EMG HOT 70 RETRO ACTIVE vs EMG 81 - Bridge Pickup Guitar Tone Comparison Demo
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- Опубліковано 12 вер 2024
- Clean and distorted rhythm comparison between EMG Retro Active Hot 70 (active) and EMG 81 (active) pickups for electric guitar on the bridge position. Settings are the following:
GUITAR
Tuning: Eь / D#
Strings: D'Addario EXL140 (010-052 gauge)
AMP
Clean: EVH 5150 III profile (Kemper Profiler)
Distortion: EVH 5150 profile (Kemper Profiler)
RECORDING TECHNIQUE:
- One centered mono track per pickup.
- Same config and EQ for both.
EMG official website:
www.emgpickups...
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00:23 Clean test
03:06 Distortion test
#pickups #comparison #guitar
This dude is a legend because of how many pickups comparisons he has done. Thanks for the hard work switching pickups and stuff man. I really like the clean stuff played and how the same stuff it played so you could remember other tones from other videos easier. Plus there is no talking and it's straight to pickup demos in these videos.🤘🏻
That's totally the intention. Hope you enjoy these videos!! Thank you so much for your words! :)
The Hot 70 bridge pickup is actually the Super 77 bridge pickup. There are two double-humbucker designs, the Fat 55 and Super 77. The Hot 70 mixes the bridge pickup from the Super 77 with the neck pickup from the Fat 55 to create something like the JB/Jazz combo.
Huh, I didn't know that. I have the Hot 70s in one of my guitars. So it's really a Super 77/Fat 55 set then.
Interesting. Thank you for sharing that info. Love those pickups btw.
@@raytorvalds3699yep the spec sheets confirm it
Weird but preferred the 81 for clean but the 70 for distortion 🤔
Great comparison! The Hot 70 sounds way better to my ears. Voiced similarly to the 81 but no mid scoop, a bit lower output, and the note clarity is much better. Maybe not worth the $200 for the set if you already have an 81, but definitely worth switching to EMG from passives.
To me the hot 70s is 100% worth swapping in over an 81/85 set. To my ears they are better tonally in every way.
The 81 is all mids lol... Mid scoop my ass
@@timbuk1126 I swear I never understood what people mean when they call the 81 mid-scooped. The 81 sounds "sterile" because it's all mids, and it's also why it's probably one of the best pickups for cutting through a mix.
Honestly when I hear people say the 81 is mid-scooped, I assume they're tone deaf lol.
I have an 81/85 with solderless quick connect system. Can I throw a retro active in the bridge and leave the 85 in?
@Frenchy Fearless yes? why couldn't you?
Got the Retro-Active set today. Absolutely floored. So impressed by these things. They're fat and tight at the same time and just ooze tone and attitude. It almost reminds me a bit of the Super Distortion/Super 2 combo - but tighter, cleaner and more powerful. Might be my favorite EMG set together with the 57/66.
You mean 57/66tw…waaaay cooler
I got the 57/66 and they are the best pups I’ve played, and of course I have a guitar with 81/60 and it’s dope as well. I’m looking to activate another guitar and go with the 77s 🫠
The 81 sounds so much better to my ears. Ballsier on the rhythm, smoother on the highs, even the cleans were better- As much as I hate to admit it, EMG 81 is maybe the greatest pickup ever made.
I also hate to admit it.... But at the same time have Emg 81/85 in six of my guitars.
JH Bridge is ok.
The Dave Mustaine Live Wire set from Seymour Duncan is great too.
I have to agree. If you know how to actually tweak your amp you can get any tone you want from the 81. For cleans, I like putting on a capo and the 81 sounds gorgeous like that
The 81 is super compressed. Tight. The Retroactive is looser and open. For my tastes the Retroactive Hot 70s are what I've been looking for.
I've used both in the studio for over a decade. Just through my studio and recording experience, I'd say the 70s are overall better. But the 70 for rhythms( cleans and distorted) and the 81 for leads/solos. I will say the 81 compared to an 81X, the 81X has slightly less compression and a bit more headroom but this is all just from a high gain recording standpoint...I love EMGs
I really love the clean sound of the retro pickup. Also love that midrange punch in the heavy overdrive. The 81 sounds good too though don’t get me wrong.
Can totally hear the diffrence, really good comparison dude.
I feel the hot 70s on clean break up or slightly distort more and the 81s are a bit cleaner and more compressed.
70s sound better distorted imo but both sound good.
Harley Benton do a strat with a roasted Maple Neck, 24 stainless steel frets, hipshot style hardtail and EMG70s for £400.
Best comparison video I've seen anyway and great variety of playing. ❤️🔥❤️🔥
These comparisons are great... Picked up a HB Amarok 7-string recently with the hot 70 set.
Best €599 guitar I ever owned. Needed nothing, where I usually replace tuners, bridges, electronics...
