[Vince]

Drew & I've been talking about this through PM a little, as we're both big fans of the Seymour Duncan JB7 pickup in mahogany guitars.

I have 2 7-strings that I use regularly. My mahogany S7 has the JB in the bridge, my basswood RG7620 has an Evo 7 in the bridge. When recording our album, the S7 with the JB was the best sounding of the two. The mids cut at the right frequencies, the tone is godly, and the pickup just sounds exactly how I want a great heavy metal pickup to sound. In fact, the only time I really used the Evo 7 on the album were for overdubs, pinch harmonics, and sometimes for added effect.

Here's the weird thing... Because the JB scoops the mids out a bit more, when I play live or rehearse with the full band, my guitar is harder to hear & doesn't quite mix as well with the band. It still sounds good, but when I play the guitar with the Evo in it, it's much louder, but more importantly everything balances better with the band. The vocals fit better, the bass guitar fits better, etc.

It's just an observation that what works best for recording is different than what works best for live sound, in this case at least.

[darren]

Interesting observations!

[ohio_eric]

I've that some guitarist use one pickup for recording and one for live playing. But how much effect do you think the body woods have?

[The Dark Wolf]

Cool stuff, Vin.

Makes me think - as much as I'm not a fan of the TZ7 (especially in mahogany), when I used one, live, in a full band mix, it wasn't bad at all. 2 different worlds.

[Vince]

Originally Posted by ohio_eric

I've that some guitarist use one pickup for recording and one for live playing. But how much effect do you think the body woods have?

I think that has a lot to do with it, actually. I'm very much a "feel" kind of player, and I can definitely feel a difference in how the instruments react between the two different woods. I'm actually very interested to see how the Evo 7 works in a mahogany body, and I may try that out in the next year or so. My preference has always been mahogany bodies, they just have a 'depth' to them (for lack of a better term) that I haven't found with other woods.

[MF_Kitten]

mahogany has alot more deepness to it, and also alot more resonance... so when you´re playing it unplugged, it´s alot more audible than, say, basswood. also, when you play the bright strings, the notes really sound loud... and that´s without an amp. so if you take this sustaining quality of the wood and amplify it, you have a lovely beast at your hands! :P

also, mahogany necks make this effect alot bigger too!

[Drew]

See, I totally disagree - to me mahogany has a lot of lower mid impact, but very little actual "depth," whereas basswood is more balanced across the mids and bass, but it's bass extends much deeper than mahogany's. This isn't necessarily good or bad - mahogany makes an awesome tonewood for heavy rhythm because it's bass is relatively clear yet there's that thick impact to the lower mids/upper bass - just, well, different.

Also, the Evo slays in mahogany, Vince - it's a great lead tone. A lot of upper harmonic content and "sizzle" or "scream" to the sound, but the heavy midrange of mahogany keeps it warm. It's definitely worth trying.

[Vince]

Originally Posted by Drew

See, I totally disagree - to me mahogany has a lot of lower mid impact, but very little actual "depth," whereas basswood is more balanced across the mids and bass, but it's bass extends much deeper than mahogany's.

I'll disagree with you here

It depends on the guitar too and what piece of wood you have, but most mahogany bodies I've ever played, especially the S7, have more bottom end than basswood bodies. That's one reason I didn't like basswood before I got the Evo 7, the basswood body I own always had too much mids & high-end & not enough bottom you could feel.