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Okay so I couldn't help it. I was at guitar center friday and Bought an
EMG H4. One of EMG's passive pickups. It's supposed to be the passive version of their active quot;81quot; pickup.

I was interested in this pickup mainly because Alexi Laiho is using one in his ESP i'm not afraid to try something that isn't a Duncan (Duncan's are still my Favorite )

Anyway I installed this pickup in my MIM Strat that has a poplar body.

The guitar is set up with this pup in the bridge, one volume pot and a coil split. There are no other pickups in this guitar.

The first thing I noticed is that this pickup has great Sustain. I have never used a pickup that has this much sustain. I think it must be due to the pup having to rails/bars rather than pole pieces.

The H4 has good cleans and sounds pretty cool split. It's also has a ceramic magnet.

It's supposed to be 13.6K output.

With distortion this pickup sounds thick. Not mid thick but more Low and High thick. Compared to the Jb I took out of my Strat it makes the H4 sound like it has very little Mids.

I have never tried EMG's active version of this pickup the quot;81quot; so I cant compare the two.

If you have any questions please ask and I'll answer as best as I can.

Thank you. I've been curious about them as well, and am glad to hear an unbiased review. If you decide you dislike it and wanna trade, let me know

I played a LTD KH 202 that has the H4 set and i thought they were very good
myself.
like you said already the H4 has a shelved EQ good highs and lows and slightly dropped mids.
i think it is a very good metal pup,it has a metallica type tone from the older stuff they did.
I see them on the bay for cheap all the time

Which H4 have you tested?
There is a H4 (ceramic magnet) and a H4A (alnico).

I had both in my Epi Zakk Wylde, but I found the sustain of the JB much better/longer then the EMG's.


Originally Posted by rocker_71Which H4 have you tested?
There is a H4 (ceramic magnet) and a H4A (alnico).

I had both in my Epi Zakk Wylde, but I found the sustain of the JB much better/longer then the EMG's.I have the H4 not H4A, the Ceramic magnet version. It has way more sustain then any pup i've ever used even my JB.

If i may interject, the pup itself does not have ANY sustain
to test a pup against another it would have to be in the same axe,same amp,same settings,same height,same riff or licks,etc.
i have a JB/jazz set and also a emg 81/85 and one does not have better sustain than then other.
the guitar does but not the pups


Originally Posted by WICKED LESTERIf i may interject, the pup itself does not have ANY sustain
to test a pup against another it would have to be in the same axe,same amp,same settings,same height,same riff or licks,etc.
i have a JB/jazz set and also a emg 81/85 and one does not have better sustain than then other.
the guitar does but not the pups If you had read my first post I said that the EMG replaced the JB that I had in my guitar (Same exact guitar, my strat.)
And i continued to play the with the same amp, pedal, settings, etc, ect.

Besides this post is about an EMG H4 not an 81.


Originally Posted by WICKED LESTERIf i may interject, the pup itself does not have ANY sustain
to test a pup against another it would have to be in the same axe,same amp,same settings,same height,same riff or licks,etc.
i have a JB/jazz set and also a emg 81/85 and one does not have better sustain than then other.
the guitar does but not the pups

Hmm... why do you suppose it is that my ESP (with the same guage/brand of strings, and exact same gear) has more sustain with a Dimebucker than it did with a JB or Invader? The guitar is tuned to drop C, and to test the sustain, I simply hit a big fat open 5th chord, and let it ring. I never got the stopwatch out, but the Dime rings a HELL of a lot longer than the others.

Perhaps its a matter of output? Pickups themselves do not sustain but output and other variables could contribute to a longer sustaining sound once the sound comes out of the speakers.

Also a pickups magnetic pull on the strings will make a difference in sustain. Its easy with some like an Invader to get it too close and have it actually suck the strings down decreasing the sustain. Strat single coils will do the same.

I know sustain is not a property of the pickup but it is influenced by the guitar (wood, tremolo e.t.c). But then can somebody explain me why i get much more sustain (using the same guitar) when i use active emgs than when i use any passive high output pickup?

I have a vision.. (these always land on their butts) Pickups really can't make strings vibrate for longer, right? (Unless the magnetical field actually amplfies the vibrations.. Hmm..)
But could it just simply be a question of how sensitively the pickup picks up those vibrations? Some pickups quot;hearquot; the sound longer, this creating longer sustain trough the amp? Now I have to get an EMG and test this..


Originally Posted by wixomwhatIf you had read my first post I said that the EMG replaced the JB that I had in my guitar (Same exact guitar, my strat.)
And i continued to play the with the same amp, pedal, settings, etc, ect.

Besides this post is about an EMG H4 not an 81.

I was not repsponding to your first post i was replying to rocker's post

Originally Posted by rocker_71Which H4 have you tested?
There is a H4 (ceramic magnet) and a H4A (alnico).

I had both in my Epi Zakk Wylde, but I found the sustain of the JB much better/longer then the EMG's.and FWIW the H4 is the passive equivalent to the 81


Originally Posted by Breaking the lawI have a vision.. (these always land on their butts) Pickups really can't make strings vibrate for longer, right? (Unless the magnetical field actually amplfies the vibrations.. Hmm..)
But could it just simply be a question of how sensitively the pickup picks up those vibrations? Some pickups quot;hearquot; the sound longer, this creating longer sustain trough the amp? Now I have to get an EMG and test this..We have the same idea. I know a pickup doesn't/cant make a guitar sustain more but I was also thinking that the pickups sences the vibrations from the strings longer and i beleave that is due to the 2 large blade/rails it has insted of pole pieces.


Originally Posted by Breaking the lawI have a vision.. (these always land on their butts) Pickups really can't make strings vibrate for longer, right? (Unless the magnetical field actually amplfies the vibrations.. Hmm..)
But could it just simply be a question of how sensitively the pickup picks up those vibrations? Some pickups quot;hearquot; the sound longer, this creating longer sustain trough the amp? Now I have to get an EMG and test this..

the fernandez sustainer pups are the ultimate for sustain


Originally Posted by WICKED LESTERthe fernandez sustainer pups are the ultimate for sustainYeah that magnetic driver will keep the strings moving forever, well at least until the battery runs out.


Originally Posted by NathanCahillYeah that magnetic driver will keep the strings moving forever, well at least until the battery runs out.

wonder if EMG can do something like this to the 81/85/89/60 models?
i mean the 81 and the others already have great sustain but if they had that magnetic driver WHOA!