EMG Pickups
EMG pickups are best for heavy genres such as metal and hard rock. The reason is EMG ‘active’ pickups provide more output and gain than passive pickups.
They are also thick and offer great string clarity and definition at high gain, hence, why they are notably popular with metal guitar players.
Pros of Active EMG pickups
Produce more output and gain for distorted rock and metal tones
Will push the tubes of a valve amp
Need less external gain from amp and pedals for distortion
EMG 57/66 TW Dual Mode Humbucker
EMG Super 77 Retro Active
Clarity and note definition at high gain
Cancel hum and noise effectively
Virtually silent
Good bass response and bottom-end for thick heavy tones
For these reasons above, EMG pickups have cemented themselves as the mainstream choice with metal and heavy rock players since they were introduced in the 1980s.
Some of the most iconic metal albums recorded from the past 20 years were likely recorded with guitars loaded with active EMGs.
EMG 57/66 TW Set Dual Mode
EMG 85
Cons of Active EMG Pickups
Sound sterile
People claim they are only good for distorted and saturated tones
Do not offer warm and dynamic clean tones
Average crunch tones
They don’t ‘clean up’ upon rolling the volume knob back for crunch tones.
Only offer a quieter volume when you roll back the volume knob instead of ‘cleaning up’ like passive pickups
Not the most versatile pickup compared to passive pickups
EMG GTV Glenn Tipton Vengean
EMG PJ Active Bass
Although most popular with metal guitar players, EMG can certainly be a good choice for rock and hard rock genres.
EMGs can do well in the rock category as they are designed for distorted guitar tones ideal for dirty rock rhythm and mid-gain solos for a sweet rock lead tone.
EMG pickups also have a flat frequency response and are excellent at taming feedback and hum.
You won’t need as much gain as a typical metal player, but most active EMG pickups are great for rock. However, it all comes down to taste and personal preference.
In addition, these pickups do a good job of keeping a signal chain loaded with gain and noisy pedals virtually silent. This is useful when playing live to keep the one stage hum and buzz inaudible.
EMG 60 Humbucking Active Guitar
EMG Pickups for Rock
The best EMG pickups for rock guitar are the ones that sound best to your ears and suit your ideal tone.
You also have to decide between active or passive pickups.
EMG E-Guitar Pickup, Strat
EMG Pachyderm Gold Les Claypool
From the Retro Active Pickups series, the EMG Hot 70, Super 77 and Fat 55, are good.
Each of these pickups is a “hot-rodded” high output open-coil humbuckers voiced as a classic-sounding pickup of the 70s ideal for mid and heavy rock tones but with more balls and output.
They clean up nicely for clean and crunch tones but also have the extra gain and responsiveness when you load them up with distortion, and also retaining clarity whilst being virtually silent.
They are essentially hot-rodded humbuckers with more balls and grit and with a wider spectrum of frequencies.
EMG TX X Series Tele Active
EMG T-52 Set Classic Telecaster
For passive EMG pickups, the EMG H1, H2, H3 passive pickups are super versatile in sounds and produce great classic tones.
passive pickups do a better job at “cleaning the tone”.
When rolling back the volume knob for classic rock crunch and clean tones, EMG pickups can certainly be suited for rock guitar players as they can produce a great dirty tone with clarity and can be versatile enough for rock guitar players.
EMGs excel at lead tones, as they have a lot of presence, crispness, and clarity.
Therefore, you can dial in a good blues lead tone depending on your amp and how good you are at EQ.
EMG SA Active Single Coil Guitar
EMG J5 Active 5 String Jazz Bass
EMG pickups may not offer the full spectrum of blues tones, rich cleans, warm crunch, and the ability to clean up the tone using the volume knob. They do lack some tonal traits that some players would want available from their guitar.
Passive humbuckers and single-coils are usually preferred by the majority of blues guitarists.
Jazz players do not usually choose EMG pickups, and they are not common for playing any type of jazz music. Active EMG pickups are not the best for warm, clean, and dynamic tones, which jazz players desire. They sound “sterile” or “stale” compared to passive humbuckers.
It means they lack a wide frequency spectrum with warmth and character. Jazz players love bassy, lush, dark, and mellow tones, which a passive humbucker can deliver.
EMG 85 GOLD Electric Guitar
EMG MMTW Music Man Twin Active Bass
They are high output and excel when loaded with distortion. They keep a focused, boosted presence and eliminate hum and buzz sounds.
For metal and hard rock, EMG pickups are a great choice. They are often installed in Superstrat heavy metal guitars. You will never find an active EMG pickup in a large hollow body guitar.
Signature Series Sets
