Seymour Duncan and EMG are both incredibly popular guitar pickup brands, but which one makes the best designs? In this article, I’ll compare the signature tones of Seymour Duncan and EMG, along with the different models on offer in the range, and the price, to help you decide which is the best option for your guitar.
At a Glance
Seymour Duncan pickups have a more vintage tone compared to EMG pickups which sound more modern. Seymour Duncan make a wide range of passive pickups and make a limited range of active pickups, whilst EMG specialise more in active pickups, and make fewer passive options.
Contents
This article is pretty long because I wanted to go into as much depth as possible to help you make your decision on which pickups are best for you, so I’ve split it into the following sections:
- Brand Overviews
- Tone Comparison
- Ranges and Options
- Which Should You Choose?
Brand Overview
Before we compare the two brands, I thought it’d be a good idea to briefly outline and summarise the EMG and Seymour Duncan ranges so you can get to grips which the types of pickups on offer. If you’re already an expert and just want to look at the comparisons, feel free to skip ahead to the next section.
Seymour Duncan
Seymour Duncan primarily make passive pickups in humbucker, single coil and P90 varieties. They also make a limited range of active humbucker pickups. They range is absolutely huge, and I’ll go into more detail on it later in the article when I compare it to the EMG range, so for now, here’s a quick summary.
Humbuckers
The range is divided into the following:
- Vintage (lower output): ‘59 Model, Slash, Pearly Gates, Jazz Model, Antiquity Humbucker, Seth Lover, Whole Lotta Humbucker, Alnico II Pro HB, Vintage Blues, Saturday Night Special, Phat Cat, Antiquity Jazz HB.
- Medium Output: ‘59 Custom Hybrid, Custom 5, Screamin’ Demon, Full Shred, P-Rails, Custom Custom, Benedetto, Jason Becker Perpetual Burn, Parallel Axis Blue Saraceno.
- High Output: JB Model, Hot Rodded, Mark Holcomb, Invader, Duncan Distortion, Black Winter, Nazgul, Mayhem, Duncan Custom, Dimebucker, Sentient, Pegasus, Dimebag, Alternative 8, Jupiter Rails, Dave Mustaine Thrash Factor, Parallel Axis Distortion.
- Active: Mick Thomson Blackouts, Jeff Loomis Blackouts, Dave Mustaine, Retribution, Blackouts HB.
Stratocaster Single Coils
The range is divided into true single coil and noiseless models:
- True Single Coil: Custom Flat/ Staggered, Vintage Flat/ Staggered, Antiquity Texas Hot, Quarter Pound Flat/ Staggered, Antiquity II, Hot, Jimi Hendrix, Vintage Flat, Alnico Pro II Flat/ Staggered, Lipstick Tube, Five-Two.
- Noiseless: Hot Rails, Classic Stack, Everything Axe, YJM Fury, Little ’59, JB Jr, Duckbuckers, Vintage Rails, Cool Rails, Vintage Hot, Red Devil, Hot Sack, Custom Stack Plus.
Telecaster Single Coils
The range is divided into true single coil and noiseless models:
- True Single Coil: Vintage Broadcaster, Quarter Pound, Hot, Alnico II Pro, Vintage, Vintage ’54, Five-Two, Jerry Donahue Lead, Brad Paisley La Bra, Antiquity, Antiquity II, Antiquity ’55.
- Noiseless: Hot Rails, Little ’59, Hot Stack, Vintage Stack.
P90s
Here is a breakdown of the Seymour Duncan P90 selection:
- Vintage (lower output): Antiquity P90, Antiquity P90 Dog Ear, Vintage P90.
- Medium Output: P90 Stack, P-Rails.
- High Output: Hot P90, Custom P90.
Offset Guitars
Seymour Duncan also make pickups for the Jaguar including the following: Antiquity, Antiquity II, Vintage and Duo-Sonic.
Here are some images (all link to Amazon) to show some of the most popular designs.
