Overview
EMG 89 Active Humbucker Pickup with Coil TapThe EMG-89 is truly two pickups in one; single and dual-coil with two separate outputs. With the single flip of a switch you can change from the crunch of a humbucker to the clarity of a single-coil. Using alnico magnets, the single-coil mode is like that of the EMG-SA, and the humbucking is patterned after the EMG-85. The tone modes can be selected with the included push-pull volume control switch or with a mini-toggle. EMG Humbuckers unite a number of crucial EMG innovations in the search for a voice that delivers both classic tones and the benefits of modern technology. Each of these pickups includes an integral preamp (an EMG first) which virtually eliminates hum and noise while simultaneously reducing shock hazard to the player. Low impedance design maintains your tone as you change the volume settings at the guitar and preserves your high frequencies even with a long cord. EMG's proprietary Impedence Modeling (tm) and Dual Resonant (tm) technologies allow for precise tailoring of frequency response and resonance yielding a variety of highly tuned and tweaked tones. Another EMG exclusive, the Lo-Flux (tm) magnetic design enhances harmonics and sustain. They tailor the materials and geometry of the magnets to spread the magnetic field evenly across the strings for a balanced sound. The EMG-89 Dual Mode Pickup has been through two generations. The original Dual-mode (EMG-DM) design was incredibly sophisticated for its time (1979). The DM was an 18-Volt model with a single output available only in an Alnico magnet version. The EMG-DM was abandoned in late 1985, but the concept was revived early in 1989 when EMG came upon a more innovative design featuring 'two pickups in one', the current EMG-89. Inside the EMG-89 pickup are both single and dual-coil pickups, each with it's own output. The single-coil mode is an Alnico loaded stacked EMG-SA. The dual-coil mode consists of two Alnico loaded coils opposite one another creating a pickup similar to the EMG-85. A push/pull volume (or tone) pot allows you to change from the clarity of a single-coil to the fatness of a humbucking. The EMG-89's separate outputs give you option to utilize EMG tone enhancing accessory circuits on either pickup output.