EMG 81 Black

EMG 81's dont really needs a lengthy review, with so many bands and famous names behind them.

Love them or hate them, they've helped shape metal and rock as we know it.

I keep coming back to 81's for bridge PU's because of the consistency and the overall sound characteristics.
They've got a nice punch with a good low-end, and a good treble response.
Sure, they're not as dynamic as a Seymour Duncan JB (passive), but they've got great dynamics nonetheless.

The solderless installation is my favorite. Makes installations much faster, and less chance of a screw up.
You can get every style of switch from EMG them selves, so you wont need to use a soldering iron every again.

In conclusion:
If you're a fan of older (pre-2010) metal/hard rock, then they're definitely worth a look.
Likewise if you're looking for a really hot pickup, with an easy installation, these might also be for you.

I bought this, along with an EMG 85, for the classic EMG 81/85 setup favored by players like Zakk Wylde, Kerry King from Slayer and Elias Viljanen from Sonata Arctica. I was upgrading the stock BDSM pickups on an old BC Rich NJ Warlock guitar from 2004.

I was initially skeptical that I would hear any difference, so I recorded some "before and after" tracks. Well, let me tell you that I definitely did hear a difference from the very first minute after I plugged the guitar into my amp 😄.

To my ears, my guitar sounds much better now. First of all, there's a lot less static noise. But there's also a lot less noise when sliding between chords. Single notes also sound much clearer. And because the guitar sounds better, I suddenly feel like I've become a better guitar player overnight, even though I know that all that changed was the pickups.

I installed the pickups myself. This was my first pickup upgrade. Installing EMG's is a lot easier than most pickups, because you don't need to solder. All you need to do is plug wires into the right holes. I didn't even need to desolder the old wires from the old potentiometers — I just cut the old wires at the solder join instead. So you don't need a soldering iron at all.

From a non-guitar-tech perspective, EMG really do a great job of making sure that the pickup installation is as easy as possible. The fact that all the replacement components (potentiometers, input jack, wires etc. Even the hex nuts and washers, which are not pictured.) are included in the box and don't need to be sold separately is a huge plus to beginners like myself. Since I bought two pickups, it also means that I have some spare parts now, in case I break something 😄 Each pickup box also includes diagrams for how to wire your guitar for various pickup configurations.

Because my guitar wasn't built for active pickups, it doesn't have a battery compartment. I was worried that the pickup cavity wouldn't fit the battery bus and the battery that the EMGs need to work. In the end, I was able to fit everything, but just barely. Pro tip: don't take off the sticker from the battery bus and glue it to the wall of the pickup cavity until after you've wired everything and are absolutely sure that everything will fit!


Overall, I am a very satisfied customer. I would purchase EMG pickups again.

What can be said about the EMG 81 that already has not been said?
Well its the industry standard for that searing metal tone, Bands like slayer, In flames, even judas priest now use EMG's.
I've used EMG's for over 25 years mainly in metal guitars for extreme music, but i bought this 81 to go in my Jackson Bengal which will be only used for old 80's hair metal & hard rock, well without a doubt it can nail that sound easy, its now looking that the old 81 is more of an all rounder than many people initially thought, Most think EMG are a one trick pony only for extreme metal.
I must praise the Guys at EMG for coming up with the solderless design.
It makes changing pickups a pleasure rather than a chore, Most people cannot solder very well so the solderless range is ideal for the beginner or if you just want to save money on getting a repair shop to fit the pickups, I am going to try the 18 Volt mod on my guitar to check out the headroom it gives these pickups.
I for one will always use EMG's i love them & they do exactly what it says on the tin METAL!!!!

Little more to say than if you are looking for the sound of Metallica, Zakk Wylde, Jim Root (Slipknot), etc., or looking to upgrade your pickups for rock or metal actives then this is most likely where you will start. I bought this for a Hetfield 'Rusty' tribute that I wanted to do with one of my Gibson Explorers.

Plenty of reviews and sound tests online and on YouTube. People will debate the benefits of active and passive, compression with EMG's. For me, they deliver the tone that I want for certain types of guitars while trying to replicate certain bands/artist tones. You really just have to try them to see if you like them.

One thing that no one else seems to have mentioned is while they are traditionally used in the bridge, I have had also had an 81/81 combination in a Epi LP Midnight Custom and found it to be just fine.

Note that I, in my own personal opinion, have found that the 81 responds better to Gibson/Orville/Epiphone Custom models as opposed to Standard models. Tone is generally 'darker' and helps with the 81 being somewhat brighter or having a greater treble response. Again, my own personal preference, and this can always be adjusted with EQ on the amp, or indeed your tone knob.

There is an excellent video demo from EMG for the installation if you are worried about the wiring diagrams. The quick connect system is very straight forward so do not be too nervous if you have never done this before. I do recommend that you experiment with voltage variations - Google 18V modification.

Price, customer service and shipping from Thomann was excellent as always.

A completely different sound compared to the standard EMG 81s that are installed in - ESP LTD EC-401 Black weigh. I immediately noticed that despite the same name they are completely different, for prefabricated pickups like this the sound is much more sensitive, the tone knob when interacting gives a more noticeable difference from the older versions of EMG 81s, the tone really noticeably changes from muffled to very bright and exhaust. You can easily install it in any guitar, but you need to cut a passage for the wire with a needle file (35minutesт). I was surprised by the significant difference from the standard EMG81 in ESP LTD EC-401 from these new builds.