# your favorite 7 string pickups



## ElectricEelChair (Jul 30, 2017)

I've been looking around at different options and am interested in what you guys have, like, and want. I'm mostly interested in Dimarzio, Seymour Duncan, and Bare Knuckle. I'd like a set with some versatility. I'd prefer passives, but nothing is off the table yet.

I'm curious what you guys' preferences are!

P.S. I'd appreciate it if you post what kind of music you play with that guitar as well.


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## NickS (Jul 30, 2017)

What kind of guitar/wood combo are you going to be putting them in? You said you want them to be versatile, but what types of music do you want to play?


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## BangandBreach (Jul 30, 2017)

I like my aftermaths/juggs in my basswood guitars.
I use the line6 POD farm2 and other amp modelling software, so I'm able to really dial in what I want on pretty much all of my guitars, YMMV.

I mostly play with tones that you'd expect to hear from heavier bands like Chelsea Grin's tone, Meshuggah, Emmure. What I lack in talent I make up in bonecrushing tone.


There are gonna be some people posting in here soon who are gonna have some pretty rad info for you, I'm simply a weekend warrior.


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## KnightBrolaire (Jul 30, 2017)

look at my signature.


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## ElectricEelChair (Jul 30, 2017)

mahogany body, maple/walnut neck through are the woods. The pegasus/sentient combo caught my eye. same with the alpha/omega. dimarzio's options look intriguing (titans, imperiums, petrucci) but I'm open to all suggestions. 

I play djenty prog metal stuff.


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## NickS (Jul 30, 2017)

I have a BKP Miracle Man set in my Carvin CS4. Mahogany body/neck, maple top, ebony board. I love these for their versatility, they even take well to coil-splitting! And you can get them plenty heavy for the more brutal stuff.


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## oracles (Jul 30, 2017)

Avoid the Crunch Lab, it's certified garbage, especially in a 7. If you're going DiMarzio, the D-Sonic and Air Norton set is the way to go. 

Look into the Lundgren M7, Instrumental SFTY3-7, and Avedissian Scythe.


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## odibrom (Jul 30, 2017)

On the DiMarzio, if you can find a Blaze Custom for bridge, grab it. Awesome pickup, I'm finding the EVO7 quite similar to the Blaze Custom... As for neck pickup, my suggestions go for the already suggested Air Norton 7 (though I'm finding it a bit thin) or a Blaze Neck (depending on the setup, may be a bit too strong).

I also tested a pair of DA7s. They are strong and bark, but they also muddied my tone. These are thick/tall pickups, so they need some room under the strings to shine through. If the pickup rout is too shallow or they can't back off from the strings enough, the tone will darken considerably, loosing sustain and depth. As single coils (coil split) they rock...


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## Science_Penguin (Jul 30, 2017)

Dimarzio's Evolution 7 was my bridge pickup of choice when I played my seven regularly. Can't remember what I put in the neck, but I hardly used it anyway... I'm not a neck humbucker kind of guy. Only time I used the neck was with the lower coil split in conjunction with the upper coil of the bridge (you get a REAL sweet clean tone from that)

Now, just because I've officially become an EMG fanboy, I'd probably go with an 85X set and an RPC control to get you closer to single coil-ish sounds if you need them. Once you really delve into EVERYTHING EMG has to offer, you'll find some real interesting solutions to the versatility problem. And I will continue to attest to the X series being the solution to the old overly-consistent pick attack gripe.


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## KnightBrolaire (Jul 30, 2017)

the most versatile and clearest pickups I've found for djent/modern metal are the alpha/omega set or the elysian pickups modern wind. Highly recommend the elysians, they're cheaper and clearer sounding than the a/o set but have a similar snarly tone. The only big difference between the two is the omega has a spankier coil tapped sound and slightly warmer high end. SFTY3 and Avedissian scythe are great pickups but I can't really recommend them over the a/o or elysian sets just due to them not being as clear/versatile. I found the scythe to be better suited to sludgier metal and not so much djenty tones. the SFTY3 will do whatever you want but it has a tad bit more treble than the a/o set or the elysian, so it works better in darker sounding guitars imo. Titans are great if you want a really tight sound with a warmer high end, but they need a lot more gain than the aforementioned pickups to really shine. I like to think of them as a more mellow aftermath or tweaked d-activator (which after a/bing them, the 6 string versions are basically d-activators).


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## oracles (Jul 30, 2017)

KnightBrolaire said:


> I found the scythe to be better suited to sludgier metal and not so much djenty tones.



To be fair, djent is the EXACT opposite of what Alex is trying to accomplish with the Scythe, so I'm not surprised.


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## KnightBrolaire (Jul 30, 2017)

oracles said:


> To be fair, djent is the EXACT opposite of what Alex is trying to accomplish with the Scythe, so I'm not surprised.


