Why are EMG Pickups so HIGHLY UNDERRATED? Sound Clip Inside

[fauxtoe]

I have 7 basses with EMG's in them and that number will likely grow as I start swapping the electronics in some of the others. EMG has been consistently good for me!

 

[Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati]

I like the sound of them a lot, and from a functionality and raw science standpoint they have a lot of advantages over many other pickup brands.

My ONLY gripes are they do not have an OEM barrel jack option (for us Ibby players) and sometimes there isn't much room for the battery without doing some routing to the body, but that isn't always the case (and most Ibbys already have room for them).

They truly would have a lot more business from me if they offered the OEM barrel jack.

It was the case for me as well, modifying a Fender P-bass clone.
I wished EMG could adjust the design of the pots in such a way as to protrude less towards the bottom of the control cavity, leaving more space for the battery.
I had to manually carve the control cavity bottom to fit the battery on that occasion.
I was worried to inadvertently hole through the other side

 

[TN WOODMAN]

The first bass I bought with EMGs was an ESP Vintage 4 the original owner had swapped the factory installed Duncan Hot Vintages for. I loved the bass & fully planned on pulling the EMGs for Duncans or something passive alnico.

After plugging into my rig I couldn't believe how great this combination sounded. I didn't want to try anything else in this bass.

Since then I 've added an ESP LTD 214 Fretless with the same original model pj set , another Vintage 4 with the alnico X pj set & BTC preamp , & Lloyd Cole's Pensa Suhr jazz with original EMG jazz set to my collection.

So in my 20 bass collection, 4 or 20% are happily equipped with active EMGs.

Next topic-Which are the most underrated or overrated flats & tapewounds ? Lol. I do keep rounds on a few basses for variety though.

 

[/\/\3phist0]

I don't think you're aware of what the "Producers Switch" is.

!!^^^!!!

 

[Element Zero]

You can laugh, but I had my active bass 9v die on a gig once. I had to play my backup for 3 songs because my tone was slightly distorted. MY BACKUP! Oh the humanity. Then I had to spend another 3 minutes on set break changing the battery. This tragedy could happen to anyone playing EMG, you've been warned.

Been playing for 30 years, 26 of them on active only basses, and 25 of those years playing hundreds of gigs. Never once had a battery die.

 

[LiptonJigglers]

well, you're wrong

I'm wrong?

Are you suggesting I didn't experience any of this?

Or are you suggesting that because of my experience with EMG that I didn't go to passive basses with DiMarzio?

Or are you suggesting that I do like EMG products even though I've parted ways with them?

What exactly are you suggesting?
Other than exposing your idealist subjectivism and reactionary ultracrepadarianist nature to the reality of my situation, by suggesting that everyone that doesnt have the same experiences as you must be "wrong"?
Please be more specific.

I don't recall ever seeing you at my rehearsals, auditions, gigs, music stores, luthiers or anywhere else, so how did you come to the conclusion I'm "wrong"?

You are certainly far from "right" in more ways than one.

 

[JimmyM]

For me, my 1st aftermarket pickups were EMG Select. They were a disappointment, very lifeless at the expense of being quiet. I've never looked at EMGs after that.
This was maybe 1990 or 1989

Selects are meh, most of their other stuff is top tier.

 

[DWBass]

Full EMG install in my Spector. Have had EMG's in several other basses. Even had a 'Ray with a full EMG install. Definitely NOT underrated, IMO!

As for issues............not a single one. I agree, EMG's are not vintage sounding. Just clean and articulate and the preamps give just the right amount of boost and cut.

 

[BassGuyFL]

I could very easily live with real low-impedance active EMG's in every bass I'd own. They sound great and are typically silent.

Plus, I get a perverse thrill in watching grown men cowering as they suffer that rampant epidemic, Grown Men in Mortal Fear of a 9v Battery, and EMG is a flagrant spreader. And guys ripping them and others out to put in passive pickups, sort of like preventive surgery. Sad. Traumatic Battery Syndrome.

I'm coming for YOU.

Someone on here said he changes his battery after EVERY gig. Terrified of it going dead. They last for much longer that one gig FYI

 

[/\/\3phist0]

G&L L5500. Their first 5 string, with EMG soapbars.

View attachment 5405348

View attachment 5405350

Sorry, not the 1st 5 string! The first was the L5000
With a z coil.
https://northernlightsmusic.com/cdn/shop/products/DSC01869_1119x1676.jpg?v=1650380635

 

[rufus.K]

I wouldn't consider those "real" EMG's...

Selects were passive and were crap. Night and days from the original active set.

Selects are meh, most of their other stuff is top tier.

This all explains it. The OP asks why the EMG smack talk. The answer was: a terrible pickup.
Would a teenager in the 80s look into why they sucked so hard... nope. Just move away from them and never looked back.

