now this is how you do a review. no fucking backing tracks, no post compression, or heavy eq. when you do a review of a product, i want to hear the god damned product, not the "production techniques" you learned in your on-line pro tools class. ive been using the 81 for 30 years, in many, many guitars. i have used boogies most of my life, and the 81 just seems to live for that amp, have moved on to a 5153, and the 81 seems just a little biting. that great roundness of the het set, i think, is a perfect match for the evh. thanks to this real review, i am going to put a het set in my explorer. emg should send you a couple of bucks...
Het Set sounds a lot more dynamic clean, but is a bit muddy and flabby with distortion. The 81s, like people are always saying, sound a little sterile clean but are so tight and punchy with some gain. Will be going with an 81/60 set. Thanks for the comparison.
I’ve got both sets and I’ve gotta say I like the het set better. There’s more punch. However, the het set is in my Gibson LP and the 81/60 is in my ESP eclipse. I’m gonna do a swap out for fun.
The 81 wins to my ear. And I'm glad to discover that. I have an explorer with emg 81 and 85s that I thought about swapping out for jh het set I won't do that now after seeing this video
@@guitarstalkandtech9085 the 81s are have more metal versatility. The het set was designed to and for James hetfield’s request and down picking style. They are basically active passive pickups, if you are considering these, just get a set of painkillers instead.
Well it seems like the JH is so hot like the Seymour Duncan Blackouts that you can hear it clipping and sometimes turning down the guitar volume or amp gain won’t change that, but it’s also the price which is why I didn’t buy it either; they’re supposed to sound more passive though and I suppose the poles on the bottom help.
@@mikestamper hey man ik this has been a long time since u made this comment but could we get a list of the riff names?? There insanely great and I would love to play those riffs
JH sounds great but comparing the chugs at 3:31-3:32 (81) and 3:43-3:44 (JH), I think the 81 takes it. The JH does sound fuller, but listening carefully with studio cans, a lot of that extra low end is a tad boomy and muddy to my ear and would probably end up get clipped out of a mix. The gallop at 3:55-3:57 (81) vs. 4:07-4:08 (JH) sounds so much crisper and clearer with the 81; the JH sounds congested by comparison. Amazing demo as always and fantastic, tight riffage. These videos are so well done and have saved me a ton of cash, first with the Fishmans and now the JH. Thanks!
To really make the JH shine, lower it from the strings a bit, lower the bass frequency to clean it up and back off a bit on the distortion, set the highs to taste according to your amp...pure heaven!
To make the Het Set shine, do the opposite - which is what James does. 18V and the regular distance from the strings. The "dig" that you get from a hard percussive pick is gold. If you want something less, just drop the guitar volume to 9 or less. And there in lies the rub. For those classic Metallica tracks like Master and Battery, James used Seymour Duncan Invaders - tons of output and a big kick in the preamp's ass. To get EMG's at the same level you're looking at 18 volts and still a handful of chunk from the picking hand. If you run them at 9V and expect that "chunk" be prepared for disappointment or to run a pussybox (tubescreamer or similar) in front of your amp.
@@downandloud That's because it's what James used back in the day. I find that it's a great pickup for doing Metal and just Metal. Personally, although I love playing stuff that challenges me physically and technically like some metal songs, I prefer something that's a little more well rounded but can beat an 81 at its own game and for me the Het Set at 18V does just that. The 81's at 9V sound great but at 18V they sound like you're running a compressor on the first pedal on your signal path. You may like that and if you do, that's great. I hate it and try and stay away from anything that compresses the signal. If I hit the strings harder I want to hear that come through the amp. If it's compressed that ain't gonna happen. You can run both pickups at 27V but the 81's sound like ass and the Het Set gets the compression I don't like. A similar compression that my 35W Mesa Mark 5's get when the gain is turned past 12 o'clock. You start to lose dynamics and it goes to a boring NuMetal or "I can't really play so I'll crank the gain and smash the crap out of my mistakes" wall of mush. You could say that I'm full of s##t but I guess Hetfield feels the same way otherwise he wouldn't have this pickup. A lot of the guys that grew up in the 70's and learned to play in the 80's seem to feel the same way. If you don't agree, that's fine. Life is to short to bitch about what others think. Do what you life and have lots of fun doing it.
@@Swampster70What? It increases headroom and adds more dynamic range..opens them up a bit. But it does nothing for the overall output. Also, the pussybox thing was slapping dude😅
James put the EMG's in AFTER Master of Puppet. Most of Master was done on the Kill Bon Jovi Jackson King V with Duncan Invaders. So it depends on your definition of classic. Kill, Ride, Master? All passive pickups. Justice onwards, active.