I know, which is why I'm surprised you'd recommend them for this thread. They're excellent for sludgy stuff but don't work well for that tighter djenty tone.


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## oracles (Jul 30, 2017)

KnightBrolaire said:


> I know, which is why I'm surprised you'd recommend them for this thread. They're excellent for sludgy stuff but don't work well for that tighter djenty tone.



OP didn't really specify a tone or example of their desired sound, but I'd still use a Scythe over most SD's and BKPs. The Scythe is particular about height and fairly EQ sensitive. It definitely excels at low tuned sludge/doom (it was built for Pallbearer, after all) but it can do the modern thing too. I have a set in D Standard in an Aristides 010, it handles death metal quite well.


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## KnightBrolaire (Jul 31, 2017)

oracles said:


> OP didn't really specify a tone or example of their desired sound, but I'd still use a Scythe over most SD's and BKPs. The Scythe is particular about height and fairly EQ sensitive. It definitely excels at low tuned sludge/doom (it was built for Pallbearer, after all) but it can do the modern thing too. I have a set in D Standard in an Aristides 010, it handles death metal quite well.


Oh I agree they can do death metal well, I just feel like the low end is a little loose for that more modern djenty tone. Plus the OP did specify a few posts later that he was looking for that djenty tone.


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## crankyrayhanky (Jul 31, 2017)

BangandBreach said:


> I like my aftermaths/juggs in my basswood guitars.


Do you have Aftermath Juggernaut as bridge neck, or several guitars with a set of Aftermaths or a set of Juggs?
These are my 2 fav also but wondering if you Frankensteined a set


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## BangandBreach (Jul 31, 2017)

crankyrayhanky said:


> Do you have Aftermath Juggernaut as bridge neck, or several guitars with a set of Aftermaths or a set of Juggs?
> These are my 2 fav also but wondering if you Frankensteined a set



I have the sets, but it was a waste of my money because I don't even use the neck pups. I just went with the sets because I had the money and they matched.
A lot of people are gonna disagree with me, but I just don't see what the big deal is for a lot of these pups. You can achieve some cool tones by virtue of quality pedals/signal chain, etc.

Almost every guitar I play through my current chain sounds extremely similar, even my $100 beater ibanez.


[QUOTE="On the DiMarzio, if you can find a Blaze Custom for bridge, grab it. Awesome pickup[/QUOTE]
I'm gonna second odibrom, here on his Blaze recommendation. I've got them in http://i.imgur.com/YvAkciW.jpg the green one and they sound great.


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## BubbleWrap (Jul 31, 2017)

BangandBreach said:


> A lot of people are gonna disagree with me, but I just don't see what the big deal is for a lot of these pups. You can achieve some cool tones by virtue of quality pedals/signal chain, etc.
> 
> Almost every guitar I play through my current chain sounds extremely similar, even my $100 beater ibanez.




Says the guy using POD farm...


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## Lemonbaby (Jul 31, 2017)

I'd recommend to not go for a PU with overly cut bass range and implement the “djent tone“ with the signal chain. My recommendations are DM Titan, SD Distortion or BKP Aftermath.

I partly agree with BangandBreach that you could always tweak your signal with tons o pre- and post-distortion EQing. However, you'd have to save your presets in separate variations for each PU used which creates an insane overhead. It's so much easier to install the PU that sounds great w/o too much EQ.


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## HaloHat (Jul 31, 2017)

DiMarzio D-Sonic bridge [4 wire is standard]
Duncan '59 4 wire neck
3 way switch.

Coil taps on both = Clean to Dirty covered. I play a lot of hybrid picking i guess its called? Using the pick and fingers at the same time. SOAD Aerials and Toxicity type sound I suppose would be an example.

Say what you will, I also like the old Carvin D26 seven string neck pick-up. I bought several when they were popular to change out to BK's etc... - [p.s. - I'll still buy them lol. D26, not the C26. ]


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## Pooty Skills (Jul 31, 2017)

I'll throw another vote in for the DiMarzio Evolution. Sounds great with the lower range notes, high and low gain, and cleans up pretty well to boot. They are pretty hot, even compared to some other higher output pickups I've used, helps to cut through dense mixes where other pickups might get lost, so they can be a little hard to tame sometimes, but I like that about them. 

I've also used the BKP Abraxas and Juggernaut, currently in my Skervesen. I found the Jugg to sound a little harsh, but can be corrected with some careful EQ-ing, but the Abraxas is a thing of beauty. On the warmer side, but retains clarity when the gain goes up, would highly recommend.

*EDIT: *Forgot the other part of OP's question. I play mostly rock, blues and jazz in bands, metal in my free time. If you're into mostly metal, I'd say stick to the Evolutions, they have slightly more balls. The Abraxas are more versatile across the board


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## BangandBreach (Jul 31, 2017)

BubbleWrap said:


> Says the guy using POD farm...


