i have an emg 81 in the bridge of my guitar and a 60 in the neck. i like the tone i get with these but thats it, i just like it, it doesnt kill as i would like it to. are there any pickups (active or passive) that are stronger and better than the emg for getting a tone simlar to the last cannibal corpse album? i really love that guitar tone and i was thinking of maybe a dimarzio x2n. how do they compare?

EDIT: ive read good things about the seymour duncan livewire metal pickups as well. anyone got one of these?

YET ANOTHER EDIT: is it possible to combine the 81 and another active pickup, for example, a livewire? i much prefer 81 to the 60 and i could use it for leads.

I just installed a Bill Lawrence 500L, and it is fucking killer, amazing KACHUG-KACHUG chunky sounds

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awesome! do you use it in the bridge or neck? is it better for rhythms or leads?

i have 2 axes, and both have the X2N

the fist is my Dime 333, alder body. sounds wicked more treb then anything but can rip!

next is my custom ibanez (not a REAL custom, just new body and what not) I have a poplar body. that is REALLY nice with the X2N, More mids and treb.

i get really nice chunks, wicked leads, and if you use alot of dives/harmonics the blades kick them into a rampage, and just sound fucking sweet.

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can someone please tell me what the difference between active and passive pickups really is? ive only ever had 2 guitars (1 with emg 81/60 and 1 very fucing old washburn that used to belong to my dad, no idea what the pickups are, think their old dimarzios though). can passives be better than actives.

and how good are seymour duncans? particulary the livewire metals and the blackouts.

passives are typically better than actives.

you know how a pickup works right? wrap wire around a magnet, the more wire there is, the more volume/output. if you overwind, you get more output, less frequency response, and more bass.

now an active works by UNDERWINDING it so bad that you cant hear it anymore. This gives it a large frequency response. Then they put in a solidstate preamplifier and EQ so that they can make it audible, and the eq shaves off the harsh treble. The effect of the preamp is that it adds alot of compression. This means that the minimum volume will be fairly loud, and therefore when you pick softly, it will sound as if you're picking relatively hard -- there will be little no change in volume when picking harder or softer. Also, this means if you pick too hard, you'll cause the pickup to clip, which sounds like shit.
The upside is that you can get high output without sacrificing frequency response.

Passives dont suffer from the compression problem, but when you wind them too hot they typically get really muddy.

And the seymour duncan blackouts SLAY the emg's. They are quieter, and are less compressed. Honestly, emg's are pretty obsolete.

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I've got a Bill and Becky Lawrence 500-xl and 500-R and they rock. Full balls to the walls metal , also does jazz really well

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Another vote for the X2N. Like it way better than the EMG 81 i used to have.

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I love the X2N. I have it in 2 of 3 of my guitars. My 3rd guitar will be converted when i get the chance and some extra change. ...I'd take an X2N over an EMG anytime.

blackouts sound awesome I put one in the bridge of my Jackson. I like it better than my friends emgs. Less sterile and has better midrange detail and has just as much output maybe more can't be really sure either way it has more than you will ever really need.