good versataile humbuckers?

[Incubi]

hey need some help on choosing pickups . I was thinking a getting emg 81-85 but if im not mistaken they are mainly for metal guitar but i want pickups that are good for everything not just metal. pickups that are good for playing all types of music with good clean and distorted tones. im lookin for both a neck and bridge pickup. any suggestions ?
thanks all

[smfulla]

try the new (atleast I think its new) DiMarzio FRED. That's Joe Satriani's prefered choice of pickup. And you know Joe can get a whole lot of different styles coming out of his gat.

[Levinson Blade]

Have a look at Seymour Duncan there web site has a lot of details about all ther pick ups I use the hot rails there a humbucker in a single coil unit but are very versatile they have a huge range. The EMG pickups also get great reviews

[ESP_Viper]

I replaced my stock pickups with duncans. And it sounds so good. I had some guys over yesterday to jam. They both commented on how pure my tone was. I use the duncan SH-5 custom at the bridge, and the APH-1N alnico II pro at the neck. I also have a push/pull tone knob for coil tap. That offers so much versatility and unique tones.

EMG actives sound great. They are best suited for metal, but you can do other styles with them. They are very hot pickups, and not very dynamic.

Dimarzio makes some great pickups. I have played an air norton. It is a very sweet sounding pickup. I know many people that use dimarzio and absolutely love them. Do a lot of research on duncan and dimarzio. They will be your best choices. Read reviews on harmony cental, and get literature from both companies. They will send it to you for free. Don't rush into buying pickups. It was months of looking and absorbing that I did to decide which pickups I wanted. I am 100% pleased with my choices.

[fizz]

is there any other pick up that is similar to the EMG 81-85?
loads of people seem to be getting them now adays? whats the advantage of getting 2 81's like kirk?
id imagine that youd have less choice in the sound that comes out eh?

[ESP_Viper]

Well the tone that you get out of the guitar depends on the position it's at. An EMG81 at the bridge and at the neck will sound different, yet it will sound the same. If you know pickups, you will be able to tell that it is an 81 at the neck, but it will sound different than the 81 at the bridge. In my opinion, the 81 at the neck is kinda muddy. If you notice, kirk never uses his neck pickup, so he's not gonna be too worried about what the 81 at the neck sounds like ;).

The Duncan invader is about the closest thing in a passive that will sound like an 81. If you like the 81-85 tone, just get some then. They aren't too expensive as pickups go. They are easy to install too. Little to no soldering required.