Metal Pickup Shootout! EMG 81 vs. Fishman Fluence Modern vs BKP Aftermath and more

[@Mr.Goldbar]

In my opinion. 1. Bare Knuckle Aftermath 2. Fishman Fluence Modern 3. Dimarzio Fusion Edge 4. Seymour Duncan JB Jazz 5. EMG 57 66 6. EMG 81

[@AkiraSpectrum]

Fantastic video, I really love the structure of your review process. Nice work!

[@MrJt1020]

There's no competition. The EMG 81s and Aftermaths are my all time favorite. I use the 81s in my Schecter. Working on a project guitar Ibanez Geo 6 right now, and you have helped me finalize my decision for those Bare Nuckles. Great video.

[@HighZ]

Sweet glad I could help!

[@user-gi6cz2mc3k]

Same until I heard the fishmans like a whole new parallel is opened with them lol

[@jamescranford2811]

To do pickup comparisons you have to use the same guitar. Pickups sound changes depending on the guitar they are in, wood type etcetera

[@sethride9042]

So what guitar do you think he should use?

[@chrisking6695]

@@sethride9042 The same guitar? Lol

[@sethride9042]

@@chrisking6695 oh your totally right!!that would be such a bitch to rewire that many times though😂😂😂

[@bjrnerik1768]

@@sethride9042 the same wood have mutch to say ,,,i love super 3 in my mahogany guitar but in my swamp ash guitar it would sound like a angle grinder i think =P And my 707 sounds good in my swamp ash but in mahogany i think the sound would sound traped in a box ,,my opinion

[@RELcproductions]

This video saved me allot of money. I thought about changing my stock fusion edge to the aftermaths but after hearing both of them i was extremely surprised! I couldn't find any noticable difference that convinced me to switch the stock pickups. Thanks allot, good job!

[@HighZ]

Happy to help!

[@francescob.3019]

that's because he played on a track with other instruments, it's much harder to hear the difference in such mix.

[@MayonnaiseOreo]

* a lot

[@yow_shadow]

best comparison video ever, wish everyone knew how to do it lol. Well done

[@dimahunter1797]

Excellent job, thanks. It helps me to choose.

[@bornofsource9419]

some labeling was messed up and got confusing i think, lol. still best comparison of these pickups online. awesome job!

[@MatthijsvandenHoven]

I recently compared the EMG 707 to BKP aftermath. I was really blown away with how responsive the BKP’s are. Having such a dynamic sound is great for creative riffing I think. How do you feel the Fluence’s compare to those pickups with regards to responsiveness while riffing? Is it closer to EMG’s or to BKP’s?

[@HighZ]

Hmm I've only used the active voice for the fluences and have never plays a 707, although I have played an 81-7. The fluences compared to that are vastly superior. They have more top end information while at the same time somehow being more useable. The clarity is night and day. Comparable to the BKPs within a stone's throw. Where the fluences fall apart is the low end; it's plasticky and flat. The BKPs have a tight low end while punching you in the gut whereas the fluences are a sedan. It'll get you there but no one's going to say wow. It can definitely still chug with good amp settings but the BKPs will always be better. One final thought is many people when listening to demos seem to prefer EMGs given they have more low end and sound fatter, even if they have less clarity, but in a mix I'd take the BKP or fluences any day.

[@MatthijsvandenHoven]

@@HighZ Thanks for the info man!

[@zAvAvAz]

