Edika
Well-Known Member
Hey all, a few quick shots of the pickups and then the story lol!
I have a Jackson DK7M that came with a BK Coldsweat when I bought it in the bridge and the SD distortion neck. The sound was ok but really meh. I tuned it to A# for the Nevermore and Revocation riffing but I was never happy with it. I tried an Omega Hades I had lying around, which was fine but wasn't as tight as I would want. I tried a BK Blackhawk set but again wasn't happy with it. I tried a set of BK Aftermaths and it was better but still something wasn't quite right.
Whenever I would pick up my other 7 strings I'd like their sound more. Especially the one with the SD Nazgul in it.
I realised I like the sound of more traditional sounding pickups and specifically the SD grind, if it makes sense. I even liked the Pegasus 7, which is a really controversial pickup it seems, more than any of the BK models. So instead of trying anything else I decided to go SD. I was aiming for a Black Winter set or find a Distortion bridge to match the neck pickup the guitar came with. But new prices have gone through the roof and used prices where in old new prices territory and I decided to wait. Then I saw the Nagus pickups in the Axe Palace Facebook bage by Nick and they picked my interest. I checked their site and prices with a Sentient neck would be more or less the same as a new set of other SD pickups in the UK. But the shipping price was quite high. I made a comment in the FB page and one of the members and Nick suggested I speak with them via IM. I did and managed to get them shipped to me in a great price with shipping included!
Pickups arrived and they look great! They do a matched Sentient in terms of aesthetics and if there's one thing to note is that the logo is slightly different. Not really something to care about but that's with SD. But how do they sound? That is a good question and it's really difficult to put things into words without the pickup jargon.
What I would say is that the Nagus has it's own sound but still has the characteristics SD grind. It high output but also clear sounding. It is as clear sounding as the BK I tried in that guitar, and even clearer, but with a better low end response and not as anemic as they were. In terms of comparison to SD pickups, I think it has the best elements of the Nazgul and Black Winter pickups. It is quite level in the EQ, without the spiky frequencies of the Nazgul and the Black Winter. So it sounds like it has more low end than the Nazgul and not as tiring of a high end as the both the Black Winter and Nazgul. The Sentient is the Sentient lol.
It fixed some of the issues of the sound I had with that guitar but it still had something lacking. So I swapped the Nazgul and Nagus with my other DK7, which sounded excellent with the Nazgul, and both of them sound amazing now.
Would I recommend it to other people? It depends what you want to do with them. If you're tired with the sound of other SD pickups and want to try something different, the yes. It is a lovely pickup that is not fatiguing to the ear and can cover a lot of ground sonically. It's not a one trick pony as the Nazgul, it's not as all out as the Black Winter while being really hot, it is really clear sounding and you can get intermediate gain sounds. Cleans are nice too. It's warmer sounding but not tubby in the low end. Great harmonincs and easy to do pinch harmonics too. It's not that much more expensive than a "regular" SD so it's an option to try. I want replace any other set on my current 7 strings, as I'm happy with the sounds I get with the sets I have. But I'm planning to get a 6 string set as I want to see how they sound in a couple of my guitars.
I have a Jackson DK7M that came with a BK Coldsweat when I bought it in the bridge and the SD distortion neck. The sound was ok but really meh. I tuned it to A# for the Nevermore and Revocation riffing but I was never happy with it. I tried an Omega Hades I had lying around, which was fine but wasn't as tight as I would want. I tried a BK Blackhawk set but again wasn't happy with it. I tried a set of BK Aftermaths and it was better but still something wasn't quite right.
Whenever I would pick up my other 7 strings I'd like their sound more. Especially the one with the SD Nazgul in it.
I realised I like the sound of more traditional sounding pickups and specifically the SD grind, if it makes sense. I even liked the Pegasus 7, which is a really controversial pickup it seems, more than any of the BK models. So instead of trying anything else I decided to go SD. I was aiming for a Black Winter set or find a Distortion bridge to match the neck pickup the guitar came with. But new prices have gone through the roof and used prices where in old new prices territory and I decided to wait. Then I saw the Nagus pickups in the Axe Palace Facebook bage by Nick and they picked my interest. I checked their site and prices with a Sentient neck would be more or less the same as a new set of other SD pickups in the UK. But the shipping price was quite high. I made a comment in the FB page and one of the members and Nick suggested I speak with them via IM. I did and managed to get them shipped to me in a great price with shipping included!
Pickups arrived and they look great! They do a matched Sentient in terms of aesthetics and if there's one thing to note is that the logo is slightly different. Not really something to care about but that's with SD. But how do they sound? That is a good question and it's really difficult to put things into words without the pickup jargon.
What I would say is that the Nagus has it's own sound but still has the characteristics SD grind. It high output but also clear sounding. It is as clear sounding as the BK I tried in that guitar, and even clearer, but with a better low end response and not as anemic as they were. In terms of comparison to SD pickups, I think it has the best elements of the Nazgul and Black Winter pickups. It is quite level in the EQ, without the spiky frequencies of the Nazgul and the Black Winter. So it sounds like it has more low end than the Nazgul and not as tiring of a high end as the both the Black Winter and Nazgul. The Sentient is the Sentient lol.
It fixed some of the issues of the sound I had with that guitar but it still had something lacking. So I swapped the Nazgul and Nagus with my other DK7, which sounded excellent with the Nazgul, and both of them sound amazing now.
Would I recommend it to other people? It depends what you want to do with them. If you're tired with the sound of other SD pickups and want to try something different, the yes. It is a lovely pickup that is not fatiguing to the ear and can cover a lot of ground sonically. It's not a one trick pony as the Nazgul, it's not as all out as the Black Winter while being really hot, it is really clear sounding and you can get intermediate gain sounds. Cleans are nice too. It's warmer sounding but not tubby in the low end. Great harmonincs and easy to do pinch harmonics too. It's not that much more expensive than a "regular" SD so it's an option to try. I want replace any other set on my current 7 strings, as I'm happy with the sounds I get with the sets I have. But I'm planning to get a 6 string set as I want to see how they sound in a couple of my guitars.
