EMG David Gilmour DG20 set.....

**TattooedCarrot** · 08-07-2002, 12:23 AM

Have you tried them ? Heard them ? Have an opinion on them ? Let's hear it. Not really fair to use DG as an example because he has so much other shit going on with his sound.

I have a set that may or may not go into my strat. I've only heard more modern tones from others who use them. Can these things emulate vintage at all ?

**LordRiffenstein** · 08-07-2002, 02:13 AM

I installed this set in my guitar YESTERDAY.

I haven't had much time to test it but so far I like it a lot. I installed them in a MIJ '72 RI strat, maple neck, big headstock and so far I like them. The boosts work great and add a lot of versatility to the guitar. The tone without boost engaged is something to get used to, it brings out the real acoustic tone of the guitar. so far I like the set, but I will post a review later.

Yoeri

**TattooedCarrot** · 08-07-2002, 03:57 AM

I look forward to an update.

Thanks, TC

**Yelly** · 08-15-2002, 05:46 PM

EMGs have a place. I have them in one of my Strats which I use as my "versatile" guitar. It can vaguely approximate many other guitars. Great with processors. Terrific string balance. Less string pull so strings ring truer. Not so fussy about amps as other PUs.

Something missing in the character for my tastes. Quiet, but not as noise free as my Di-Marzio V Vs. The boosts can add hiss.

**Clapton Fan** · 08-16-2002, 03:48 AM

i know this may be really dumb but you can check the Sa´s in this site, they will give you an idea i guess

http://www.pensaguitars.com/mk_model.htm gotta play that pensa, i love this kinds of stuff

**LiquidStrat** · 08-16-2002, 06:42 AM

.

**Clapton Fan** · 08-16-2002, 08:17 AM

altough its not the same model that MK cherished and used on the mandela birthday show, its close, his original has a floyd rose and i think a few other slight differences, like not having the bucker mounting ring and all. looks much better than the MK1.

oh and his is a pensa SUHR these ones are pensa customs?? or something, but what the hell, what do i care about it, id give my left ....ahem...to own one of these babies :)

yeah it does sounds great ;)

**LeftofHeaven** · 08-17-2002, 10:33 AM

I've had a set of DG20's in a Fender US standard for about 3 or 4 years. They are very "hi fi" crisp sounding pickups. When playing through a clean amp, rolling up the bass/treble boost pot gives you a VERY piezo/acoustic, crystal clear, chiming tone. I have never heard THAT exact tone out of any other guitar/pickups.

When playing an overdriven amp, the bass/treble pot up can get muddy quickly. I usually back it down, or have it off. But roll in the mid boost, and it's another animal. Not rediculous amounts of gain, but definitely enough to change the reaction between the guitar and amp. Great for hotter leads, without a piercing high end. It sounds "rounder" with the neck position (obviously) sounding thicker than the bridge which offers more cut, but still not shrill.

Overall, I like the pickup set, and use the guitar as a "second" or as a guitar that gives a different sound for specific songs. But after all is said and done, I prefer passive pickups as "my" main sound.

Hope this helps,

LOH

**Drak** · 08-19-2002, 02:35 PM

I just bought a used 85 that I'm going to stick in the bridge of a SC-SC-HB custom guitar I'm building that will have DG-20 guts minus the bridge SA pkp.

Gilmore meets Lukather. Should be fun...

**RMosack** · 08-29-2002, 03:57 PM

I've been eyeballing the Gilmour EMG set for a couple of years now, but I haven't pulled the trigger. Is there one type of Strat body/fretboard wood combo that's best suited to the DG20?

The reason I ask is because the DG20 doesn't have an actual tone control. I know (I think!) that with the EXG and SPC both turned down, the DG20 set should sound like relatively normal Strat pickups with volumes and tones on 10. The EXG can add a lot of bass and treble for sparkly clean tones (or I guess scooped distortion tones???) and the SPC can do a big-time lower mid boost. There's nothing there to simply roll away treble. Is this a problem - especially if the guitar is ash with a maple board? I've found that, when playing Strats, I really like to use the entire range of the tone control. Sometimes I like it on 10, sometimes 0, and often somewhere in-between.

Bottom line: How do you deal with no regular tone control on the DG20 and do you need to avoid an inherently bright Strat (ash/maple) from the beginning?

**richieirons** · 08-29-2002, 05:35 PM

I've never had a problem with wanting to turn the tone down on my DG20-equipped strat. Of course, my other strat has SA/SA/89 pups, and that one has a master tone control, so if I really needed it for a song, I could use that.

