[Lethe]

So I got them today. I was curious because so many people say they'd suck in basswood and so on. I'm still not sure if I'm going to be keeping them. Maybe I'll throw the blackout neck into the bridge later and record that, see if it compares.

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.

Do me a favor, tell me which clip you like better. Please base your decision on the two provided clips, even if you don't like the tone in either of them.

707

or the

Blackouts

Installation was pretty straight forward, although the blackouts are a very tight fit in the Ibanez 707-route. It did fit though, and it stays in place without the screws, that's how tight the fit is. The one thing that bothers me is that the blackouts have quick-connects AND a normal cable. I didn't want to cut the cable off so I rolled it up and stuffed it under the pickup, but that's where the foam from the 707 is supposed to go. I'll see what I can do about that later today.

[Randy]

Sounds like, to me anyway, the blackouts have more low-midrange, and the 707 has more in the high-midrange. I'd say the Blackouts sound "more like passives" in that way, where-as the 707 are little bit more sterile... so it depends on what kinda sound you're going for.

[FYP666]

707. IMO Blackout sounds so small and and lousy. On the other hand, they are not so sterile, like Randy said. I, myself, love 707. Just got the Unearth III album where the use 707 and it sounds great!

[7 Strings of Hate]

they are damn close, but i think you get more balls in the low end of the 707
were these recorded with the exact same guitar?

[Ruins]

my vote for blackouts they just sound wider i think if you would cut the highs a lil bit you would get the same sound as the 707 even though i must agree this clips are damn close sounding

[Lethe]

Originally Posted by 7 Strings of Hate

were these recorded with the exact same guitar?

Exact same guitar, exact same strings (Elixir), 707 was recorded a couple days earlier.

And I agree, they are so damn close, I am really thinking about sending them back. Sure, the blackouts are nice pickups, but 190€ is one hell of a price for such a small difference. It's not even going to matter after a few seconds, you get used to the sound almost instantly.

To be honest, the fact that the golden writing of the 707 fits better with the creme binding of the neck is more important than the sound. Who would have thought.

I don't know what I imagined, but with so many people upgrading their Loomis to blackouts, with so many people saying blackouts don't do well in basswood, I had anticipated a dramatic difference, not something like this.

[ibznorange]

who said blackouts dont do wlel in basswood?
people keep saying thats what people are saying, and i wanna know where that started. Ive heard plenty of (thats what people say), but im yet to actually hear anybody say it in the first place

I personally thought the 6ers sound fine in basswood, which makes them something of a fluke in Seymour duncan basswood land

[ibznorange]

Oh for what its worth, i thought the neck pickup excelled in the bridge position, to the point where if i was keeping my carvin, while i had them swapped (bridge in neck and vice versa), id have swapped it to both neck pickups

[Benzesp]

Upper mids keep it crunchy..707

[djpharoah]

707 for me too man. I heard your clips and after having the 707s in my former rg7csd1 I can say I upper mids for that crunch. Between those two clips the 707 sounded tighter but the blackouts definitely have more open spectrum.