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EMG Fat 55 Active Humbucker 2-piece Pickup Set - Zebra

Pair of Open-coil, Humbucking Pickups with Hardware Included - Zebra
$199.00

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EMG Fat 55 Active Humbucker 2-piece Pickup Set - Zebra
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Passive Pickups Are Perfect for Retrofitting Your Sound

Want to shake things up a bit? The EMG Retro Active Fat 55 humbucker set combines vintage tone with the benefits of a modern, low-noise external preamp. By adding a plug-on preamp (no soldering necessary) to this humbucking open-coil pair of passive pickups, EMG made their output active. The traditional design of the Fat 55s features alnico magnets that respond with PAF-style old-school character — giving you that low-key blues cool factor — but the plug-on preamp provides ample versatility for modern music while preserving your passive tone. The Fat 55 humbucker set delivers a vintage look and a flexible sound that Sweetwater guitarists are finding irresistible.

EMG Retro Active Fat 55 Humbucker Set Features:

  • Pair of open-coil, PAF-inspired passive pickups with alnico magnets offer a vintage sound
  • Plug-on preamp delivers tonal variety without the need for soldering
  • Innovative passive/active combo lets you play just about any style with equally great tone
  • Clean, noise-free signal from the low-impedance output
  • All necessary components for installation included

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Tech Specs

  • Type: Set: Humbucker
  • Active/Passive: Active
  • Configuration: HH Set
  • Magnet Material: Alnico V
  • Number of Conductors: 2 wire plus battery
  • DC Resistance: 3.1K
  • Connectivity: Solderless
  • Number of Strings: 6
  • Covering: Uncovered
  • Color: Zebra
  • Manufacturer Part Number: 5969.00

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Customer Reviews

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Rated 5/5

Holy Mackerel! What INTERESTING (but awesome) pickups!

Long time EMG user starting with the 85 back in the day. Never cared for the 81, but thought the 57/66 was the absolute best until I ran into the Het Set. Not better, just wonderfully, equally, surprisingly different. 85 still hangs in there, but those two had a 'spark' or something that I kept coming back to.

Decided to mix it up and throw in a Retro Active Fat 55 set in my Charvel DK24 HH 2P CM (24 frets, two Humbuckers, 2 point Gotoh 510 trem, with a caramelized neck) instead of black chrome 57 or Het which is how I typically roll (you know, it's so metal). Could not be happier with the vintage looking Fat 55... the zebra matted colors really make the Sunburst on my Charvel and chrome hardware pop... makes me almost want to distress/age the finish!!!

The sound is to die for!!! A little spongy (assuming it's the beauty of the alnico magnets) and almost like a single coil; you gotta dig in, but man when you do it's so clear and articulate and some how full, fat, yet plenty of space along the spectrum so it sits in a mix beautifully. The cleans are amazingly rich, detailed, and clear, almost too thin for me, but almost like a fat single coil if that makes any sense.

Definitely alters, in a good way, how I play which is a lot of fun. They are so sensitive to dynamics that it's incredibly fun to experiment with how I hit the strings and finding note articulation all over scale fragments... in my head, sort of like the picking differences between Yngwie and Rhoads... both dig, but wildly different character... this pickup allows for that kind of space...

Really awesome work EMG... this would sound absolutely MASSIVE in a Les Paul I'm sure. Think a Mesa Rectifier Recording Preamp without the boost in front.. a little spongy but so big. (The 57 and Het would definitely, if I'm to continue using the analogy, would be a boosted Mesa).

Can't recommend them enough.
Music background: Life long musician
Rated 5/5

These Pickups are amazing!

These pickups went in my les paul, and they sound amazing! They work great with both clean and dirty settings on the amp! They have that classic paf sound with not static or popping. You can go from blues to metal with no problem. I can't say enough about these new pickups. I recommend these 100%.
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