EMG 81X Black

77

Active Pickup for Electric Guitar

  • Can be used in neck and bridge
  • High output humbucker with long sustain
  • Ceramic magnets
  • Newly developed preamp with open and dynamic sound concept
  • Colour: Black
  • Included: solderless installation, volume/tone control set with split shaft, output jack, battery clip, screws
Available since June 2009
Item number 229740
Sales Unit 1 piece(s)
Active Yes
Wiring 2-Conductor
Output High
Kappe No
Colour Black
Position Bridge, Neck
$88
The shipping costs are calculated on the checkout page.
In stock within 2-3 weeks
In stock within 2-3 weeks

This product is expected back in stock soon and can then be shipped immediately.

Standard Delivery Times
1

77 Customer ratings

4.8 / 5

You have to be logged in to rate products.

Note: To prevent ratings from being based on hearsay, smattering or surreptitious advertising we only allow ratings from real users on our website, who have bought the equipment from us.

After logging in you will also find all items you can rate under rate products in the customer centre.

sound

quality

37 Reviews

D
A cleaner take on the thrash classic
Daenerys 27.08.2020
I've been there - a girl growing up on influence from my sis listening to Metallica and Slayer, whilst my own (complicated and confused) teen years it has been Bullet for my Valentine, Killswitch Engage, As I Lay Dying and so many other metalcore bands - these were my heroes, there when I was crying, lonely and there when I was happy - and I always wanted their sound.

When I started playing the guitar, I got the EMG Zakk Wylde 81/85 set and had it installed, and for many years it has been *it* for me.

Now, as my tastes changed a bit (and, inevitably, did the musical scene), I am looking forward into a pickup that's more cleaner, clearer and more versatile, but while I play nowadays modern metal - I still bring back the bands and songs that got me to playing the guitar in the first place. I haven't forgotten the best time of my life. 81X is all of that - clear punchy and open enough for modern rhythm playing, bright enough for cutting through the densest mixes - and still powerful enough to play those songs we all grew up on.

So for me, this is a perfect pickup. Thank you EMG. :)
sound
quality
6
2
Report

Report

D
What a disappointment
DT1980 10.04.2020
I've been using EMG pickups for many years, mainly the EMG81. I had very high expectations of this pickup, but it is a complete disappointment.
All the good things of a EMG81 is taken away from this pickup. It sounds muddy and not tight at all. The output is also a lot lower than a regular EMG. The tight sound and soaring highs of a EMG81 are not present in this pickup. For the music I want to play with it, it's unusable.
sound
quality
2
5
Report

Report

VP
Sharp, thicc, crisp
Victor Papa 02.10.2021
Sharp, thicc, crisp - all you need in the bridge position.
Easy to install system and all wiring you need is included with every pickup package!
Note: Be mindful of the schematics and how your guitar is wired to get it working!
I installed this (and the 85X) to my oldie-goldie Schecter Omen 6 that used to have passives. There's 2 wires that must not be clipped for this to work! And the input jack cavity was too shallow, so needed to drill it deeper and would need to re-drill a connection hole to the other electronics, but it seems more like a design issue of the original schematic.

Good project and it works like a charm!
sound
quality
0
0
Report

Report

R
First Choice for Hard Rock and Metal
Robert924 17.06.2013
The installation is incredibly easy as the quick connect system it uses eliminates the need for soldering. It has a very focused tone with a tight low end which combined with it's ridiculously high output results in a very saturated and aggressive distortion that remains articulate even at higher gain settings. Given it's tight tone it tends to work better in darker sounding guitars. The active preamp in it does reduce the audible difference between different wood types slightly, but it still seems to sound best in a mahogany guitar.

It's less compressed sounding than the original EMG 81 and it responds more to picking dynamics. For high gain modern rock/metal tones it's pretty hard to beat. As with the original 81 it doesn't excel at clean tones, but the extra headroom on the 81-X does offer a slight improvement.
sound
quality
1
1
Report

Report