Kiesel VM7 pickup options: Guitarmory, Instrumental, Lundgren?

[LeviathanKiller]

Hey y'all. I have a Kiesel multiscale 8 string that I am trying to get new pickups for. Is it generally known that the guitarmory pickups will fit without modifications? I've messaged BKP and it sounds like I'd have to modify the cavities if I went their route. If no mods are needed with the Guitarmory PU's, then that sounds like the way to go!





Also, LeviathonKiller--
I am really stuck between the Red Stone, Foxbat, Minuteman, and Voyager. The Redstone and Foxbat are near the top for what I think I need, but I messaged Guitarmory and they recommended the Voyager (which I am not really sure why, tbh). You seem like the resident pro of all things Guitarmory. Also, I loved your Red Stone pickup review on Youtube! Great work man.

I am basically looking for something that can do modern metal (not super 'djenty', but very articulate and clear, think Scale the Summit, Animals as Leaders) and also be able to pull off a bit of jazz and fusion. The key is the low end has to be tight to some degree as this is for an 8 string. I am not getting the impression that the Voyager excels in that realm, but I am getting the impression that the other 3 mentioned do. I suppose the Minuteman is likely the highest gain of the 4 and least likely to be able to accomadate the jazz/fusion stuff. This leaves me mostly between the Red Stone and the Foxbat...

Any help between all these is greatly appreciated!

Guitarmory makes multi-scale sets often including sets for Kiesels. Shouldn't be an issue at all.

Yeah, Voyagers would be a no-go imo. I'd go with the ceramic Foxbat personally. Also, the Red Stone set was just too low output for my personal preferences to keep in that guitar despite the amazing clarity. I got annoyed by the need to boost when I could switch to any other set of pickups and not need a boost. The Foxbat is a great all-around pickup though. If you turned out not liking that, I could steer you towards a different set based off your experience with the Foxbat set.

I answer some of the FB and email messages for The Guitarmory now. If you got recommended Voyagers, it probably wasn't by me though. haha If it was, my apologies because based off the info you just gave me I wouldn't recommend them. I don't think I'd ever recommend them for an 8-string actually. They have a really vintagey-crunchy to me when comparing them against the other models I've played. Kinda like a more vintage version of the Atlas set in a way.

Atlas (upper mid spike, high output) so no, Patriot is very modern and active-sounding so no, Polaris is also very modern and high output so also no, and Voyager is too loose/vintage-y. Orion could be an option. Minuteman set I haven't installed yet. Claymore, SCUD, and Warlord I haven't bought yet. New Arsenic set I haven't heard or used either. New Veteran set is upper-midsy and really high output (and also not released yet).

 

[TheaterOfTheme]

Guitarmory makes multi-scale sets often including sets for Kiesels. Shouldn't be an issue at all.

Yeah, Voyagers would be a no-go imo. I'd go with the ceramic Foxbat personally. Also, the Red Stone set was just too low output for my personal preferences to keep in that guitar despite the amazing clarity. I got annoyed by the need to boost when I could switch to any other set of pickups and not need a boost. The Foxbat is a great all-around pickup though. If you turned out not liking that, I could steer you towards a different set based off your experience with the Foxbat set.

I answer some of the FB and email messages for The Guitarmory now. If you got recommended Voyagers, it probably wasn't by me though. haha If it was, my apologies because based off the info you just gave me I wouldn't recommend them. I don't think I'd ever recommend them for an 8-string actually. They have a really vintagey-crunchy to me when comparing them against the other models I've played. Kinda like a more vintage version of the Atlas set in a way.

Atlas (upper mid spike, high output) so no, Patriot is very modern and active-sounding so no, Polaris is also very modern and high output so also no, and Voyager is too loose/vintage-y. Orion could be an option. Minuteman set I haven't installed yet. Claymore, SCUD, and Warlord I haven't bought yet. New Arsenic set I haven't heard or used either. New Veteran set is upper-midsy and really high output (and also not released yet).

Thank you so much for the reply! And awesome, that is good to hear that they should fit! Seems like The Guitarmory really accommodates.

I was definitely a bit confused as to why this person would recommend Voyagers (was via instagram). The main thing for me, by nature of the 8-string, is to keep the low end tight. Other than that, versatility is sort of the highest priority. What do you think about the ceramic magnet in the bridge and an alnico in the neck of a Foxbat combo? I want to get as close as I can to a classic jazz sound in the neck if I roll the tone knob down (I'm obviously not going for absolute purism here, just a modernish ballpark kind of thing).

Everything you say about the clarity of the Redstones and all the sound samples sound so good to me. But the super-low output may bug me as well, tbh. In your mind, will a ceramic Foxbat in the bridge be able to tame the lows?

Also, I hate to make comparisons to other brands. But if you can, what Guitarrmory pickup combo would you say is most closely voiced to the SD Pegasus/Sentient combo. I dig that set a lot on extended range stuff. The Pegasus could be a little tighter on the lows and that would be my only squabble. I'm just not trying to get to the level of tightness of say, the BKP Juggernaut. That super djenty stuff I'm really not into.