Duncan Distortion
Antiquity P90 Dog Ear
Vintage Strat
Blackouts
EMG
EMG produce active and passive pickups in single coil, humbucker and P90 designs. They specialise primarily in active humbuckers, and these models make up the bulk of the range, which is why they are so often associated with modern metal music.
Active Humbuckers
EMG’s active humbucker range is split into the modern series (57, 58, 60, 66, 81, 85 and 89) and the retro active series (Fat 55, Hot 70, Super 77).
They use both alnico and ceramic pickups, and most of the pickups in the modern series are designed to either go in the bridge or the neck position. However, there are some pickups which are considered more balanced and work well in either position, and even pickups that are designed to go in the bridge, can also work really well in the neck and vice-versa.
Most numbers also have different variants e.g. X or TW. Here’s what they mean:
- A = alnico magnets (not all pickups with alnico magnets have the A)
- TW = dual-mode (humbucker and single coil tones using coil splitting)
- X = X-series pre-amp which provides better clarity
- R = reversed single coil positioning
The retro active series come in black and zebra colour options and have an open coil design, whilst the modern series offers some open coil options, but most are fully cased and available in multiple colours.
Passive Humbuckers
EMG have a passive humbucker range made up of the following models: H1, H2, H3, H4. With each model, you can also get a variant which has alnico magnets instead of ceramic, and these are distinguished using the letter “A” e.g. H1A.
Single Coils
EMG make a wide range of single coil pickups, and many of them are voiced specifically for either a Stratocaster, or a Telecaster. They are usually designed for specific positions, and utilise alnico and ceramic magnets. The active range consists of the following models: Crossroads, FT/ RT, Maverick, S. The passive range consists of the S1, S2, S3 and S4 models.
P90s
EMG split their P90 range into models designed for the neck position, and models designed for the bridge position. However, as with the humbucker range, you can experiment with different positionings.
- Neck P90s: P60, P60A, P92HZ
- Bridge P90s: P81, P85, P91HZ
All the pickups are active except for the P91HZ and P92HZ models.
The EMG range is huge an it can be very difficult to select the right pickup for your guitar. I’ve made a complete guide to the EMG pickup range which includes all the models and how they differ, so check it out here if you want to learn more.
Here are some images (all link to Amazon) of some of the most popular EMG pickup designs. Most models are available in a few different colours.
EMG 85 Humbucker
EMG 57 Humbucker
EMG Super 77 Set
EMG S Single Coils
Tone Comparison
Comparing the tones of two entire pickup brands is pretty difficult, and really risks oversimplification. However, it’s what you can here for so I’ll do my best to decipher the signature tones of the brands.
Since Seymour Duncan primarily specialise in passive pickups, and EMG in active pickups, this allows us to identify the first big differences.
- Active pickups have a higher output and better clarity when using high gain amplifier settings. They also produce less hum and background noise.
- Passive pickups have a more vintage tone by comparison and a wider dynamic range.
This means that Seymour Duncan pickups tend to sound a bit more natural and modern whilst EMG pickups sound more modern and compressed.
Although you can play a range of music styles with either brand’s pickups, EMG are most commonly associated with heavy metal, whilst Seymour Duncan are slightly more versatile.
Check out this comparison between active and passive pickups
It’s also important to consider the magnet material, as this has a huge impact on the voicing of the pickups. Both brands use ceramic and alnico magnets. Ceramics have a higher output and tighter low-end, whilst alnico magnets produce a more rounded tone. So with each brand it’s possible to choose whichever magnet type sounds best to you, again making it hard to pin down concrete differences between the brands’ tone.
If I had to distil it into a few bullet points, this is what I’d say:
- Seymour Duncan pickups sound more rounded and full, with a wider dynamic range and more mid-range frequencies than EMG pickups.
- EMG pickups sound a bit scooped in the mid-range by comparison, causing then to sound a bit thinner than Seymour Duncan pickups. This is more evident when using clean tones.
- EMG pickups have a tight low-end and very crisp highs which cut through very well when using distortion.
- Seymour Duncan pickups have a warmer more natural tone than EMG pickups which sound more artificial.
