NGD but....

[Dr.Pain]

I got a new guitar today, an ESP Ltd H-351. 

I don't have a good pic of it yet but found this, only difference is this pic is a little darker than what it should be.  It's got EMG 81/85 which I could compare to the c-pig I have in my 7 string.

The but in the title is... The EMG's sounded better than the c-pig with my current amp.  :(  I was going to try an aftermath in the 7 but I found a set of Seymour Duncan black outs which are a lot cheaper than an aftermath set.  My budget is tight and the difference between the pups is something I don't think I can stand for too long.

The guitar is nice for the budget minded like me. plays and feels nice and maybe one day I'll say "enough EMG's!" and put some nice BKP's in it.

[Ian Price]

Nice looking guitar.

My thoughts on this are that you will be effectively wasting money on buying the SDs if you are going to replace them with BKPs later. I've done this sort of nonsense a few times and the only place it gets you to is losing money. Best to keep your money and wait until you have enough to get the BKPs - keep an eye on seconds out, eBay etc just in case that any come up for sale!

[gordiji]

fine looking guitar, have fun.

[Telerocker]

Very nice guitar! Congrats!

[MDV]

Pretty guitar.

I'd leave the EMGs in. If you like em (as I do), why change it?

[HTH AMPS]

EMGs are great for metal, I don't get the hate towards them - loads of bands have recording fu*cking crushing tones with the 81.

[viking]

The but in the title is... The EMG's sounded better than the c-pig with my current amp.   

    I don't see the problem  :?.If you like the EMG's (or the SD's) better,just keep them & enjoy !

[Philly Q]

Yep, if you like the EMGs, keep 'em. 

Or are you saying you're not happy with the C-Pig in your seven-string, so you want to replace that with the Blackouts?

[Dr.Pain]

Sorry I should have been clearer in my first post.  I'm not happy with the c-pig in my 7 string.  It was a gamble that didn't pay off.  I was aware that a c-pig in a neck through V shaped 7 string could be too dark so I took the chance and got one.  I play metal so lots of gain and scooped mids.  I can't find the sweet spot for tone with the c-pig but getting actives nailed it.  What sounds good with the c-pig sounds bloody awesome with the actives.

I like the EMG's so not changing them.  But I need to get my 7 string sorted out.  It's a BC Rich Jr V 7.  Nice guitar, well made and plays great.  But it's pups are ordinary, BC Rich BDSM pups.  I tried a c-pig and it's not working for me. An aftermath would work but also blackouts would too.  So I'll try some blackouts as they'll give me what I want.

[Alex]

Maybe a 7-string Black Dog instead, as something different that will still do metal?  :D

BTW i don't get all the EMG hate on the web anyway. I always liked them and felt they had a their signature, percussive sound.

[Philly Q]

BTW i don't get all the EMG hate on the web anyway. I always liked them and felt they had a their signature, percussive sound.

What they do, they do really well, but they lack "personality" somehow.  Or rather, they have personality but it's too one-dimensional (IMO).

I once made the massively stupid mistake of selling a really good guitar just because I got pissed off with the EMGs I'd put in it.  

:x  :(

[Telerocker]

Personally I find them a bit sterile for the styles I play. That doesn't mean EMG's can't deliver the goodies. In downtuned guitars and for all kind of metal-styles they apparently do a good job. And of course, everything is a matter of taste too.

[Dr.Pain]

I can see why they've been called sterile now.  For anything clean or a little dirty they lack warmth but I don't use them for that.  They sound friggin' sweet with distortion and I even managed to find a decent sound in my old metal zone pedal.

The c-pig beats them for output.  Near blew myself out of the room when I plugged the pig in.  I will change it out though as I want the pick up response actives give for my 7 string.  Have to go SD as EMG wont fit.

This sums it up best what I'm after.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBWmzEObxTU&feature=related

[Dr.Pain]

The only complaint I have about my new guitar is the lack of setup.  I've had to loosen the truss rod a lot on this and it's the first time I've ever had one so bad.  Top 3 strings were fretting out at 4,5 and 6.  So over two turns to loosen it and raising the bridge sorted it.  Other than that it's nice and I can't fault it.

[MDV]

81 cleans are pants. 85 cleans are tolerable in the bridge, Ok in the neck. The 60 in the neck is my all time favourite clean and 81 bridge my go-to high gain sound these days. I still have BKs, and enjoy certain things about them rather a lot, but for my bread and butter metal rhythm sound, I like the 81 for various reasons that I shant bother going into any further.

As far as blackouts go...this was done with ABH1 7 strings, in A in an RGD somethingorother (it was a 'prestige' model). Its worth noting that blackouts arent as tight or clear as 81s, and are a LOT hotter and fair bit mushier; I A/Bd the guitar this was recorded with against my 81 equiped guitars, and even though mine are normally in drop B and strung 12-56 on 25.5, and this guitar was drop A, 12-64, 26.5", detuning the 81s to drop A still yielded a tighter sound. Some parts of the clip are faster, played by a massive fear factory fan, and may be of interest to you.

http://soundcloud.com/mdv/rooted-seek-solace-in-ruin

Meanwhile this is an 81 through a similar setup. Different treatment and tonal objectives for the tracks render direct comparison a little problematic, but much of the difference between the tones is the difference between the guitars; it was the same amp and cab, quite similar micing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5b0XUmzah0