Great video, can’t express the convenience you’ve brought to my decision making.. they both imho sound the same but the het set has more “noise” like a minuscule added amount of reverb/presence. Funny enough I’m actually hunting the tone of Mf era megadeth so thinking I prefer the 81 for its overall tighter pronounced sound. Both are amazing though..
The HET set is so much more tighter sounding warmer and clearer. I’m an ESP 81 player and the HET set will be going in my guitars. The HET’S are great sounding, but so are the 81’s. I think the HET’s have a better balance. Very good comparison video. Thank you for posting it.
@@Gopnikkgb When you A/B them through an amp and not via the wonders of UA-cam compression, the HetSet has less of a pokey sound and is a little tighter for the mids and top end. The HetSet also fill in the bottom end that the 81's lack. But the main thing is how much gain you run. I'm like James with regards that my Mesa preamp knob will likely never go past 12 o;clock or half way. That really alters the tone in more ways that you'd expect, moreso that swapping pickups. Too much gain kills the dynamics and unnecessarily flubs things up. Most people try at fix this situation by making matters even worse and chucking a Tube Screamer infront of the amp to try and reduce the flub but further jack up the top end.
@@GopnikkgbI’ve owned both and always go back to the het set. I’ve even had the 81x and the het set is better. On UA-cam I prefer the sound of the 81 but in person it’s not as good. To me anyway
Overall I preferred the 81. I found it tight on the distortion stuff. Even on the cleans I liked the 81 best. The Het sounded almost single coil. I think the 81 gets a bad rap for cleans, I had my EMG guitar at rehearsal tonight & was quite impressed with the cleans.
Wild! In some of the clean sections, I worried the Het Set sounded too thin, but in other sections it softened up and added bass back. Seemed to be dependent on how hard you played. Very cool!
Dynamics shmymamics! 81/85 FTW. If I want the “dynamics” of a passive pickup, then I’ll play one of my guitars with passive pickups. If I wanna lay down the hate proper , I’ll stick with my 81/85’s. Plus I’ve got a guitar with 81/60’s , which is close enough to the Hetset with a bit of amp and pedal tweaking. Color me metal, but 81/85 still hard to beat. If I bought a guitar already equipped with the Hetset, I wouldn’t rip em out. Just prefer 81/85’s blistering sound. I know not everyone is a fan of that brittle glassy tone. But they can be tamed if you know what you are doing. And if you don’t like the cleans, get an 89R splittable. You’ll shit your pants. Hetset is not awful by any stretch. I just like the 81/85’s. Call me old fashioned.🤘🏻
"Dynamics" is just another dumbass buzzword, just like "warmth", "glue" or "sterile". People are just parroting stuff they read on the internet without knowing what the fuck they're talking about. Dynamics my ass. Playing heavy music with insane distortion and talking about dynamics, get the fuck outta here.
Overdriven solo parts: 81's sound tinny compressed just a little bit bit-crushed, borderline synthetic compared to the het-set. Rhythm and crunch: the two pickups are more evenly matched with the het-set having more bass and sounding a bit less brittle. Clean: Het-set has way more dynamics. Conclusion: Tone is 5% pickups, 10% amp and 85% players hands.:)
I agree but that is probably just the fault of amp settings. Most mid boost circuits compress the shit out of overdrive channel so if your pups are noisier they`ll be tinnier too unless you dial back the gain or treble or both which is easy as pie. If you know your amp and you know what you like your all set.
Pretty surprised i must say! I was about to get the Het Set for my Gibson custom and replace the 81-85 set but i think i will stick with them! Great, really helpful video man, thanks a lot!
Replace the 81/85. I had them in my Standard, they had no change against the hetset. The 81/85 is much to rough, the HetSet works better in the Les Paul.
@@richt87 yeah,several months ago but i sent them back and sticked with my 81/85 combo. They simply didn’t have that tight low end. They were great pickups but very much to the “passive” side, if you know what i mean. I can’t live without the low end tightness. My first impression on the video was right for me and my taste :)
I bought a used LP standard that came with EMG Het Set installed. Normally I would have run away, but the deal was too good to pass up. AT FIRST I was shocked at how horrible they sounded despite being installed according to specs. I realized they were so powerful they were clipping my effects board. Long story short... I lowered the pickups drastically, lowered the input sensitivity on the effects board and now the EMG het set lives up to their promise of passive clarity, AND aggression one would come to expect from EMGs. Next I will try 18V Mod and see what that accomplishes, I've heard good things.
I prefer the het set. I dont think it would matter enough to swap in context of a band. I would not change a 81 for it but if I was choosing between the 2 I'd go het.
The 81 is tighter and more focused compared to the JH. Not really surprising since JH wanted an active sound but with the dynamics of a passive pickup. So basically, if I wanted to have a slightly more versatile sound, I´d go for the Het set, but if thrash metal riffing is all I´m doing on that guitar, then I´d just go for the 81s. As far as EMG´s are concerned anyways.
