EMG
Latest EMG guitar news, new electric and acoustic guitars, signature models, artist collaborations, and releases tracked by Guitar Radar.
Guitar Radar follows EMG through 1 story and 1 product release, covering new gear, launches and company news as they happen. Most of it sits under gear. The most recent story, from Aug 26, 2026, is “EMG Releases Tom Morello 'TM Set' Based on His Arm the Homeless Wiring”. The newest product in the releases catalog is the EMG TM Set (Tom Morello Signature).
About EMG
EMG, whose initials are said to stand for Electro-Magnetic Generator, was founded in 1976 by Rob Turner in Long Beach, California, first under the name Dirtywork Studios. Its first pickup is the model still sold as the EMG H and HA, and the active humbucker EMG 58 followed soon after. Turner moved the business to Santa Rosa in late 1978, and it became EMG, Inc. in 1983.
The company's breakthrough came through Steinberger: Ned Steinberger fitted EMG pickups to his headless graphite instruments, and in 1981 the EMG SS (now the HB) became standard on the Steinberger L-series bass. EMGs spread among American metal and rock players, and the company showed at the 1983 Musikmesse in Germany, where they also did well in Europe.
Today the 81 (bridge) and 85 (neck) pair is its best-known set, a common high-gain combination that is used by players including members of Metallica and Slayer and Zakk Wylde. Guitar Radar follows new EMG pickups and artist sets.
Sources: Wikipedia: EMG, Inc. · MMR Magazine: Rob Turner talks 40 years of EMG
