[GentleHands McCoy]

Gonna have to go with conventional wisdom here and say that boutique passives are actually quantifiably better for Death Metal than the EMGs that 90% of the touring/signed Death Metal bands use in their guitars.

 

[MDV]

Gonna have to go with conventional wisdom here and say that boutique passives are actually quantifiably better for Death Metal than the EMGs that 90% of the touring/signed Death Metal bands use in their guitars.

:rofl::rofl::rofl:

People are, of course, entitled to like what the fuck they like, but this really doesn't get said often enough :yesway:

 

[Oldschoolpaulie]

Besides your guitar, what does your rig consist of?

I'm embarrassed to say. Its pretty shitty equipment, but even so, as I've said, my Ibanez sounds plenty ballsy on it.

 

[noodles]

Wirelessly posted dio

The reason so many metal guys like the 81/85 set is because they're ALL mids. Just tons of mids. So, they maintain body when you scoop the fuck out of the amp. They're basically good for that one sound, and are a cluttered mess on less extreme settings. Look at the whole signal chain, since Hetfield sounded brutal as fuck on an Explorer with stock Gibson pickups that we're probably under 9K. Today, a Recto can make damn near anything sound evil.

 

[Oldschoolpaulie]

Well, I decided WTH, I popped for a Seymour Duncan Black Winter, and I'll swap out the bridge PUP. Keeping my fingers crossed. I really like how this axe plays, just not happy with the tone.

 

[Daniel]

I'm embarrassed to say. Its pretty shitty equipment, but even so, as I've said, my Ibanez sounds plenty ballsy on it.

Is it a possiblity that maybe you're in need of an amp upgrade more so than pickups?

 

[105]

The Black Winter will not be compatible with the electronics you have in there. You will have to swap the volume and tone pots, and disconnect the neck pickup completely.

Good luck :yesway:

 

[Naren]

I've owned over 10 guitars so far and I've changed the pickups on several of them. Of all of the guitars I've owned, the one with EMG-707s has the MOST bass (and it's an Ibanez). That said, however, different EMG pickup models have different EQs, so you might have gotten one of the few EMGs that have less lows than normal.

Gonna have to go with conventional wisdom here and say that boutique passives are actually quantifiably better for Death Metal than the EMGs that 90% of the touring/signed Death Metal bands use in their guitars.

+100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 :agreed:

So many people talk about hating EMGs when their favorite bands and guitarists play them. I personally love EMGs.

I prefer Blackouts, but if you hate EMGs, I think you'll also hate Blackouts.

 

[jdonegan]

I prefer Blackouts, but if you hate EMGs, I think you'll also hate Blackouts.

:yesway: Blackouts would be much easier to swap in than a passive set so they really might be worth trying. I feel like they're more "brutal" than EMGs.

 

[7 Dying Trees]

It might be the guitar. Some guitars just ave a certain resonance to them and characteristics from the wood. Even the same type of wood only really implies a similar sound. Basically, 2 guitars, same model, same make, same everything can sound wildly different depending on the pieces of wood in them.

Basically, you may find you need to tailor your pickup choice to the natural sound of the guitar and find one that has more low end, and tames the high end and possibly the midrange.

Or, accept that in life, some of the guitars you get are lemons, and sell it, and buy another one that's got the same neck profile and feel, and hopefully a better piece of wood.

Death metal style pickup wise, I'd be going for a focused pickup to hndle downtuned guitars better. Lundgren M6 is a killer pickup, but on the expensive side. Have a look at the x2n, deactivator, and dactivator-x, all high gain pickups, and try some sound samples.

Otherwise, I just put a Dimarzio Mo Joe in a guitar, and that pickup really does have an accented low end if you are missing that, and might be a good pickup to look at.

 

[Oldschoolpaulie]

The Black Winter will not be compatible with the electronics you have in there. You will have to swap the volume and tone pots, and disconnect the neck pickup completely.

Good luck :yesway:

Crap! I called the ebay seller and he's going to cancel the transaction, but it had already gone out, so I'm going to eat the shipping. Maybe I should just buy an EMG 85 and swap it out with the 81 on the bridge?

Is it a possiblity that maybe you're in need of an amp upgrade more so than pickups?

I definitely need a better amp, and I want a 5150 eventually, but my Ibanez still sounds pretty rugged on this amp.

 

[Phil]

I'd definitely suggest trying an 85. It'll sound fatter overall - my dad's Adam D Fly has the 81/85 set, and he swapped them around so the 85 was in the bridge and it made a huge difference. It balances really well with the 81 neck, too. And the 85 will clip right into the existing wiring, super easy. :yesway:

I liked 18v modding the EMGs I had. It didn't make a huge difference in fatness, but made them sound more open and a bit less boxy. Maybe try an 85x. That should get the same idea across without you having to mod the wiring.

 

[ShawnF]

+1 for buying an 85 and tossing it in the bridge. It's much fatter than the 81 and sounds great in the bridge of my Jackson, which is alder. No lack of low end at all. :yesway:

Also, it won't really help with your low end problem, but look into modding your EMGs to run at 18v instead of 9v. It really helps with the character of the pickups in general.

Edit: Holy fuck I posted almost the exact same thing as Phil. Nevermind, I'll go away now. :lol:

 

[Dana]

i tried that 85 in the bridge thing… personally i hated it. its had more low end, yes, but i dunno it just sounds round and springy to me. it doesn't have the same tight attack as the 81 imo. i know plenty of guys that have used the 85 in the bridge and like em. different strokes

 

[Kagami]

I did the 81/85 swap in the SLSMG I had for like 2 days and I didn't like it as much as the 81.

[action=Kagami]notes that I had the SLSMG for like 2 days, not that the pickups were that way for 2 days.[/action]

 

[MDV]

I changed it for probably a few weeks in my main guitar and a few months in my #2.

Good shit, but I do prefer the 81. I just mentioned it because its an option - it is bassier, less tight (which to some ears gives the illusion of more low end) and darker.

18V also allows more low mids through and makes all EMGs less tight. It takes a little off the clipping when you pick hard, and allows low end through first, as you'd expect for any increase in headroom.

Its a bit counter-intuitive though. The clipping is part of what makes EMGs so aggressive sounding, especially when that SS hard-clip is fed into a valve amp. It makes it sound and feel less aggressive. I didn't like it.

 

[Jazzhands]

Actually when I did the 18v mod to my 85-loaded guitar, I feel like it took out a good bit of compression, lowered the output a bit (probably from the decreased compression), and tightened and brightened the sound.

 

[Oldschoolpaulie]

Well, crap! For you guys who didin't like the 85, was it because the 81 sounded sharper, clearer, and less muddy, with the notes on the bass strings more discernable? I get that. That's exactly how my guitar sounds... but it still has no low end, no fatness to the sound and no darkness to the tone.
A buddy of mine plays in a local death outfit, and he likes the EMGs because he thinks the others are muddy on the bass strings.

Can the 18v mod be done to the existing 81? What are the pros and cons, other than what Jazz hands has said?

 

[Tom]

I want to say try a BKP C-Pig, or failing that, an SD Invader. If your rig is shitty, though, the pickups/guitar might not be the problem.

 

[ShawnF]

Yes, the 18v mod can be done to your existing EMGs. It's also reversible, so if you don't like it you can change it right back.