Personally, I prefer the clean tones of Seymour Duncan pickups, due to their open and rich tone, whilst EMG pickups sound better when using distortion due to the crispness and high output of the active technology.
Of course, this is a generalisation, and the brands make such large ranges of pickups that you can easily find an EMG which sounds fuller than a Duncan and vice-versa.
If you’re into metal, then check out this video below to hear the EMG 81 and Seymour Duncan Distortion SH-6 in action. These two pickups represent the metal tones that both brands offer really well.
Ranges and Options
In this next section, I wanted to compare the full ranges of EMG and Seymour Duncan pickups so you can see what they specialise in. The prices are all from Seymour Duncan’s and EMG’s websites at the time of writing and are subject to change.
Considering how large each brands’ ranges are, the tables are massive. I’ve just made them to help give a summary so you can see what options are available to you at your price point. All the tables are ordered from the lowest to the highest price and are split into the following pickup types:
- Passive Humbuckers
- Active Humbuckers
- P90 Pickups
- Stratocaster Single Coils
- Telecaster Single Coils
If you’re not interested in this section, keep scrolling because there are some additional sections after all the tables.
Guitar Center have a huge range of pickups at great prices so make sure you check them out if you’re in the market for some. Here’s a link to take you directly to Guitar Center’s pickup range so you can check for current deals.
Passive Humbuckers
- Seymour Duncan have a much larger range of passive humbuckers than EMG.
- Seymour Duncan cater for the 7 and 8 string market more than EMG for passive humbuckers.
- Most Seymour Duncan pickups are voiced specifically for the neck or bridge yet have the same name, whilst EMG usually voice specific models for different positions, although they can still be used in either.
| Pickup | Magnet | Position | Strings | Price |
| SD ’59 Model | Alnico V | Either | 6, 7 | $79 |
| SD JB Model | Alnico V | Bridge | 6, 7 | $79 |
| SD Jazz Model | Alnico V | Either | 6, 7 | $79 |
| SD Duncan Distortion | Ceramic | Either | 6, 7, 8 | $79 |
| SD Duncan Custom | Ceramic | Bridge | 6, 7 | $79 |
| SD Custom 5 | Alnico V | Bridge | 6, 7 | $79 |
| SD Alnico II Pro | Alnico II | Either | 6 | $89 |
| SD Invader | Ceramic | Either | 6, 7, 8 | $89 |
| SD Black Winter | Ceramic | Either | 6, 7, 8 | $99 |
| SD Phat Cat | Alnico II | Either | 6 | $89 |
| SD Full Shred | Alnico V | Either | 6, 7, 8 | $89 |
| SD Custom Custom | Alnico II | 6 | Bridge | $89 |
| SD Nazgul | Ceramic | Bridge | 6, 7, 8 | $99 |
| SD Sentient | Alnico | Neck | 6, 7, 8 | $99 |
| SD ’59 Custom Hybrid | Alnico V | Bridge | 6 | $99 |
| SD Pegasus | Alnico V | Bridge | 6, 7, 8 | $99 |
| SD P-Rails | Alnico V | Either | 6 | $99 |
| SD Alternative 8 | Alnico VIII | Bridge | 6 | $99 |
| EMG H1 | Ceramic | Any | 6 | $99 |
| EMG H1A | Alnico | Any | 6 | $99 |
| EMG H2 | Ceramic | Any | 6 | $99 |
| EMG H2A | Alnico | Any | 6 | $99 |
| EMG H3 | Ceramic | Any | 6 | $99 |
| EMG H3A | Alnico | Any | 6 | $99 |
| EMG H4 | Ceramic | Any | 6 | $99 |
| EMG H4A | Alnico | Any | 6 | $99 |
| SD Slash | Alnico II | Either | 6 | $109 |
| SD Pearly Gates | Alnico II | Either | 6 | $109 |