In general, I use the EQ on my Boss GT-5 on a patch-by-patch basis to get the tone I want. I'm afraid I'm not really a straight guitar to amp kinda guy.

**TattooedCarrot** · 08-30-2002, 07:56 AM

Originally posted by richieirons
I'm afraid I'm not really a straight guitar to amp kinda guy.

Exactly why the DG20 is good for you. Right now I'm trying to decide if I want to use my DG20 in a new Ase strat I just bought that is going to be my ONLY single coils strat. I also have some Texas Specials that are the competition. I prefer the tone of the TS, but they are noisy. The DG20 sounds good too, but definately "Hi-Fi". I like them because they are quiet. I play mostly through a J-Station at home with headphones on (at the computer), live I use my Mesa Boogie recto head as a tube poweramp (x2 JJ 6l6) with the preamp bypassed and using the J-station with Marshall EL34 JCM800 or Fender 59 Bassman settings. I guess the DG20 would make more sense, but the hollow straty punch of those TS are hard to beat. Oh the internal confilct !!

**richieirons** · 08-30-2002, 12:19 PM

Carrot - if you're thinking Texas Specials are more your kind of thing, I'd have to recommend the EMG SAV pickups rather than the SA. THe specs are pretty much the same, but they have pole pieces and do sound a lot different - less "hi-fi".

A couple of people have mistaken mine for Texas Specials by the sound.

The great thing is I can use them with SPC and EXG controls to get some really cool blues tones.

**TattooedCarrot** · 08-31-2002, 08:29 AM

Interesting. Only thing that makes me hesitant is the pretty consistent reviews on Harmony-Central that say they blow and have no character at all, unlike the DG20 that gets consistently rave reviews.

**richieirons** · 08-31-2002, 08:52 AM

Fair enough, although I never read HC reviews as I can't believe that I would agree with the opinion of someone who can't spell or construct sentences :tw59

My SAV strat is in pieces at the moment, but when I get it back together I'll record a couple of bits.

**TattooedCarrot** · 08-31-2002, 09:57 AM

Originally posted by richieirons
Fair enough, although I never read HC reviews as I can't believe that I would agree with the opinion of someone who can't spell or construct sentences :tw59

My SAV strat is in pieces at the moment, but when I get it back together I'll record a couple of bits.

Being grait that wood, thanx appreciating :%

**LordRiffenstein** · 09-20-2002, 05:29 AM

I ordered these pickups a while ago because I wanted some versatile pickups for my 2nd strat. I have 2 strats, one with maple/rosewood neck and the other with all maple neck, both are MIJ RI's. The maple/rosewood guitar had a set of Fralins and the EMG's were going in the maple necked Strat.

I installed them (very easy, good manual) and I found the pickups very versatile. With the dual boost (one is low and high boost, the other mid boost) there are a lot of tones to get from these pickups BUT I found them to sound way to bright. So I thought it might be the guitar and thus I made the switch. The EMG's went into the other strat.

I tried them with the band for the first time yesterday and they sound killer. Clean parts are great and with the low/high-boost you can add sparkle to the tone, cleans cut thru easily. the midboost is great for fatness during solos or riffs OR to get a nice fat feedback going. The guitar now sounds better than with the Fralins to me, no kidding YMMV IMHO of course. What I like about the EMG's is that they sound great when you just strum the strings but they sound even better digging in.

I like these pickups a lot, not just for Pink floyd wanking but they make a very versatile guitar, perfect for playing covers.

Cya.

**wemedge** · 09-27-2002, 04:59 AM

I'm on the verge of getting a DG20 set too.

I have a similar EMG setup with the EXG and SPC, except with S instead of SA pickups.

I haven't had occasion to compare it with the DG20.

Does anyone own different emg setups? Just curious to hear any opinions on intra-EMG comparisons before I pick up (ha) the DG20set.

Hope I'm not straying off topic. Wanted to keep in the same thread.

wemedge

**wemedge** · 10-04-2002, 06:59 PM

Well, I decided to answer my own question- bought the DG20 set. Should be here in a week or so, and then I'll be able to A/B my strats with the different setup.

One note for Canadians- my local shop quoted me CDN$519 plus GST/PST (that's 15%, yeah, Ontario) for a new set (approx U.S.$374). Holy smoke! I got them new for over U.S.$134 less through the mail from the States even after figuring in postage plus the 15% taxes.

Can't wait to get them!

Wemedge

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EMG David Gilmour DG20 set.....

What about the tone control?

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