And? Elaborate to everyone how much better you are than people who use Podfarm.


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## mnemonic (Aug 1, 2017)

^to be fair, podfarm is pretty old tech at this point and the modeling is not that great. I used it for years so I have plenty of experience with it. Every once in a while I'll fire it up because I'll get nostalgia for that super digital vildhjarta / tesseract / big bottom tone. If that's what you want, it's good at it, but almost all the tones are real flat and heavily compressed, and it's a constant battle against fizz and mud. 

I don't have anything against people that use podfarm or any other modeler, but if you think your guitars all mostly sound the same, then podfarm is the weak spot in your signal chain, and likely the reason for this opinion. 

To answer OP's question, I recently got a Bareknuckle Black Dog for my RG8 and it's incredibly chunky and tight and clear sounding. I didn't think an Alnico pickup could sound so good in F. The clarity is killer.


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## BubbleWrap (Aug 1, 2017)

BangandBreach said:


> And? Elaborate to everyone how much better you are than people who use Podfarm.



It wasn't a personal attack, just pointing out the disparity between your statements regarding quality pedals/signal chain, your signal chain, and your results. 

OP, I really respect KnightBrolaire's opinion. He's done a lot of research and testing lately. His recommendations for the alpha/omega and Elysian moderns are really solid. I dig my alnico 8 Pegasus/A5 sentient set, but am left wanting somewhat when I crank the gain. The distortion/jazz combo is still really hard to beat. I'm also very interested in the Minuteman set by Guitarmory. Check those out.


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## BangandBreach (Aug 2, 2017)

BubbleWrap said:


> It wasn't a personal attack, just pointing out the disparity between your statements regarding quality pedals/signal chain, your signal chain, and your results.
> 
> OP, I really respect KnightBrolaire's opinion. He's done a lot of research and testing lately. His recommendations for the alpha/omega and Elysian moderns are really solid. I dig my alnico 8 Pegasus/A5 sentient set, but am left wanting somewhat when I crank the gain. The distortion/jazz combo is still really hard to beat. I'm also very interested in the Minuteman set by Guitarmory. Check those out.



I overreacted when I initially replied to you, I'm sure you can look back and see why. I should have elaborated how I adjust everything to get similar tones for each guitar, not that each of them sound identical when I run them through pod farm.


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## KnightBrolaire (Aug 2, 2017)

mnemonic said:


> ^to be fair, podfarm is pretty old tech at this point and the modeling is not that great. I used it for years so I have plenty of experience with it. Every once in a while I'll fire it up because I'll get nostalgia for that super digital vildhjarta / tesseract / big bottom tone. If that's what you want, it's good at it, but almost all the tones are real flat and heavily compressed, and it's a constant battle against fizz and mud.
> 
> I don't have anything against people that use podfarm or any other modeler, but if you think your guitars all mostly sound the same, then podfarm is the weak spot in your signal chain, and likely the reason for this opinion.
> 
> To answer OP's question, I recently got a Bareknuckle Black Dog for my RG8 and it's incredibly chunky and tight and clear sounding. I didn't think an Alnico pickup could sound so good in F. The clarity is killer.


Black dog is an excellent pickup as well. Great for more old school tones but still very capable of modern metal due to the mid hump. Plus it's so snarly and aggressive sounding for an alnico pickup.


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## ElectricEelChair (Aug 2, 2017)

Thanks for the posts guys, I'm gonna look more into the a/o set and a part of me secretly desires the pegasus/sentient set still lol

Would like bkp, but sooo espensive. Maybe I can find a used set floating around for a decent price.

It seems that all three periphery sets popped up a couple times throughout the conversation. Part of me feels dumb if I get someone else's pickups, but another part of me doesn't care - - the throbbing, pulsing part that loves peripherys tone.

Also, if you have recommendations that aren't specifically for djent/prog. I'd still like to hear! I'd like to know what y'all are using.


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## KnightBrolaire (Aug 2, 2017)

ElectricEelChair said:


> Thanks for the posts guys, I'm gonna look more into the a/o set and a part of me secretly desires the pegasus/sentient set still lol
> 
> Would like bkp, but sooo espensive. Maybe I can find a used set floating around for a decent price.
> 
> ...


if price is an issue I highly recommend the elysian modern winds. cheaper than either the duncan alpha/omega set or bareknuckles and they are of comparable quality to both of those brands imo.


