switching emg position

[dk1ben]

I have a Jackson DK1 with emg pickups. While reading post on hear I have seen some of you talking about switching the positions of the pickups. Right now the EMG 85 is at the neck position and the 81 at the bridge. What would I gain by swapping them, 85 at the bridge... And is this something I can do myself easly?

[toejam]

Yes, it's easy to do. Just disconnect the clips from the pickups and easily swap them. The 85 is warmer and will give you a beefier sound in the bridge, the 81 is brighter. If you don't care for it, you can easily switch them back.

[dk1ben]

guess i just have to take my strings off and do it from the top since there is no access to them from the back. ill just wait for my next string change.

[mm2002]

After Joetam raving about the 85 in the bridge for so long, I finally tried it. I don't like it personally, sounds muddy to me. I'll be putting an 81 back in there.

[toejam]

So send all your 85s to me, Mark!

[Sunbane]

I would second TJ's suggestion about the 85.
It's a much nicer pickup overall than the 81.

[kelly user]

clashing of the heads

[Rich#6]

I am hoping to switch them around myself this week and see how it sounds.

[mm2002]

So send all your 85s to me, Mark!

Paypal me and they'll be on their way! How many you need?

[CharvelRocker]

EMGs are great to experiment with due to the ease of swicthing them. I love my KH21 set (2 81s prewired with a toggle, 2 volume and one tone). 81 Beck/85 Bridge will give you a Zakk Wylde tone. I love the 81 in the neck personally. Never tried the 85 in the bridge though. Still as easy as it is to change them, why not experiment?

[soc_monki]

EMGs are great to experiment with due to the ease of swicthing them. I love my KH21 set (2 81s prewired with a toggle, 2 volume and one tone). 81 Beck/85 Bridge will give you a Zakk Wylde tone. I love the 81 in the neck personally. Never tried the 85 in the bridge though. Still as easy as it is to change them, why not experiment?

actually Zakk uses the 81 in the bridge and 85 in the neck.

i tried the 85 in the bridge before and came to the conclusion of a previous poster...muddy. and it sounded very scooped. not enough high end cut. i love the 85 in the neck though! but the 81 is where its at for me (in the bridge position) just so tight and lots of cut.

[mm2002]

See there Joetam, it's not just me! :ROTF:

[CharvelRocker]

actually Zakk uses the 81 in the bridge and 85 in the neck.

i tried the 85 in the bridge before and came to the conclusion of a previous poster...muddy. and it sounded very scooped. not enough high end cut. i love the 85 in the neck though! but the 81 is where its at for me (in the bridge position) just so tight and lots of cut.

MY bad

[toejam]

See there Joetam, it's not just me! :ROTF:

LOL Well, I know there's other board members that feel the same as me, so...
My all mahogany Les Paul seems to like the 85 just fine in the bridge... no mud at all. Maybe you guys need to work on your amp eq'ing skills or something?? :ROTF:

[dk1ben]

Worked great. Sounds really good this way. Toejam you brought up a good point with EQ. I have a GE-7 in my loop but to be honest im not sure what i did when I scooped the mids. I just aimed for a V shape and it sounds great. Is there any documentation on EQ settings and how it all works.