Members alekke Posted January 18, 2007 Members Share Posted January 18, 2007 Link me if this one was allready here! I have EMG 81 and I'm thinking of selling it and buying SD LiveWire Metal! What to expect??? Would it suit my style? My sound is pretty brutal, meshuggah wannabe, scar symmetry, carnal forge, dino cazares and those downtuned dudes!You can listen some of our songs from links below to orientate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members peavey_impact Posted January 18, 2007 Members Share Posted January 18, 2007 I have no experience with the Livewires but I'd really like to try them myself. They fascinate me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chrisjd Posted January 18, 2007 Members Share Posted January 18, 2007 Good question, I wish I could shed some light on the topic. I believe the Livewire metals are even higher in output than the 81's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members alekke Posted January 18, 2007 Author Members Share Posted January 18, 2007 yeah, they say it is so hot that it can not produce clean sound!totally sick!!! who needs cleans anyway :-P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Swimrunner Posted January 18, 2007 Members Share Posted January 18, 2007 pantera does Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members baja85 Posted January 18, 2007 Members Share Posted January 18, 2007 My experience with the Livewire has not been good. Super harsh, extremely bright and trebley, very little body or fullness to the sound. It does indeed have ridiculous amounts of output, but it lacks definition and punch. I also have an EMG-81 equipped guitar, and I am much, much more satisfied with that. To give you a point of reference, my band plays death/black metal in the vein of Hate Eternal, Zyklon, Krisiun, Belphegor, ect. I strongly recommend you stick with the EMG! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MidusGT Posted January 18, 2007 Members Share Posted January 18, 2007 My experience with the Livewire has not been good. Super harsh, extremely bright and trebley, very little body or fullness to the sound. It does indeed have ridiculous amounts of output, but it lacks definition and punch. I also have an EMG-81 equipped guitar, and I am much, much more satisfied with that.To give you a point of reference, my band plays death/black metal in the vein of Hate Eternal, Zyklon, Krisiun, Belphegor, ect. I strongly recommend you stick with the EMG! My experience has been the same. I tried a Charvel loaded with the Livewire Metal set and it was god awful. No thickness, just all upper-mids and treble. Very thin and sterile. I've had lots of good experiences with EMGs, both the 81 and the 85, and would STRONGLY recommend those before ever considering the Livewires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Whoopysnorp Posted January 18, 2007 Members Share Posted January 18, 2007 I really don't get active high-output pickups. I could see the usefulness if you were trying to play metal on a JMP or something with no pedals, but does anybody really need to get more gain from the preamp of a modern high-gain amp than there is on tap? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ConsensusTrance Posted January 18, 2007 Members Share Posted January 18, 2007 SD Livewire HMETS are the best metal pickup set ever madehttp://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Seymour-Duncan-LWHMETS-LiveWire-Metal-Pickup-Set?sku=300266 They are NOT like other pickups and this causes confusion with some people. Livewires are quirky and you have to work with them a bit. 1 - Unlike other pickups, the livewires are SO HOT you actually have to tame them to get them to sound right. This is the absolute reverse of most other types of pickups. Most pickups are not hot enough and guys are always trying to make them hotter...NOT with the livewires...the livewires are so hot that they must be tamed. 2 - Don't set them up with 18 volts.. That's too damn hot....set them up at regular 9 volts 3 - MOST IMPORTANT: You must have an amplifier that has multiple hi and low level inputs. If you don't, the livewires will always overedrive and distort your amp too much. You must have a low input at your amp to plug the active livewire pickup equipped guitar into. My Rivera Knucklehead has multiple inputs and I always use the low input with my livewire guitars. I believe the guys in this thread that complained about their livewires were probably using regular inputs (because the sound they described is exactly the sound you get from using a regular single input) 4 - Get out your screwdriver and adjust the pickup height. The livewires need to be backed away from the strings until they achieve just the right about of clarity with just the right amount of attack. If the pickups are a little too close to to the guitar strings they will distort (extremely sensitive.) Be prepared to sit down and experiment with pickup height. The livewires need to be placed much farther away from strings than other pickups (like emgs) 5 - I believe string guage is a bit of a factor. I can't seem to use 11-52 guage strings with my livewires because they overpower the pickups too much. So I had to switch back to 10s to get them to right sound. That's just my experience...but I am still experimenting so I might still figure out a way to use heavier guage strings. 