Pickup choice for my Schecter Omen Extreme 7 (BKP/EMG?) need suggestions.

[motan]

I have been looking at several different pickups and trying to figure out what would work best for the sound I'm trying to accomplish.

Right now I have stock pickups on a Schecter Omen Extreme 7. I was looking at Bare Knuckle pickups mostly, but also EMGs. I play mostly rhythm in the band I'm in currently, through a Mesa Dual rectifier, Basson 4x12 with Eminence Legends, and a Marshall 2x12 with Celestions. I do play a few leads so I like to have some control over midrange on the guitar, but the rest of the time I need clarity in my picking but also some chunk along with it to compliment the rhythm section (bass/drums).

I've heard that the Warpig provides the best low-end mids, but I noticed the Painkiller might be more optimal for clarity (less muddy) ??? Obviously two different pickups tonally. we play death metal/extreme metal. Not really looking for the Metal Zone sound, I prefer more guts and mids boosted over a scooped mid any day, and with the Mesa I can fine tune in alot of my mids, but the lows are my concern. With my stock passive pickups, the lows seem to make it muddy so I have to cut them down (on the amp) a ton. I want to avoid having to limit the tone coming from my amp because of crappy pickups. Also would like some decent sustain... I currently feel my guitar continue to vibrate fairly well when the pickup stops reporting sound. I feel like the signal is not saturated enough going into the amp to get a good solid sound, it's sort of airy, like the pickup just doesn't have enough juice.

any suggestion? I'm assuming either pup will be an extreme improvement on my stock pups, but I don't want to exchange one issue (muddy lows) for another (not enough gain, not enough mid range). I've seen several negative comments on the EMG 707s for trying to obtain a good 'metal' tone.

It may be easier to pinpoint what I'm trying to accomplish if you give it a listen. you can hear some live samples at Left For Dead | San Luis Obispo, CA | Metal / Death Metal | Music, Lyrics, Songs, and Videos | ReverbNation

FYI: The other guitarist is playing a 6 string Jackson dinky with EMG-HZs out of a Peavey Ultra 120/Marshall 4x12. both of us run dry going into the amps.

 

[Kamikaze7]

Hey man. While I can't vouch for the BKP's, I have had more than enough experience with the EMG 707's. I've been using them since 2005 in my green Kamikaze 7, and it's been the best tone I've gotten yet. In fact, nearly all of the guitars I've had since then have had EMG 707's, except the Ibanez 7's I had which wound up with DiMarzio D-Activator 7's. 4 out of the 5 ESP 7-strings I have now have the 707's in them and I couldn't be happier! The only one that doesn't is the Horizon and that has D-Activators in it as well. I'm waiting on a new set of pickup rings so they sit flat under the strings and not at a gaff angle, to try and see if that one will stay with the D-Activators or will wind up with EMG's as well.

Me personally, I wouldn't spend twice the amount for BKP's as I would a good set of Dimarzio's or EMG's. Just my , but not only that, but I haven't heard a BKP that I liked yet. Not to mention, the BKP's do NOT have any kind of warranty on them outside of the UK. The EMG's have a 2 year warrnty period, and the DiMarzio's have a 5-year, no questions asked warranty period. If you don't like them, pull them out, box them back up and send them back. You can pick another pair/set to try until you find one you like. And if anything goes wrong with them in the 5-year period, Dimarzio will repair or replace them for free! I go with DiMarzio for passives and EMG for actives. I've been an EMG guy ever since I started playing and the ONLY passive that comes anywhere close to the active sound and tone for a passive is the D-Activator.

Now with all that being said, you have a few options here. If you want to be able to keep and use the factory passive routes and rings, you can go with the DiMarzio's for passives, OR you can get the Phase 1 Duncan Blackouts which are the same size as a normal passive pickup. I've tried the Blackouts before and didn't care for them (that's another story...). As for which DiMarzio's I'd recommend, I would go with the following choices:
*Tone Zone 7 (B)& Air Norton 7 (N)
*D-Activator 7 set (B & N)
*X2N-7 (B) & D-Activator 7 (N)
*CrunchLab (B) & LiquiFire (N)

Either of these sets will work worlds of wonder for your tone.

Now if you don't mind re-routing your guitar for the EMG's, then go with the 707's. If you want something a little warmer in the neck for when you do do lead stuff, throw a 60-7 in the neck spot. Some guys have good luck with the 81-7, but a majority of those I read reviews from and my own first-hand experiences, they're not too great. Most have said that they are too bite-y on the high end. My experiences with them was very muddy, even on a neck-thru ESP M307. The 707's have been the best by far for being very versatile, yet clean, clear and articulate in both distorted and clean in ANY style or genre you'll play. Not to mention, all of the EMG's come with a new plug & play solderless system now, so it'll take no more than a half an hour to get everything wired and back together (once the pickup cavities are routed of course...).

This is my thoughts on the issue, but in the end the choice IS yours. Good luck, hope this helps. If you need help in wiring them up, let me know.