EMG 60 BK

EMGs - either you hate them or you love them.
I personally think they are great. The 81 is perfect for anything with al lot of gain in the bridge position, where i find the 60 is the one you want put in your neck postion.
Though many people prefer the 85 in the neck for shredding solos, the 60 is perfect for the really smooth, singing leads. Although you can shred with them just as nice, if you ask me.
But the one thing that really stands out for me with this pickup is the clean tone.
It has a very bright, shiny, natural tone, almost a bit like an acoustic guitar.
If you are into clean arpeggios with some chorus and delay, with the EMG 60 you'll find yourself in 80s metal intros instantaniously.
The quick-connect system is a nice thing, too. Although I am not reluctant to soldering at all, it is really the easiest and fastest way to wire up a guitar.
The downside is that you must use all the cables with the length they come with, which can lead to a bit crammed up rear cavity. That is especially annoying when you are retrofitting EMGs in a guitar that has no extra space for the battery.
But in this very case you can always cut the cables to the needed length and go back to soldering again. The little circuit board provides extra soldering points for that (or if you want to combine it with an older EMG that hasn't got quick-connect).
Seems they thought of everything at this one...

Similar to my review for the EMG 81, you are most likely looking at this due to the classic 81/60 combination for rock or metal as used by Metallica and Slipknot.

Pick up was purchased for a Hetfield 'Rusty' tribute, I debated over getting the JH set and opted for this instead trying to remain true to the original guitar. Bear in mind that it was the 'Black Album' era Metallica tone I was after. Early Metallica albums are, from what I have read, passive pickups.

As a neck pickup, great powerful crunchy rhythm tone, with smooth leads. Clean sounds are great, I have played a mixture of Jazz and Blues tones as well and it certainly is no one trick pony. 'Clean and clear' are the best two words that describe the pickup best for me. Not as compressed as an 85 in my opinion, however it is all subjective and very much a matter of personal taste.

Similar to my 81 review, there are plenty of reviews and information online for the 60 to help you decide, as well as a great installation video from EMG for the quick connect system on YouTube if the thought of wiring diagrams frightens you. Try the 18V modification to see if you can notice the difference!

Price, customer service and shipping from Thomann great as usual.

First Impressions: Nice box, the usual logos and everything. Comes with a few instruction sheets that are very helpful. It even came with a little EMG sticker to slap on the side of your amp.

Installation: After fighting my man instincts of just winging it I read the instructions. (Wonders will never cease c:) After looking at the necessary diagrams I got to work desoldering everything in my guitar. Installations of the new parts was quick compared to soldering, with minimal effort needed and less burns along the way. Apart from cable management the install went well and worked the 2nd time around. (My fault though, as epiphone use a different colour scheme for wires when I wired up the toggle switch.)

Sound and Quality: The sound of the this pickup is brilliant for cleans, with great clarity from the higher mid and treble compared to other EMG's. Add an overdrive to the sound and you have a good lead or rhythm sound. If you are not happy with the sound you can always add another 9v battery to power the pickup at 18v. (Don't worry the pickups are rated for up to 27v) Doing this increases the pre-amp headroom, giving you more dynamics to the sound, giving your attack a bit more oomph and getting rid of the 'compressed' sound that can be more prevalent on other EMG models.

All in all, a great buy in my opinion. Perfect for rock, blues and metal.

When used in the neck position, the EMG 60 achieves Metallica's old clean tones perfectly (eg Enter Sandman intro). The EMG 60 is the most compressed and clean neck humbucker pickup I've ever used, this makes it ideal for use with effects such as delay and chorus. It does have a sharp edge to the tone when using a pick, but that's what it's designed for - you can always go for the EMG 60A instead if you need a smoother sound. As with all EMG's I've owned I've had no problems with it, just the occaisional battery change required. The solderless system these pickups come with is great, I swapped my old Duncan Blackouts out and had this installed in under 20 minutes.