@@HighZ yeah, awesome. the 707 is like a great blend of the emg 85 and an emg 81 and i feel is the best emg and the 707 s-tw the emg with more headroom like a passive and the tw for split coil option. i replaced emg's with seymour duncan blackouts in a schecter hellraiser 7 string, as they seemed to have more cut for live performance, although the blackouts kind of sounded over colored in comparison on my recordings, makes for a very metal crunch and chugging sound if you want all out brootz. i had also an emg phase reverse and emg db boost with the notch setting inside at a balanced setting as it would go to squeel when set too high, all this did was really make a sliver tiny bit zoomed in on string detail with maybe a couple db in volume. i found that a dimarzio blaze neck model in the bridge with the db boost was just as good as the only pickup versus two blackouts after all amp settings finalized. I use an RG8 now modded with a kahler to 13 edo 13 notes per octave, uses a single passive humbucker in it's originally routed location an inch away from the bridge, the guitar is converted to 28" scale from the original 27" scale, next i am changing the 24 fretboard to a 28 fretboard and next changing the body shape to a martial metal aggressive shape, and the wood shall be a blend of red wood as the core , with lacewood or leopard wood top and myrtle wood back , basswood shall be any elongated extended glued on peices dipped in aluminum to protect it . the finish is thin wash dye finish with thin sealer. resonates far harder and better than the thick hard finish on the ibanez basswood. the pickup is a bareknuckle handwound in 2008 by the owner. i was trying to get a custom active made by seymour duncan and they were going to do it, although got my bareknuckle custom made and at my door for 500 dollars. The SD active was to be a 10 string pickup that picks up 30HZ at low levels, then ramps up in the 60 HZ with a hump in the 500 hz peak levels out then ramps up through the high end with 4 resonant peaks, this pickup was to be an extreme angled position on 6 through 10 string straightening it out. i am still going to have it made hopefully. The closest thing they have to match is the 8 string retribution pickup. and is the best active they make in my opinion. i have some other pickup and guitar designs full size blueprints that would blow yalls minds

[@mikeshhh5086]

Thank you for this! Very, very useful to me. Also, nice jamming🤟

[@kevn420]

Damn fusion edge does not deserve the hate it gets

[@jayl5941]

I thought it sounded as mean as any pickup and had great clarity.

[@HighZ]

It's one of my go-to choices especially when there will be many guitars in the mix!

[@broccoliking6668]

This is really informative and helpful, thank you!

[@duckbuster6391]

Great review man I know some people want things to be super scientific, but I appreciate it. Your honest opinion. Sometimes That helps find what I want quicker IMO

[@HighZ]

Thanks man. I figured since I had all these pickups in all these guitars, and no one is paying me to same something, it would be a little helpful to demo these

[@zjb29877]

Considering price and the fact that you can get the Fusion Edge as stock in some less expensive Ibanez is pretty crazy, and you can get them used pretty cheap. Actually considering them for my new Schecter that comes with Schecter branded pickups, this actually helped a lot.

[@HighZ]

Glad I could be of help. Good luck on your search

[@danamcwhite]

Yeah watch the video again. Look at his monitor. He moved the EQ levels to different settings for each pickup. Pickups don’t make a difference in sound at all. I can play Stock squire pickups and still sound like this anyday of the week with my Fractal Ax8 and 5150.

[@angusorvid8840]

I prefer the EMG 81 to the Fishmans or the other EMG set. I'm not crazy about DiMarzio Fusions but your playthrough made them sound very good. I dig the JB/Jazz because I've used it for years and it just works for me. I think the Distortion is better for modern and classic metal. The Jazz is simply my favorite neck pickup of all time. The BK Aftermaths sounded great, but I was never impressed with any ax I've tried that was loaded with Aftermaths, or any BKs. Regarding clean tones, I advocate coil splitting. I do not expect a humbucker to clean up with a volume rollback. I coil split or switch into parallel for cleans. Great pickup demos and assessments.

[@HighZ]

The 81 is definitely great! It's been my go-to for rhythm tone up until 2020 when I started experimenting. Definitely have been impressed by the JB too, it definite does "just work"

[@user-gi6cz2mc3k]

Have to say Im digging the Fishmans

[@HighZ]

They're fantastic pickups, especially for drop C

[@panjiaryo2632]

Love the fusion edge

[@bernieboi8943]

Its also the most expensive and well built guitar probably. That also makes a difference.

[@AbeldeBetancourt]

You just need to activate low output in Fishman's if you want cleaner output. It's just installing the cable (from the package) and a switch to short it to ground; that's it!. Thanks a lot for this comparison, you helped me a lot deciding passive pickups (for another guitar that I can't install actives into). Fishman's are my #1 too.

[@HighZ]

Thanks, and good point. Funny thing is while I was installing the push/pull pot to control that, my cat chewed through the wires. I took it as a sign to worry about it another day. Anyway glad I could help you decide!

[@AbeldeBetancourt]

@@HighZ haha! Cheers!

