EMG 89 vs 85

[Bruno]

In theory (and emg brochure...), the emg89 is a *sa+85*.
Well, I have several SA and a 89. If I split the 89....nothing to do with SA.
I wonder: full 89 is it really like at 85?
(John Suhr says that 89 is brighter that 85 (in his guitars, when customer want  EMG, he recommends 85).

So, in your opinion, there're big/medium/small differences between EMG89 and EMG85?

 

[Doughboy]

I have 85s, 89s, 81s & SAs in various guitars.

85 is their most vintage sounding pickup, if you can call an EMG vintage. It's warm & less output than an 81.

89s are supposed to be an 85, & when split is an SA. This is not 100%. it sounds somewhat like these 2 pickups, but not exactly. Maybe 80%.

I have a double set of 81s in my ashsoloist & really like them. They're very clear, srips & clean with high output. I use a lot less gain with these pickups & their high output compensates. They sounds really good in the neck since it's clarity & brightness gets rid of that neck mushiness.

 

[reinhold]

Since I haven't finished the body, I haven't installed it yet, but I have an EMG 89r, which is the 89, but the SA coil is reversed to be closer to the neck, which then supposedly helps with the single coil sound a bit.  Since I haven't put it in yet I can't confirm it, but I'll be done the guitar within the next few weeks and I can update then.

 

[Validity]

Don't EMGs kill all the wood tones? Don't take me serious cuz I'm pretty new on pickups  :toothy11:

 

[swarfrat]

EMGs do not kill all the wood tones. It is a different sound, and it's popular to bash them in some camps, but they have a strong following as well. I think some people just have a soft spot for hum and mush. I have no experience with EMG humbuckers, and I'm probably shooting for something radically different than what you're looking for - but I have a set of EMG SA's w/ an SPC, and I love them.

 

[Bruno]

emg= hi-fi
:icon_thumright:

 

[SGD Lutherie]

In theory (and emg brochure...), the emg89 is a *sa+85*.
Well, I have several SA and a 89. If I split the 89....nothing to do with SA.
I wonder: full 89 is it really like at 85?
(John Suhr says that 89 is brighter that 85 (in his guitars, when customer want  EMG, he recommends 85).

So, in your opinion, there're big/medium/small differences between EMG89 and EMG85?

None of the EMG pickups split. They have an 85 and an SA in the same case and you switch between the two. You can also use both at the same time.

They do this because the SA is a stacked humbucker, so they can do single coil sounds with no hum.

Also none of the EMG pickups are hi-fi. They are regular high impedance coils with a built in preamp.  Some of their bass pickups can sound a little thin, but the guitar pickups are nice.

Back when I worked at American Showster we used the 58 a lot, but they discontinued it because it was slightly noisy, but it was a nice PAF sounding pickup.

 

[Bruno]

c'mon my friend, emg=hi-fi it's only a metaphor...

 

[crash]

I am interested to try the JH EMG's.
http://www.emgpickups.com/products/category/148/1

 

[Doughboy]

EMGs get a bad rap & the people bad mouthing them don't actually have experience with EMGs. They're either repeating what they hear on the boards or they listen to a metal band that uses EMGs & equate them to a harsh sterile tone.

You can make any pickup sound harsh or sweet. You can make a PAF sound buzzy, harsh & trebly or sweet, smooth & creamy. It has more to do with the amp & eq than anything else, imo.

I have EMG 85s, 89s, 81s & SAs & they all sound really good, clean & tight. Most people don't like articulate pickups as they accentuate sloppy playing. You can get an 85 to sound like a tight clean PAF if you play with your gear enough.

I guess if you like mush & loose low end, then EMGs aren't for you. But they're very versatile PUs.

 

[swarfrat]

EMGs get a bad rap & the people bad mouthing them don't actually have experience with EMGs. They're either repeating what they hear on the boards or they listen to a metal band that uses EMGs & equate them to a harsh sterile tone.

I did too until I played a buddy's 70's strat (just before they were cool) with EMG-S' in it through some I forget the model silverface fender 6L6 combo. (Bigger than a Deluxe, Smaller than a Twin - beyond that I don't remember.)  Years later when I got a set of SA's myself, some of the tones I'd been searching for for decades finally started coming out of my own gear and hands. And stuff that I wouldn't have necessarily thought - oh I need EMG's for that. I bought them originally to have a noiseless set for my 12 string. Found out, and a lot of other people don't know this, that there are three whole new positions on a strat I didn't know about, and they're pretty tasty!