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Anyone compare the EMG 81 and 60 as a neck pickup?


vexed73

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I know I like the EMG 85/89 as a bridge pickup but what about the neck? The 60 sounds good but I have never tried the 81 so wondering who has tried it and what did you think. If it sounds good in the neck of a LEs Paul might buy one of the splittable 81s for the neck and an 89 for the bridge.

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Actually, I have two of my Les Pauls set up with 81s in the neck and 85s at the bridge. The 85 is a higher output pickup than the 81. The 81 just has a stronger midrange presence than the 85. Personally I think it sounds great in the neck. Neck pickup solos feel very velvety and smooth, and being that it doesn't have the lows that the 85s do, I find it farts out less. This is especially true in the case of high gain soloing. Cleans up damn nicely too. I've become more of a passive guy over the years, but I love that combination in my LPs. Hell, I found out about it from my tech and I've never looked back. Highly recommended.

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Personally, I don't care for the 81 in the neck. I ran an 81/81 combo in a strat, and they sound too similar. Not much distinction at all between the pickups, so I put an 85 in the neck, and I roll the volume back a bit with it. Also, I tried an 85 bridge and 81 neck one of my Les Paul's before, the 85 sounds great in the bridge, but again, the 81 just didn't sound right to me in the neck. I haven't tried a 60 yet so no comment on that one, I'll probably use one of those in the neck of that LP. I just haven't gotten around to it yet.

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