[@MelloState]

​@@HighZi know a bit old but there should have also been a jumper you can use to permanently have the lower output

[@mistersadaimusic]

The 57/66 is a classic combination for that signature metal tone, but the Aftermath pups seem to really nail the modern metal tone.

[@HighZ]

Indeed. The BKPs really get it done

[@BalashToth]

Great comparison. However I found that EMG81s need way less gain to be comparable to any other pickups as they get really "smeared" with higher gain setting. But I understand you wanted show how different they push the amp with same settings.

[@godsreclamation2539]

I got the aftermath for my solar 7 and for drop Ab or G it melts. I got the fishman 7 for my ibanez rgms7 and for drop f and f# it's amazing and consistent. This vid is badass

[@JamesVanCleaf]

It sounds like the Aftermaths have a pronounced overtone on the open string compared to the other pickups. Kinda weird but adds character and sounds good

[@corpse800]

Hi, really nice comparison. I have guitars with EMG81s, Fishman Fl. modern and Fusion Edge. The actives are more 'crisp' but as you said.... in the low end section somehow plasticy. Also I think the Fishmen have something nasal that I don't like too much. I actually like the Fusions very much - so it's nice to see that I am not alone with that opinion ;-) They're not perfect - but no Pickup I swapped in my RGAIX6FM was. D-Activator (X), Evolution, Nazgul, Pegasus... most had (slightly) more clarity and sounded somehow more 'aggressive' with better high end... but none of them could match the Fusions in terms of Punch. Plus the Duncans sounded a bit 'dry' for my taste. I like that creamy DiMarzio sound. I also noticed that while actually playing these pickups makes a hugh differnce (mostly the feeling, I guess) but listening backing to them the difference is much smaller. At least to my ears. Unfortinately never got my hands on any BKP equipped guitar. Price tags kept me off trying them.

[@HighZ]

Completely agree with all of that. The fusion edge equipt guitar here has become my #1 go-to, the pickups just work in every application I've needed. Glad to hear you like yours! As you've mentioned, the difference is slight in recordings so you're not missing anything by not having BKPs. As long as your guitar is in tune and intonated you'll be good with most anything

[@Sharpened_Spoon]

Great vid. Love the structure.

[@xtakerux]

Great video , appreciate the effort 🙏❤️,, i personally loved the 57/66 (lead tone)

[@HighZ]

Thank you. Yeah they're pretty nice sounding for leads

[@XChristianNoirX]

It's funny because for each player and through different rigs, all this stuff changes. For example... For me, the Moderns are one of the worst pickups I've ever played that were intended for this type of music. I'm not an active player, but for the active sound, I'd just go EMG to get that effect. On the other hand, I do like the Classics, but they're a totally different beast.

[@HighZ]

Definitely varies by gear and by person. I can totally see how someone would prefer the EMGs, they still sound great and have a very pleasing tone

[@Cymiuzn_gh]

u saved my money thumb up

[@123lowp]

The Edge Fusions are weak on riffs, but strong on leads. I own guitars with EMG 81, Fishman Modern, and Edge Fusion. I find the Edge Fusions to be better to cover Pink Floyd solos than metal riffs. The best set of the 3 is the Fishman Modern.

[@bobsloan8349]

Just got a thought and wanted to share it. I'm sure this has been done by now but, what about mixing up pickups?? One kind here, one kind there, etc.

[@HighZ]

You can! Usually pickup sets are designed to compliment each other but the world is your oyster. You can mix anything you like! Consider their outputs while doing this though

[@TXHAWGKILLA]

The cat is just a chillin'

[@suniso370]

This is the video I needed in my life! Only thing I'd like to hear in a direct comparison is the Black winter and Lundgren M7 or M6. Have you tried them? I don't know if I should call the 81 a one trick pony (I also love them cleans), but in certain circumstances it sounds amazing, it's just that in some parts, compared to other pickups, it sounds like it's missing a chunk of frequencies, a bit hollow for a lack of specific numbers, I have it in one guitar and I never liked it through Neural amp sims, while the JB works fine. Both sound good through FM3 but require different approach to gain structuring. I really like the modern-ness of Aftermath, might change the JB with it, it sounds very uniform on palm mutes, doesn't drop too fast in higher frequencies.

[@HighZ]

I haven't tried the Lundgrends or the Black Winter unfortunately. I do agree that the 81s can feel limiting... amp choice does matter a ton.

