Do any of you guys use overdrive pedals with actives (EMG's)

[vbf]

I have long wanted a guitar with actives but completely unsure how they'd sound with overdrive pedals. Does anyone here you use actives with OD's? What is the good, bad, and the ugly? Thanks!

 

[warriorsoldier]

I do. I use Mighty Mite C4 chrome covered actives and I also run a maxon OD808. I am a metal player though. I dont know what kind of music your into. But in the metal scene emg 81s boosted by a TS type pedal into the dirty channel of a high gain amplifier with the gain rolled back is the recipe for metal these days. Listen to any song by killswitch engage and that is what your hearing.

 

[guzman]

EMGs are NOT versatile, so you have to play EMG kinda stuff or they'll just sound bad.

 

[Brazen]

EMGs are NOT versatile, so you have to play EMG kinda stuff or they'll just sound bad.

That's baloney. I've played clean as well as dirty with EMGs and Blackouts.

 

[vbf]

That's baloney. I've played clean as well as dirty with EMGs and Blackouts.

I think I know what the gentleman was saying and where you're coming from as well.

 

[Bikedude]

EMGs are NOT versatile, so you have to play EMG kinda stuff or they'll just sound bad.

BOGUS! The reason i bought active p/u's in the first place was to drive the effects. They work fine with any kind of effect, and they're dead quiet on stage, and in the signal chain. EMG SA's in a strat back in the 80's, when everything was way overprocessed was the ticket then, and quite frankly it still works well today.

 

[charveldan]

87' Charvel w/a EMG-81, ZW-44 Wylde OD gain at 1/3rd open, Friedman KS JMP 2203.

The key with high gain amps is i back off the gain 1/4 on the amp and run the pedal only open 1/3rd with EMG's.

 

[Darkness]

EMGs are NOT versatile, so you have to play EMG kinda stuff or they'll just sound bad.

It all depends on whether or not you have a shim in the pocket.

 

[EADGBE]

I used a metal zone for a while with an EMG-81 super strat when my Marshall amp was new. Sounded pretty good.

 

[nl128]

I had a set of emg kerry kings with the boost switch back a while ago. They ripped they were allot of fun. Even though they were supposed to be metal pickups you could pull off allot of different types of music with them

 

[chrisrocksusa]

yeah but i use it as a boost, i dont add any drive to it brah

 

[omfg51]

Doing this is like using a Fuzz factory on max gain, with a cranked marshall. TOTAL OVERKILL DUDE.

 

[warriorsoldier]

Doing this is like using a Fuzz factory on max gain, with a cranked marshall. TOTAL OVERKILL DUDE.

Wrong. Just different than what you do.

 

[Deathmonkey]

I'm not a fan of the EMGs, but Kerry King uses them and an EQ set to boost AND an OD into a JCM800 and doesn't have a screamingly high gain sound.

Part of the concept of EMGs was to drive through long pedal and rack setups. They can get a bit sterile if you're not careful, but they are made to be used with effects.

 

[Brazen]

Tosin Abasi does it well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bt-RoSzsEKA

 

[Harvesterofsorrow]

ive always used a overdrive for a lead boost, all my guitars have emg's @ 18v
they all sound fine it mostly depends on your amp.
right now i use a way huge green rhino, its an amazing tubescremer clone with more knobs, sounds great!
before that i had a ts9, wylde od, coffin blood drive and a sd-1
my first od pedal was a DoD but o forget what it was called lol
i usually set everything to noon and tweak to taste, i remember the everything at 1:00 setting on a tubescremer usually sounds pretty good