I've got a few Jackson Rhoads guitars with EMGs. One has just a single EMG 81 in the bridge and when I'm in a Swedish metal mood that works out just fine. I've also tried a spare 85 I had around in the bridge position (heard some good stuff about that) but didn't like that. Sometimes I do want to use the neck pickup but I've found that I also don't really like the 85 in that position. It's hard to describe. It's not actually muddy, but it feels like it. Sluggish, not enough attack. Something like that.
So the question is: anyone else here
1) like the 81
2) dislike the 85
3) got a good alternative from the EMG pickup line? (not looking for a complete wiring overhaul).
My LTD Truckster has EMG 81/60 which is a really good combination. I also use the 24V mod
Quote from: marmaliser on October 09, 2018, 07:51:34 AM
My LTD Truckster has EMG 81/60 which is a really good combination. I also use the 24V mod
Any chance you can elaborate on that a bit? I'll take any subjective description you have available :) How's the 60 different from the 85? I don't think I'll be going for the 24V, but how much of a difference does that make, especially for distorted stuff?
60A works nicely as a neck pup with an 81 in the bridge. You can run two batteries to go to 18V if you want, some people like it. Easy to make a mini loom for this out of 3 battery clips if you want to try it without modding anything.
I also settled on 81/60 after months of swapping them around, along with an 85 that didn't work for me. It depends on your style, but I use the 81 for my metal riffs, and the 60 for cleans, or slow rock/fuzzy stuff.
I tried the 18v mod, but the headroom improvement is more noticeable for bassists.