6 - There is a major difference in output between the bridge and neck pickups of the HMETS set. The bridge pickup cannot be played clean and it distorts way too much. But, the neck pickup is designed to be played clean and it sounds very much like the neck pickup in a strat or a '59 (really warm and full.) The major difference in output can be a problem for some players (just depends on a particular player's style) 7 - Unlike EMGS and other active pickups, the livewires maintain the "feel" and "response" of a passive pickup. They don't have that *dead/sterile* feel that plagues EMGS and other active pickups. But, livewires do NOT respond well with a volume knob. On the other hand, EMGS do respond well with a volume knob. 8 - I would suggest using an ISP decimator pedal. The livewires are a little noisy because they are so damn hot. It helps to plug your guitar into a noise gate and then into the amp. My rig is very simple. I run a sennheiser wireless reciever straight into an ISP decimator pro rack G and then into the low level input on my amp head. This is the cleanest and best metal setup I've ever had in 16 years of playing. Very little noise, perfect attack and definition, firm lows and sweet highs...chunkiest palm mutes on earth! In summary: I believe Livewire HMETS slay EMGS. But, the duncans must be setup properly. EMGS are more user friendly and that's why they are more popular. EMGs can be plugged into any amp and sound fine. HMETS needs a little bit more love and attention. WARNING: the livewires can cause havoc with your stompboxes and effects. The output signal is so hot that it will overdrive most of your wah, overdrive pedals etc (makes them sound like mush) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mustaine-who? Posted January 18, 2007 Members Share Posted January 18, 2007 My experience has been the same. I tried a Charvel loaded with the Livewire Metal set and it was god awful. No thickness, just all upper-mids and treble. Very thin and sterile. I've had lots of good experiences with EMGs, both the 81 and the 85, and would STRONGLY recommend those before ever considering the Livewires. Are you totally sure it was the metal version? I had the normal live wire set in my Jackson, and it sounded just like what you described. Plus, I'm not sure that there's anything on them (symbols, tags, stickers) where you could differentiate between the two. The regular set was real chimey and clean. Installing a DD was like night and day...monster difference!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members alekke Posted January 18, 2007 Author Members Share Posted January 18, 2007 seems too much effort for the buck! But I'm so damn curious!!! I dont have low input. My rig is: racktuner-> engl 530 -> rocktron hush C -> Crate SPA 200.I do have HI damping on my poweramp, but that lows the volume a lot! I think it very much depends on the equipment that is used. I think mine is solid and it could took duncan very well! I'm little woried about the amount of output thou! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members alekke Posted January 18, 2007 Author Members Share Posted January 18, 2007 I'm takeing this on top, just if someone else have an opinion! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members alekke Posted January 20, 2007 Author Members Share Posted January 20, 2007 anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Maxx61 Posted January 20, 2007 Members Share Posted January 20, 2007 SD Livewire HMETS are the best metal pickup set ever madehttp://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Seymour-Duncan-LWHMETS-LiveWire-Metal-Pickup-Set?sku=300266They are NOT like other pickups and this causes confusion with some people. Livewires are quirky and you have to work with them a bit.2 - Don't set them up with 18 volts.. That's too damn hot....set them up at regular 9 volts7 - Unlike EMGS and other active pickups, the livewires maintain the "feel" and "response" of a passive pickup. They don't have that *dead/sterile* feel that plagues EMGS and other active pickups. But, livewires do NOT respond well with a volume knob. On the other hand, EMGS do respond well with a volume knob. An observation on your evaluation. One of the reasons the Duncan Live Wires have more of an "organic" sound than EMG's is because of the 18-volt power supply yet you encourage folks to use a 9-volt system which in turn, will remove the very nuances Seymour created by opting for the 18-volt delivery. I've been using both pickups for years now and they have much more in common than many claim to have not. The Duncan Live Wire Metal is a "hotter" pickup and probably, from a layman's perspective, has about 125% of the EMG 81's power but on the other hand, it doesn't clean up well at all and has little to no bottom end. When compared to the 81, I believe it's a better bridge humbucker for lead work but pales in comparison to the EMG 85 for rhythm chores. If you need crunch that is anything south of high mids, you won't get it with the Metal Live Wire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members whatever Posted January 20, 2007 Members Share Posted January 20, 2007 I really don't get active high-output pickups. I could see the usefulness if you were trying to play metal on a JMP or something with no pedals, but does anybody really need to get more gain from the preamp of a modern high-gain amp than there is on tap? I have a gunslinger with an EMG-81 at the bridge. It sounds great played straight into my Marshall TSL. I think it sounds better than a passive pickup through a pedal into the amp. It has more dynamics and better tone. And none of the extra noise. Also lead guitar solos sound great with this setup. Are the Duncan actives low impedance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members alekke Posted January 21, 2007 Author Members Share Posted January 21, 2007 so many disadvantages were posted here!I think I'll stick with EMG. It is stupid to sell it and buy SD on blind.Maybe if I got the chance to try it in this poor country, and liked it, I'll buy it but wont sell EMG.I'll connect ti to 18V to see what will happen! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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