EMG 60 Active Humbucker Guitar Pickup, Black

Sound wise, it's pointless me writing anything, EMG's reputation speaks for itself, if you want hot pickups, choose EMG. What type of EMG and where you install it (bridge or neck) is entirely up to you however I installed this at the bridge position on my LTD guitar to replace a stock active pickup. I naively thought that I could unplug the stock pickup and plug the EMG in - wrong. The stock pickup was hard wired into the guitar electronics so I only had one choice, rip it all out and put this one in from scratch. That's the bad news. The good news is that everything you need to install the pickup (assuming the pickup housing is the same) is in the box and even better, no soldering is required - all the electrical components snap into place securely. Wiring instructions are also included in the box and very clear and easy to follow. The wiring for a number of setups is included i.e. volume only, volume and tone, and combining with another pickup. I choose volume and tone installation and it took about 45 minutes to finish as I had to drill (very carefully) out the hole to make way for the power from the battery compartment to the main wiring compartment - whether you need to do so depends on what guitar you are adding this to. Talking of which, note that a battery IS NOT included in the box, you will need a 9v battery in order to make your pickup active. As soon as I was done, I got the strings back on, plugged it in and struggled to put the guitar down for a while as the sound was amazing as you'd expect.

I bought my first EMG 81 shortly after they started making them, stuck it in my Strat as the only pickup and it gave me decades of use. For the last couple of years though I noticed a crackling sound and after much experimentation realised it was the pickup, not the rest of the wiring in my guitar. So this pickup shipped, complete with wiring and knobs for a whole variety of setups. My original pickup required soldering in the traditional way but EMG have worked hard to make soldering a thing of the past. They give a variety of instructions to configure the pickup whichever way you want. I just have the pickup, a volume knob and output jack. Plus a 9v battery. I wired the whole thing up, tightened the bolt holding the volume knob, plugged in and no sound came out. I quickly realised that when I'd tightened the bolt on the volume knob I'd spun it around detaching a wire. Plugged it back in and sound came out. I can't be sure if this new 81 sounds identical to the original it replaces, but it certainly sounds good. An aggressive lead guitar sound. Given that you get all the wiring with this pickup, plus the fact that it gives an unarguable archetypal sound, it's a real bargain.

Love this. If you want that modern rock/metal sound then these are amazing. These into a 5150 or Dual Rectifier or similar is THE sound of modern metal. It’s detailed, clean, nicely forward in the mids and has that ‘really thick without being fizzy’ tone you are looking for. In the bridge it rolls off the bass nicely clearing up all the low end mud. Battery life seems fine though remember to unplug the cable when you finish! You only have to look at a who’s who of users to know what it does, Metallica, Rammstein, a hundred other top tier acts. It’s taken a decent guitar with so-so pickups and made it a high end guitar. If you use amp modelling, it’ll transform the sound of those from “Hmmm it’s ok” to “Hell yes!”.

Yes this comes with a tone and volume pot and all the wires needed to install into a guitar. The kit is quick connect so no soldering needed. Easy to install and perfect if your looking for a good chugging metal tone. I recommend the 24v mod to get the best out of it.

Brought the old guitar back to life. No soldering required. Noise free clear tones at any gain level worth every penny

This is a great sounding pick-up, high gain and brilliant for metal type sounds - of course it is. Really easy to fit I replaced the whole wiring loom on my Ibanez and just put this in as the neck pick up, as I prefer playing rhythm that’s what I wanted. Everything you need is included and the instructions are super easy to follow.

Easy to fit, clear instructions and the sound is amazing - what's not to like?

Did not receive a genuine EMG pickup. The packaging looked completely genuine and the box came sealed but the pickup itself is a fake.