I Put Slug Pole-pieces In My Invader 7

[Necky379]

Awhile back I decided to swap all the hex cap bolts out on my Invader for slug poles. I ended up installing a couple other pickups while it was out. I decided now would be a good time to try it while I have a regular Invader installed in another Stef model to compare it to.

 

[odibrom]

Awhile back I decided to swap all the hex cap bolts out on my Invader for slug poles. I ended up installing a couple other pickups while it was out. I decided now would be a good time to try it while I have a regular Invader installed in another Stef model to compare it to.

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... so, did you notice any substancial difference?

 

[tedtan]

... so, did you notice any substancial difference?

This.

 

[Necky379]

Just really busy offline but so far I’ve gotten to play it through AHM’s 5150III sim, my Rectifier and my 5150. I switched back and forth between this guitar and my SC607B with the regular Invader. I’ve got that guitar in G# and this ESP is in B so it wasn’t exactly an apples to apples comparison, I’m going to tune up the SC607B next time I pick it up.

I took out a Suhr Hot 7 when I put this pickup in. When I first plugged in (this is with the AHM sim) I was pleasantly surprised to hear more mid emphasis compared to the Invader sound I’m used to. I’m guessing because the lowest end of the spectrum seems slightly diminished. I has a little bit more of a JB “honk” to it, less low lows but still a ton of low end. It just seems like the low end punches more instead of overwhelming everything else. I would describe the initial difference as it’s more concentrated.

Through the live amps, the standard hex pole pieces sound a little more hi-fi the slugs sound more “peaky”. The slugs are less rounded and less extended on the extreme ends of things. There’s more “clank” to the hex’s more “aww” to the slugs. It’s a bad comparison though, as I mentioned the tunings are different and the SC607B has the tone pot disconnected, plus the B is a baritone my ESP is 25.5.

I’m going to spend more time with it, first I need to setup the SC607B closer to my ESP and go from there. I’ve never owned a Black Winter. I’m just going off sound samples when I say this, it sounds closer to BW clips I’ve heard now. Less upper mid grit, more vowely mids than the BW’s I hear in those clips. It’s very powerful and I really like how percussive the big low end is now. It seems less compressed than a regular Invader.

I’ll post more when I spend more time with it if you’re all interested. I’ve had a few different pickups in this specific guitar before this so I have a good idea how the guitar itself sounds and reacts.

 

[odibrom]

Having a baritone versus a regular scale guitar for comparison is not ideal.

I've done a bit of pole screw swaps already where the difference was mainly their material and sometimes their shape as well. They interfere on how the magnetic field expands beyond the pickup and then how strings will change it when vibrating.

However, I found the changes subtle, like a bit more of this and less of that but not very significant (at least with the screws I've played with) and I wouldn't be able to blind test successfully on that.

This can be fun for those searching for the optimal tweak, but to me, I've only done for the aesthetics (color change and tip shape change)...

 

[Necky379]

Right, I’m not getting too hung up on comparing the two for all those reasons but I’m still going to keep A-B’ing a bit. Besides the Carpenters I’ve got an Invader equipped Strat, also too dissimilar to compare accurately. I had an Invader in this guitar for a long time with regular hexes. Invaders are one of my go to’s, I’m pretty familiar with them. The guitar itself is really full and big sounding and doesn’t need fattening up like a bolt on strat for example. I’ve swapped pole pieces around in other pickups, as you said @odibrom it’s a subtle change if anything, usually. Maybe it’s due to the design; my first impression is that there is a clear change here, not a dramatic change. I think it’s less compressed. The awesome fog horn midrange these things have suits my guitar and rig setup very well. The low end is still huge, lots of impact with palm mutes.

 

[Eyelessfiend]

The Invader is one of my go to pickups. Really cool to see this mod on a 7. I did this on a few 6 string versions a while back.
The mods worked out well but I found lowering the Invader flush with the body gave a similar tone to swapping the Hex caps but less work. Gave it more of that mid honk/punch and less low end.
Also switching it to parallel is super helpful.

 

[Necky379]

A lot of times I’ve just dropped it low and sometimes even though they’re just held in with wax I raise the bridge side hex screws up while lowering it. You bring up a good point @Eyelessfiend . This mod is similar to that sound wise except I don’t feel like I’ve lost as much power and output as I would by lowering it. It’s still relatively close to the strings and I’m getting a sound like it’s low.