| SD Whole Lotta Humbucker | Alnico V | Either | 6 | $109 |
| SD Dimebucker | Ceramic | Bridge | 6 | $109 |
| SD Saturday Night Special | Alnico IV | Either | 6 | $109 |
| SD Screamin’ Demon | Alnico V | Bridge | 6 | $109 |
| SD Jason Becker Perpetual Burn | Alnico V | Bridge | 6 | $109 |
| SD Dave Mustaine Thrash Factor | Alnico V | Either | 6 | $109 |
| SD Seth Lover | Alnico II | Either | 6 | $119 |
| SD Benedetto | Alnico V | Either | 6 | $119 |
| SD Mark Holcomb | Ceramic | Either | 6, 7, 8 | $129 |
| SD Jupiter Rails | Ceramic | Either | 6 | $129 |
| SD Antiquity | Alnico II | Either | 6 | $139 |
| SD Ducan Distortion Active Mount | Ceramic | Either | 7, 8 | $139 |
| SD Nazgul Active Mount | Ceramic | Bridge | 7, 8 | $139 |
| SD Sentient Active Mount | Alnico V | Neck | 7, 8 | $139 |
| SD Psyclone Filter’Tron | Alnico V | Either | 6 | $139 |
| SD Hot Rodded | Alnico V | Both | 6 | $149 (set) |
| SD Mayhem | Ceramic | Both | 6 | $149 (set) |
| SD Vintage Blues | Alnico V | Both | 6 | $149 (set) |
| SD Dimebag | Ceramic | Both | 6 | $199 (set) |
| SD P-Rails Triple Shot | Alnico V | Both | 6 | $259 (set) |
Active Humbuckers
- EMG make a much larger range of active humbuckers than Seymour Duncan.
- Most Seymour Duncan pickups are voiced specifically for the neck or bridge yet have the same name, whilst EMG usually voice specific models for different positions, although they can still be used in either.
| Pickup | Magnet | Position | Strings | Price |
| SD Blackouts HB Coil Pack | Ceramic | Any | 6 | $79 |
| EMG 58 | Alnico | Any | 6 | $99 |
| EMG 60 | Ceramic | Neck | 6, 7, 8 | $99 |
| EMG 60A | Alnico | Neck | 6 | $99 |
| EMG 81 | Ceramic | Bridge | 6, 7, 8 | $99 |
| EMG 85 | Alnico | Neck | 6, 7 ,8 | $99 |
| EMG H | Ceramic | Any | 6 | $99 |
| EMG HA | Alnico | Any | 6 | $99 |
| SD Blackouts HB | Ceramic | Any | 6, 7 | $99 |
| EMG 707 | Alnico | Any | 7 | $109 |
| EMG 58X | Alnico | Any | 6 | $109 |
| EMG 60AX | Alnico | Neck | 6 | $109 |
| EMG 60X | Alnico | Neck | 6, 7, 8 | $109 |
| EMG 81X | Ceramic | Bridge | 6, 7 ,8 | $109 |
| EMG 85X | Alnico | Neck | 6, 7, 8 | $109 |
| EMG HX | Ceramic | Any | 6 | $109 |
| EMG HAX | Alnico | Any | 6 | $109 |
| EMG 707X | Alnico | Any | 7 | $109 |
| EMG 808 | Alnico | Any | 8 | $119 |
| EMG 81TW | Ceramic | Bridge | 6 | $119 |
| EMG 57 | Alnico | Bridge | 6, 7, 8 | $119 |
| EMG 66 | Alnico/ Ceramic | Neck | 6, 7, 8 | $119 |
| EMG 89 | Alnico | Bridge | 6 | $119 |
| EMG 89R | Alnico | Bridge | 6 | $119 |
| SD Mick Thomson | Ceramic | Either | 6, 7 | $119 |
| SD Retribution | Ceramic | Any | 7, 8 | $125 |
| EMG 707TW/ 707TWR | Alnico | Any | 7 | $129 |
| EMG 808X | Alnico | Any | 8 | $129 |
| EMG 909 | Alnico | Any | 9 | $129 |
| EMG 81TWX | Ceramic | Any | 6 | $129 |
| EMG 89X | Alnico | Bridge | 6 | $129 |
| EMG 89XR | Alnico | Bridge | 6 | $129 |
| SD Jeff Loomis Blackouts | Alnico | Any | 7 | $129 |
| EMG 909X | Alnico | Any | 9 | $139 |
| EMG 66TW | Alnico/ Ceramic | Neck | 6 | $139 |
| EMG 707TWX/ 707TWX-R | Alnico | Any | 7 | $139 |
| EMG Fat 55 | Alnico | Any | 6, 7 | $199 (for set) |
| EMG Hot 70 Bridge | Ceramic | Bridge | 6, 7 | $199 (for set) |
| EMG Hot 70 Neck | Alnico | Neck | 6, 7 | $199 (for set) |
| EMG Super 77 | Ceramic | Both | 6 | $199 (for set) |
| SD Dave Mustain | Alnico V | Both | 6 | $209 (for set) |
P90 Pickups
- EMG make active and passive P90 pickups.
