I have an 81 in the bridge, and I'm stuck between the 60 and the 85 for the neck. I want metallica's tone more than anyhting, and james uses a 60. After listening to some audio samples of it however, it sounds a little muddy even though it's suppose to be bright. The 85 sounds better on the EMG site. I haven't had the chance to go to a shop and try them out. Any suggestions. I want one that's damn good for metal, and also has a good clean tone. I heard both are good and the 85 is more natural sounding. Can anyone tell me which one is better, or give me examples of what these two can produce tone wise.

which ever sounds good to you...'tallica twat......

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well, obviously whatever sounds better. i can't really get to a shop anytime soon, so, i was just wondering what everyone else thought.

I prefer the 85. Thats what I use.

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Yeah, 85. Fuck whatever James uses.

I would go with the 85...

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I've currently got an 81/85 combo in one of my guitars, and I think the 85 is a tad too bassy to be good for quick, low playing (muddies up easily if you're not carefull). For clean, it is absolutely wonderfull. Sounds full, natural, just nice.

The 81 is better for the quick and low stuff, IMO. Has a bit more bite, but sounds *slightly* tinny when used for lead (easily compensated by the amp though). For clean stuff I think it sounds a bit harsh, but that would also easily made up for by the amp.

The 60, I've got no experience with it.

My conclusion: You can't go wrong with the 81/85 combo, but the 81/60 could be bad (though I don't think so). So I'd say go for the 85 if you can't get to try the 60, but if you get to try the 60, decide for yourself.

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i thought metaliica uses two 81's no wait, thats just kirk huh.... well go with the 85. more balls, nuff said.

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Actually go for a 60 and be original. No one here has one...or so far they don't.

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I have an 85 bridge on my WRTX, sounds fuckin A, That's all I can say

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81/85 is a great mix... I have been real happy with mine since I put em in...

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i'd go for the 60. im going to put the 81/60 combo in my ibanez pretty soon. from what i've heard, it's my favorite combo. the 85 is obviously good, too, but i think that the 60 really kicks some ass at the neck.

Why not go with an 81/89 mix?
the 89 has a coil tap as well, so you can have the sound of a single coil in your toggle options for a rare case that you want a single coil sound, the 89 is supposed to be the sound of an 85 or SA coil, depending on what is selected,
give an 89 a shot, it is similar to the 85 but more versatile, or so EMG says, I havent had exp. with anything more then the SA's, HZ's and 81's, but then again, I dont play clean so my 81 in my bridge is all I need in my Ibanez

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Dont worry about what metallica uses, use what you like better. So if you like playing metal through a distorted banjo, use that. I personally like the 85 in the neck better. I actually know a guy that uses an 85 in his bridge. and it sounds damn good too.

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*************the 60 is much better than the 85 in statistics but i would prefer an 89 over both but hey you want the metalica tone put an 81 in bridge and neck that's what kirk uses james used an 89 in his viper- the grynch
P.s. slayer(kerry and jeff) use the 81/81 combo like kirk does

(if you don't know what the 89 is, it's a coil tapping pickup where in single coil tap it sounds like the emg-sa and in dual tap it's sound is patterned after the 85)**************

Get the 89 cos then u've got two options rather than one

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I personally like 60's better cause they have a bassy edge. 85's sound pretty normal, 81s are trebly and 60s are bassy

One thing that you failed to say is what time period of Metallica you want to sound like. Do you want it to be like Ride the Lightning through Justice, or sound like Black, or sound like the crap that follows Black?

But definitely go with what sounds right to you. It doesn't matter what james uses unless you really like that new St. Anger tone. (yuck)

I really shouldn't say too much since i'm getting a KH 602. But i'm not getting it because its kirk's signature model. I'm getting it because it has a nice neck, Original Floyde rose, Dual EMG 81's (i would be happy with 81/85 too), sweet ass shape, oh and the all black i really like too.

Get what you like is the most important rule of thumb.

Interesting side note, i was watching Rammstein videos a couple days ago and their one guitarist uses a KH-602, saw a closeup. I know some of you guys don't like Rammstein, but i like the hard driving riffs they use. Its not exactly technical music, just good old fashioned Drop-D powercord chunking.

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85, fucker! 80 fucking five!

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I don't pay attention too much to pickups and such..but I have two double humbucker emgs and a single coil in my ex. The rg has of course, just two double humbuckers..

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Listen, If you are a lead guitarist and perform alot of solos, the 81/81 combo is perfect. I is low-noise and it does really well, while your amp is on high volume.
The 81/85 is for more of a rhthym tone and yes it has balls.
But, the 81's are the most high output pickups that EMG has now.
So with lead: 81/81
Rhthym: 81/85

Forsaken Forum

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Why the hell would you have 2 of the same pickup in your lead/solo neck position? That is asinine. Maybe i'm wrong, but that would sound like shit...

