KM7 MK iii Artist pickup recommendations

[Partario]

I got a KM7 MK iii artist from Sweetwater last winter, and as much as I love how it plays, I wasn’t into the Fishman KM set that came with it. I put in some Dimarzio Edge 7’s that came in buddy’s Ibanez (and a 500k pot), and it sounds and plays so much better. It’s about 90% there, but the pickups start to give out on my low G#. I’d like to get a set of Bareknuckles for it because they’ve worked so well in my other guitars, but I’m not sure which set to get. I’m open to other brands as well. I have Cold Sweats in my drop B 6 string, and Aftermaths in my cheap Agile drop F 7 string. This guitar is in drop G#.

Swamp Ash body
Wenge/maple/Purple Heart neck
26.5” scale
Drop G#

Any recommendations would be much appreciated

 

[Hoss632]

I would say the Impulse set (designed specifically for low tunings), Ragnaroks or Silo in that order.

 

[MAJ Meadows SF]

I’m gonna ask despite guessing from the tuning: what style of sound are you after? I think there’s several solid BKP sets as mentioned, but I have other ideas depending on what you’re going for. Guitarmory comes to mind, or some custom magnet SDs.

Also, for shits and gigs: Ormsby. You can order traditional mount pickups of any of their stuff right off their website. You just have to specify in the order message with that, make/model, etc. The Toecutter, made for Dino Cazares, would probably be phenomenal in super low tunings.

 

[juka]

Following Keith's instagram it seems like he's ditched Fishman and is back with SD again showing off one of his sig guitars with what looks like a custom set of Black Winters.

Had the the chance to compare his former sig set (Nazgul/Sentinent) with his Fishman set on various guitars head to head and I always liked the Fishman better, feeling more open sounding and dynamic.

But hey, to each its own. There is a reason why they are literally hundreds of humbuckers out there.

 

[Hoss632]

Following Keith's instagram it seems like he's ditched Fishman and is back with SD again showing off one of his sig guitars with what looks like a custom set of Black Winters.

Had the the chance to compare his former sig set (Nazgul/Sentinent) with his Fishman set on various guitars head to head and I always liked the Fishman better, feeling more open sounding and dynamic.

But hey, to each its own. There is a reason why they are literally hundreds of humbuckers out there.

I think he's still with fishman. Next picture after it are non SD's and he just introduced a new model sig with Schecter with a Floyd and sustaniac, stilll has his fishman in the bridge.

 

[juka]

When Fluff showed off his new Fishman prototype on Instagram yesterday, Keith commented that he just discontinued his

 

[Hoss632]

When Fluff showed off his new Fishman prototype on Instagram yesterday, Keith commented that he just discontinued his

Oh shit I did not see that. Well not the first time I've been wrong. Definitely won't be the last lol.

 

[akinari]

http://ergnerds.com/7-string-guitar-shootout/

Check this out. Demos of various BKP, EMG, Dimarzio, Duncan, Kiesel, Instrumental, and Lace models.

 

[Hoss632]

http://ergnerds.com/7-string-guitar-shootout/

Check this out. Demos of various BKP, EMG, Dimarzio, Duncan, Kiesel, Instrumental, and Lace models.

that's a hell of a find!

 

[ringmaster555]

I’m curious about this, too. I have the KM-7 III, and the pickups have this odd twangy harmonic resonance that makes getting a good tone impossible (EQ doesn’t work, as it’s ever-present, adjusting pickup height, fret wraps, etc. nothing helps)

Will changing the pickups affect the functionality of the voicing/pickup switch?

 

[Hoss632]

I’m curious about this, too. I have the KM-7 III, and the pickups have this odd twangy harmonic resonance that makes getting a good tone impossible (EQ doesn’t work, as it’s ever-present, adjusting pickup height, fret wraps, etc. nothing helps)

Will changing the pickups affect the functionality of the voicing/pickup switch?

Depends on the pick ups you swap in. Are you going with another set of fishmans? If you go passives you might be able to use that switch as a way to do a coil split.

 

[ringmaster555]

Depends on the pick ups you swap in. Are you going with another set of fishmans? If you go passives you might be able to use that switch as a way to do a coil split.

Thanks for the reply! I will likely swap them with a different set of active pickups. I am curious how the Keith Merrow custom voicing will behave with a different set. In any case, I would like all of the toggles to work, lol. Are there specifications that I should know to ensure compatibility? I’m completely new to guitar pickups and electronics x)

 

[Hoss632]

Thanks for the reply! I will likely swap them with a different set of active pickups. I am curious how the Keith Merrow custom voicing will behave with a different set. In any case, I would like all of the toggles to work, lol. Are there specifications that I should know to ensure compatibility? I’m completely new to guitar pickups and electronics x)

Hopefully someone here can help out with that. I would think that if you go with another set of fishman's that have 2 or 3 voices that it should be plug and play. But I'm definitely not an expert in that department.

 

[SubsonicDoom99]

My initial thoughts are the Nazgul/Sentient set, or even the Full Shred 7 string set, which sounds suprisingly good with really low tunings I've found.

 

[juka]

Thanks for the reply! I will likely swap them with a different set of active pickups. I am curious how the Keith Merrow custom voicing will behave with a different set. In any case, I would like all of the toggles to work, lol. Are there specifications that I should know to ensure compatibility? I’m completely new to guitar pickups and electronics x)

What you probably mean by KM custom voicing, is just a combination of two 3way switches that brings all 9 voicing/sounds/pickups options (however you might want to call it) out of 2 pups with 3 voicing each.
As long as the configuration of the pins on the back of the pups is the same, which is the case at least for classics, KM and JR, it's just plug'n'play. For the TA, on the other hand, you will have to resolder some connections as it use a quite unique pin layout.

 

[juka]

I actually have 7strings with 2 KM sets and 1 classic set and quite enjoy swapping them around with every string change

 

[ReleasedtoReign]

If the original poster of this thread sees this what did you end up going with and was any routing required?