- Seymour Duncan only make passive P90 pickups.
- Most Seymour Duncan pickups are voiced specifically for the neck or bridge yet have the same name, whilst EMG usually voice specific models for different positions, although they can still be used in either.
| Pickup | Type | Magnets | Position | Price |
| SD Phat Cat | Passive | Alnico II | Any | $89 |
| SD Vintage P90 | Passive | Alnico II | Any | $99 |
| SD P-Rails | Passive | Alnico V | Any | $99 |
| SD Hot P90 | Passive | Ceramic | Any | $99 |
| SD Custom P90 | Passive | Ceramic | Any | $99 |
| EMG P60 | Active | Ceramic | Neck | $99 |
| EMG P60A | Active | Alnico V | Neck | $99 |
| EMG P81 | Active | Ceramic | Bridge | $99 |
| EMG P85 | Active | Alnico V | Bridge | $99 |
| EMG P91HZ | Passive | Ceramic | Bridge | $99 |
| EMG P92HZ | Passive | Alnico V | Neck | $99 |
| SD Antiquity P90 Dog Ear | Passive | Alnico II | Any | $109 |
| SD Antiquity P90 | Passive | Alnico II | Any | $119 |
| SD P90 Stack | Passive | Alnico V | Any | $119 |
Stratocaster Single Coils
- EMG make active and passive single coils whilst Seymour Duncan only make passive versions.
- Most Seymour Duncan pickups are voiced specifically for the neck, middle and bridge positions yet have the same name, whilst EMG usually voice specific models for different positions, although they can still be used in either position.
| Pickup | Type | Magnet | Position | Price |
| SD Custom Staggered Strat | Passive | Alnico V | Any | $59 |
| SD Vintage Staggered Strat | Passive | Alnico V | Any | $59 |
| SD Quarter Pound Strat | Passive | Alnico V | Any | $59 |
| SD Quarter Pound Staggered | Passive | Alnico V | Any | $59 |
| SD Hot Strat | Passive | Alnico V | Any | $59 |
| SD Vintage Flat Strat | Passive | Alnico V | Any | $59 |
| SD Custom Flat Strat | Passive | Alnico V | Any | $59 |
| SD Alnico II Pro Flat Strat | Passive | Alnico II | Any | $69 |
| SD Alnico II Pro Staggered | Passive | Alnico II | Any | $69 |
| SD Hot Stack Strat | Passive | Ceramic | Any | $79 |
| SD Lipstick Tube Strat | Passive | Alnico V | Any | $85 |
| SD Vintage Hot Plus Strat | Passive | Alnico V | Any | $89 |
| SD Cool Rails Strat | Passive | Ceramic | Any | $89 |
| SD Vintage Rails Strat | Passive | Ceramic | Any | $89 |
| SD Duckbuckers | Passive | Ceramic | Any | $89 |
| SD JB Jr Strat | Passive | Ceramic | Any | $89 |
| SD Little ’59 Strat | Passive | Alnico V | Any | $89 |
| SD Antiquity Strat Texas Hot | Passive | Alnico II | Any | $89 |
| SD Antiquity II Surfer Strat | Passive | Alnico V | Any | $89 |
| SD Classic Stack Plus Strat | Passive | Alnico V | Any | $89 |
| SD Custom Stack Plus Strat | Passive | Alnico V | Any | $89 |
| SD Hot Rails Strat | Passive | Ceramic | Any | $89 |
| SD Five-Two | Passive | Alnico II+V | Any | $89 |
| EMG Crossroads | Active | Alnico II | Any | $89 |
| EMG Maverick V | Active | Alnico V | Any | $89 |
| EMG S | Active | Ceramic | Bridge | $89 |
| EMG S1 | Passive | Alnico V | Any | $89 |
