[amonb]

I thought the blackouts sounded more... dynamic. They sounded brighter and much more alive than the 707s... maybe more focused in the mids?

I am really happy this thread exists, I really wanted to hear a head-to-head on these two!

[Lethe]

Don't worry zimbloth, I don't feel like you're talking down to me, I get your point.

But I can't say I share the experience of the POD tending to even out differences between guitars. I wish it did! I own a 7321 with an Evo7, an Omen-7 with Blaze Custom and an RG7EXFX2. I have never been able to create a distortion patch that sounded good with more than one guitar at a time. Sure, Cleans work for all of them, but when it comes to distortion, what works on the Omen sounds like crap on the 7321, and so on.

Even the 7321 and the Omen sound so different, it requires extensive adjusting in the settings when changing from one to the other.

Since the day I got my EXFX2, the other guitars rarely get played because I cannot use the setting I recorded these clips with with either of the two guitars. Even worse, I can't seem to adjust the settings to get that sound with them. I really, really wish I could do it, because as it is, the 7321 doesn't get played at all and the Omen-7 is tuned to F standard and has her own patch for when I want to fail at playing Meshuggah.

This is what made me post this thread in the first place: I have never experienced two pickups sounding so similar with the settings I'm using. When I first put the Evo in my 7321, it was another world, same with the Schecter, there was an even bigger difference when I got the EXFX2. In fact, it threw me off completely in the beginning, because all my patches suddenly sounded like shit. It took me a while to figure out settings that make it sound good to me.

Still, even though I have been playing for over 4 years, I have never owned a "real" amp, so it may be the differences there are even more dramatic than with the pod, but I find them dramatic enough as it is.

And again, to everybody: The fact that the blackouts and the 707 are so similar with MY settings does not mean they will be with YOURS. Experiment, post clips, we can only learn from it.

[daemon barbeque]

Servus!

I think the Blackouts have a wider range and sound more passive.

But i would like to compare them with a more middy patch like a Slo100 or even Insane ,where the Midds play much more role.

Th Big Bottom is cool and dandy ,but is too "scooped" to give a real comparison between 2 PUs ,where the midds play a major role.

I also would compare the tightness with high-mid and low gain..Different presence settings..

And Comparing the Harmonics would be great task too ,since you can compare the preamp filtering and dynamics easier!

Thanx for your "mühe" hahahah...

[MF_Kitten]

personally, i liked the blackouts. i heard a pretty huge difference actually, as the blackouts had less "chiggy-chiggy" and more "BUMMMM"... in other words, the 707 sounded thin in comparison to the blackouts. the blackouts had a much richer and fuller sound with lots more balls, and sounded more balanced. you could boost some more mids and treble in the fx boost if you want to compensate for the lack of peakyness :P

but if the difference isn´t that huge to you, then the price isn´t worth it. i´d rather try selling the 707s myself though :P

[Metal Ken]

Originally Posted by zimbloth

Also, the fact you use a POD really seals the deal for me. Almost everything sounds the same with a POD to me. I'd need to hear comparison clips between an EMG and a SD Blackout through an analog amp, as it would not be as subtle then. Digital amps really do not do a good job of sounding distinct, pickup to pickup, guitar to guitar. My Behringer is really cool, but pretty much everything sounds about the same with it. Be it a $2300 guitar or a $300 ESP.

I thought that might've been the case. When i installed blackouts on my friends guitar, vs. actives and vs. his other basswood guitar with EMGs, the difference was night and day through the same amp. For comparison, it was a basswood m207 vs. a basswood rg7420, both with trems, the RG with a 707 and the 207 with the blackouts. Now, im not really a fan of basswood anymore, but the Blackouts absolutely crushed the 707s in that comparison through his amp.

[Kronpox]

I wouldn't say that the best way to judge Blackouts' tone is by using the same patch as with the EMGs. They're different pickups with different responses and outputs- Naturally they won't sound their best until they're both tweaked individually to maximize their individual potential. But I understand the motive to use the same patch if the idea is strictly to compare the differences in the pickups.

Personally I loved the Blackout clip, the way the low end punchyness interacted with the kick drum on the gallopy riffs was great. 707 sounded thinner and didn't have as much presence. I think your clip confirmed for me that I'm going to put blackouts in my 607b

[noodles]

Originally Posted by Kronpox

I wouldn't say that the best way to judge Blackouts' tone is by using the same patch as with the EMGs. They're different pickups with different responses and outputs- Naturally they won't sound their best until they're both tweaked individually to maximize their individual potential. But I understand the motive to use the same patch if the idea is strictly to compare the differences in the pickups.

I disagree with this methodology, for exactly the reason you described. Different pickups have different outputs, response, and tones, so it is best to spend some time with each one, tweaking your rig to get the best sound possible out of it. That is the only way to really appreciate what a pickup will do for you and your playing.

I think that the ONLY constant should be your playing. I've found pickup changes sometimes warrant a completely new approach to dialing in my amp. When I moved to the Wolfetone JB7, I dialed up a new lead tone that was the polar opposite of everything I was going for before, and am quite happy with.

[Randy]

Originally Posted by noodles

I disagree with this methodology, for exactly the reason you described. Different pickups have different outputs, response, and tones, so it is best to spend some time with each one, tweaking your rig to get the best sound possible out of it. That is the only way to really appreciate what a pickup will do for you and your playing.

I think that the ONLY constant should be your playing. I've found pickup changes sometimes warrant a completely new approach to dialing in my amp. When I moved to the Wolfetone JB7, I dialed up a new lead tone that was the polar opposite of everything I was going for before, and am quite happy with.

I wholeheartedly agree with all of that.

[Ostia Man]

Originally Posted by Lethe

The blackouts have a little more juice, so I lowered the gain a little. Everything else is about the same as with the 707s, as far as settings go. Both clips are not played very well, but that's what you get when I'm the one playing.

very similar sound.
maybe the difference in sound comes from lowering the gain to match the outputs of both pups.
I think i like the 707 better.

[FortePenance]

I can hear a huge difference between the two. The EMG seems to be more middy with less low-end whilst the blackouts have more bass and they feel more... spacious, almost scooped even.

edit//turns out it was the EQ preset I had enabled in Winamp... @_@ The Blackouts seem more lower-middy now that I turned the preset off whilst the EMG sounds a bit more upper-middy.

the EMG still seems to be a bit more in-your-face whilst the blackout is more "spacious". I have an assumption that's due to the different frequency peaks though.