the best active pickups on the market

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.

From Gear Setup

Everybody should replace stock pickups at least once

I bought the EMG's to replace the stock pickups in my PRS SE Custom 22 Semi-hollow guitar; I just wasn't happy with the original sound and was looking for a little more punch. I play 60s/70s/80s/90s rock, so these do well for some of the more aggressive songs in the catalog.

I basically gutted the electronics and replaced with EMG parts. I have EMG81 is in bridge position and EMG85 at the neck. The result: I got more grit than anything. Overall I'm pleased. There have been times that I forgot to unplug my guitar cable and was afraid the 9V battery drained on me. That wasn't the case - a bit of a nice surprise in that these things don't draw a huge amount of current from the battery. I replace the battery every 3-months or so. The volume pot is a little scratchy and probably should be replaced.

Incredible bridge pickup.

If you want metal get this. It chugs in Ola's words. Lot of output and amazing high gain sound

From Gear Setup

Incredibly transparent and versatile!

So, the EMG 81. It has been so successful for a reason, right?

I have some experience with this pickup. It suits the whole inventory, from Superstrats to LPs. And it spans the whole gamut: you can go from Jazz to Death Metal with a flick of the switch.

The EMG 81 is an incredibly transparent and versatile pickup. No matter which guitar you put it, it will make it shine. It is very pick sensitive (i.e, every little error will be immediately noticed!) and will hit your amp's input the right way. The tone control works magic on this pickup.

And it's completely noiseless!

I mean, artists like Prince or Hammett can't be wrong, right?

Great pickup and easy to install

First the EMG 81 has become my preferred bridge pickup. They are really easy to install and don't require soldering. They do take a 9 volt battery but in my experience I only have to replace it about every 6 months. EMG pickups are great if you are new to modding guitars and don't want to solder/don't have the skills or equipment to solder. There is a reason people get the 81. It sounds fantastic

Good, but not great.

I have this active EMG 81 in both my LTD EC-401B and EC-401. While I find this pickup goes incredibly well in my baritone, and brings a nice amount of attack and compression to it, which compliments that guitar really well; I don't like it being in my other EC-401.

I use said 401 for my pop punk/hardcore band as well as playing other rock, metalcore stuff in between. And while this pickup works remarkably well when you're playing palm muted breakdowns and core riffs, it does NOT do me many favours when I'm writing playing my pop punk riffs and other stuff. The compression that comes with this pickup doesn't tickle my fancy and I don't like that I when I dial back the volume knob for a slightly cleaner tone, it just dials back my entire volume rather than dialling back to a cleaner output.

I also find it much to harsh for my crunch tones and not very dynamic when it comes to clean tones.

All in all, don't take this as a bad review on the product itself. The pickup is a really nice pickup and I like it LOTS in other situations.

I just don't believe it's for ME in the music I write with my band. It is a great pickup if you're playing metalcore with fast, attacky riffs and lots of huge breakdowns. And yes, lots of pop punk bands also use EMG 81's and sound amazing, but I find that for my particular sound, they're just not quite right. Still a great pickup!

The holy grail

No metal guitarist is complete without this pickup. You need it somewhere in your arsenal. Mainly in the bridge position, making it the best active pickup I’ve ever played with.

Industry standard

Install in two of my guitars, BC Rich Warlock NJ and Samick FV450, its a game changer!

Added plenty of needed crunch to my stock ESP.

I have an ESP EC-50 and this guitar absolutely crushes with this pickup in the bridge position. I may get the 24V battery kit to get even more response out of the pickup.

Works well with it's brother.

I use the 81 in pair with the 85 and it is just the perfect set up for all your metal needs. You can get some blazing hot distortion and some crisp cleans as well. I plan on using them in future shred machines!