What guitar pickups has the best string separation?

[Deadseen]

I'm looking for a 7-string bridge pickup that has really good string separation. active., passive. custom, anything goes.

I have one guitar with maple neck/mahogany body and one with maple neck/basswood body. And I'm considering changing pickups in both of them. I have a seymour duncan invader in the mahogany guitar right now, but I can't say that I like the sound of it.

[Quitty]

Nothing i can tell you will do you any better than a simple forum search.

With that said, BKP Rebel Yell or Emerald for probably the best results, Aftermaths or Lundgren M7 if you have to have higher output, then Duncan Full Shreds.

[Konfyouzd]

Looking for clarity?

The DiMarzio Evos are supposed to do that.

[Quitty]

Originally Posted by Konfyouzd

Looking for clarity?

The DiMarzio Evos are supposed to do that.

String seperation =/= clarity...

[Razzy]

Originally Posted by Quitty

String seperation =/= clarity...

Then what would "string separation" be? I would've thought clarity as well.

In which case, I'd recommend Dimarzio Evolution, the Crunchlab/Liquifire, or the D Activator.

[Konfyouzd]

@Quitty - Then clarify, genius...

Clarity, note individuality, articulation... All of these more or less hint at the same thing to me. I'll be sure to consult Webster next time.

[Quitty]

Originally Posted by Konfyouzd

@Quitty - Then clarify, genius...

Clarity, note individuality, articulation... All of these more or less hint at the same thing to me. I'll be sure to consult Webster next time.

Don't get your panties in a bunch. We're trying to help the guy, not pick a fight.

Clarity usually refers to the speed at which your ear identifies notes. It can make single note runs and low notes more legible.
String separation is usually what makes the different notes in, say, 6-note chords discernible.
And not only are they not the same thing - they're pretty hard to combine.

Now, i don't know what the dude meant - could be it's the same to him too - but the terminology relates to two different things.

[Konfyouzd]

Pretty sure you can lump that all under the clarity umbrella but if it makes you feel smarter to split hairs you have fun w that...

If you can't hear "string separation" where the notes are simply played and allowed to ring out, I don't see it being all that articulate in a fast alternate picked run either.

[xeonblade]

If string separation is what I think you mean it is, then ur good with some pickup that have a bit lower output.

[theo]

Tried a PAF pro before?

[Deadseen]

Originally Posted by Quitty

Don't get your panties in a bunch. We're trying to help the guy, not pick a fight.

Clarity usually refers to the speed at which your ear identifies notes. It can make single note runs and low notes more legible.
String separation is usually what makes the different notes in, say, 6-note chords discernible.
And not only are they not the same thing - they're pretty hard to combine.

Now, i don't know what the dude meant - could be it's the same to him too - but the terminology relates to two different things.

Do you have any tips for a pickup with clarity and one with string separation.
Would it be possible to have a good bridge pickup with clarity and a neck pickup with more string separation.
If I want to play leeds that sounds more legible and then some cleaner parts that have the chords discernible ?

[Deadseen]

I'm thinking about both the evo7 and the x2n. But The idea of a medium output pickup has crossed my mind. The problem I have with some vintage pickups are that they are a bit muddy. But are there any really good medium output with a nice open sound and clarity?

[Quitty]

Originally Posted by Deadseen

Do you have any tips for a pickup with clarity and one with string separation.
Would it be possible to have a good bridge pickup with clarity and a neck pickup with more string separation.
If I want to play leeds that sounds more legible and then some cleaner parts that have the chords discernible ?

If what you're looking for is clarity, i'd suggest you try something high-output, compressed and with lots of mids - Dimarzio Evos are great for that, and so is the X2N.

If you're looking for string separation - chords, picking dynamics etc. then you'd be looking for the opposite - something with lower output and less compressed, preferably with a high resonant peak.

Concerning lower output pups being muddy - i've had the opposite experience. Don't know what you've tried, but winding a pickup more (IE more output) also makes it muddier - so it usually is that high output pups tend to be more muddy than lower output ones - but that depends on other factors as well.

the general rule of thumb;
more mids + more output = more compression = better definition at lower tunings, faster single note runs etc.
more highs (not to be confused with high-mids) + less output = more 'attack' and less compression = better string separation and more dynamic picking response (sweeps will sound very different from picking through notes, for example)

[xeonblade]

Originally Posted by Quitty

If what you're looking for is clarity, i'd suggest you try something high-output, compressed and with lots of mids - Dimarzio Evos are great for that, and so is the X2N.

If you're looking for string separation - chords, picking dynamics etc. then you'd be looking for the opposite - something with lower output and less compressed, preferably with a high resonant peak.

