[FortePenance]

So, has anyone tried the blackouts 18v-modded yet? I'd love to hear how they compare to 18v EMGs and the Classic/Metal Livewires.

I heard some pretty old clips of 18v 81-7s that Soldierkahn made and I was really impressed by the sound, great headroom, fuller sound.

I'm thinking about putting Blackouts/EMGs in my RG and i'm interested in how Blackouts might sound with the 18v mod.

[zimbloth]

18v is a HUGE help with EMG 81-7s, subtle help w/ EMG 707s. I'd imagine it would help with Blackouts too, but we'll find out.

When do the 7-string ones come out?

[F1Filter]

There was a thread over on the SD forums about this. Apparently it won't be necessary.

Blackout 18v

[zimbloth]

I demand to know when these will be available for 7-strings

[FortePenance]

All I got for ya Zimbloth (from the Blackout 7s thread):

Originally Posted by angryman

Hotrox uk will be getting them in, They're based in Nottingham. I spoke to mark this morning & he seems to think they're gonna be in mid November.

here's the link.
Hot Rox - Electro Harmonix Pedals, valves, ZVex pedals, MXR pedals

F1Filter, do you know how an 18v EMG compared to a 9v Blackout sounds?

[Sepultorture]

after talking to the SD forum guys and hearing a few clips, there really wasn't much of an improvement at all, a little less than what a modded 707 would do.

and in comparisons the Black out still sounded better then the EMG's even when the EMG's were modded

[7 Dying Trees]

Originally Posted by zimbloth

I demand to know when these will be available for 7-strings

I feel your pain It's like being forever And my 2027 is screaming for them (seeing as no othe rpickup has really ever worked, and actives are the last resort before building a new body for it)

[frank falbo]

We should ship the first load by November 1st, but that's not a promise. We still have some final manufacturing tooling to make, etc. 7DT-I don't know when they'll hit the UK but our distrubutor will have them ASAP.

While it won't hurt the Blackouts, the 18 volt mod is very much not necessary. The way we're using our differential preamp is like having twice the dynamic range per coil. Now, forget for a moment that our coils and preamp topology is purely "Duncan" and just compare that part of the equation. The 18-volt mod on the EMG's doesn't produce the same result to the dynamic range. It increases the clean headroom by juicing up the components, but running the differential preamp with balanced inputs does far more (IMHO) to increase dynamic range and preserve transients.

One of the things I've been saying all along is that if you like what the 18 volt mod does to EMG's, then you should love the Blackouts at 9-volts. For those of you who haven't tried the EMG's with 18 volts, you should be flat-out blown away by the Blackouts, just like Dino, Mick, Alexi, and all the other artist who have made the switch.

It's like Hi-Def TV. I'm not that into TV so I don't really care. But when you show me HD next to my old tube television, the difference is undeniable. The EMG's aren't bad pickups. They have made and to this day are making very successful and great sounding albums and live concerts. And with 18 volts they're even better. But I'm sticking with Blackouts.

[ShawnFjellstad]

man, my blackout GAS is kicking in.

[zimbloth]

Originally Posted by frank falbo

We should ship the first load by November 1st, but that's not a promise. We still have some final manufacturing tooling to make, etc. 7DT-I don't know when they'll hit the UK but our distrubutor will have them ASAP.

Frank, is your ETA for the EMG sized ones only or both? Thanks for that cool description, sounds great.