EMG founder Rob Turner talks Retro Active pickups

I like having screws or bolts in pickups people don’t listen when they say adjusting them makes no difference but I guess you can kinda compensate with overall height too since most actives don’t have adjustable poles and are more compressed anyways though it doesn’t matter with a stringjoy set i got recently it was balanced naturally at least with the combination of everything about the guitar I put them in

But how's about battery lifetime ?

I got Retro Active Hot 70-7s in my Amarok-7, and I love em. The Fat 55 neck with Super 77 bridge is the PERFECT combo. I get amazing PAF cleans and tones from the neck, and super hot metal from bridge.

Wait a second...this means...I can separate the pickup and the preamp and realize split/parallel sounds and everything! Mod time!!!

Retro Actives are amazing! 57/66 too!! Daemonums too for higher gain stuff

I’ve had these pickups for 6 years. They are good, not great. Not really enough bite and attack. I always feel like it needs more oomph. I’m gonna replace one of them soon.

Wonder what would happen to the tone if the 70's Alnico 5 was in the bridge?

Hi there..........I have a Schecter with a Retro EMG Hot 70 in the bridge position...........I'm taking the Sustainiac pickup out of the neck position............I want to replace it with another EMG Retro Hot 70 pickup but cant find a single one they come in pairs.........Do you think an EMG Retro Fat 55 would sound good for heavy metal jamming.......Thanks

Love My Fat 55 sets. They are gnarly in a PAF kind of way. Brilliant with high gain sounds.

This did not explain jack squat. He even got lazy telling us what colors will be available.

I've been a dimarzio and Seymour player since the 8-s but now that my eyes won't allow me to solder correctly. I'm moving to EMG's, but i'm looking for what would be closest to Seymour JB's or Seymour Super distortion. ??? Will be put in superstrats.

When the metal cover will be available ?

i want a retro looking emg humbucker but with rails

Anyone else notice Rob sounds almost exactly like Bill Murray?

I just picked up a Squier Jazzmaster Contemporary that came loaded with the Retro Active Fat 55 set...I can't believe how versatile these pickups are. They're so full sounding and have almost zero noise! At one point I was playing Death Metal with my Noise Gate OFF and didn't even realize it! I've never had a better tone!
I bought the Jazzmaster because I wanted a guitar that covered all my bases and the Fat 55 set delivered beyond any expectations I could have had! My Metal tones are bright, punchy and deep...my Clean tones are full, robust and clear...my Country tones are fat, spanky and twangy. I've never had a guitar this versatile before and I've owned at least 35 guitars at this point. The Fat 55 set is smoking every pickup I own in A/B tests. It's not even close.

Fat 55 v Super 77?I can't choose between the two. Looking for versatility.

So my esp ltd is a 2005. I'm looking at the emg 350a 360a set I'm not finding alot about them but I like the zebra. I'm really hoping it's a plug and play thing I'm not sure when it turned from hard wiring to plugs

Love my hot 70 retroactives....question?..what should the pickup height be for neck and bridge ?.....thank you EMG

Unfortunatelly, they are not wax-potted pickups.

when the coil tap or coil split

So if you have these retro pickups in the guitar... does that mean going to standard active EMGS is a standard pickup switch? Orrr?

I bought a guitar with an EMG 81/60 set on impulse and I hate the way the active pickups sound. I’ve been hoping to get a set that sounds like a 70s passive. How good do these sound vs., for example, a Seymour Duncan hot rodded humbucker set or pearly gates?

I see the 77 set has 4 pots,my esp only has 3, would it plug up using only 3 , and would these do away with my coil splitting(not that i ever use it).

What is the pole piece spacing in millimetres please, for both the neck and bridge?

thanks Turner

I love what EMG is doing lately. No longer can people say all EMG's sound lifeless. So many new models to choose from now. Guitarists wanted EMG to start making new pickups and to innovate...well here ya go. We have the Fat 55, Super 77, Friedmans signature's, Het set, Kirk Hammett's Bone Breaker set, SA's, H series, 57/66, X-Series, ALX pickup, Hot 70's, Tele pickups, M-80's, M-60's, Crossroads, Mavericks, OC-1 set, GTV set, 58, even a damn 91 pickup for archtop Jazz players, etc...like I said, no longer can guitarists put all EMG pickups in the same box...plenty to choose from for your specific style of playing now.

Shut up and take my money

Any plans for a Retro Active P-90?

So, can u combine one of these, let's say, with an 81 on the bridge position?

do they use batteries?

Hey Rob love your guys pickups and can't wait to give these a try. Would love to see some more pickups in your line that allow for coil split.

Take care

Bob

I recently bought a Cort X LTD 16 OTBK, i read somewhere that these guitars come with EMG Retro Active pickup's can anyone tell me which set is on this guitar, is it the Fat 55 or the Super 77 set on this guitar? Thanks in advance, Cheers!

Shut up and take my money

Yes! Can't wait to get mine!