is bassy. These really are very cool, but they are not really warm and rich. I hear some of the guys I play with sounding so sweet and warm, and I can roll off the volume on the guitar and hang with 'em, but these pups are more suited to just cranking it up and blowing that sweet sounding axeman's head off. Overall these pickups are incredibly accurate, very hot, clean and quiet, and while you can play anything through them, they are not sweet and warm.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I'm playing hard edged blues, classic rock and heavy metal.

Comments: I'm irritated by the volume difference between pups. Some say their 81 is louder, but my 85 at the neck is louder. I tried a 10k resistor on that pup on EMG's recommendation, and also a 15K, and the 85 was still louder. I pulled the resistors due to the tone loss so I'm living with the volume change. It prevents me from just flipping the pickup switch - I gotta hit the volume somewhere also. I love not messing with pole pieces, and even the pickup height is whatever you want it to be. The magnetic field is weak, so you can and should place the pickup as close to the strings as you like. I've gone back to the stock pups a couple of times, but ended up putting the EMGs back. You get used to the accuracy and quietness of these things - they are silent when not playing. The volume on the guitar becomes a necessary control - you can vary the tone greatly, and you need to roll back to get clean. The tone of the pickup doesn't change when you work the guitar's volume, but the tone of the amp changes as you give the input some relief. All the amps I play are tubed, and you can overdrive any section easily with these pups, which helps me get a useable overdrive at lower volumes when practicing. I also like that the bridge is not grounded with these pups - no connection from my fingers to the power in the amp. These are great pups, particularly for the heavey shit, but sometimes I want that beautiful sweet fullness that I don't have. I usually forget about it when I start catching some of the intense pinched harmonics that these things promote...

Pickup features: Active humbuckers - 81/85
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: 1998 Gibson Les Paul Studio
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Stock
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: Zakk Wylde
You musical style(s): blues/rock/metal
Reason for pickup change: The stocks were muddy, my idols use EMGs... oh and they look good too

Perceived output level: Incredibly clear. For everyone who thort pickups didnt make that much difference, you're sooooo wrong! These pickup both high end screams AND low end rumbles.
Tone: 81 (bridge) trebly, loud - 85 (neck) bassy, not quite as loud
Sonic evaluation: I use my Les Paul thru a Line6 Flextone 2 combo and also a Marshall JTM60. Ive been using digital equipment now for 3 years and Im beginning to wander back into valve territory >:c]

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play stuff like Ozzy, Metallica, Alice In Chains and these pickups are definitely a good match, however messin with the tone and volumes can result in some cool dirty blues tones on the 85

Comments: If I lost them or had them nicked? Well, lets say Id buy EMG again in no time. Ive been playing for 8 years, EMG seem to be frowned upon here in the UK, very few people use them and I dont know why. They're simple to install and hum free. When I got enough cash Im gona buy the 81/81 set (KH-21 I think) and place them on my ESP.

Pickup features: Active Humbucker Kit, EMG81, EMG85
Impedence or other specs: Think I remember this stuff?

Model of guitar or bass: Gibson SG SPecial Faded
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Stock Gibson 490 pickups
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: Zakk Wylde, Kirk Hammett, Jeff Hanneman, Basically anyone who plays Kick ass metal.
You musical style(s): Hard Rock, Metal, Blues, Light Rock
Reason for pickup change: The Stock pickups were just plain too muddy and lacked clarity.

Perceived output level: HOT but extremely clear
Tone: EMG81 - Trebly, EMG85 - Bassy
Sonic evaluation: I play through a Mesa Dual Rectifier Solo Head, and Marshall 1960TV cab with Celestion 70's in it. I use a Tubescreamer, Phase90 and a Boss DD-3. Have other pedals, but when you play live you gotta keep it simple.
Sonic evaluation - These pickups are GREAT. I had some before, and sold them with a guitar (smacks head on desk). The Stock pickups in my Gibson SG were way too muddy, I needed some clarity and bite. I knew exactly were to go. I have played Seymour Duncans in the past, and they are great pickups too, but for the sound I want, EMG's are the only way to go.
This rig, with EMG's gives you THAT metal sound. You can go from old Metallica/Slayer/Maiden to new metal with no problems.
But, can they do blues??? Yup. All you have to do, to make them sound like passive pickups, is to roll the treble off on the guitar a bit (like to 6). Voila, blues tones. The nice thing about these pickups is that they are so clear that everything you do comes out. Every little nuance of your playing gets amplified. Even your mistakes. So you are forced to play better. Dead quiet pickups with no hum.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Hard Rock. These pickups are good for all styles, but excell at hard rock and metal. You have to roll the treble off a bit to get good blues tones, but they are in there.