The cleans to me sounds more top heavy and maybe a little less compressed and less bottom boom than the 81, and the distorted sounds have a sharper almost definitive pick attack
I have an ec-50 LTD with the het set,and I have a jh-600 which has the EMG 81,which I am glad to have,but I hate khaler bridges,so I could just swap if I wanted to, because I am more into metallica than slayer anyway both fun bands to play on guitar,most of metallica's albums didn't have the het set which sounds great too don't get me wrong,I'm glad to have the 81 if I want a more classic sound 🤘 true fan of James Hetfield and EMG here
Ok...I've just subbed. I went on your channel to see if you had other pickups comparisons. There are a lot! And I bet you'll keep them coming. Underrated channel dude. You really are by far the "to go to guy" for pickups comparisons. Very nice, very well done pickups comparisons. Plus all of the other content! Am I ever glad to have accidentally ended up here!
The Het Set is great but IMO the EMG 81 is better. The Het Set under gain is "drastically" distorted while the EMG 81 has a great distortion tone, etc... I have guitars with both setups and the Het Set is just trying to be, while the EMG 81 actually is great, if that makes sense? lol
so, if i had the $$$, i'd have a setup with 81 & 85, another with the het set. if i were to choose one, i would choose the 81 & 85 setup. the het's are awesome, but their sound is more scooped with less bass (to my ears), but just barely. now i'm curious to look up when he worked with emg to develop the het set. before i found out about the het set, i thought he was still using the 81 & 85 setup. I guess they're close enough that i wouldn't notice the difference if i didn't hear them one after the other. the tiny bit of difference between them seems to be "just enough" that they can be considered different set, for merchandising reasons. it's like the big muffs and the sometimes miniscule difference between two different versions- you struggle to tell the difference, yet people HAVE to have both versions, thus selling more product and (now) cutting hetfield a piece of the pie.
I like the hetset to me they are just more dynamic. I do like the 81s but I guess it all just comes down to preference both of them or a W in my opinion
@@mercatorjubio3804 agreed. But I've always favored low-wind passive PAFs with covers, where the cover adds a little bit of natural compression Vs. uncovered, yet you still have a "woodier" tone, where the natural sound of the guitar comes through with a lot of dynamics retained. I'm new to thinking about active pickups as a possible route for a live guitar...so for someone who isn't just playing modern Metal of some kind in sub-genre...the Hetset is kind of intriguing (though still a bit higher wind/w a larger set of magnets than I'm used to). They remind of Gibson 498T (which are very underrated for a higher gain pickup).
Is there any way to get a small visual comparison in the form of a graph maybe even showing multiple aspects like output/distortion and possibly some sort of eq? Not sure how you would do it but I imagine people such as yourself could do it. That would be like ultimate. Also I never get enough of those first few heavy riffs. Thank you.
*Clean tones… definitely the Het set. I could hear the natural sounds of the strings. 🏆 High gain has to go to the classic 81 cuz the lower end just sounds more refined and tighter. The Het sounds kind of like a hot PAF pickup. Hey demo comparison!*
Both sets are basic 81/85, the kfk has an extra afterburner boost switch, that if you want you dont install, and the zakk wylde set its same basic set, with long shaft pots designed for les paul style guitars that have a thicker body...
The JHs sound great & very similar to the 81. Not worth $250 imo if you already have a 81 on your guitar. I feel like most people tell themselves the JHs sound better just because they are a “signature set”
Can you do a comparison between EMG 81 (bridge) + EMG 60 (Neck) Vs EMG HET SET both bridge and Neck. Im trying to buy one of them but cant find a solution and since you do it right away without talking
I put the ZW set in my explorer almost 15 years ago and still love the crunchy sound for riffs of the 81 and the warm and full sound of 85 for clean sections
JH sounds massive on distortion. But it sounds too twangy in clean settings, i think someday i'll be getting some Duncans. I have the 81/85 set and it sounds too dull for me. Maybe it is the mahogany body, i don't know, but surely i know that 81/85 sounds too much bassy for me.
Dude i wont lie, if you want a rippn set of pick ups, Willie Adlers Fishmen set is amazing lol i got them a month ago and i cant get close to that sound and i have the 81/85 and a blackout in different guitars. Those pickups are way under ratted!
Emg 81 sounds just good, no more, no less. It's like modren metal (and by this i mean metal music from second half of 80s to nowadays, lol) standart guitar sound. It works perfect, and at the same time it's kinda boring (considering how many other good pickups from other companies available now), this pickup is like everywhere. In this comparison JH pickup sounds warmer and delicate. Seems like It doesn't have that modern metal agression and clarity we used to hear from emgs, it has kinda 'hardcore punk and rock'n'roll and all on 11' vibe to it. It doesn't sounds heavy or agressive. To me, it sounds massive, badass and angry, and slightly more oldschool, lol!
