mattbarden Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Anybody using the EMG Het Set in their guitar? I'm considering swapping these into one of my axes but I haven't had the opportunity to try them first hand yet. I'm interested in the concept behind them, having all the benefits of both active and passive pickups rolled into one seems like a fantastic idea. I've tried the 81/85 combo as well as the blackouts and I found both of them to be awesome in some areas but lacking in others. I'm wondering if these would bridge those gaps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pianoguyy Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 When I am not using stock pickups, I usually go 81/85. My feeling is this... 1. I use too many FX to tell you what pickups actually sounds like. 2. 81/85 are fairly sterile, so it allows me to play whatever style I need. As opposed to, let's say, having a death metal pickup in a guitar that needs to play smooth jazz. 3. Having the same pickups in every guitar helps me keep a baseline tone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattbarden Posted June 1, 2015 Author Share Posted June 1, 2015 Yeah I know what you mean about the 81/85 being sterile sounding, it was a bit too much for my personal tastes. Oddly enough most metal guys seem really happy with them though, I don't know maybe it's just that guitar. I'm pretty happy with my main guitar's sound though even with the stock pickups, I would be looking to put these in my 81/85 guitar to liven it up a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ppiluk Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 I had a guitar with a couple EMG 85's in it. I loved the sustain I would get from an active pickup. I traded it away and regret it. I would have preferred the 85/81 instead of 85/85. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattbarden Posted June 1, 2015 Author Share Posted June 1, 2015 I had a guitar with a couple EMG 85's in it. I loved the sustain I would get from an active pickup. I traded it away and regret it. I would have preferred the 85/81 instead of 85/85. Funny enough my EMG's were in a Schecter before with the 85/81 setup (didn't come that way but I swapped them). For that guitar it sounded way better with them swapped around. The Schecter suffered an unfortunate accident so they are now in an LTD Eclipse. I had to go with the traditional setup in the Eclipse though, it just didn't sound right with them swapped around but different body shapes probably has something to do with that. Digging around the internet today I discovered that the pickups in my LTD H-330FM (ALH-200 actives) are essentially the same concept as the Het Set. I always thought they were straight up modeled on the 81/85's. My opinion was always that they did sound a bit fuller than the EMG's did, so that guitar quickly became my go-to axe. They don't hit quite as hard as the EMG's but I actually rather like that about them. It's the only guitar I haven't had the ambition to change the stock pickups on since to me it sounds pretty good as is. I'm sure the Het Set has some different tonal qualities being tailor made for his sound though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.