[@WeAllFloatHere]

Most of my guitars are EMG loaded. Love the 57 66 in my ESP. Have project guitar I'm messing with throwing something into... Was looking at Fishmans or maybe some SD Black winters. You might have just convinced me to go Dimarzio. I've only had one set of them many years ago and don't really remember them, but now I'm really considering it. Thanks!

[@magneto9210]

My guitar with Fishman's has a quirk where they actually tend to push harder when the battery is getting low, turning my cleans into somewhat growly, overdriven tones. There's actually some nice sounds you can get out of it when it's like that so I keep one of my rechargeable 9 volts at low charge just for the hell of it. Who needs an OD pedal when you've got a nearly dead battery lol

[@HighZ]

Interesting, never knew they would do that since I regularly switch out for fully charged batteries

[@Kiwaloayo]

this is actually what people do with fuzz pedals, they give you more tonal variety with different charges on a battery

[@zAvAvAz]

i am not telling what the best is , because i already know

[@syzygy2464]

when I bought my Hellraiser Hybrid, I was stunned by how beautiful of a guitar it is for a $1000-1200 "budget" guitar, but over time I've grown to absolutely despite the 57/66 emg set. I mean despise. I hate these pickups. ANd I liked the emg's in my other guitars. Good to see a review that kind of.... articulates some of the inner hatred I have for them into sensible words. Man I fucking hate these pickups. For some reason they go through 4 times the battery of any active pickup I've ever had. Despite having lower output than any of my other emg's they're NOISY as all hell. I gotta crank up the noise gate if I wanna dial up the drive past 3 on any of my amps otherwise it sounds like a fucking old timey radio broadcast or a dirty record needle. Lack of responsiveness is an understatement. Replacing them with something soon. BKP's or duncan nazgul/sentient I dunno

[@InsomniacMatt]

The EMG 81 clean sound is the reason I put a 60 in the neck.

[@flowryan5829]

Try the 89r!

[@danamcwhite]

Yeah watch the video again. Look at his monitor. He moved the EQ levels to different settings for each pickup. Pickups don’t make a difference in sound at all. I can play Stock squire pickups and still sound like this anyday of the week with my Fractal Ax8 and 5150.

[@flowryan5829]

@@danamcwhite This is just wrong, I‘m sorry. The truth in it is, that you can EQ out most of the differences but there are differences. An active pickup will sound different to a passive one, a ceramic magnet will sound different to an AlNiCo magnet and so on. The differences are sometimes more subtle, sometimes more noticeable. But to say „they all sound the same“ is wrong.

[@danamcwhite]

@@flowryan5829 it’s just Copper wire around a magnet. The technology has not changed at all since it was first invented. All these subtle difference are in your head from marketing. “Warmth” “tone” “hot” “tight” “crunch” Copper wire, than you have Emg, than you have I think fish man that uses something different now I don’t remember. But in 70 years nobody has figured out a way to Magically wrap wire a different way or some type of magical wire and magnets on this earth to create such a crazy tone. You only have copper and magnets. That’s it end of story. There is no secret to getting a special wire wrap on a magnate that’s gonna give you Eddie Van Halen tone. All the heavy work comes from your Preamp end of story. And I’d bet you $1000 dollars you couldn’t tell difference between any pickup or a cheap Chinese Walmart guitar.

[@flowryan5829]

@@danamcwhite If you understand electrical laws, you‘d know that that a difference in number of wounds, thickness of said copper wire, spacing between the wire and the magnets, the type of magnet, the size of said magnets and the conductivity of the other parts of the pickup would add up to slight differences. You personally may not hear any differences and that‘s fine. Just as you are completely entitled to your own opinion. But be sure, that there a two opinions about that.

[@Cognitoman]

I have that. Cat tree and Ibanez guitar lol

[@attilahavasi6987]

God bless you for saving us from all of the paid reviews

[@metaldreams3595]

Nah bro...the 81 is scooped out and you add mid with the amp to taste. Its THE perfect metal bridge pickup. In 40 years...nothing beats it. They can only hope to match it. Which Ive heard Fishmans match 81 when used for Death metal. But even super high tech cant beat them. And also, most all of us here are high gain monkeys...cleans? Hey I use cleans...that haunting neck PU sound you get....but its kinda hard to rate a PU at all based on its cleans....to me atleast..wait...this is a metsl shootout. lol. So, you REALLY cant ding the Dimarzio for its cleans IMO

[@123lowp]

The articulation of the 81 for palm-muting is great. For leads, I think other pickups are better. I don't like the Edge Fusions for riffs, but they are fantastic for leads OMG.