Thanks for your words, Artem!! I'm still trying to get Fishmans, so I hope to get them along this year and make the proper comparisons. I'll probably need to make new exclusive types of comparisons for them because of the different voicing modes they have. Hope to get them the sooner I can, :)
I have the Willie Adlers fishmen set and man they are from another world. The tone is mean and the push pull is rad! I fell in love fast! They are shredders!! :)
jh set has more mids and little bit of highs , more than emg 81... i had 81 and 85 for 10 years...now i prefer JH SET WITH MY TUBE AMP. Depends on your AMP , TUBES ( NOS or NEW CHINESE SHIT ) , and SPEAKERS....and of course your EQ AND PLAYING
Het set has warmer and dynamic cleans but sounds muddier with distortion compared to 81. Definetly has some flubby low end frequency that I would eq out. Hetfield is my hero but Im not buying this best of both worlds nonsense.
La différence n'est pas flagrante, à la limite sur le clair, mais sur la disto rien de plus , j'ai un set EMG 81 et 85, c'est la même patate, attention au marketing..., mais là au vue de cette vidéo et d'autres, pas de différences, par contre ceux qui veulent faire évoluer les micros de leur guitare allez y les yeux fermés, ces micros sont des avions de chasse.
Clean both pickups sound way too thin and lack character. I played EMGs 20 years ago and I'm waiting for the right set to come back. As I see I still have to wait.:)
now this is how you do a review.
no fucking backing tracks, no post compression, or heavy eq.
when you do a review of a product, i want to hear the god damned product, not the "production techniques" you learned in your on-line pro tools class.
ive been using the 81 for 30 years, in many, many guitars.
i have used boogies most of my life, and the 81 just seems to live for that amp, have moved on to a 5153, and the 81 seems just a little biting.
that great roundness of the het set, i think, is a perfect match for the evh.
thanks to this real review, i am going to put a het set in my explorer.
emg should send you a couple of bucks...
Theres loads of compression. Wtf u talkin bout. You can hear it at the beginning of every riff. Thats what makes these demos suck.
Mike, all the videos you make with this kind of comparison are great, much better than others on ytb. Thank you for your effort on them
Thank you for your support!!!
verdade mano.
Het Set sounds a lot more dynamic clean, but is a bit muddy and flabby with distortion. The 81s, like people are always saying, sound a little sterile clean but are so tight and punchy with some gain. Will be going with an 81/60 set. Thanks for the comparison.
I’ve got both sets and I’ve gotta say I like the het set better. There’s more punch. However, the het set is in my Gibson LP and the 81/60 is in my ESP eclipse. I’m gonna do a swap out for fun.
The 81 wins to my ear.
And I'm glad to discover that.
I have an explorer with emg 81 and 85s that I thought about swapping out for jh het set
I won't do that now after seeing this video
is it epiphone 1984 explorer or a gibson ??
I have both. Jh emg has so much more power for metal!!!!
Yeah dont waste your money. The 81 is great.
@@guitarstalkandtech9085 the 81s are have more metal versatility. The het set was designed to and for James hetfield’s request and down picking style. They are basically active passive pickups, if you are considering these, just get a set of painkillers instead.
Well it seems like the JH is so hot like the Seymour Duncan Blackouts that you can hear it clipping and sometimes turning down the guitar volume or amp gain won’t change that, but it’s also the price which is why I didn’t buy it either; they’re supposed to sound more passive though and I suppose the poles on the bottom help.
Incredible comparison. Exactly what a true comparison should be. *SUBSCRIBED.*
Thank you so much!!! :)
Why nobody talks about the riffs in da video? All of them is so sick man
Thank you so much!! :D
Yes exactly, Mike is killin it!! 🤘🏻🔥
Yes indeed! These riffs are great!
If u like major scales
@@mikestamper hey man ik this has been a long time since u made this comment but could we get a list of the riff names?? There insanely great and I would love to play those riffs
JH sounds great but comparing the chugs at 3:31-3:32 (81) and 3:43-3:44 (JH), I think the 81 takes it. The JH does sound fuller, but listening carefully with studio cans, a lot of that extra low end is a tad boomy and muddy to my ear and would probably end up get clipped out of a mix. The gallop at 3:55-3:57 (81) vs. 4:07-4:08 (JH) sounds so much crisper and clearer with the 81; the JH sounds congested by comparison. Amazing demo as always and fantastic, tight riffage. These videos are so well done and have saved me a ton of cash, first with the Fishmans and now the JH. Thanks!
Yeah listen to what's up!
To really make the JH shine, lower it from the strings a bit, lower the bass frequency to clean it up and back off a bit on the distortion, set the highs to taste according to your amp...pure heaven!
