EMG Kerry King Set Black

I ordered this kerry king set. knowingly what i expect. EMG81 and 85 has been used recording countless good thrash metal records in the 80s and 90s. and there is a good reason why these pickups were used.

very defined and sharp tone.
very little feedback and noise.
also excelent clean tone.

as for the pa2 booster included. It sure gives a killer metal tone. but it is noisy.
but i ordered mainly for the 81/85 classic combo. And since im been a Slayer fan for decades.

it was easy to install since the instructions are very clear. And the quick connectors are very user friendly.


If you have an V shape guitar you might have to order longer cables.
I however couldn't wait and did some solderiny to reuse some of the components in the existing guitar.

overall a great buy.

I purchased this set to put inside an ESP/LTD F-250 which came with standard passive humbuckers and which I felt needed a bit of spicing up.
The tone of thrash-master Kerry King is something which I thought would fit the bill and I had these installed, together with the included PA2 pre-amp, and it absolutely transformed the guitar.

The EMG-81 and EMG-85 along with the PA2 (20 dB gain booster) can deliver a huge array of tones from warm, full, bluesy cleans to bone crushing distortion.

The 81 is at it's best with high volume overdrive and amps with a master volume. It has a razor sharp attack, and delivers on its promise of a full metal assault.

It is an extremely low-noise pickup meaning it will not disrupt your signal chain or leave you forking out additional funds for a noise suppressor.

The 85 has a thick low end and a heavier top end than most and is fantastic as a rhythm or blues pickup.

For added boost, flip the PA2 toggle switch to drive the power just a tad more - perfect when you need just a tad more clarity to break through the mix when soloing.

This set has absolutely transformed my guitar into a machine which screams with excitement when it is picked up to be played.

I love the emg 81/85 setup, I already have a set installed on an Epiphone G400 along with an AB afterburner. So this may be a biased review because they are my favorite pickups. I wanted to refresh the electronics to a 1987 Gibson SG and put some new passive humbuckers on. Then I thought, the hell with it, I will put some old trusty EMGs on it. The 81, in the correct distance from the strings, delivers the optimal dynamic response and characteristics to the sound for my playing style. I mostly play traditional heavy and epic metal. The pickups' attack is great for riffing, the harmonics sound great. Great for solos and awesome for bending. I use this on a Marshall JMP1 (mostly OD1) - EL34 100/100 -1960B. I've read lots about the fact than the cleans are not so clean but with my previous experience I knew that with the right distance from the strings you can get good cleans without affecting your distorted sounds.the package comes with high quality, potensiometers nad all the cables you need. The solder-less system can be installed by an 8 year old kid, it is a great innovation, you can't go wrong with it. I haven't installed the PA2 yet cause my SG will need some mods (very thin body), but since it's similar with the afterburner and I know it gives a nice sounding boost - a compressor on your chain won't let it shine though. great overall price and awesome thomann service as always. My only con is the height of the PA2 but ok, my guitar is way thinner than the average guitar.

I'd recommend this for any death or thrash metal players who are looking to get a darker, more distorted sound out of their axe. The bridge pickup (81) is very crisp and it gives screaming leads and really crunchy lows, while the neck pickup (85) is a lot smoother but also muddier. My only complaint would be that it takes a lot of setting changes to get a clean sound (as expected, of course). Because of the gain booster, you'll have to either switch it off, or turn down your volume and tone and switch to the neck pickup, to get a proper clean sound.