EMGs in a SLATQH

[piranhaguy2002a]

Has anyone tried EMG 81/85 in an SLATQH yet? How's the tone with the mahogany body?

[wyldefan]

Re: EMGs in a SLATQH

I have that combo in mine and it is amazing. Nice warm tone and sustain for days! Go for it.

[quiksilver]

Re: EMGs in a SLATQH

Good question. Isn't the body material less important when using active pickups?

[Sunbane]

Re: EMGs in a SLATQH

Originally posted by quiksilver:
Good question. Isn't the body material less important when using active pickups?

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Why should it be?

[quiksilver]

Re: EMGs in a SLATQH

I don't know if it's true or not, but I thought the active pickup's more sophisticated method of generating a signal from the strings would compensate for variations in the wood - to a greater degree than a passive pickup, anyway. This could be good or bad, depending on how much of the wood's variations, which help create its tone, you want to come through.

I think this is what detractors mean when they describe active pickups as sounding more sterile than passive pickups.

Personally, I love EMGs. I'm particularly interested in this topic because I'm planning to order a custom shop Jackson with an EMG, and I'm wondering if it would be worth it, tone-wise, for me to pay extra for a mahogany body.

[toejam]

Re: EMGs in a SLATQH

Wood makes a difference in every guitar. EMGs in a mahogany body sound darker than they would in one made of alder, poplar, swamp ash or whatever. I've got a chrome 81 set in my set-neck,rosewood board, mahogany body/neck Hamer (it's also got a 3/8" maple top), and it definitely sounds darker/warmer than on the bolt-on alder Dinky with maple neck/rosewood board I had with the 81b/85n. It also sounds darker than the poplar Dinky I still have with 85b/60n. EMGs are just more consistent in sound from guitar to guitar, but still the wood does factor in.

[quiksilver]

Re: EMGs in a SLATQH

Thanks for the info! [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]