To make the Het Set shine, do the opposite - which is what James does. 18V and the regular distance from the strings. The "dig" that you get from a hard percussive pick is gold. If you want something less, just drop the guitar volume to 9 or less. And there in lies the rub. For those classic Metallica tracks like Master and Battery, James used Seymour Duncan Invaders - tons of output and a big kick in the preamp's ass. To get EMG's at the same level you're looking at 18 volts and still a handful of chunk from the picking hand.
If you run them at 9V and expect that "chunk" be prepared for disappointment or to run a pussybox (tubescreamer or similar) in front of your amp.
🤣 for classic Metallica, put an 81 in it. To each his own. My experience with these pickups is exactly as I stated. 🤘😉
@@downandloud That's because it's what James used back in the day. I find that it's a great pickup for doing Metal and just Metal.
Personally, although I love playing stuff that challenges me physically and technically like some metal songs, I prefer something that's a little more well rounded but can beat an 81 at its own game and for me the Het Set at 18V does just that.
The 81's at 9V sound great but at 18V they sound like you're running a compressor on the first pedal on your signal path. You may like that and if you do, that's great. I hate it and try and stay away from anything that compresses the signal. If I hit the strings harder I want to hear that come through the amp. If it's compressed that ain't gonna happen.
You can run both pickups at 27V but the 81's sound like ass and the Het Set gets the compression I don't like. A similar compression that my 35W Mesa Mark 5's get when the gain is turned past 12 o'clock. You start to lose dynamics and it goes to a boring NuMetal or "I can't really play so I'll crank the gain and smash the crap out of my mistakes" wall of mush.
You could say that I'm full of s##t but I guess Hetfield feels the same way otherwise he wouldn't have this pickup. A lot of the guys that grew up in the 70's and learned to play in the 80's seem to feel the same way. If you don't agree, that's fine. Life is to short to bitch about what others think. Do what you life and have lots of fun doing it.
@@Swampster70What? It increases headroom and adds more dynamic range..opens them up a bit. But it does nothing for the overall output. Also, the pussybox thing was slapping dude😅
James put the EMG's in AFTER Master of Puppet. Most of Master was done on the Kill Bon Jovi Jackson King V with Duncan Invaders. So it depends on your definition of classic. Kill, Ride, Master? All passive pickups. Justice onwards, active.
They truly are indicative of his sound past and present.
This is the type of pickup comparison I've been looking for thank you. It made my decision, I'm getting the Het Set. I love how clear it is!
GOLDEN channel. All the comparisons of pickups on other channels suck. Your ones give the best representation of how pickups really sound.
Great video, can’t express the convenience you’ve brought to my decision making.. they both imho sound the same but the het set has more “noise” like a minuscule added amount of reverb/presence. Funny enough I’m actually hunting the tone of Mf era megadeth so thinking I prefer the 81 for its overall tighter pronounced sound. Both are amazing though..
1:50 Damn! I always play that stuff and the like when I'm bored. Sounds great and requires no effort.
The HET set is so much more tighter sounding warmer and clearer. I’m an ESP 81 player and the HET set will be going in my guitars. The HET’S are great sounding, but so are the 81’s. I think the HET’s have a better balance. Very good comparison video. Thank you for posting it.
Het set is not tighter :DDD do you have even ears??? Bro
@@Gopnikkgb When you A/B them through an amp and not via the wonders of UA-cam compression, the HetSet has less of a pokey sound and is a little tighter for the mids and top end. The HetSet also fill in the bottom end that the 81's lack.
But the main thing is how much gain you run. I'm like James with regards that my Mesa preamp knob will likely never go past 12 o;clock or half way. That really alters the tone in more ways that you'd expect, moreso that swapping pickups. Too much gain kills the dynamics and unnecessarily flubs things up. Most people try at fix this situation by making matters even worse and chucking a Tube Screamer infront of the amp to try and reduce the flub but further jack up the top end.
@@GopnikkgbI’ve owned both and always go back to the het set. I’ve even had the 81x and the het set is better. On UA-cam I prefer the sound of the 81 but in person it’s not as good. To me anyway
Overall I preferred the 81. I found it tight on the distortion stuff. Even on the cleans I liked the 81 best. The Het sounded almost single coil. I think the 81 gets a bad rap for cleans, I had my EMG guitar at rehearsal tonight & was quite impressed with the cleans.
Wild! In some of the clean sections, I worried the Het Set sounded too thin, but in other sections it softened up and added bass back. Seemed to be dependent on how hard you played. Very cool!