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## BubbleWrap (Aug 2, 2017)

ElectricEelChair said:


> Thanks for the posts guys, I'm gonna look more into the a/o set and a part of me secretly desires the pegasus/sentient set still lol



Dude, most of the time, I really love my Pegasus/sentient set. If my 7 was a bolt on, I'm pretty sure that I'd find them to be perfect. But it's a neck through (mahogany/purple heart/flamed maple neck with a flamed maple board, swamp ash body, and quilted maple top) and I need to be able to add some attack somewhere. Stock, for clean and low gain stuff, they're great, the neck's a little fat for lead type stuff, and the bridge is a little loose in the low end. But I've done a quite a lot of modding to my set. I'm using socket head cap screws on both pickups, which makes them a little brighter and tighter, just reinstalled a ceramic mag in the bridge and soldered a 0.047uf capacitor to the hot lead of the neck pickup. The bridge is punchier, which works well for higher gain and makes for tighter palm mutes. The capacitor cuts some of the low end out of the neck pickup. Which honestly isn't too far off from where the stock Pegasus sounded. I'll probably keep it like this for quite a while now. Cleans are gorgeous (especially positions 2-5), rhythm's tight, and leads cut without being shrill in all positions. If you play proggy stuff, they're worth trying out. And Seymour Duncan has a 21 day exchange policy.


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## Konfyouzd (Aug 2, 2017)

Neck:
-Dimarzio Air Norton 7
-Dimarzio Liquifire 7
-Dimarzio Blaze Neck
-EMG 81-7
-EMG 60-7

Bridge:
-Dimarzio Evolution 7
-Dimarzio Super Distortion 7
-Dimarzio Blaze Bridge
-EMG 85-7
-EMG 81-7

Typically playing anything from metal to experimental easy-listening / smooth jazz-ish stuff... And some reggae... Sometimes hip-hop beats...

Guitars...

Usually Ibanez RG7s or Jackson DK7 / SL7


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## ElectricEelChair (Aug 4, 2017)

KnightBrolaire said:


> if price is an issue I highly recommend the elysian modern winds. cheaper than either the duncan alpha/omega set or bareknuckles and they are of comparable quality to both of those brands imo.



I'm just not familiar with Elysian, I haven't even heard of them until this thread. I'd have to look into them more. They have a cool name though! Lol


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## Drew (Aug 4, 2017)

ElectricEelChair said:


> mahogany body, maple/walnut neck through are the woods. The pegasus/sentient combo caught my eye. same with the alpha/omega. dimarzio's options look intriguing (titans, imperiums, petrucci) but I'm open to all suggestions.
> 
> I play djenty prog metal stuff.


I do NOT play djenty anything, and am from a generation where prog was more like Dream Theater and Gordian Knot than Periphery, so take this with a giant sized grain of salt.  

I love the Sentient in the neck, personally - I didn't like the Pegasus for exactly the same reasons I loved the Sentient, it was very articulate, clear, and almost single-coil-esq in its overall EQ color and attack, which is something I love in a neck humbucker, but don't really like in a bridge one (I tend to like something thick and midrangy, with a bright but not especially sharp high end, maybe more blurred and burnished, and a lot of harmonic "haze" and overtones on sustain. The Pegasus was the opposite of this). It might work well for djent, but I'm not the guy to ask. I DID find, however, that the Sentient was a good _compliment_ for a number of other Duncan pickups - I used it with a Wolfetone-rewound JB for a while, which was great, and then lately have settled on the Custom. The JB might not be my first choice for djent - tons of mids, sort of a mid-high snarl, and ample but not terribly defined bass - but the Custom could probably work; bright but smooth highs, balanced across the EQ spectrum, and great clarity in the low end, especially when you hit the strings a bit hard. It has a reputation as a great riiffing pickup, and honestly as a lead guy primarily it sort of surprises me how articulate it is here, but what sold me was playing a 6-string Custom in a buddy's ash Warmoth and being surprised just how nice it sounded for smoother, bluesier lead stuff. 

All that said - if you've nbever played a Dimarzio Blaze, you probably should. A Blaze into basswood will always be the "sound" of a seven string to me, and while I've never tried one in mahogany I suspect it would work rather well.


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## Drew (Aug 4, 2017)

Pooty Skills said:


> I'll throw another vote in for the DiMarzio Evolution. Sounds great with the lower range notes, high and low gain, and cleans up pretty well to boot. They are pretty hot, even compared to some other higher output pickups I've used, helps to cut through dense mixes where other pickups might get lost, so they can be a little hard to tame sometimes, but I like that about them.


I HAVE, however, played an Evo7 in mahogany, in a 2027. The thing SCREAMS. Great combination.


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## KnightBrolaire (Aug 4, 2017)

ElectricEelChair said:


> I'm just not familiar with Elysian, I haven't even heard of them until this thread. I'd have to look into them more. They have a cool name though! Lol


honestly there wasn't much info when I looked into them a couple of months ago but adam is an awesome dude and very easy to work with. After a/bing the elysian modern wind in 2 guitars against a pile of other pickups I can easily recommend them. Bostjan has a set (and a few other people on here too iirc) and really likes them as well.


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