Just a light setup and hours of songwriting ensued. Stainless steel frets as well, imagine.
Been enamored with actives since SD Blackouts and the 70's are quite unique.
Neck sounds nicely rounded with sustain for days.
The bridge yields as tight of a chug as I've ever experienced on a 7-string in standard tuning.
All-in-all it's one of those axes you can't help but pick up whenever possible.
@@frankdiehl8749thats 100% true got my Amarok 7 this week and it is great. The only thing i did was adjusting the string and pickup height (low action) and it was done. Normally you would have to pay over 1000€ for this kind of guitar.
@@LittleHenry90 Glad you like it! Matter of fact, the last time I bought a brand new guitar must have been about 20yrs or so. Since I can do all the work, I just get 'm used, mostly at ridiculous prices. If I like it for some reason, and the neck isn't warped or it has some other glaring faults like popped frets or something, I buy it. My most used guitars are Yamaha Pac. and cheap Squires(have one with a single bridge SD blackout).
Since a week or two my Amarok 7 gets all the attention. Since done some fret-end dressing on it(I wouldn't expect that to be even 50% there with that budget), and it's such an effortless player. After a while regular 6-strings feel comical to play...
they have same characters, differences are just like you make a same pickup active of passive. they both sound great and they both are great for playing metal.
The 70 has less low end, and is therefore less muddy under distortion. I think it works best as a metal rhythm tone. I prefer the 81s for cleans and leads.
I feel like the 81 has more of a 250-500 hz “woof” to the sound that I quite like. The hot 70 seems a bit harsh on the upper mid 1k-2k regions.
I agree that the upper mids are a bit harsh, but you actually want a bit of poke in the 1k-2k range to cut through a mix
This is why guitar Jesus makes EQs..
Mike Stamper: I wish I had the guitar tabs for your testing tunes, im digging on them!
Hi!! Nice to know you like them! But sorry to say that I have no tabs :( I never used to tab my songs, but I can tell you they are so easy to guess by ear. Put your guitar in Eb tuning and reduce video speed, and you'll end up learning them. They are not hard at all, I promise! :)
81 wins for me. I play fast palm muted rhythm stuff and all that upper mid grind with the hot 70 would make it sound like noise. If your palm mutes don't exceed 8th note chugs then you can get away with a grindier pickup but anything faster you might want a smoother tone like the 81 so the actual notes come across.
From the top to the bottom right on the top I stop with the 81 but at the core of forgotten is the hot 70. I feel the 81 has a fatter bottom and perkier more supple top end while the hot 70 has a more round midsection and signs of early onset diabetes. Compared to single coils both of these are humbuckers. Which really gives the tone 2 scoops of raisins without asking you to join a multilevel marketing scheme. Thanks for the video.
May I ask how much time this guy has put into pickups?? My word. He deserves an award
I have both pickups - 81s in three guitars and a hot 70 in one - both are killer but I'll always be an 81 guy for life
I know how he does these vids and it’s cool AF I mean idk for certain BUT I do know and have seen, people basically build a guitar (without) the guitar. He basically ties all his connections, switches, pots, pickups, caps, all together JUST like u would in a guitar. And so basically he can swap the PuPs and run a Loop through them. Which A.) makes his comparisons more accurate B.) he doesn’t have to play the riffs thru every time. So every comparison is literally perfect, human error removed, tone as top priority is achieved flawlessly
Emg Hot 70 sounds better for lead while the 81 sounds better for rhythm. I do a bit of both but imma get the hot 70 set first
81 is way better in my opinion. The Hot 70 is nasal and scratchy. The 81 is balanced and way ballsier. Going to be demoing a guitar tonight with Hot 70's in it for our shop so was glad to find this shoot out!
Always felt 81 has too much compression, making it sound plastic-like. This comparison really shows that.
Not a fan of the hot 70's cleans. Yikes. The 81's sounded a bit muddier in the cleans but the Hot 70 just sounded weak and thin. Overall, I think I'd stick the 81's myself.
81 is much tighter, but there's a certain appeal to the 70's
The Hot 70 is not as bright as perceived here, the tone is just set for very midrangey pickups (81, JB).
Just installed the Super 77 set in my Jackson after playing all sorts of passives exclusively and I must say first impressions are quite good. They have character under distortion and actually clean up with the volume knob.
The cleans are also very nicely compressed with arpeggios
I think it is clear:
Hot 70 for Distortion
81 for clean sounds.
In this context, I like the 81 much better. A comparison with a REAL distorted Tweed Deluxe and a clean Deluxe Reverb might be more interesting, or a real Plexi Marshall. That's the territory that these pickups are designed for.
TYSM Mike!
Thank you for coming!! :)
This is a great comparison video, no talk just straight to the facts and lists the details. I would like to see what style of guitar is being used, but that's just me being anal about sound. In any case, excellent, I'm stickin' around. Thanks Mike!