Dynamics shmymamics! 81/85 FTW. If I want the “dynamics” of a passive pickup, then I’ll play one of my guitars with passive pickups. If I wanna lay down the hate proper , I’ll stick with my 81/85’s. Plus I’ve got a guitar with 81/60’s , which is close enough to the Hetset with a bit of amp and pedal tweaking. Color me metal, but 81/85 still hard to beat. If I bought a guitar already equipped with the Hetset, I wouldn’t rip em out. Just prefer 81/85’s blistering sound. I know not everyone is a fan of that brittle glassy tone. But they can be tamed if you know what you are doing. And if you don’t like the cleans, get an 89R splittable. You’ll shit your pants. Hetset is not awful by any stretch. I just like the 81/85’s. Call me old fashioned.🤘🏻
absolutely true
"Dynamics" is just another dumbass buzzword, just like "warmth", "glue" or "sterile". People are just parroting stuff they read on the internet without knowing what the fuck they're talking about. Dynamics my ass. Playing heavy music with insane distortion and talking about dynamics, get the fuck outta here.
Best comparison videos on YT.
Overdriven solo parts: 81's sound tinny compressed just a little bit bit-crushed, borderline synthetic compared to the het-set.
Rhythm and crunch: the two pickups are more evenly matched with the het-set having more bass and sounding a bit less brittle.
Clean: Het-set has way more dynamics.
Conclusion: Tone is 5% pickups, 10% amp and 85% players hands.:)
I agree but that is probably just the fault of amp settings. Most mid boost circuits compress the shit out of overdrive channel so if your pups are noisier they`ll be tinnier too unless you dial back the gain or treble or both which is easy as pie. If you know your amp and you know what you like your all set.
Pretty surprised i must say! I was about to get the Het Set for my Gibson custom and replace the 81-85 set but i think i will stick with them!
Great, really helpful video man, thanks a lot!
Replace the 81/85. I had them in my Standard, they had no change against the hetset.
The 81/85 is much to rough, the HetSet works better in the Les Paul.
@@tubeaddicted485 hm, interesting i will give them a chance! thanks buddy!
@@serenitybroken Did you go wit Het Set?
@@richt87 yeah,several months ago but i sent them back and sticked with my 81/85 combo. They simply didn’t have that tight low end. They were great pickups but very much to the “passive” side, if you know what i mean. I can’t live without the low end tightness. My first impression on the video was right for me and my taste :)
@@serenitybroken Thanks I might just put 81 in my LP stock Epiphone are okish
I bought a used LP standard that came with EMG Het Set installed. Normally I would have run away, but the deal was too good to pass up. AT FIRST I was shocked at how horrible they sounded despite being installed according to specs. I realized they were so powerful they were clipping my effects board. Long story short... I lowered the pickups drastically, lowered the input sensitivity on the effects board and now the EMG het set lives up to their promise of passive clarity, AND aggression one would come to expect from EMGs. Next I will try 18V Mod and see what that accomplishes, I've heard good things.
Had the exact same problem, and came to the exact same solutions 🤘🏼
I have a set of Het's in my 84 Explorer and am happy with them. My tone is in my hands...
many of these riffs are so fire
I prefer the het set. I dont think it would matter enough to swap in context of a band. I would not change a 81 for it but if I was choosing between the 2 I'd go het.
The growl on the JH is insane. Also has great string separation, though the 81 never has imo so tough comparison
cool comparisons. you can tell where the music comes from 1:23
The 81 is tighter and more focused compared to the JH. Not really surprising since JH wanted an active sound but with the dynamics of a passive pickup. So basically, if I wanted to have a slightly more versatile sound, I´d go for the Het set, but if thrash metal riffing is all I´m doing on that guitar, then I´d just go for the 81s. As far as EMG´s are concerned anyways.
You will never dial you amp the same for different guitars and pickups. Least I don’t. I like both. Great video. 🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘
The cleans to me sounds more top heavy and maybe a little less compressed and less bottom boom than the 81, and the distorted sounds have a sharper almost definitive pick attack
I think EMG 81 takes the cake here
for really tight riffing, definitely
I have an ec-50 LTD with the het set,and I have a jh-600 which has the EMG 81,which I am glad to have,but I hate khaler bridges,so I could just swap if I wanted to, because I am more into metallica than slayer anyway both fun bands to play on guitar,most of metallica's albums didn't have the het set which sounds great too don't get me wrong,I'm glad to have the 81 if I want a more classic sound 🤘 true fan of James Hetfield and EMG here
Tight playing. Great comparisons, exactly what i was looking for
Ok...I've just subbed. I went on your channel to see if you had other pickups comparisons. There are a lot! And I bet you'll keep them coming. Underrated channel dude. You really are by far the "to go to guy" for pickups comparisons. Very nice, very well done pickups comparisons. Plus all of the other content! Am I ever glad to have accidentally ended up here!
Hope you enjoy and find these videos useful! Be welcome! :)
Great Great Video!! The BEST side by side comparison!!!!
Wow Mike this really is great - can't wait for some others. Thanks for the great work! EMG should pay you to do this!
