Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives

Message board

* FAQ    * Register   * Login 



Reply to topic
Author Message Previous topic | Next topic
Nocturnal_Evil
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Apr 19, 2021 12:00 am
Posts: 668
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sat Dec 31, 2022 1:16 pm 
 

Been playing for quite a while but never really got into the tech side of things with guitar. My question is: which pickups are best for metal in your opinion? Active or passive? and would the "best" change on which style of metal one is looking to play?
_________________
Metal_On_The_Ascendant wrote:
YEEEEP DIS DAT FAKE BATUSHKA

Top
 Profile  
Lord_Of_Diamonds
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Dec 12, 2018 5:23 pm
Posts: 1618
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sat Dec 31, 2022 1:48 pm 
 

Something active because of their high output and comparatively squashed dynamics. If you play something fast like thrash or death metal, then actives like EMG 81s will help you get there by being so high output that it's almost like they're boosted without needing a boost pedal. It will emphasize the pick noise and "tighten" up the sound. If you play something slower like traditional metal or doom, I don't reckon pickups would be that important.

Of course, if you like the sound of what you have at the moment, then use it for whatever. And overall, everything after the pickups is more important in determining the character of the sound in a heavily distorted setting.
_________________
King_of_Arnor wrote:
I really don't want power metal riffing to turn into power metal yiffing any time soon.

Top
 Profile  
Eternal Unity
Metal newbie

Joined: Mon Apr 19, 2021 5:29 am
Posts: 275
Location: Israel
PostPosted: Fri Jan 13, 2023 7:52 am 
 

DiMarzio.
_________________
A Drop of dew in divine pond
Elysian rivers of boundless time
Constellations beyond
Rejoin my soul with thine

Top
 Profile  
DrudgeDread
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Mon Nov 07, 2016 11:38 pm
Posts: 20
Location: United States
PostPosted: Tue Feb 14, 2023 9:45 pm 
 

I have used the "standard" EMG 81/85 combo for years to good success, mainly on Tech-Death, Thrash, and faster death metal endeavors, even on a shoegaze band. But with my latest bands and newer guitars I have really fallen in love with the Nazgul/Sentient combination from Seymour Duncan. Those pickups are insanely hot and I feel like my fingers and expression are more audible since they're passive pickups. The change in reactivity actually caused me to subconsciously change parts for songs over time and I only noticed after listening to my personal recordings. I have also tried the seymour duncan black winter set on a guitar that sounded pretty nice as well as a variety of DiMarzio pickups over the years that sound pretty rad. Generally I say it comes down to personal preference and what kind of sound you want out of it. If you want super compressed (even volume across pick attack, light picking is loud and loud picking is loud, same applies across the strings) go with EMG 81/85 or blackouts from seymour duncan (some minor tonal differences there so I'd try them first if you can). But if you want a more unique sound or want to have more dynamics of the song and your playing come through I would find some passive pickups that sound good to you. Heck, even some factory pickups pulled from an old guitar dropped into your guitar could sound awesome.

TD;DR;
Experiment. The quest for tone never ends. Get used to it and have fun on the journey XD
_________________
if you don't have at least one head-banger riff, I'm not interested
Basilysk - https://basilysk.bandcamp.com
Blood Spore - https://bloodspore.bandcamp.com

Top
 Profile  
nightbreaker33
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Jan 25, 2016 11:20 am
Posts: 616
Location: Greece
PostPosted: Thu Feb 16, 2023 9:02 am 
 

I have GEWAPURE gypsy pickups from China and put electric distortion plugins, noise reducer plugins and free amp plugins and I get a good doom sound.
_________________
Σταμάτης Ιωάννου Heavy Metal/Various from Greece: https://stamatisioannou.bandcamp.com/
Hercules - True Epic Heavy Metal from Greece: https://herculesgr.bandcamp.com/music
Power Gangrene Doom Metal/Noise from Greece: https://powergangrene2023.bandcamp.com/

Top
 Profile  
Amarok_90
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Tue May 09, 2023 6:02 am
Posts: 2
Location: Germany
PostPosted: Tue May 09, 2023 8:08 am 
 

I changed to Dunlop Jazz III picks a while ago. If you take 'picking' by word these give you the best control.

