| EMG 81 | |
| Manufacturer | EMG, Inc. |
| Period | 1979–present |
| Type | Active humbucker |
| Magnet type | Ceramic magnet |
| Output specifications | |
| Voltage (RMS), V | 3.00 |
| Voltage (peak), V | 4.50 |
| Noise, dBV | -100 |
| Impedance, kΩ | 10 |
| Current, µA | 80 |
| Power requirements | |
| Power source | 9 V battery |
| Battery life, hours | 3000 |
| Sonic qualities | |
| Resonant frequency, Hz |
1630 |
The EMG 81 is a popular active humbucker guitar pickup manufactured by EMG, Inc.. It is usually considered a lead pickup for use in bridge position, paired with EMG 85 as a rhythm pickup in neck position (Zakk Wylde is famous for this configuration).[1] It's not uncommon, however, to see a guitar with two EMG 81s in both bridge and neck positions (for instance, Kirk Hammett's EMG-KH21 pickup sets, which include 2 EMG 81 pickups for both neck and bridge positions). The EMG 81 pickup is preferred as a lead pickup because of its high output and smooth control from having a rail magnet. Rail magnets tend to sound smoother through guitar bends because they have a constant "rail" that runs through the pickup, while typical ceramic magnets have poles at each string that lose signal strength as the string bends away from the ceramic pole.
The EMG 81 can be recognized by its dark grey humbucker form-factor and a silver embossed EMG logo.
Contents |
The EMG-81 was developed in 1979 along with the EMG 85, and was released to the market in 1981. Construction is similar to traditional U-shaped pickups, but there are no separate pole pieces; steel bars (rails) are used instead. Alnico magnets have been replaced with more powerful ceramic ones. While nominal output is the same as EMG 85, lower noise ratio gives more gain opportunity.
As most other modern EMG pickups, the EMG 81 has 5-wire quik-connect output, that comes as a 5-pin male connector on a pickup body and a 5-wire cable to connect it. This allows for a less complicated pick up swap in the future, only requiring the removal the pickup guard and disconnecting the pickup, as opposed to melting the solder and installing the new pickup.
More recently, a few variants called the EMG-81TW and 81-X have been released. The 81TW version features a coil tap along with a second preamp for a wider variety of tones. The 81-X provides increased headroom giving the voicing an organic and open tone while still maintaining clarity and response.
The EMG 81 power source can be modified from 9v to 18v by adding a second 9v battery wired up in series. Many players believe this creates more clarity and articulation, as the headroom is increased. The pickup is rated at 27v so the mod is harmless and there are even some guitarists, albeit very few, that perform 27v mods although the improvement is questionable over the 18v mod.
There are two main ways to achieve this 18v EMG mod. The first method involves using separate battery harnesses for each battery. There are several different ways to achieve this, and wiring diagrams can be found all over the internet.
The second method is for those who do not want to have to buy a new 9v harness, and have ample room in their cavity for two batteries (about 2.5" by 2"). Tape two 9v batteries together side by side so that the positive/negative terminals would resemble [- +][- +] when looking from the top. Solder a wire from the outside positive to the outside negative (a decent gauge guitar string will suffice) and put tape over the now connected terminals and wire so they are not exposed. Then simply attach your existing battery harness over the pos/neg terminals in the middle.