Thank you for your words, my friend!! :)
The Het Set is great but IMO the EMG 81 is better. The Het Set under gain is "drastically" distorted while the EMG 81 has a great distortion tone, etc...
I have guitars with both setups and the Het Set is just trying to be, while the EMG 81 actually is great, if that makes sense? lol
Need to compare EMG JH Het Set vs Seymour Duncan Livewire
Thanks man! I like how they sound clean!
more pick ups video please! liked, subscribed and turned on notification!
Thanks and be welcome!!! :)
Nice comparison, thanks dude.
so, if i had the $$$, i'd have a setup with 81 & 85, another with the het set. if i were to choose one, i would choose the 81 & 85 setup. the het's are awesome, but their sound is more scooped with less bass (to my ears), but just barely. now i'm curious to look up when he worked with emg to develop the het set. before i found out about the het set, i thought he was still using the 81 & 85 setup. I guess they're close enough that i wouldn't notice the difference if i didn't hear them one after the other.
the tiny bit of difference between them seems to be "just enough" that they can be considered different set, for merchandising reasons. it's like the big muffs and the sometimes miniscule difference between two different versions- you struggle to tell the difference, yet people HAVE to have both versions, thus selling more product and (now) cutting hetfield a piece of the pie.
Please compare: EMG 81 VS Bone breakers. And Het set vs Bone breakers.
Well made and helpful video thanks 👍
I like the hetset to me they are just more dynamic. I do like the 81s but I guess it all just comes down to preference both of them or a W in my opinion
Awesome. Can you do an EMG 81 vs EMG Daemenom?
@3:43 The fast rhythm chops do get smeared on the HET.
The 81s just sound better all around to my ears. The lack of dynamics is the only bad part of an 81.
One thing that stands out here is the Het set is less brittle/fatiguing in the high end.
The compression is what many players actually seek in the 81.
On man's thrash is the other man's treasure.
@@mercatorjubio3804 agreed. But I've always favored low-wind passive PAFs with covers, where the cover adds a little bit of natural compression Vs. uncovered, yet you still have a "woodier" tone, where the natural sound of the guitar comes through with a lot of dynamics retained. I'm new to thinking about active pickups as a possible route for a live guitar...so for someone who isn't just playing modern Metal of some kind in sub-genre...the Hetset is kind of intriguing (though still a bit higher wind/w a larger set of magnets than I'm used to). They remind of Gibson 498T (which are very underrated for a higher gain pickup).
Is there any way to get a small visual comparison in the form of a graph maybe even showing multiple aspects like output/distortion and possibly some sort of eq? Not sure how you would do it but I imagine people such as yourself could do it. That would be like ultimate. Also I never get enough of those first few heavy riffs. Thank you.
Thanks for these great videos
Thank you for coming and hope you find them useful! :)
@@mikestamper they are !
81 much better, more tight, great sound man !!
Of course they will sound totally different when you dial the amp in to the best with each pickup.
If your riffage is tight! The Het Set!
The Het set is a bit more melodic to my sound and I liked the cleans better. But under heavy with distortion, Low E chugging, the 81 is unmatched.
great comparision!
There's a slight difference to my ears but neither is better than the other imo, so my vote goes to the 81 for price alone.
*Clean tones… definitely the Het set. I could hear the natural sounds of the strings. 🏆 High gain has to go to the classic 81 cuz the lower end just sounds more refined and tighter. The Het sounds kind of like a hot PAF pickup. Hey demo comparison!*
There both the same cause james uses 81 60 i believe depending on the position you put the pick up on bridge or neck
i remember when i switched from 81 to het set, i thought the het set sounded way better in real life and still do
I love EMG's !!! I've got 5 guitars out of 24 that have them.... These aren't worth the price imo…. If the price comes down.. I'll get a set or two..
Which active pickups you think worth?
@@shyganlegend3040 85/89's are excellent or even the good old 81/60 set are the go...
It's so close. The 81's seem a little bit brighter on clean tones. Distorted... It's REALLY close.
Het очень мощные, немного убавьте volume и будет вам счастье.
Интересно их послушать в пониженых строях на толстых струнах.
Dude what is the difference in 81/85 set of Kerry King (KFK) and 81/85 set of Zakk Wylde (ZW) is it just a name or what? Any difference?
I think Kerry king has those tone pots that put more output and Zakk Wylde is basic
Both sets are basic 81/85, the kfk has an extra afterburner boost switch, that if you want you dont install, and the zakk wylde set its same basic set, with long shaft pots designed for les paul style guitars that have a thicker body...
To my ear they sound pretty identical.the JH set might be a bit brighter, maybe more mids. Voices a tiny different to the 81's he used to use.
