Lundgren M7 bridge vs Seymour Duncan Nazgul 7

[KnightBrolaire]

I got bored and decided to compare the M7 and Nazgul bridge pickups in my Aristides. I have 2 070s and the only difference between the two in the clips is the strings used on the guitars. I have NYXLs on the nazgul loaded one, and stringjoy ones on the M7 loaded one. I used the same IRs, same amp, same riffs, same eq, etc. They both do things well. I prefer the M7 for chunkier sledgehammer death metal riffage in the vein of Nile or Morbid Angel, etc. The Nazgul works much better for techy riffs and beatdown/modern hardcore stuff e.g. Kublai Kahn, Knocked Loose, Cabal imo. Both have decent cleans, though I'd give the slight edge to the M7. Neither have good split coil sounds (I didn't use them in the clips because they're so meh) imo.
obligatory pics of the guitars below.
M7 loaded one:

Nazgul loaded one:


Here's the yt vid with the sound clips:

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

The high end seems more alive on the M7 so I'm leaning more towards that. Nazgul seems kinda muted.

 

[DoctorStoner]

Differences in the tonewood man, the tonewood!

...Oh wait - maybe the tone knob!?

 

[KnightBrolaire]

Differences in the tonewood man, the tonewood!

...Oh wait - maybe the tone knob!?

nah it was all the strings clearly /s

 

[ExMachina]

nah it was all the strings clearly /s

I'm pretty sure they changed their fingers between clips

 

[BComer]

I have a Nazgul installed now, and your video reinforces my thought that it just sounds pissed off. I don't have an M7, so I can't compare personally output, etc. It does sound more pissed off than the M7.

My suggestion would be to try to dial in your best sound with each one and then A-B, because that is what you will actually do. I had to back off the gain and distortion when I swapped. Also, picks.

Picks make a big difference with note coherence and string noise. Big deals when using metal distortion.

 

[KnightBrolaire]

I have a Nazgul installed now, and your video reinforces my thought that it just sounds pissed off. I don't have an M7, so I can't compare personally output, etc. It does sound more pissed off than the M7.

My suggestion would be to try to dial in your best sound with each one and then A-B, because that is what you will actually do. I had to back off the gain and distortion when I swapped. Also, picks.

Picks make a big difference with note coherence and string noise. Big deals when using metal

Dialing in the amp differently for each pickup makes a side by side comparison useless. I'm trying to control as many variables as possible, not introduce more.
I used the exact same pick for both sets of clips.

 

[lost_horizon]

I've always like the Nazgul, with headphones on the M7 sounded like it was missing the bass, would probably sound better in a mix with bass.

 

[KnightBrolaire]

I've always like the Nazgul, with headphones on the M7 sounded like it was missing the bass, would probably sound better in a mix with bass.

hmm interesting, because it has more low end content than the nazgul. What headphones are you using?

 

[lost_horizon]

hmm interesting, because it has more low end content than the nazgul. What headphones are you using?

Sennheiser HD-202 - Don't shoot the listener

 

[MrWulf]

M7 is fuller than the Nazgul. Nazgul is a scalpel, but M7 is a sledgehammer, in that sense.

 

[bostjan]

I have a Nazgul installed now, and your video reinforces my thought that it just sounds pissed off. I don't have an M7, so I can't compare personally output, etc. It does sound more pissed off than the M7.

My suggestion would be to try to dial in your best sound with each one and then A-B, because that is what you will actually do. I had to back off the gain and distortion when I swapped. Also, picks.

Picks make a big difference with note coherence and string noise. Big deals when using metal distortion.

Ha ha, that vocabulary sounds so accurate.

Yeah, the M7 sounds a little tighter and the Nazgul sounds a little more like it just had a bad day. I like both tones and I think these two share quite a bit of character.

I think I prefer the Lundgren from these clips, but this makes me realize what people are talking about when they say that the Nazgul is sort of like SD's take on the M7.

 

[ExMachina]

Honestly I think they're basically the same, any differences are subtle enough I'd just get the cheaper one to be cheaper or the lundgren to say I have the lundgren.

 

[MrWulf]

^ i owned both and no, they are not the same.

 

[ExMachina]

^ i owned both and no, they are not the same.

What do you think is so different between them? Is one much hotter, does the other have a few db more low end?

 

[Lorcan Ward]

I've had both and I prefer the M7.
I find it fuller, the Nazgul has a lot of bass and high end but doesn't sound as full across the mid range
Saturates with gain more where the Nazgul can sound dry
Less harsh/bright in the top end so it's better for leads, the nazgul emphasises pick attack which isn't ideal for leads
More low-mid chug where the Nazgul is a little higher voiced on palm mutes
M7 gives you a Swedish melodeath tone while the Nazgul gets you Keith Merrow's Conquering Dystopia tone

They are both metal focused pickups so it's a matter of taste. Each have their pros and cons. I think SD should have taken the best of the Pegasus and Nazgul to make an in-between pickup.

 

[KnightBrolaire]

What do you think is so different between them? Is one much hotter, does the other have a few db more low end?

The M7 has a thicker, more low mid centric tone with much more output. The low end is very responsive but starts to smear with extended chord shapes. It feels stiffer and "colder" for lack of a better term. The split coil sounds are decent, as are the cleans, but I wouldn't say they're exceptional.

The Nazgul is much clearer overall imo, and is lower output. The low end is responsive but nowhere as thick as the m7. It has more of a midrange snarl rather than a low mid growl (like the m7). In the wrong guitar or with the wrong settings the nazgul can be very nasal in the mids. The cleans are fine, but not exceptional. The split tones are terrible tbh.

They both work great for extreme metal riffage and are fine/passable for other stuff.

 

[ExMachina]

The M7 has a thicker, more low mid centric tone with much more output. The low end is very responsive but starts to smear with extended chord shapes. It feels stiffer and "colder" for lack of a better term. The split coil sounds are decent, as are the cleans, but I wouldn't say they're exceptional.
The Nazgul is much clearer overall imo, and is lower output. The low end is responsive but not as thick as the m7. It has more of a midrange snarl rather than a low mid growl (like the m7). In the wrong guitar or with the wrong settings the nazgul can be very nasal in the mids. The cleans are fine, but not exceptional. The split tones are terrible tbh.

They both work great for extreme metal riffage and are fine/passable for other stuff.

Would you mind if I pull the mp3 from your video and do some analysis?

 

[submergedindirt]

Man, you guys have the exact opposite experience with these 2 pickups that I have. Albeit, I have the m8 and the 8 string nazgul.
I started with the m8 back in 2012 thinking it was supposed to be the ultimate 8 string pickup. It has very little low end, seems shrill and undefined. Also, it's output level is surprisingly quiet, so I never could get much saturation out of it. I tried several different wiring configurations, different ohm pots, it was just really disappointing for a $250 pickup. I swapped it out 3 years ago for the nazgul, with no other changes made to the wiring or pots and the guitar came to life. All my issues with the m8 went away, much more output too. I still have the m8 btw, I'll never use it again. It's a shame, in my opinion of course.

 

[MrWulf]

What do you think is so different between them? Is one much hotter, does the other have a few db more low end?

As per other replies, Nazgul itself is a not a hi gain, but rather a mid gain pickup that happened to be really tight in the bass, very forward mid and bright treble. Meanwhile the M7 is higher gain, fuller bodied due to more bass.

If anything, the closest Seymour Duncan has that is comparable to the M7 is the Black Winter. They have very similar tone profile and gain, But M7 overall is brighter while Black Winter has more hair on the top end. And yes i also owned a Black Winter loaded guitar too.