Comments: >If it were destroyed or stolen, would you buy it again or get something else?
If these pickups were stolen, I would be very sad indeed because that means either some dumbass pulled them out of a Gibson SG, or they just plain stole the guitar. I would probably get an EMG89 for the neck because it is the same as an EMG85, but tappable.
>How long have you been playing? What other gear do you own?
I have been playing for 13 years. I also own a Line6 POD, Line6 DM4, Boss DS-1 Distortion, Boss BF-2 Flanger, Ibanez SC-9 Chorus, DOD Grunge, Jimmy Hendrix Wah, and a Mesa 1x12 cab for home play. In addition to the SG, I play a US Standard Strat, and an Ovation Acoustic Electric.
>What do you love about it?
I love that the pickups retain clarity at the highest gain levels. This gives them a gritty tone that cuts through the mush that distortion can produce.
> What do you hate?
They can be a bit sterile with the treble all the way up. But, you can always roll it off a bit to make them sound like passive pickups.
>Did you compare it to other products? Which ones?
I compared them to Duncans, and Gibsons. Neither of which can do what these can with high gain.
>Why did you choose this one?
Great kit. Comes with long and short shaft pots for installing into a Les Paul, or an SG/Strat. Everything came in the kit, and I even got a totally useless EMG pick that says 25th anniversary (gee thanks). I look forward to actually hearing Zakk Wylde at Ozzfest in August 2002.
>Anything you wish it had?
It would be cool if they came in silver instead of black. (the EMG81's come in an anniversary set, but I like an EMG85 in the neck, not another EMG81.)
>Are you satisfied with this pickup or still searching for that
>sound?
I'm set.
>Anything else you'd like to share?
Great deal for the money. If you are looking for that great high gain sound, get ANY tube amp and these pickups. Put a DS-1 ($39) in front of the amp, and you are set. Of course nothing beats a REAL Dual Rectifier!!! MUHAHAHAHAHAHhahahahaha!

Pickup features: Active humbucking
Impedence or other specs: Snazzy looks! very classy!

Model of guitar or bass: old Epiphone Les Paul in discontinued heritage sunburst color (that should tell you something)
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: old crap Epiphone stock pickups
Other pickups on guitar: just the 81 in the bridge and 85 in the neck
Artists using this pickup: Zakk Wylde, Kirk Hammett... need I say more?
You musical style(s): any kind of rock basically... i love hard rock and classic rock the most.
Reason for pickup change: My Epiphone had horrible sound. I wanted to turn it into a something. I also wanted to gain experience with modding guitars and soldering... I wanted to know the ins and outs of a guitar and no better a choice than to start with a guitar that is cheap and of no real loss.

Perceived output level: very, very "hot"... these are loud... they have POWER!
Tone: punchy, powerful... clean... could hear every note ring out even with distortion!
Sonic evaluation: I play my new Epiphone through a vintage Fender tube amp - the Vibrolux Reverb, a Boss AC-2 acoustic pedal, an Ibanez TS-10 *TS-808 modded*, and a MXR Phase 90. My other guitars include a Mexican Fender Strat (I will be putting in DG20s very soon... ;) ) and an all original Gibson Les Paul standard. My Epiphone now sounds better than my Gibson... it's unbelievable!

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: the 81 is flawless in the bridge position, the 85 was rather impressive in the neck

Comments: I would buy this again in a heartbeat. I've been playing every single day for the past 4 years. I love these pickups. I chose them because I love Metallica and Zakk Wylde. This is "my sound". Through a tube amp and classic distortion pedal it perfors "like buttah". These pickups are great for just about every style of music, but country. With or without distortion these pickups are winners!