I've been wondering why people claim that active pickups have a "sterile" tone, I'm confused as to how the word "sterile" is used in this context.

Now I listen to a lot of Terrorizer, Decapitated, Vader, Metallica, Obituary, Dies Irae, etc. - all bands that use EMG actives - and I kind of understand what people mean by saying that EMG's sound compressed. But to me it doesn't seem like a bad thing, it just sounds neater, more polished and more direct as opposed to muddy, open and having notes overlap one another. I do realize that their tones sound very similar.

Correct me if I'm wrong: sterile means that you can't get bright lively solos using the EMG's. But I really don't think that's true, I rather like the solos from bands like Decapitated, Dies Irae, Vader, etc.

Could someone please explain exactly what is the difference between an EMG's sound and a good high-gain passive's sound? Use the Dimarzio X2N as a comparison, as it's probably the hottest passive out there.

I've also heard that passives detect how hard you play on the strings and mold a different sound, something that EMG's can't do. Is this true?

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I've found this statement to fit Zakk Wylde perfectly. Check out the solo on "Stillborn", it has that really "sterile" tone that's like...I don't exactly know how to describe it, but like that polished sound that kinda sounds "artificial", unlike passive pickups that sound more gritty and have that tone of their own.

'Sterile' can be a good thing,Although it is hard to describe.Kind of plastic/artificial sounding.Id describe dime's tone as sterile.

i guess whether a sterile tone is a good thing or not is down to personal opinion

when i play EMG's on my randall it just feels very sterile like im missing somthing. But i love decapitated's tone, prolly cause they use engls.

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They use or at least used 5150's as far as I know...

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Yup, I like that so called "sterile" type tone. To me it means tight, neat, and punchy. I think of Fear Factory guitar tone when talking about a "sterile tone". I think its a great thing. I also like the way passives can sound but for most metal I believe EMG are the best for my uses. For vintage metal tone recreation passives are just about needed though.

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o/t:
woah, decapitated tone is sick, i never knew they used engl amps.
what model do they use?

I need to get my emgs hooked back up in my explorer and see how it sounds again, maybe ill change my mind once more about how I feel on the sterility facotr of EMG's. Ill test out some decapitated riffs on it.

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Decap used a Peavey 5150 for the recording of "Winds of Creation", and the sound on the other 2 albums(excluding "The First Damned" comilation) sound pretty much the same, so I'm guessing it's still a Peavey... Vogg(their guitarist) uses a Ran much like Mauser's(Vader) with a 81/85 setup. Seriously I don't understand why people criticize the EMG 81/85 setup, they need to listen to some Vader and Decap before talking shit about it.

Do actives detect your picking dynamics? I've heard that the volume knob with EMG's doesn't really change your sound or gain...

I mean I love actives' sound, if someone plays mostly thrash and death metal then there's no reason why to bother with passives right? I really want to get an X2N/PAF Pro for my aze cuz I've heard so many good things about it, but I'm not very convinced with their sound, and I could care less for Chuck Schuldiner's tone(I like Death, but I don't care for the tone). I like "in your face" tones but I want to be able to get the open lead/solo type sound like in modern Morbid Angel solos. I'm still debating wether going active or passive, I keep having second thoughts.

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yea I dont like EMG's on my setup I dont see how they do it haha. I want there fuckin tone damnit, but I find it hard to believe EMG's can do that. In my opinion there tone on nihility was the best and The Negation was very similar but those 2 albums are differant than the Winds of Creation sound, the Nihility/Negation tone is much tighter and cleaner IMO.

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well i guess its down to their amp setup aswell
im sure there is something in the amp or rack setup which help em get their tone

i want a 5150 if its capable of getting decapitated tones

Emg 81/85 + 5150 with correct EQ'ing + talent = Decapitated, Vader, Dies Irae... They all pretty much have an identical tone, but it's a hell of a brutal tone.

The 5150 is a bit pricey, but it's definately something I look forward to trying. Definately up there with Engl's and shit, high gain balls at their best. No idea how the cleans are on it though.

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theyre pretty cheap compared to other high gain amp
i aim to get one in the near future, hopefully it will be my first head

same here. I have 2 combos right now, a Crate GLX (which has ok cleans and cool effects) and a Randall RG200SC (which has ok gain, and ok cleans with reverb and chorus effects) But 5150 would be cool, I wanna try one out. Do they still make them, or is is strictly the 6505 now? if so, ill just get one off ebay.

Soeru, your sales pitch threw me after you said the talent part haha. Vogg is so fucking talented, even with all that gear I cant replicate his godly finger tone.


by the way do they use 5150's or 5150 II's and whats the differance?

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i dont think there is much difference between the 5150 and the 5150 II

but yea, the 6505 and 5150 are exactly the same
but 6505 willl be unecessarily expensive compared to the 5150, so i will prob get a 5150 second hand on ebay

sterile=clean/good
mud=dirty/bad
emg's are good because most dont humm like most hummbuckers.

Hmm... I always assumed "sterile" was kind of derogatory, as in saying that the sound had no balls or something. But that wouldn't make sense. Sterile also means being disinfected, clean, etc., so for people who like tidy neat riffs, EMG's would be their dream come true.

A question I have about actives is: do they detect how you hard pick the strings? Or is it always one sound? Someone on the forums(forgot who) told me that the EMG's can only give you one sound, while passives are more flexible...

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dynamics are still picked up yes. you wont get many TONAL varities, thats what that guy meant. they arent pickups that make the volume of each note you hit equal or anything liek that

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You said I won't get a lot of tonal variety, does that EQ'ing my amp won't shape my sound as much as with passives?

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i guess so, but it just means that EMGs have pretty much one sound that you will get from them. its a good sound, but you damn well better like it. its just the "emg" sound and there is no other. however that doesnt mean your treble knob will become powerless.its kind of like... i dont know how to put it. do you follow me?

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Yeah, just like Trans said. EMG have their very own sound, just like any other kind of pickup. You can EQ them and change the way the sound but they still have that EMG feel while playing. I think that is the biggest difference. The way they feel while playing. They just repond differently.

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I played a cheap ass Ibanez RG the other day, like a $150 one, and it has the EMG 85 in the bridge, and the 81 in the neck. It sounded better than my $450 Jackson Warrior.