Burstbucker Pros or Emgs

[darkinuyasha2007]

I am a guitarist looking to play all styles of music, and i am wondering which pickups would do better in my Gibson sg special Faded because i want to replace those noisy 490R and 490T in my guitar. Which pick ups are better Gibson Burst Bucker Pros or Emgs, and if Emgs are better which Emgs should I get. I play through a crate flexwave 120w halfstack.

 

[fitz8005]

metal is generally where EMGs shine. if you're looking for versatility (and this is just based on my experience with EMGs, as i've not played burstbuckers yet) i'd opt for the burstbuckers. just my $.02.

 

[nqd]

if you play all styles of music i wont choice EMG.. sounds clean, powerfull but without personality IMO.. somepeople love them somepeople hate them but i think that BB has more personality and more versality that any EMG

 

[JohnP]

I love the sound of the burstbuckers in my LP standard.

but EMG has a very different sound - you might want to look for some clips and compare them to see which you prefer - I think EMGs sound more processed but I'd like to have another LP with them fitted to give me the options.

Cheers
JOhn

 

[lesterpaul]

for all purpose playing,I like A5 mag pups in the low-medium output range the best-warm and open-I am not familiar with your amp, but my choice shines best with my setup(MB Colisem and MKIV/Les Paul)-I am a believer in BAre Knuckle pickups simply because the customer service is A1 and Tim will make anything you want-custom tailored to your sound-doesnt matter if you tour or play in the bedroom....negative is cost,but to me EMG is too one trick pony
-BKP makes a pickup called the MULE-it is medium output and It nails anything from Allmans to TOOL(along with proper guitar and amp, of course)

 

[darkinuyasha2007]

alright, i have another question, are the burstbuckers silent at high gain volumes because, my crate flexwave gives me a lot of like feed back with the current pick ups i have which are 490T and 490 R

 

[fatoni]

steve lukather uses emgs and toto isnt really that metal so dont think of emgs as just what th e 81 has to offer

 

[lesterpaul]

yes, Luke is a monsta!!..but I do prefer his earlier tones..."Rosanna" was his '59 lp standard into fender deluxe reverb

 

[Guitarallan1]

I have a SSH Emg set up on my strat since the early 1980'S. SA's singles neck and middle and 58 Humbucker on the bridge which splits ( kinda like Lukes on his MM sig model )
As far as sheer power, brightness and noisless you can't do much wrong with them. However through the years I found them to be a bit too bright and up front for my liking.
I had a top fo the range Pacifica for a few years, a 812w that had seymour duncan singles neck and middle and Jeff Beck Humbucker which was splittable and these were absolutely lovely. Warm, stratty but also loads of guts for rock and soloing. They felt a litlte "warmer" and less clinical than the EMG's. They were also pretty quiet too!
Pick ups are such a subjective subject...one man's meat is another man's poison! Check out Seymour Duncans website, but I amsure you have already done so!
Happy Plucking 8)
GA

 

[nomad100hd]

darkinuyasha2007

I have a faded SG part of the crappy sound is the pickups are so far off from being parallel with the strings. I read that on an SG forum after trying a super distortion i had laying around it sounded nothing like it should have very thin and weak.

ALSO I've been told by a few people that Gibson pickups are prone to feedback. My SG feeds back with both my 5 watt VJ and my Mesa nomad. I have some EMG HZ in a zakk wylde Epi and i love those, nice and chunky, and i get a great clean. I play rock, church, jazzy, and bluesy stuff with my LP.

I don't play the SG because i screwed up the pickguard trying to put a 3 degree angle on the screw holes for the pickups.

 

[art_n_music]

metal is generally where EMGs shine. if you're looking for versatility (and this is just based on my experience with EMGs, as i've not played burstbuckers yet) i'd opt for the burstbuckers. just my $.02.

+1... I have EMG 81/85 in my mohogany/mohogany Schecter Hellraiser. They are great for metal, but not particularly versatile. That is OK with me as I try to cover some tonal territory with three different guitars with three different pickup choices.

 

[nathan28]

I bought a les paul standard, i tried the burstbucker pros with my RoadkingII, and they suck!!!! Well, Im sorry for anything high gain they suck. Medium gain decent, low gain good, clean great. If you play anything that is high gain, the emg's will totatlly wipe the floor with them. Some people say they dont like emgs for clean, but i love their clarity. Im one of those guys who love the emg tone. Some may not.

 

[SixVeeSix]

I have installed at least 200 EMG pickups in guitars, my own and customers. I only use them for anything I am playing professionally. Most people don't try the right pickups for the tone they want and the advice given in the installation instructions is not favorable to some types of tones.

EMG recommends that you adjust the pickups as close to the strings as possible. This does give maximum signal to noise ratio but can be harsh and forward sounding. It can also overdrive your preamp, making it more difficult to get some output tube distortion going to smooth things out. I prefer the tone of the pickups lowered away from the pickups about 3/16ths of an inch lower than the closest adjustment. The response is smoother without adding significant noise and you can turn your amp up a bit and let it breathe.

In an SG I recommend you try either an H or if you can find one, an HB in the fingerboard position. The H sounds like a Strat but with cleaner bass. The HB sounds sort of between a Strat and a Gretsch. Both of them have clearer highs than passive pickups. For the bridge position, try either another HB or an 81 lowered down even more until it balances with the fingerboard pickup. You will have a huge range of tones at your command.

FWIW, I use a Gibson ES-335 Studio with an HB/81 combination into my Maverick. Two weeks ago at a gig I plugged a Gibson Les Paul Studio Limited Color with stock pickups into my rig and it had blurry bass, mushy mids and feeble highs compared to my 335. The band hated it. I tried dialing it in but it never even came close to getting my tone.

To hear somebody who is not metal play EMG pickups, grab the Crossroads DVDs and watch Vince Gill. He ripped on everybody but Buddy Guy on the first one and more than held his own on the new one. Tone for days and great chops.

 

[MesaENGR412]

Great post SixVeeSix, I do play metal with my EMG's, but I recently installed an EMG-60 in the neck and it has some great clean and blues tones, as well as a good lead tone. My friend put his 60 in the bridge, and that gives you a really unique sound. It sounds a little like a tele bridge pickup, but with a little more bite. I'd like to try an 85 in the bridge position. I've heard that some people really dig it there. I wasn't too keen on it in the neck position, it didn't sound as crisp as the 60 on clean tones, but that's just me. I really like EMG's sounds, but I understand they are not for everyone, but at least give them a try before moving off to other companies. You never know, you might find something you really like.

-AJH

 

[satisfied5582]

i would go with the burst buckers, to emg's don't have much character

 

[satisfied5582]

i would go with the burst buckers, to emg's don't have much character

i agree, emgs don't help show off your guitars tone, to me they are kinda bland, i think the burst buckers would be good for you because you can cover alot more ground. just my opinion.