I think the get set has a slightly nicer clean but they do sound very similar with gain
The JHs sound great & very similar to the 81. Not worth $250 imo if you already have a 81 on your guitar. I feel like most people tell themselves the JHs sound better just because they are a “signature set”
Do you have a video of the Daemonums? Thanks🤘
Can you do a comparison between EMG 81 (bridge) + EMG 60 (Neck) Vs EMG HET SET both bridge and Neck. Im trying to buy one of them but cant find a solution and since you do it right away without talking
I love u Mike
my local luthier told me the pickups on video don't sound true to the real thing, can anyone attest?
Is it me or is the 81 warmer clean and distorted the hetset a little more chugga?
EMG 81 for solo runs. EMG JH HET for chugging. Enuff said.
81 for me !
3:07 what riff is that
Any chance you can do the EMG 81 vs Zakk Wylde 81?
Hi! Both are the same pickup. Zakk Wylde set is just the 81-85 pair set.
The Zakk Wylde "set" is basically just a regular 81 and 85
I put the ZW set in my explorer almost 15 years ago and still love the crunchy sound for riffs of the 81 and the warm and full sound of 85 for clean sections
81 are Ceramic JH sound like alnico?
To my ears, EMG 81 is more versatile than EMG JH.
I agree
I love my Het Set!
Yeah I have both. Jh have alot of power in the pickups. The original 81/85 are nice also but can be kind of dull for cleans
Is this with both Neck & Bridge on or?
JH sounds massive on distortion. But it sounds too twangy in clean settings, i think someday i'll be getting some Duncans. I have the 81/85 set and it sounds too dull for me. Maybe it is the mahogany body, i don't know, but surely i know that 81/85 sounds too much bassy for me.
I thought the Het Set sounded twangy too. That's weird because I was under the impression they were supposed to be like 81/60 on steroids....
Dude i wont lie, if you want a rippn set of pick ups, Willie Adlers Fishmen set is amazing lol i got them a month ago and i cant get close to that sound and i have the 81/85 and a blackout in different guitars. Those pickups are way under ratted!
Emg 81 sounds just good, no more, no less. It's like modren metal (and by this i mean metal music from second half of 80s to nowadays, lol) standart guitar sound. It works perfect, and at the same time it's kinda boring (considering how many other good pickups from other companies available now), this pickup is like everywhere. In this comparison JH pickup sounds warmer and delicate. Seems like It doesn't have that modern metal agression and clarity we used to hear from emgs, it has kinda 'hardcore punk and rock'n'roll and all on 11' vibe to it. It doesn't sounds heavy or agressive. To me, it sounds massive, badass and angry, and slightly more oldschool, lol!
Again, the EMG81 has way more Warmth and Body. EMG81 Wins to me clearly
Hi great vid, which pedal are you using on minute 3:09?
81
Emg 81 is still the best bridge active pickup.
Great playing and riffs. JH for the win. 10% better
Actually like the 81 better
1:22
one hell of a riff
I think both sound cool but 81 feels kinda stronger as always.)
Thanks for what u do, Mike!
And please compare 81 with Fishman)
Thanks for your words, Artem!! I'm still trying to get Fishmans, so I hope to get them along this year and make the proper comparisons. I'll probably need to make new exclusive types of comparisons for them because of the different voicing modes they have. Hope to get them the sooner I can, :)
Can’t wait for it mate!😉
I have the Willie Adlers fishmen set and man they are from another world. The tone is mean and the push pull is rad! I fell in love fast! They are shredders!! :)
Becarfull where u buy emg loaded pick guard. They make in china
jh set has more mids and little bit of highs , more than emg 81... i had 81 and 85 for 10 years...now i prefer JH SET WITH MY TUBE AMP. Depends on your AMP , TUBES ( NOS or NEW CHINESE SHIT ) , and SPEAKERS....and of course your EQ AND PLAYING
81 wins
Shocked to say....35 year old pup just destroyed the modern Het Set. At least in my opinion.
81 win
jh sound twangy af
Don't put more compressors in your pickup comparisons... or adjust the comp/limiter well, because it is constantly going up and down in volume.!!!
81 более скомпрессирован, het динамичнее.
Het set has warmer and dynamic cleans but sounds muddier with distortion compared to 81. Definetly has some flubby low end frequency that I would eq out. Hetfield is my hero but Im not buying this best of both worlds nonsense.
La différence n'est pas flagrante, à la limite sur le clair, mais sur la disto rien de plus , j'ai un set EMG 81 et 85, c'est la même patate, attention au marketing..., mais là au vue de cette vidéo et d'autres, pas de différences, par contre ceux qui veulent faire évoluer les micros de leur guitare allez y les yeux fermés, ces micros sont des avions de chasse.
Clean both pickups sound way too thin and lack character. I played EMGs 20 years ago and I'm waiting for the right set to come back. As I see I still have to wait.:)
For me the het set is batter
hahaha the good old 81 sounds better both clean and distorted