Concerning lower output pups being muddy - i've had the opposite experience. Don't know what you've tried, but winding a pickup more (IE more output) also makes it muddier - so it usually is that high output pups tend to be more muddy than lower output ones - but that depends on other factors as well.

the general rule of thumb;
more mids + more output = more compression = better definition at lower tunings, faster single note runs etc.
more highs (not to be confused with high-mids) + less output = more 'attack' and less compression = better string separation and more dynamic picking response (sweeps will sound very different from picking through notes, for example)

I'd say that X2N is too high output for what he's looking for but may work if he lowers the pickup a bit.
But! I'd +1 on Evos

[Quitty]

Originally Posted by xeonblade

I'd say that X2N is too high output for what he's looking for but may work if he lowers the pickup a bit.
But! I'd +1 on Evos

I've actually had nothing but bad experience with the X2Ns - but i've been told not to rule 'em out prematurely, so...

[fabriarockz]

Originally Posted by Deadseen

I'm looking for a 7-string bridge pickup that has really good string separation. active., passive. custom, anything goes.

I have one guitar with maple neck/mahogany body and one with maple neck/basswood body. And I'm considering changing pickups in both of them. I have a seymour duncan invader in the mahogany guitar right now, but I can't say that I like the sound of it.

It could be a bit weird to say so, but I totally "feel" your question.
That's the thing I was tremendously looking for in a 7 string for quite a while.
It's a work in progress, but I feel I found the best way to go for me...
It could probably sound a bit weird...
I have 2 Ibanez RG7321L, so they would be both 5 piece maple/walnut neck and basswood body, I swapped pus in both of them with a set of DiMarzio CrunchLab/Liquifire and D-Sonic/Air Norton...
I also happen to have a Axe-Fx II around, so I switched them from time to time to draw a paragon between the 2 sets, having a sort of consistent tone by my side... ah, both D-Sonic and CrunchLab installed with the metal bar towards the neck.
None of them could really deliver that sense of clarity, that sense of note definition, something that you could feel it instantly, like "that's it!", you know?
So, as far as bridge pu goes, I managed to flip sides of the CL (CrunchLab) so this time I would try to have the metal bar towards the bridge, and also get rid of the 5-way switch, and put in a 3-way. I only started to solder CL to this 3-way, so up to this point, the LF it's unsoldered.
I start to jam and play around, and something really, really, unexpected happened... I FORGOT to set the 3-way switch to bridge position (which technically would be pos n.3), leaving instead in its middle position.
This allowed to engage the 2nd coil and the 2nd coil ONLY, starting from the bridge, of the CL... so not the metal bar, but the other one.
CLARITY all the way man!!!! It was just magic! I never heard such string separation in any guitar I got, and I mean aggressive tone included. And the attack... oh my god that's so sweet!!! Can't quite describe it, but I got this sensation that's almost like the real voice of the guitar finally showed up to me, you know? The articulation of the string it's really sweet, it's just something I never really experienced in my playing, so it's been a real revelation to me, as you can tell by the lenght of this post.

So I know it could sound counterproductive on a humbucker, but I WOULD DEFINITELY SUGGEST YOU TO TRY IT!!!!
And again: basswood body, maple neck, 2nd coil starting from the bridge, and not the metal bar, but the other one... you'll have to figure out how to solder that, nothing impossible though.

Hope I helped a little...

[Rook]

at this thread.

OP: The best pickups I've experienced for string separation are the DiMarzio Blaze (found the Crunch Lab quite the opposite in fact), the BKP Cold Sweat and the Lundgren M7.

I do agree that good separation = clarity but not the opposite necessarily. That's all I'm saying on that

[mr_rainmaker]

Originally Posted by Fun111

at this thread.

OP: The best pickups I've experienced for string separation are the DiMarzio Blaze (found the Crunch Lab quite the opposite in fact), the BKP Cold Sweat and the Lundgren M7.

I do agree that good separation = clarity but not the opposite necessarily. That's all I'm saying on that

THIS.... I also find blaze pickups to have better note separation,less mud on sweeping,but less output with tapping runs.
evos and pafs love tapping.

[KiD Cudi]

Just about any bare knuckle pickup. Mainly the Aftermath, Painkiller, Cold Sweat, and Rebel Yell

[Darkstar124]

God I feel like this is all I talk about on these forums, but Lace makes the alumitone which has a TON of string separation and clarity. Check em out.

[bluediamond]

I haven't tried many pickups like some forum guys, but I found the screamin demon to have a lot more clarity than the evo.
Most medium-low output pickup I tried also tend to have this quality where you can play a barre chord on 6th string and it almost sound as good as open chord.

[explosivo]

Originally Posted by Darkstar124

God I feel like this is all I talk about on these forums, but Lace makes the alumitone which has a TON of string separation and clarity. Check em out.

This. Alumitones are amazingly clear.

[Adam Of Angels]

I actually can't think of any pickup I've tired where I wasn't able to hear one string from the next

[Guitarwiz2k]

Originally Posted by Darkstar124

God I feel like this is all I talk about on these forums, but Lace makes the alumitone which has a TON of string separation and clarity. Check em out.

Speaking of the Alumitones, do you think the X-Bar has enough gain where I can use it as a rhythm pickup as well. Or better using X-bar for Neck and Deathbar for the bridge? I'm in the market, but no real demos or mp3's of the new 8 string drop-ins...

PM me if possible. Cheers...