Quote (MyExitEmergency @ Tue, Apr 7 2009, 02:03am)
nothing beats the tone of a EMG 81. Although man seriously the Seymour Duncan Invader, and Gibson Dirty Fingers (very similiar) are both wicked passive humbuckers. I actually started playing metal on a Fender Tom Delonge Strat, dont laugh, , which is the body of my current fender, although I changed out everything but the body itself, all electronics had to be upgraded, pickups, pickguard, everything, the only thing that took some considerable work was working in the floyd rose with the string thru body, but i got it worked out. The neck is everybodys favorite, nothing looks more badass than a fender neck with a reverse 70's headstock.
I'm not sure if you mean tone or output, but either way you're wrong. EMG's - the 81 especially - have notoriously bad tone. Sure, the output is respectable, but it's really just a poorly wound pickup with an internal preamp. Duncan blackouts have stronger output, and a better tonal response. Passive duncan pickups will have a much fatter tone than any EMG pickup, HZs included. Bareknuckle or Swineshead pickups are also good alternatives which beat EMG's to hell.
Wicked passive humbuckers don't exist. They're either active, which means they are internally amplified, or they aren't. If there is no 9 volt battery in your pickup cavity, your pickups are passive. That doesn't mean that they're weak. It just means that there is no preamp built in to the wiring.
Additionally, the entire section in italics is one enormous run-on sentence. Also Fender necks have a reputation for being chunky, and are certainly not everyone's favorite.