Top
 Profile  
thrashinbatman
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2010 6:31 pm
Posts: 1534
PostPosted: Thu May 11, 2023 4:42 pm 
 

the EMG 81 is a classic for a reason. the Fishman Fluence Modern is a great, more recent choice. very gnarly but with a lot of clarity. my personal favorite passive is the Seymour Duncan SH5. very crunchy. any of those three id heartily recommend.

Top
 Profile  
deadtome
Metalhead

Joined: Sat Aug 12, 2023 10:48 am
Posts: 575
PostPosted: Tue Aug 15, 2023 3:27 pm 
 

https://www.emgpickups.com/alx-set-black.html

Top
 Profile  
pyratebastard
Metalhead

Joined: Sat Mar 16, 2019 9:05 pm
Posts: 405
Location: Pacific Northwest US
PostPosted: Tue Aug 22, 2023 1:34 pm 
 

The EMG 81 tends to be a well respected classic and I've enjoyed using that in the bridge. I'm also a fan lately of the Seymour Duncan Black Winter as a passive alternative, but I also like a lot of mid-range in my tone.
_________________
Thrash, Death and early Black Metal Fanatic

Purveyor of absolute bastardry.

Only_Perception wrote:
I guess most people here are just standard copy pastes more concerned with defending the honor of celebrities than thinking about music.

Top
 Profile  
lostalbumguru
Metal newbie

Joined: Thu Oct 05, 2023 8:55 am
Posts: 150
PostPosted: Wed Oct 11, 2023 10:30 am 
 

ignore anyone who says actives. really for nearly every purpose passive is the best. you can then augment a pure tone rather than backwards modifying a tone from active pickups which already mess around with your sound before you've even started.

Top
 Profile  
lostalbumguru
Metal newbie

Joined: Thu Oct 05, 2023 8:55 am
Posts: 150
PostPosted: Wed Oct 11, 2023 10:32 am 
 

Amarok_90 wrote:
I changed to Dunlop Jazz III picks a while ago. If you take 'picking' by word these give you the best control.


the red ones and purple ones are my favourites

Top
 Profile  
hakarl
Metel fraek

Joined: Sat Sep 29, 2007 1:41 pm
Posts: 8817
Location: Finland
PostPosted: Sun Oct 15, 2023 1:19 pm 
 

lostalbumguru wrote:
ignore anyone who says actives. really for nearly every purpose passive is the best. you can then augment a pure tone rather than backwards modifying a tone from active pickups which already mess around with your sound before you've even started.

Not a fan of actives either. My current main guitar has Duncan Vintage P90 soapbars and it sounds perfect for what I want.
_________________
"A glimpse of light is all that it takes to illuminate the darkness."

Top
 Profile  
lostalbumguru
Metal newbie

Joined: Thu Oct 05, 2023 8:55 am
Posts: 150
PostPosted: Mon Oct 23, 2023 9:37 pm 
 

I find the p90s too wild and a little hissy. I accept they can be great for heavy music by that same token.

I never found anything better than seymour duncan passives. they're just right. even passives by other companies don't quite match up.

Top
 Profile  
hakarl
Metel fraek

Joined: Sat Sep 29, 2007 1:41 pm
Posts: 8817
Location: Finland
PostPosted: Tue Oct 24, 2023 4:53 am 
 

lostalbumguru wrote:
I find the p90s too wild and a little hissy. I accept they can be great for heavy music by that same token.

