Hey.
I have been using EMG's for more than ten years, and I think I may be experiencing a case of being so familuar with a certain sound that nothing else compares.
I recently bought a guitar that came with 2 Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro pickups, they sounded very good, and the cleans were beautiful, however
I still felt that overall they lacked the "punch" I was used to with my EMG's.

I often find them being pigeonholed as being a "metal only" pickup. Where as I myself have used them for years for playing all styles of music.
I recently had some single coil EMG SAV pickups installed in my strat and they are great for everything from funk to country.
And after doing some research I found that many non-metal players have used EMG's over the years, people like David Gilmour from Pink Floyd.
And I was really surprised to learn that one of Prince's main guitars has an EMG 81 in the bridge.

Just curious to get your feedback...

They get pigeonholed as metal pickups for the EMG 81, but there's plenty of other players that use them. Their single coils used to be common in the country due to them being noiseless, and plenty of rock guitarists still use them.

I believe they were originally marketed towards jazz/fusion players due to their ability to maintain articulation (and reduce noise) when soloing... which is ironic in a way because a lot of the early Mesa users where jazz/fusion players and not metalheads.

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R. Mutt

Guitar -> Wah -> Amp -> Cab

Sooo..... your saying the most metal equipment out there was designed for jazz? my mind=blown(no sarcasm for once)

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Hamer Sat2 or Jackson JRR-94 Rhoads>Laney gc80a or hc25(practice).

Hamer(standard tuning) Ernie ball Slinkies
Alvarez Dana Scoop (standard tuning) D'adarrio 10's
LTD EC200qxm (standard tuning) EB Slinkies

I guess it's because the Rectos are so popular with metal players while their flagship Mark series were originally a hit with a broader fanbase who liked the sustain and hotrodded Fender-ish sound. When I think of a Boogie amp the Mark IV/V is the one that springs to mind.

That said, I've heard the Rectoverbs are pretty versatile.

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Guitar rig: CIJ Fender Jazzmaster/CIJ Fender Mustang -> TU-3 -> RV-5 -> OD-3 -> custom IC Muff -> PS-2 -> DD-3 -> RE-20 -> LS-2 -> Fender '65 DRRI & Mesa/Boogie F-50

Bass rig: Fender MIM Jazz Bass -> TU-2 -> RAT 2 -> Sansamp BDDI -> RV-3

"...So now you know the true secret to great tone: all the espresso you can handle."

I think it's i think of "purity" in tone which is a joke people see metal heads using and think it's just a device for higher gain as thats all metal heads care about apparently so it does get people critisized for using them.

it may also be esp whi use emg pick ups in there guitars and tend to sell to those in the metal genre.

However i havent tried an active pick up before but would maybe like to but passive pick ups seem to give me a better vibe and also look nice

To be fair, Gilmour's said he never really liked the EMG SA's -- He just used them cause they're noiseless.

Needless to say, he still got great sound outta them.

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I call this mess my "rig" to try and sound like the big boys

Yes!
I've also heard something simular.
Aparently, with the amount of on stage lighting at Pink Floyd shows Gilmour was experiencing a lot of noise, and his EMG's helped with that.
Either way.
Thanks for all the feedback, guys!

As a metal player I don't care for boogies but the emgs are very useful for all kinds of music. An emg 81 can do good cleans and can easily break up your speakers with just a lil extra gain.

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Hamer Sat2 or Jackson JRR-94 Rhoads>Laney gc80a or hc25(practice).

Hamer(standard tuning) Ernie ball Slinkies
Alvarez Dana Scoop (standard tuning) D'adarrio 10's
LTD EC200qxm (standard tuning) EB Slinkies

I don't really care for EMG's. One, because I have to put a battery in my guitar, and two because I like the vintage-ier sound of passive pick ups. I also feel a lack of "depth" when I play them. They sound...too clean I guess haha I don't know.

More to the point they do get pigeonholed yes. There are plenty of artist who don't play metal that use EMG's and like screamingdaisy said they were first marketed towards jazz players. A lot of jazz players still use them in their guitars especially many of the more contemporary jazz guys I've seen. Then again I've seen metal and hardcore players using regular humbuckers and even single coil pick ups in their guitars. If it sounds good to you, use it. Screw anybody who tells you to do different.

You know. The more and more I learn about gear, this seems to be the golden rule.

I've been told so many times:

"Why is your fuzz after your wah? Hendrix put his before his wah."

"Oh man nah that's a 'metal guitar', get this one."

"Boss sucks. Dano Sucks. Digitech sucks. Get this one, it's boutique"

"Doing it like that makes it sound bad."

It's like backseat guitar playing. If you hook up a BOSS Metal Zone into a Dano Tuna Melt to a Fender Frontman and you like the way it sounds. Play it and love it.

When it comes to music or art in general "good" and "bad" are so subjective, there's an almost infinite number of opinions. And opinions are like assholes...everyone's got one.

Amen to that.

Since when did performers and writers of contemporary music religiously follow conventions? Like, ever? So many things about it that we know and love today wouldn't exist if they did!

Unless you damage/break something, the only thing you have to lose is a bit of time spent experimenting with an idea that doesn't work!

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Guitar rig: CIJ Fender Jazzmaster/CIJ Fender Mustang -> TU-3 -> RV-5 -> OD-3 -> custom IC Muff -> PS-2 -> DD-3 -> RE-20 -> LS-2 -> Fender '65 DRRI & Mesa/Boogie F-50

Bass rig: Fender MIM Jazz Bass -> TU-2 -> RAT 2 -> Sansamp BDDI -> RV-3

"...So now you know the true secret to great tone: all the espresso you can handle."

Dave Davies of the Kinks sliced slits in his speaker and poked holes in it to get the recognizable distortion on You Really Got Me. That's some pretty intense not following the "rules" if you ask me and look how it turned out.

^i did that with a epi studio 10. It sounded ok for a crappy little thing I got for 10 bucks. Will never doit to any of my other amps. Lol.

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Hamer Sat2 or Jackson JRR-94 Rhoads>Laney gc80a or hc25(practice).

Hamer(standard tuning) Ernie ball Slinkies
Alvarez Dana Scoop (standard tuning) D'adarrio 10's
LTD EC200qxm (standard tuning) EB Slinkies

Take any piece of gear in the entire world, be it guitars, amps, pedals, drum kits etc...
And I promise you, you can find 100 people who say its amazing, and 100 people who say its terrible.