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EMG 85 Active Humbucker Pickup - Black
6 models to choose from:
The 85 is one of EMG's first pickups and is the slightly more sophisticated and well rounded half of its famous twin, the 81. Featuring close aperture coils loaded with Alnico V magnets, the 85 is a powerful pickup with exceptional tone and versatility. Most often used in the rhythm position, the alnico magnets of this model provide a muscular growl and smooth lead tones to enable you to play the muddiest of blues to the most extreme metal. Try it in the bridge position for exceptional smoothness and soul. This pickup pairs well with just about every other humbucker in our line. Give it a try and experience why its been a top seller for so many years.
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Warm And Smooth 0 of 0 customers found this review helpful
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Product Experience I own it
Closest Store St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
Compared to the 81, the 85 is smoother, warmer, and sweeter in tone. The 81 is a crunch machine, the 85 crunches almost as hard but with more personality and warmth. It is sweet in the neck position in which it was originally made to be used in but its also a really good bridge pick up as well, particularly if you find your guitar a little bright sounding.
Posted by David on Nov 3, 2019
It really packs its punch... 1 of 1 customers found this review helpful
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Product Experience I own it
Closest Store London North, Ontario
I got myself a pair of 85s for my birthday to install on my ESP LTD Snakebyte, which previously had the EMG JH set. What I did was, I installed one of the two in the neck and the other in the bridge to get a matching pair, because I have always wondered how it would sound like if I have the 85 in both positions. The two pickups did not disappoint, as the neck 85 provided that classic shred tone that EMG was known for and the bridge 85 provided an even more punch-filled tone, making it a more than viable bridge pickup.
That being said, a while later I ended up buying a pair of EMG 89s from the same store, confused as to why almost no guitarist would use an 89 in the bridge position. After going through countless little wires and several panic attacks, I still can't understand why. The neck 89 still had that very smooth lead tone I expected from an EMG pickup, but the bridge 89 was the big surprise. Make no mistake. On the contrary to what most people have said, I heard a clear difference between the 85 and the 89. The 89, when in the bridge position, had a stronger, sharper, and more pronounced attack. It was a much brighter pickup, but that was exactly what I was looking for the whole time. Not only that, it still had its bite and it still was a gain monster, albeit I did have to turn up the preamp gain on my interface (but it was well worth the sacrifice).
The 85 is more than a viable bridge pickup for anybody looking to play some low-tuned metal. I can also recommend the 89 in the bridge if you are willing to go through the extra hassle and you would like to have some more treble on your humbucker. The 85 might be the pickup you will want to turn to instead of the 89 if you are looking for a pickup that can boost your lows more.
Posted by Joonho Ahn on Apr 10, 2017
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| Product | SKU | Qty |
|---|---|---|
| 85 Active Humbucker Pickup - Black | 6936 |
