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I'm going to do a video showing a proper A/B test of EMG's 81/85 pickups at 18v and 9v, and while I'm at it add other voltages to the mix as well. I can do 18v, 12v, 9v, 7.5v, 6v and 4.5v, all with battery power, so going from 18v to 9v, or 18v to 4.5v or 9v to 7.5 etc. will be possible. I could also do 3v, and 24v but from the testing I've done already I don't think there's much point.

Basically, I'd like to test the validity of some of the claims people have made about their operation at different voltages, whether they require or benefit from the additional headroom 18v provides, whether they sound more "punchy" or "dynamic and open" at higher voltages, whether they sound better with high gain distortion at higher voltages (or if the compression of the signal renders any benefit useless), and to find what the minimum voltage you could run them from is.

The guitar I'll use will be an LTD Viper 400 (which is fairly typical of the type of guitar that these pickups are fitted to) with 10-46's and the pickup height adjusted relatively close to the strings to maximise the signal going into the pickup's preamp. I think it's probably best to use an open tuning so I don't need to fret any strings which should help with consistency. On each test I'll vary picking/strumming from very light to very aggressive.

I'll record with a Digidesign MBOX2, with channel 1 (left) taking direct input from the guitar, and channel 2 (right) with an SM57 on a blackstar series one combo (bright clean channel, gain low for maximum headroom, all eq settings at 12 o'clock). The only effect I'll have in the chain will be an MXR fullbore metal with the gain on maximum, which I'll kick in for testing with distortion. Along with the video, I'll include a link to a FLAC of the recording so youtube audio compression isn't a factor.

Does anyone have any suggestions for any additional tests I should do or method/s I should change? I'd like to make sure that the results are both accurate and believable.

Awesome idea! Put it in front of a sensitive fuzz like a fuzz face to see if the extra voltages or starved voltages make the fuzz act differently [it will but a documented case would be cool]

Excellent. I'd be really interested to see your results.

I'm not sure about the idea of putting the pickups unusually close to the strings. I can understand why you're doing it, but would a more "real life" test be more useful? I don't know.

I'm interested too, the EMG 81 is one of my favorite pups. Agree with Paul on the distance from the strings, magnetic pull and irregular distance could void the test imo.
Interestingly, the 81 measures at 10K (according to specs) which surprises me, i'd have thought it was more like 18K. I wonder if the compression factor is why the pup works so well with high gain, especially note definition.

Haze wrote:Awesome idea! Put it in front of a sensitive fuzz like a fuzz face to see if the extra voltages or starved voltages make the fuzz act differently [it will but a documented case would be cool]

Would an MI Neo Fuzz suffice?

I'm not sure about the idea of putting the pickups unusually close to the strings. I can understand why you're doing it, but would a more "real life" test be more useful? I don't know.

I won't set them unusually close, approximately 2-2.5mm from the strings with the strings fretted at the 24th fret, which is what I meant by relatively close. It's a little higher than I'd normally set them, but some have them set even closer. That said, they apparently have relatively weak magnets, so string pull may not be as much of an issue as it can be with passive pickups.

i'm pretty sure some peeps have done this a few times. INTERNET SERACH

I haven't been able to find anything that comes close to a proper A/B test.

Most I've seen are someone playing some widdly widdly stuff with huge gain, then they stop and spend a while hooking up their 18v setup, then they play something completely different.

You wouldn't A/B test two sets of speakers with a different piece of music for each, and only listen to each speaker once. You'd go back and forth with the same track playing. The same sort of consistency is needed for an accurate pickup test.

I heard the 18v mod to the emg81 is about the best mod you can do. If you want an emg81 feel with a warmer tone, i suggest trying out the dimarzio evolution. Currently my favorite pickup, although im forever faithful to the JB