| EMG S2 | Passive | Alnico V | Any | $89 |
| EMG S3 | Passive | Alnico V | Any | $89 |
| EMG S4 | Passive | Ceramic | Any | $89 |
| EMG SA | Active | Alnico V | Any | $89 |
| EMG SAV | Active | Alnico V | Any | $89 |
| EMG SLV | Active | Alnico V | Any | $89 |
| EMG SV | Active | Alnico V | Any | $89 |
| SD YJM Fury Strat | Passive | Alnico V | Any | $99 |
| EMG SAVX | Active | Alnico V | Any | $99 |
| EMG SAX | Active | Alnico V | Any | $99 |
| EMG SLVX | Active | Alnico V | Any | $99 |
| EMG SX | Active | Ceramic | Any | $99 |
| SD Red Devil | Passive | Alnico V | Any | $109 |
Telecaster Single Coils
- EMG make active single coils whilst Seymour Duncan only make passive versions.
- The EMG Tele range is divided into ones that are suitable for the neck, and ones suitable for the bridge position. Most Seymour Duncan pickups are also divided this way, but some models include both neck and bridge varieties.
| Pickup | Type | Magnet | Position | Price |
| SD Vintage ’54 Tele | Passive | Alnico V | Bridge | $65 |
| SD Vintage Broadcaster | Passive | Alnico V | Any | $69 |
| SD Quarter Pound Tele | Passive | Alnico V | Any | $69 |
| SD Hot Tele | Passive | Alnico V | Any | $69 |
| SD Vintage Tele | Passive | Alnico V | Neck | $69 |
| SD Alnico II Pro Tele | Passive | Alnico II | Any | $79 |
| SD Jerry Donahue Lead | Passive | Alnico II | Bridge | $79 |
| SD Hot Stack Tele | Passive | Alnico V | Bridge | $79 |
| SD Hot Rails Tele | Passive | Ceramic | Any | $89 |
| SD Little ’59 Tele | Passive | Ceramic | Bridge | $89 |
| EMG FT | Active | Alnico V | Neck | $89 |
| EMG FTC | Active | Ceramic | Neck | $89 |
| EMG RT | Active | Alnico V | Bridge | $89 |
| EMG RTC | Active | Ceramic | Bridge | $89 |
| SD Five-Two Tele | Passive | Alnico II+V | Any | $99 |
| EMG FTCX | Active | Ceramic | Neck | $99 |
| EMG FTX | Active | Alnico V | Neck | $99 |
| EMG RTCX | Active | Ceramic | Bridge | $99 |
| EMG RTX | Active | Alnico V | Bridge | $99 |
Which Are the Best?
This is always a tough question to answer because tone is so subjective, and what sounds good to me, might not sound good to you. However, I wanted to make some conclusions to help you come to your decisions:
- If you want very high output active pickups for modern metal, go for EMGs.
- If you want versatile pickups which have a balanced tone, go for Seymour Duncan pickups.
- If you want passive pickups, then Seymour Duncan offers a wider selection.
Seymour Duncan pickups do a great job at producing a vintage, classic tone that works for pretty much every genre and when using clean and distorted amp settings. EMG pickups are perfect for players looking to achieve a more modern high gain tone, and although their clean tones do sound bright and crisp, they’re a bit more love or hate than Duncan pickups.
If I was building an all-out metal machine, I wouldn’t think twice about going for EMGs, but for pretty much everything else, I prefer the Seymour Duncan tone.
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