Sounds to me at least like they're both good. I feel like the 70 might work better in some mixes than the 81 and vice versa. Good time to be buying guitar gear!
81 wins, what a great pickup 👌
Both sound good and it was very close for me. If they cost the same I'd probably go with the 70 as it sounds a bit fuller when playing clean and warmer in some of the rhythm parts. However, there's a significant price difference between them which to me isn't justifiable given that the 81 sounded better in many of the riffs and even some of the clean licks. So, I'd go with the cheaper 81 any day.
Super helpful. Thank you.
This is great, I am big fan of the 81. But I have wondered about the HOT 70. To me the Hot 70 is more along the line of the Dmarzio Air Nortons. Still love your channel i recommend it a lot when people ask me What's this pickup sound like or which to choose from.
Thank you so much for the words, Jeff!! Hope its useful to all of you!! :)
More bite clarity and dynamic with the retros
3:06
3:18
3:31
3:43
EMG retro i like
Definitely prefer the 81s for the warmth in the clean tones and 70s for the tightness in the gain
Thank you!
Great one. To me 81 is better for especially on clear tones. There s A lot of definition on 81. But on the distorted signal i liked the hot 70 s
I compared my EMG Retro Active Hot 70's against some hot passive pickup's I got from Ebay for $30. With the cleans the EMG'S easily win. But with distortion their is not much if a difference. The EMG'S have more mid's and maybe a bit more clarity, but I was totally surprised. I can't believe that a $30 set are so close to the EMG set. The $30 set are in my Jackson JS22 dinky and the EMG'S are in my Harley Benton Amarok. I'm thinking of getting the HET set. But for the price, is it really worth it.?
Wich 30 set are you talking about?
@@nicopoppe4838 they're just called Yi-buy metal pickups. At least that's what u think they were called.
Tus videos son los mejores. ¿Cual es tu pastilla favorita para el puente y el brazo? Saludos desde México
Hola, ScarredPredator! Pues te diré que no tengo como tal una pastilla favorita, porque me gusta tener variedad tonal y en general ando cambiando de pastillas constantemente. Cada temporada me llama la atención un sonido diferente. la gran mayoría de las que analizo en este canal han pasado por mis manos un tiempo y las he disfrutado mucho mientras las he tenido.
Siempre las comparto por aquí porque considero que todos buscamos un sonido diferente, y creo que lo más sensato es sacar nuestras propias conclusiones respecto al sonido que buscamos en este momento (y digo en este momento porque dentro de un tiempo esas elecciones cambiarán completamente). Estos vídeos tienen un propósito de compararlas en un escenario muy específico y que es próximo a lo que yo desarrollo normalmente, pero has de intentar ver si pueden cubrir bien tu contexto concreto y tu sonido. Buena suerte con tu búsqueda! :)
Try and switch 81 and 85 where the 81 swaps with the 85 and versa. For some reason it was like really better sounding.
04:20 part
somehow it felt as if the 70 is a bit noisier and the 81 clearer in the clean comparisons? That's strange.
I'm getting a Harley Benton amarok 7 soon and with that I'm debating putting some fishman fluence moderns in there and taking the EMG 70s out of it. Listening to this video I definitely think I will well. The '70s are nice. I think the Fishman sound better
Both good, but 81 all day long given the choice.
The 81 once again
I may hear a little bit of JB on hot 70.
I could only really tell the difference with the clean’s but i think the 81 sounds better all around
i think the 81 sounds better for low gain playing but the Hot 70s have the mid bite that really cuts
I’m looking for a non cover 81, Hot 70 would be and better.
The 81 is better suited for thrash metal, nu-metal, and power metal, than the "Hot 70"!! It's easy to see why the 81, has been used by thrash metal bands, since the '80's!!
Muy bueno.... subscriptor nuevo
the retro active literally sounds like passive
Is the Hot 70 bridge the same as the Super 77 bridge?
Nope, they are different pickups! :) Hope to grab Super 77 and Fat 55 soon!
you should do a 9v vs 24v comparison
80s for clean 70s for dirty
I'm curious if there are any differences in sound between let's say a plastic covered EMG 81 and an EMG 81 with a metal cover.
I have black 85(plastic covered) and chrome 85(metal covered) i feel like the chrome 85 has stronger output, idk im not dig deeper on that, maybe im wrong
Are these the same PU as my Schecter Sun Valley????
Most likely yeah. I see Sun Valleys with the Hot 70 set a lot
70's have more harmonic tones especially when driven.
Does anyone know? Are the connectors the same on these two pups? Meaning can I swap them without soldering anything?
Yep. All active EMGs are interchangeable
The 81 eat it for breakfast
70´s sounds better....not so compressed like the 81
I think it's a Super 77.
EMG 81 better!
hot 70 sound nicer to me.