I'm not sure what value pots my guitar has, but I think that could have to do with how hissy they sound. The Duncan Vintage P90 is also overwound compared to most others on the market, which might be giving them the fuller, more mid-focused sound they have. They definitely are wild compared to, say, a PAF style humbucker. Using them with a tighter and more compressed amp like an Engl Powerball really works, where overwound humbuckers tend to be too gainy and muddy and fizzy, and a PAF might just sound a bit too tame.
_________________
"A glimpse of light is all that it takes to illuminate the darkness."

Top
 Profile  
lostalbumguru
Metal newbie

Joined: Thu Oct 05, 2023 8:55 am
Posts: 150
PostPosted: Wed Oct 25, 2023 7:18 am 
 

I prefer to eliminate the amp tonality from the equation as much as possible. The simplest chain is the best, hence passive pickups. However some people probably enjoy a midrange hissy monster sound, maybe they think it works well for black metal or whathaveyou, and it's all personal to some degree.

Top
 Profile  
Wrldeatr
Metal newbie

Joined: Wed Mar 14, 2012 11:13 pm
Posts: 377
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sat Nov 04, 2023 10:36 pm 
 

Actives of course. And out of actives the Duncan Blackouts Metal (AHB-2) in the high output setting. Those things are a riot. Feedback for ages.

Top
 Profile  
somefella
Veteran

Joined: Sat Dec 20, 2008 11:57 pm
Posts: 3134
Location: Singapore
PostPosted: Tue Dec 19, 2023 10:23 pm 
 

EMG 81/85 combo, or some of the newer variants, are in the 'nothing wrong with that' camp. More fussy people will want a more blank canvas to sculpt their tone or pickups with more personality and dynamics (some of the better DiMarzios and Duncans), but if you are looking for a general metal sound, the 81/85 will deliver 9 out of 10 things. This coming from a former pickup enthusiast who worked in a music store for years and with a fair amount of in-studio recording experience.

If you find the idea of battery changing a hassle but still are after a 'classic' metal sound like the EMG81 delivers, an unexpected option is actually the original DiMarzio Evolution - the original one, and not the Evo2 or any of the rereleases. It has an almost identical rhythm sound to the EMG81, both in the room and recorded. It has a touch more dynamics and higher harmonics (making it more expressive, especially the 'sharpness' of your palm mute chugs, which is affected by high end, not low end) than the 81, but conversely is also harder to 'control' for a consistent sound when recording.

For soloing/leads, active pickups give you a more compressed sound, which means that the notes sound closer in volume and 'shape' to each other, so it's more consistent and clear. But it also means that the differences in sound when you pick some notes harder than others, or when you angle the pick differently, or when you use your fingers, is a bit less. Hence people saying it has less 'personality'.

I wouldn't overthink it. Pickups are inexpensive and modular - changing between pickups, or active vs passive, is not that troublesome, so just experiment a little and see what you like. Hev fun!
_________________
http://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/the-grea ... of-nothing
OSHIEGO (SGP), death/thrash.

Top
 Profile  
Reddevil75
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Thu Mar 16, 2023 7:01 am
Posts: 10
Location: Liechtenstein
PostPosted: Tue Mar 05, 2024 11:25 am 
 

Well, my Mayones Regius 7 has 2 DiMarzio Air Norton 7 (passive HBs) and I am really happy. I tried the Bare Nuckle PUs, but they are too much for me. The dynamics, transparency and warmth of the Air Norton 7 are simply great. My current main guitar is a Standberg Prog NX7 with Fishman Fluence Modern 7 Alnico Soapbar (neck) and Fishman Fluence Modern 7 Ceramic HB Mount (bridge) - and they are phenomenal. The pickups respond very well, are very dynamic and clear for active pickups and come through incredibly well. These are the first active pickups that I personally like. I also had EMG 81 and 85, which sounded good - but just didn't have enough character for me. You can screw them onto a tennis racket, they always sound the same (good). But the Fishman are in a completely different league. To my ears.

Top
 Profile  
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Reply to topic


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 8 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

 
Jump to:  

Back to the Encyclopaedia Metallum


Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group