[@metaldreams3595]

@@123lowp Now that is something I can agree with. Leads arent the greatest with them are they? But what to do? Im not going to have a guitar that I use just for leads..you know? Something else though you may have an opinion on... I actually don't think I want guitars with multiple bridge pickups OR that have different neck radius and scale lengths. I recently acquired a couple guitars for modding and put Black WInter in one bridge and Dimarzio Imperium in the other bridge. I have two others with 81s... Dude you have to adjust your amp every time you switch guitars....after awhile it sucks lol And when I play my ESP Arrow for awhile that has a 13.7 inch radius and then go to my Legion Nihilist, which has the Jackson type compound radius neck..something like 12 inch to 16 inch, both play amazing but it screws me up going from one to another. I dont make up nearly as good shit. Then you have the different scale lengths with their different string tensions lol I think I need to settle on a certain neck type and scale length and not deviate. Thats what Eddie did right? Yeah, all his guitars had exact same neck specs I think

[@metaldreams3595]

@icon really? Ive never jammed with a BKP. But the EMG ? Doesn't matter what they come out with Nazgul, Black Winter... you name it, nobody can touch that damn 81. Well they can touch it but nobody is a clear winner over that 40 year old damn pick up

[@Kataklysme666]

The cat loves it

[@EgorKrotov]

great comparison . Do you have clean DI guitar tracks? I would like to listen in my processing

[@HighZ]

Hey Egor, good question. This was actually before I started recording DI signals so unfortunately I don't. I can say that with better amp settings, the fusion edge cleans sound good and the EMGs still sound like clean EMGs

[@correiafausto]

I'm curious about your tunning. I didn't find out how much you go down in your tunning, can you tell me? Very good test and opinions.

[@HighZ]

Thank you, I'm glad you found this useful! All of the guitars are in drop C, so bass to treble it's C G c f a d

[@emiliolopez8796]

I like BKPs and have heard great things from them. They're just to expensive after tax and shipping tho. I want the silos but I can't justify spending 400+ euro in pickups when the fishman fluence modern sound that good. Would you agree?

[@StoneBuzzard]

Kick out the jams man. Good vid

[@daikimizu9324]

Maybe someone here can help me out, I really like the clarity and precision of them Fishmans but I do not like active systems that much, is there any model of BKP that closely matches up to the fishman fluence moderns?.

[@MichaelDespairs]

They all literally sound identical.

[@frayedsanity]

Hmmmm...Dimarzios were definitely the clearest sounding. Fishmans and then the 57/66 set after that. EMG 81 sounded a bit stale. i have the 81/60 set in my main guitar, but I have been thinking of swapping them out for the 57/66 set, maybe even the fishmans.

[@HighZ]

Sounds like a good plan either way!

[@danamcwhite]

Yeah watch the video again. Look at his monitor. He moved the EQ levels to different settings for each pickup. Pickups don’t make a difference in sound at all. I can play Stock squire pickups and still sound like this anyday of the week with my Fractal Ax8 and 5150.

[@frayedsanity]

@@danamcwhite I'd love an AX8 someday.

[@Whileweweresinners]

@@frayedsanity my fxr esp e2 has 89 and 89R they shit on all these pickups

[@frayedsanity]

@@Whileweweresinners I love is 89 series pickups! Sweet like honey!

[@dr.stevenpennym.d.3241]

EMG

[@franciscoaguilar6644]

FUSION EDGE KICK ASS!!! I was surprised by the tone! itsounds very good for leads and they cut very well in the mix! I suppose that the RG Prestige helps also. To be honest, it would have been better to test the pickups with the same guitar so there is not the influence of guitar construction (woods, shapes, mass...). All these pickups are great, at the end is a matter of preference of what is the tone you are searching for...

