The ESP Guitar Company

60 is harsher sounding than an 81 right

Absolutely not. The 60 is crisper than an 85 and has crystal cleans compared to both the 85 and 81. However, it is more difficult to overdrive and comes nowhere close to the 85 (as a neck pickup) for the shred guitarist. I have tried both the 85 and 60 in the neck and I just put the 85 back in (sounds 10x better than the 60 for sweep arpeggios).

However, I know I have not answered your main question. Never tried it in the bridge. Typically (from my experience at least), alnico pickups (85) are the softest sounding, the next being ceramic (60), and the harshest being steel composites (81 steel/ceramic).

Besides, on the next string change, it only takes 5 minutes to swap out, so it isnt a total loss if it sounds bad :)

the 60 regular is good in any postition

I knew of a guy on another board that had 60s in both positions & loved it.

Hey guys, just had a thought to share. I'm wondering how an EMG 60A would sound as a bridge pickup for a mahogany body/neck guitar? As far as I know, the normal 60 is harsher sounding than an 81 right? (I have a standard 81/85 combo so I'm not sure about the 60 in person). But I was trying to imagine how the alnico version 60 would sound as a bridge pickup. Does anyone have experience? Is this never done because it sounds bad or is it because no one has tried it? Thanks in advance.

I have it on the bridge of my custom Shamray with an 89 in the neck. Sounds ubergood to me. I was going to swap it for a 81 or a 85, but it sounded so good that I decided to leave it there. And BTW, the guitar is a maple neckthru mahogany body...

I have an MH-1000, which right now it has two EMG 60s in it. This is the black model that is all mahogany except for the fretboard. I really like the 60, it is by far my favorite EMG pickup. I put in an order with a local store for the 60A so that I can put it in my bridge. Before I swapped out the EMGs to passives, the last combination I had in it was an 85 in the bridge and a 60A in the neck. I never tried the 60A in the bridge, but I agree with you, that it would probably sound really good in the bridge. I will post a clip when I get it installed.

Cole

My EMG 60A came in today. I am putting it in the bridge, so I will post some clips of it today after I get it installed.

Cole

I use a 60-a I. The bridge of my charvel desolation mahogany body neck no ck through and I feel it's the best for high Gain rhythm and clarity. It has a punch no other emg has. I absolutely love it!