I have people asking me what's a good active pickup to invest in. The industry's preference seems to be
EMG, we've seen it in Metallica's & Zakk Wylde's guitars, we love what we hear. The standard to beat is
still EMG; this brand name proves to be the perfect supplement for heavy guitar tones with loads of distortion. If this is your turf, the EMG should be the starter reference.
Before
Seymour Duncan's
Blackouts were conceived to give the EMGs a fine run for the money, I already loved its previous manifestation- the Live Wire (discont'd). However, the current Blackouts are indeed fine pickups. Seymour Duncan continues to be my preferred brand name in terms of single note clarity; Duncan continues to extend this excellence with its active units. Recently, the manufacturer offers the
Blackout Metal for us excessive distortion fanatics. If your lives depend on some clarity especially all you solo/ lead mongers, the Blackouts are highly recommended.
Tesla's active AH models are perhaps the industry's dark horses. What's the extra feature here that would make you reconsider the EMGs & Duncans? Simple- great cleans. With active units, the primary focus has always been distortion but Tesla has something to offer in terms of cleans as well, I've personally heard the AH in use & must say the cleans are very inviting; it's rather unbelievable that an active unit could be this pleasant.
Know what you want to hear:
Before you decide which brand name you should acquire, know what you want to hear & embrace the pickup which addresses your needs. The practical move here would be to ignore the brand name & go for tonal appeal but it's difficult to ignore the idol influences; chances are, you'd purchase the item your guitar heroes possess. Do not engage in blind following- your overall set up might not necessitate you to own Brand X but you fell for it due to idol worship. This could be an expensive mistake...
My firm recommendation to everyone looking for something impressive, feel & tone-wise, would be the Rally GL models. The dimensions of these guitars are very convincing, same goes for the feel. The default pickups prove to be the real surprise because they sound above-average; do listen to what the neck humbucker has to offer. Do remember that Rally used to be the licensed maker of Epiphone guitars. Highly recommended.
The Ibanez ART series are recent inclusion in the market here. The single cutaway design isn't too LP precise, especially the rather slim & wide neck. Nevertheless, the ones sporting passive humbuckers do generate some pleasant, working tones.
LTD's EC-50, like its other Series 50 siblings are great starter units, worth every cent of the asking price. However, the guitar only apes the LP outline, the body's slim depth would hint at the tones one can expect from this model. Please do not go looking for immaculate LP-type, deep voicings here.
Grassroots are the budget makes of ESP's Edwards range of guitars. They are impressive nevertheless but not as immaculate sounding as the real deal.