 

[KJMO]

This all explains it. The OP asks why the EMG smack talk. The answer was: a terrible pickup.
Would a teenager in the 80s look into why they sucked so hard... nope. Just move away from them and never looked back.

Well, it isn't the end of the world to miss out on a great product due to an atypically negative experience.

 

[r_bnks]

This all explains it. The OP asks why the EMG smack talk. The answer was: a terrible pickup.
Would a teenager in the 80s look into why they sucked so hard... nope. Just move away from them and never looked back.

No it doesn't because their passive pickup wasnt part of their product line.

It was branded as Select (by EMG) made in Korra
Back then you can only get the original active EMG pickups... and Selects wasn't recognized as "real" EMGs.

 

[sunbeast]

Have you tried passive EMG pickups? Thats's what I've always used…

Is this thread about the EMG-HZ line (passive pickups)? Because it seems most folks assume it is about their active pickups which are a very different ballgame tonally. I had never really heard much raving about EMG passives until the release of the GZR P pickup, which I found decent but not a particular standout personally among a crowded market of "vintage" inspired passive P pickups. EMG actives though had a huge heyday in the 80s and 90s, and are still quite common (particularly among some some metal music scenes). I suspect they don't get recommended that often because A- older folks might assume they are a somewhat known quantity, and B- their design can make for a relatively "sterile" tone (lacks the same resonant hump or other dynamic humps and dips in response that tend to define the character of a passive pickup)

 

[Gervais Cote]

Full EMG install in my Spector. Have had EMG's in several other basses. Even had a 'Ray with a full EMG install. Definitely NOT underrated, IMO!

As for issues............not a single one. I agree, EMG's are not vintage sounding. Just clean and articulate and the preamps give just the right amount of boost and cut.

On a Spector bass, I must agree 100% with everything here, it really seems to me they were made to be used together.

 

[r_bnks]

While I've always liked the exceptionally clean sound of EMGs, it's not a sound I've ever wanted. For a long time I thought I was in the minority compared to all the EMG players.

A lot of old bassists experienced batteries dying mid-gig... not only in pickups, but also microphones back in the day, bought by someone with zero technical knowledge in the band I joined on the road.
A battery is another potential point of failure. I seek to eliminate as many of those as possible.
Play what you like.

No, the potentional point of failure is not the battery, it's the user.
If someone can't do such a simple task like changing a battery every six months, that person deserves a dying battery on stage.

 

[SoniaMara]

1. EMG is not boutique or "I liked blank before anyone even knew about blank". People go from one brand to the next, each kind of becoming "ordained". You can drop a name, and people universally approve until the next thing gets ordained. There are lots of things that have nothing to do with utility. In this case, I guess it's just fashion. It's like wearing skinny jeans now that they're not cool any more. You look like you missed the memo. Nordstrands are almost skinny jeans now, and I think the new kid on the block is whatever those german sounding pickups are: Kloppman? I don't even know, that's how clueless I am.

2. Most people don't know they make such a wide variety of different pickups.

3. The active pickups are very clear. When I listen to the Precision comparison videos, the active EMGs sound like a Precision, only more clear. Maybe the "exposure" is off-putting? Or the clarity is interpreted differently.

hey @KJMO
If you are not listening to tone, then yes, pickups can be a "fashion trend". What goes around comes back again, but Nordstrand will never be skinny jeans! HOW DARE YOU!

 

[Wavy]

No, the potentional point of failure is not the battery, it's the user.
If someone can't do such a simple task like changing a battery every six months, that person deserves a dying battery on stage.

Ah, thank you for pointing out that when a battery failed it didn't fail, the user failed. Well, the singer who bought those battery-operated microphones sure failed.
But OK. "Batteries don't fail."
Got it, I think. Wow. Wish I'd known that.
Man, I'd be so clueless without Talkbass members to tell me my experiences are wrong.

 

[FRoss6788]

Ah, thank you for pointing out that when a battery failed it didn't fail, the user failed. Well, the singer who bought those battery-operated microphones sure failed.
But OK. "Batteries don't fail."
Got it, I think. Wow. Wish I'd known that.
Man, I'd be so clueless without Talkbass members to tell me my experiences are wrong.

You totally missed his point. If the battery goes dead mid set, you, the user, failed because you did not change the battery.

They don't last forever and you don't wait 'till they're dead to change them.

Really not that hard.

 

[r_bnks]

Ah, thank you for pointing out that when a battery failed it didn't fail, the user failed. Well, the singer who bought those battery-operated microphones sure failed.
But OK. "Batteries don't fail."
Got it, I think. Wow. Wish I'd known that.
Man, I'd be so clueless without Talkbass members to tell me my experiences are wrong.

You miss the point: You can expect 3000hrs of battery lifetime using active EMGs.
Now having a dead battery during a gig is what if not user error?

Changing them every 6 months is a foolproof way to make sure it won't happen.