[@danamcwhite]

Yeah watch the video again. Look at his monitor. He moved the EQ levels to different settings for each pickup. Pickups don’t make a difference in sound at all. I can play Stock squire pickups and still sound like this anyday of the week with my Fractal Ax8 and 5150.

[@metaldreams3595]

@@danamcwhite Hey bro, hey I look and I dont see EQ levels or anytingh he changed. I see the track levels on some

[@danamcwhite]

@@metaldreams3595 do I really need to watch the video again and time stamp it just so you can Pause the video and look at the Knobs on the amp?

[@metaldreams3595]

@@danamcwhite holy shit. You can see amp knobs and their positions on this video? I dont even see amp knobs. Well done McFly

[@danamcwhite]

@@metaldreams3595 than at 3:14 he switches the levels again

[@speedtomas]

What's the guitar model for the Seymour Duncan JB/Jazz playthrough?

[@HighZ]

It's the Ibanez S1070PBZ

[@OrkhanJulfa]

Totaly disagree with review. I definitely hear that Bareknuckle has most muffled and dark tone. Also worst cleans. Most defined tone have Dimarzio and EMG 81. Also DiMarzio has better cleans.

[@HighZ]

Thanks for speaking up. My review definitely isn't unbiased so I hope people see this and think twice in any decisions they'll make

[@metal1mark73]

EMG are the best!!!

[@lifeordeath13]

May I know what you would suggest for a 7 string guitar? Thanks.

[@HighZ]

Of course. I haven't dug too much into 7 string guitar pickups yet but I can say I prefer Fishman fluence moderns over EMG 81-7's. I'm sure BKP's 7 string pickups are good but I'm going to get the Nazgul/Sentient set for my solar 7 within a few months as the sound clips sound close enough. I think if you get a pickup that's marketed towards what you're looking for and has been designed within the last 10 years or so, you can't go wrong

[@Whileweweresinners]

My dude try a emg 89 with a 89r and you will dislike all these pickups

[@123lowp]

I've heard the 89 is like the EMG 85. I've used the EMG 85 in the bridge and it is pretty good.

[@Whileweweresinners]

@@123lowp dude it's way better than the 85. It's super clean not as harsh. If you're trying to record they are better than all of these pickups

[@HarbingerOfAnarchy]

What DAW do you use?

[@HighZ]

Using cubase

[@bernieboi8943]

fuark i got the EMG 81 -7 and its the saddest out of this mix imo...... i do also think the guitar makes alot of difference in this video sadly..

[@danamcwhite]

Yeah watch the video again. Look at his monitor. He moved the EQ levels to different settings for each pickup. Pickups don’t make a difference in sound at all. I can play Stock squire pickups and still sound like this anyday of the week with my Fractal Ax8 and 5150.

[@SonegPanasoneg]

Lol )) I owe the same Ibanez 5320 now)))

[@HighZ]

Excellent choice!

[@SonegPanasoneg]

@@HighZ The only thing I dislike is tremolo)))) Wish it was hardtail...

[@HighZ]

While its a good tremolo, I dislike tremolos too. I blocked it with taped together guitar picks and that worked

[@SonegPanasoneg]

@@HighZ how do you usually block the trem? Whats the best way for it?

[@HighZ]

You can use a tremol-no and cut some wood for the other side, but it's easier to take a bunch of guitar picks that stack up to the correct length to fill the holes. You might have to remove the middle spring. Maybe I'll make a video on how to do this soon

[@shadyburnike264]

🤜🤛

[@abheceshabemuskk3531]

I hate EMG (81/60 at least) with passion. compressed as hell, boring, I have a set i bought 25 years ago in a drawer. I prefer any stock unbranded cheap pickups, at least they are not lifeless.

[@HighZ]

I think I understand what you mean. I recently got an RG5440C with those EMG single coils. And their compression is making it hard to make them sound good unless I'm playing without dynamics. But with passives or even Fishmans there's better response to playing soft and rolling off the volume

[@eaglex5723]

Ranking JB/Jazz above EMG81 or 57/66? Well you really blow my mind. And ofc I don't agree. I think it's up to personal perference between Fluence, Aftermath, EMG81 and 57/66. But JB/Jazz? That's among the worst of the worst pickups for metal imo.

[@francescob.3019]

pretty pointless test if you play on such track full of other sounds and frequencies.