axel_tnl's Metal Music Gear Setup

The EMG 81 is one of the pickups that helped make EMG a name for itself. It’s a pickup with an active preamp inside it. That means it requires a power source. In this case, it’s a 9V battery. It’s housed in a special cover with no pole pieces and has a ceramic magnet.

The EMG 81 is a pickup that’s getting a bit dated today, but it is still a great pickup. Overall, the pickup really pushes the amplifier, despite the pickup itself actually being low output. This is mainly thanks to the built in active preamp. It’s a quiet pickup that doesn’t need a buffer for long cable runs, and it doesn’t interfere with nasty RF waves like most regular pickups do. This is what helps make EMGs more appealing, especially in a live situation.

The pickup is very tight, has some good midrange and some screaming high end, but it’s also a bit bright. It has some awesome grind going on, but this can lead to it being overly bright in the wrong piece of wood. I find it works great in more neutral to mid heavy woods such as alder and mahogany. Basswood can be a bit iffy, depending on the tone you’re going for. I don’t recommend using this in a body made of a dense wood such as maple. The pickup can be used in both the neck and the bridge. Some find it works great in the neck, but I simply find it to be too bright for the lead tones I usually go for.

The biggest issue with EMGs is that they can sound a bit “linear.” They’re very compressed, and this can lead to some guitars sounding more similar than if they’d have passive pickups. Some argue this case, but it’s true to an extent. The guitars won’t sound identical, but they’ll sound a bit more similar than if they might have a pickup that’s more picky about woods such as the Seymour Duncan JB.

Overall, the pickup is great, especially for those who play metal. It can be a bit dated sounding thanks to the boutique market, but I still feel this is one of the best active pickups on the market.

The EMG 60 is a pickup that is a variation on the typical EMG humbuckers. It is commonly paired in the neck position of a dual humbucker loaded guitar with an 81 or an 85 at the bridge position. I have one as stock in my ESP Eclipse II and I can certainly see the appeal in this pickup for active pickup users. Compared to the 81 or even the 85 it's a a fairly bassy sounding pickup, and it has a certain tightness in the low end that is optimum for really thick sounding lead work. Compared to the 85 as a neck position pickup, the EMG 60 definitely has more output going through it which makes it ideal for higher gain applications. The 85 is a bit more vintage in character and has a slightly more classic quality to it to my ears.

I'm particularly a fan of this pickup's clean tones. This is where you really start to hear the output that this pickup has. I find it to be a particularly dynamic pickup. The drive tones on thr other hand, are wonderful and I think the EMG 60 makes for an excellent compliment to the 81 in my ESP. It's very thick and fluid, and the harmonic overtones are simply astounding. I don't think it's a dynamic enough humbucker for blues or classic rock - that's a job for the 85. All in all I think the EMG 60 is a cool pickup for someone looking for a killer high gain pickup to compliment something like the 81.

These strings are great. Nice crisp, clear, and strong tone. They're great for everything from country to metal as long as you put them on the right guitar. The treble strings are bright, but not overly bright. The bass strings are warm, but still crisp and punchy. They have great punch and a nice, full, and rounded sound on all of the strings. They have a great feel and are not floppy at all inD standard. They're very easy to string, and very easy to fret. They are super easy to bend as well. They keep their tone for 2-4 weeks depending on how often you play, how much you sweat, and the humidity levels where you normally keep your guitar(s). High humidity and being near salt water would make your strings lose their tone much faster. I used to use GHS strings, D'addario, skull strings, Dr strings and more, but then I started looking for different strings to use since I was not happy with them. They were poor quality and did not sound too good. I have been using Ernie Ball strings for 10 years and I haven't looked back since changed. I've only broken a handful of strings the entire time I have been using them. The only reason they broke was I had a burr on my low E's saddle. Other than that, I haven't had any problems with them breaking. Since I switched from GHS, I won't use any other strings now. They're the best quality and tone for the price in my opinion, and one of the best string makers around. Ernie Ball are known for makers of quality, great sounding strings, and that's exactly what you get when you buy these.

The DiMarzio Clip Lock Strap is one of the straps that you see often on both Ibanez and Musicman guitars. It’s a unique take on straps and locking systems in that it uses a quick release buckle that stays attached to the guitar. This guarantees that the strap will stay on your guitar, and you can always guarantee you have a secure connection, unlike certain other guitar straps.

This strap fixes a few things about strap locks currently on the market. Schaller strap locks have an issue with both squeaking during heavy usage and the nut coming loose. The nut issue can be fixed with loctite, but you need to buy the strap lock system again to fix the squeaking. The biggest issue with Dunlop strap locks is that the ball bearings might not fully engage inside the lip. This can cause the guitar to come apart from the strap.

The DiMarzio strap system prevents this, for the most part. There are a few issues with this system, however. The biggest is that the piece that stays attached to the guitar tends to scratch it up. Despite the ends always staying very secure, you should always make sure the screws are tight, and this goes for all strap systems out there.

Overall, this is a really good strap locking system. In fact, I think this is the most secure strap locking system on the market.