Do you have experience with Kiesel Lithiums? Obviously, those are what I have on the guitar right now. I like the level of output and tightness, but there is this weird compressed brightness that drives me insane--Idk If any of this additional info helps you categorize what I may be looking for haha.

Thanks a lot man!

 

[LeviathanKiller]

Thank you so much for the reply! And awesome, that is good to hear that they should fit! Seems like The Guitarmory really accommodates.

I was definitely a bit confused as to why this person would recommend Voyagers (was via instagram). The main thing for me, by nature of the 8-string, is to keep the low end tight. Other than that, versatility is sort of the highest priority. What do you think about the ceramic magnet in the bridge and an alnico in the neck of a Foxbat combo? I want to get as close as I can to a classic jazz sound in the neck if I roll the tone knob down (I'm obviously not going for absolute purism here, just a modernish ballpark kind of thing).

Everything you say about the clarity of the Redstones and all the sound samples sound so good to me. But the super-low output may bug me as well, tbh. In your mind, will a ceramic Foxbat in the bridge be able to tame the lows?

Also, I hate to make comparisons to other brands. But if you can, what Guitarrmory pickup combo would you say is most closely voiced to the SD Pegasus/Sentient combo. I dig that set a lot on extended range stuff. The Pegasus could be a little tighter on the lows and that would be my only squabble. I'm just not trying to get to the level of tightness of say, the BKP Juggernaut. That super djenty stuff I'm really not into.

Do you have experience with Kiesel Lithiums? Obviously, those are what I have on the guitar right now. I like the level of output and tightness, but there is this weird compressed brightness that drives me insane--Idk If any of this additional info helps you categorize what I may be looking for haha.

Thanks a lot man!

Yeah, the site doesn't accommodate mixing and matching very well right now but you can leave that in the comments and Adam will take care of it. A ceramic bridge Foxbat and alnico 5 Foxbat neck would be great for an extremely versatile set.

I haven't played the Pegasus but my guess is the Foxbat or Orion would be one of the closest ones because everything else I mentioned above definitely doesn't sound like it in my opinion.

For me, the BKP Juggernaut wasn't really that tight in the mahogany-bodied Agile I had the set in. It was nice on everything but the lowest or two lowest strings. Was a bit flubby on those strings. Either Foxbat set is more uniformly tighter than that imo.

Yeah, I had a Kiesel Aries A7H (mahogany body) built. It's got a Veteran prototype set in right now. The Veteran set is much more open. The Lithiums were thin/compressed and a little bright like you mentioned although I was actually surprised that they didn't sound tooooo bad. They still came out though because I already had plans on what I wanted in there. The Atlas and Veterans sets both have an upper mid spike which may be what you didn't like about the Lithiums. Both of those sets are also pretty hot with the Veteran being the hottest of the two.

 

[oneblackened]

I reeeeeally have to caution against The Guitarmory. Their operation is an absolute shitshow and there's a high possibility you'll either get something broken, not what you ordered, or it'll take literal months to arrive.

 

[KnightBrolaire]

I reeeeeally have to caution against The Guitarmory. Their operation is an absolute shitshow and there's a high possibility you'll either get something broken, not what you ordered, or it'll take literal months to arrive.

wat. I've never once had those issues and I've been ordering from them since nic was in charge. The chances of that shit happening are even lower with adam doing the pickup winding/building.

 

[spudmunkey]

Caveat: I'VE NEVER USED THEM

...but they are frequently recommended over on the Kiesel FB group, and I don't recall ever hearing of someone having a negative experience.

 

[oneblackened]

wat. I've never once had those issues and I've been ordering from them since nic was in charge. The chances of that shit happening are even lower with adam doing the pickup winding/building.

I've seen these things happen first hand.

 

[KnightBrolaire]

I've seen these things happen first hand.

ok, but how recently are we talking? As far as I know there were issues like that wayyyy back when the first owner was around, but by the time nic and then michael took over, I stopped hearing those complaints. I'm in a lot of guitar related fb groups (including the kiesel one that spud mentioned) so I feel like I would have heard more about this had it been a really prevalent issue. I've bought like 4 or 5 sets from them and the longest I had to wait was about 2 months for a patriot bridge. I've waited longer for other pickups, including custom duncans.
And if we're going based off of firsthand knowledge, all of my sets came exactly as I ordered them, and none of them were broken or defective. I would have raised holy hell had that been the case.

 

[oneblackened]

ok, but how recently are we talking? As far as I know there were issues like that wayyyy back when the first owner was around, but by the time nic and then michael took over, I stopped hearing those complaints. I'm in a lot of guitar related fb groups (including the kiesel one that spud mentioned) so I feel like I would have heard more about this had it been a really prevalent issue. I've bought like 4 or 5 sets from them and the longest I had to wait was about 2 months for a patriot bridge. I've waited longer for other pickups, including custom duncans.
And if we're going based off of firsthand knowledge, all of my sets came exactly as I ordered them, and none of them were broken or defective. I would have raised holy hell had that been the case.

As in, within the last week that I've personally seen glaring fuckups.