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It is not asinine, it is all in the wiring of the pickup. Kerry King and Jeff Haneman both use the 81/81 pickup combination.
If Slayer sounded like shit, then they wouldn't be so popular. Many death and goth bands use the same combination. It has been around for a while.
Pickups all do with different wiring diagrams and what materials are used.
It simply makes your sound thick and tight when your amp is at high volume and distortion. EMG Corporation
I am a proud user of the EMG Corp. and I use a 81/81 combonation and it is THE BEST sound I have ever had. Don't say something sounds like shit until you have had the chance to play.

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Having a pickups close to the bridge gives you more chruch. and closer to the neck less crunch but a warmer tone. So it isent stupid to use 2 of the same pickups. I say if i pickup sounds good once, why wouldnt it sound good twice?

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I prefer the EMG 81 in the bridge and 85 in the neck,the sound you get is amazing.

Most people here didn't really answer the guy's question!

First of all, there is NO noticable different in outputs between the 85 and the 81. Also, the 89 is the same thing as the 85 but with a COIL SPLIT, not a COIL TAP! A coil tap is basically an electronic filter, while a coil split actually split the humbucker into one singlecoil.

The 81 in the bridge makes ur tone crunchier, more raw, a bit scratchier, and somewhat thinner. An 85 in the bridge is still pretty full of treble, it is just a bit smoother and rounder, and much more full.

In the neck the 81 is somewhat smooth, but still has some crunch, and is not as thick or smooth as the 85. The 60 is not that bassy, it is actually considered to be brighter than both the 85 and 81. People like it in the neck because it doesn't get quite as thick which can make notes less clear. It's also good for cleans because it has a poppy high end matched with the smoothest of the neck position.

Which pickups u get really depends on what u are going to play. If you play a floyd or edge or other floating bridge, i would recommend u get an 85 or 89 in the neck because it will thicken up ur sound (floating bridges cut much of the bass from ur tone because it loses it when u cut the ball ends off of the strings). In the bridge i'd recommend an 81/85/89 in the bridge. Get an 85/89 if u want smoother/fatter leads, and an 81 if u want scratchier leads. If you have a hardtail and bridge, i have the same recommendations for the bridge pickup. The 60 in the neck can give great clean tones, while the 85 is good, again, for more smooth distorted leads and the 81 for dirtier crunchier ones. Basically it's all up to the sound u want. Also, if u go for the 89, u can play distorted and leads with the 85 mode, and in the SA mode (single coil), you'll get great single coil tones for cleans (and it's a warmer single coil than others).

Zakk Wylde uses 85n/81b, Kirk Hammett uses 81/81, James Hetfield uses 60n/81b, Jonathan Donais (from shadows fall) has recently switched to 81n/85b (yes the opposite of zakk), and i use 81n/89b in my ESP KH-2 while an 89n/81b in my bc rich warlock. Since the KH-2 has an Original Floyd Rose, i wanted to make up for the loss of bass by putting a pickup that would thicken up my main lead tone in the bridge. Since my Warlock is string-thru, an 81 is fine in the bridge while the neck is really smooth, and i use the single coil mode a lot to do my cleans.

\m/

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the emg 89 combined with the 81 will look shitty. they got diffrent color and logos. and btw if u link em by urself it'll be far more difficult than a 85/81 combo.

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If ur so anal that one bronze emg logo and one silver emg logo will mess up the overall look of ur guitar i think there's something wrong with you. The logos are exactly the same except for the color, plus they are so small no one would be able to tell unless they specifically looked up close. Plus it's not much more difficult to do it (i just did it yesterday actually, and i'm a newbie), it just takes a few more solderings, piece of cake!

\m/

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Yeh its all about the look after all, who care about the sound

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i thought the 89s had blue-black color so ...
i said its more difficult than the 85/81 combo. but as far as ure a self called noob i believe u that it wasn't that difficult

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Same here. You don't get a huge variety of tones, but the ones you get are great. Also great for harmonics. Congradulations to Metallica, it's been 20 years since you've released a truly good album!

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Is there a custom 85 made for a Les Paul, or are they all interchangable?
What does one usually cost?

This is the next thing im going to buyfor my guitar

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All humbuckers are the same size, except for p-90s. If you've got regular gibson pickups in it and there isn't a single line of metal poles going down the middle, it'll be a direct replacement. If you've got the single line of metal poles (that's the p-90 pickup), it's going to require some modification.

\m/

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Do emg's always sound similar to the samples on their site? Im saving up for a custom ran guitar and 81's seem to be the favoured choice for the bridge, but i dont want any fuzzy muffled nu-metal distortion. Are 81's capable of providing satan with skull-splintering death metal, or will i just end up sounding like mettalica? DiMarzio's would be my first choice but they are not offerd.

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