Need advice on which pickup to replace EMG 81 in my ESP M1, What do you use?
Need advice on which pickup to replace EMG 81 in my ESP M1, What do you use?
I like the Demon, but fair warning, it's definitely in the medium output category. Don't count on it for crushing metal tone, but for hard rock and classic rock, it might be one of the best pickups out there. To me it sounds like a 59 with just a touch more bite and grind. In the Duncan family, I'd say the next (commonly used) pickup in line for increased gain would be the venerable JB, followed by the blistering Distortion. If you're considering going active, I'd do the Duncan Blackouts before EMG 81. I've done my own A-B testing, and even people visiting my studio always choose the Blackouts after a blind test. Supposedly the EMG-X series is trying to bring back the players that EMG lost to Blackouts, and I do hear it's pretty good. Haven't had opportunity to test it myself.
What amp are you using?? It might not be the guitar pickup that sounds bad! As for the pickups, if you want to stick with EMG's, try an 85 and see how that sounds. If you want to go passive, try the Seymour Duncan JB SH-4. Get it in 4 conductor wiring, that way you can use a push/pull pot to do the coil split function.
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