 

[MSS]

As in, within the last week that I've personally seen glaring fuckups.

I’ve ordered 2 7 string pickup sets from them recently and they both arrived 5 weeks after order. My recent set was not tapped but I was drilling for direct mount anyway. I ordered it with the “pickup rings” option because I thought that would get me a set with legs and ears. The base is not metal and is one piece with no legs for 7 string pups. I had to get longer screws for the bridge pup to get the height right because of this. No biggie and I do have to say that Adam was super responsive on messenger when I asked about it. Overall, both orders were good experiences and I do think they are the best pups for the money right now if you get them with no extra options.

 

[MSS]

...delete...double post.

 

[LeviathanKiller]

As in, within the last week that I've personally seen glaring fuckups.

You wanna message the page with your issuess? I don't care if you saw them on someone else's set and not your own even. I can forward those issues on to Michael if you do that. We take care of / address everyone's issues within reason, ESPECIALLY if we did something wrong. All feedback is appreciated.

I don't know anything about the first owner/winder's stuff so I can't comment on it. I know some people had issues with Nic builds. I actually had ordered 6 sets built by Nic without any issues other than two of the sets having coils slightly tilted which I had never noticed until Adam pointed out how clean his work was. Adam's work is near flawless. I think I've ordered like 10 sets now from him and it's reeeeeeally good work. He's a really knowledgable dude in general. I was very happy to see him come on board before I started working for Guitarmory. All 15+ sets I've ordered from Guitarmory were all before I started working for them so I didn't get any special treatment or anything. I was just another customer. All of the Guitarmory guys take quality very seriously and that's why I was willing to join the team. So yeah, send the page a message or even message Michael Campbell himself and we'll work with you on getting stuff fixed. No reason for you to be unhappy with our stuff unless the tone just isn't your thing.

 

[ElysianGuitars]

As in, within the last week that I've personally seen glaring fuckups.

Show me? I've been building everything for Guitarmory since February, and I won't pretend I'm perfect, but I don't know of any recent "glaring" mistakes.

 

[oracles]

I saw plenty of poor workmanship from Guitarmory products under Dale and Nic's time as manufacturers, and I'm far from being alone in that regard. A certain boutique builder outright refuses to install Guitarmory pickups due to the volume of QC issues they saw under Dale and Nic.

I've not encountered any sets since Adam has been manufacturing, but I can see the upturn in quality from the pictures alone. I can't personally say if that's the case, but the sets I've seen during the former ownerships were not anything I'd put in any guitar I'd work on or own.

 

[MC8944]

Hey everyone, Michael from The Guitarmory here. I was directed to this link by quite a few people so figured I'd take a couple days, and weigh in to set the record straight. I started working for Nic in 2017 and then took over as owner of The Guitarmory back in November of 2018. We as a company ultimately parted ways with Nic in January of this year due to the issues mentioned above as well as some other things. That being said, since bringing Adam on board as our production manager things have increased drastically and I fully stand by the product we sell. The person stating "our operation is an absolute shitshow and there's a high possibility you'll either get something broken, not what you ordered, or it'll take literal months to arrive." has never ordered from us at all. All that being said, if anyone here has had an issue with a set you received from Nic or Dale, message our Facebook page and give me the chance to make it right, thank you for your time everyone.

 

[jarledge]

I have ordered a couple of sets of pickups from guitarmory and have been very happy with them. I have an 8 string minuetman set with ebony covers and they look stunning. I placed an order a couple of months ago for a zebra wood 8 string multi-scale set of Orions and yes it did take a little time for them to be completed but it was a custom set, so I think it is more than reasonable that it is going to take some time. I have also placed an order for a custom sparkle 7 string atlas set.

These pickups are just like anything else that is custom built, it takes some time to get them wound/made and even more so when you don't have a large production shop, and you are hand winding pickups.

Check out some of the youtube videos they have. The pickups are worth the wait.

 

[@zwen]

Show me? I've been building everything for Guitarmory since February, and I won't pretend I'm perfect, but I don't know of any recent "glaring" mistakes.

I’ve been thinking about going with a set of Guitarmory Pickups for my 8 string. What would you recommend if I want a set that sounds like Lundgrens?

 

[oracles]

I’ve been thinking about going with a set of Guitarmory Pickups for my 8 string. What would you recommend if I want a set that sounds like Lundgrens?

Lundgrens. Nothing really sounds or responds the way they do, particularly the M series.

 

[LeviathanKiller]

I’ve been thinking about going with a set of Guitarmory Pickups for my 8 string. What would you recommend if I want a set that sounds like Lundgrens?

I don't have any experience with Lundgrens so there's nothing I could recommend in this case. Lundgren has a few different sets though which all sound different. It has been said that Agile Cepheus pickups are based on Lundgrens and sound quite close.

 

[spudmunkey]

I’ve been thinking about going with a set of Guitarmory Pickups for my 8 string. What would you recommend if I want a set that sounds like Lundgrens?

This makes me laugh a little. When they were launched, Jeff Kiesel would say that the lithium pickups were inspired by his favorite pickups at the time, the Lundgren M series.