Pickup choices have driven me mad! can i has helpz?

[loktide]

so after lots of reading i've come down to the following bridge pickups to replace my stock 'Dimarzio custom 7' pickup on my 27" rg7680:

1. X2N 7
2. D-Activator
3. Evo7

reason for wanting new pickup:
the 'dimarzio custom' sounds a bit dull for my taste. It has almost too much lows/low-mids but stays relatively tight and definied. I could also use a bit more output.

pickups i've owned and didn't like:
i've had a evo-pair on my mahagony/maple-top 3120 and absolutely hated it. A bit muddy and not as tight/defined as i like PUs.
i had a tonezone in it before that and didn't like that either. Too nasal for my taste.

pickups i love:
the 707 in my hellraiser! man, this PUs is simply unbeliavable! If i wouldn't need to re-route my 7680, i would get one of these immediately! I like the idea of having a passive and an active equipped 7, though.

why i'm still absolutely confused:
X2N7: it seems o be overkill in terms of output, no? i love the 707, but more output would almost seem ridiculous for me. I'm a hard picker and want to be able to hear that through a PU rather than only compression. Is there a balanced neck partner for this monster?
Evo7: well, it's obviously a 7-string version of the evo and i HATED the 6-string version on my mahagony 3120,
DA7: i'm reading mixed statements about this one, and the overall concept of a EMG-like sounding passive still has me a bit sceptic.


i won't be able to try either of these out before buying one, and it seems to be impossible to find them in the used market here in germany. Which means i would be reselling it for almost nothing and paying the list price for either one.


please don't start recommending me further PUs as i don't want to go over all the reading again

any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[ibznorange]

a LOT of people that really hate the evo like the evo 7, on this very board.
i didnt care for the dactivators, but booby swears by em. other than his custom dsonic. the dsonic is actually freaking awesome, but noisy. the one pickup id recommend not on your list, is the seymour duncan blackout. an active (and alot of people are saying an 81-7, 707 clone) that comes in a standard route. that may be the way to go

 

[Leon]

you could wait for the Seymour Duncan Blackouts to come out.

 

[loktide]

don't know... i would have to swap almost all electronics and it would render my middle coil PU (which i actually like to combine w/ the neck PU for cleans) useless

 

[Xtremevillan]

EMG SA should take care of it.

 

[loktide]

i've never heard of a 7-string EMG SA

 

[Edroz]

that's because they don't make a 7 string version of the SA

 

[loktide]

that's what i thought

 

[ibznorange]

unfortunately

 

[loktide]

ok, i just ordered the Evo7 as it found it new for 72€ incl shipping

picstory w/ clips will follow

 

[Leon]

nice!

 

[ibznorange]

saWEET

 

[loktide]

i've read from a user from this board (dont remeber who), that the evo7 can be quite trebly/harsh in a 27" basswood guitar : /
he had it in a 1077xl, which is pretty much the same in specs as my 7680

according to dimarzio, the evo7 should be the most middy out of the bunch (x2n7, da7, evo7), though

 

[7 Dying Trees]

Dude. You live in germany. Take the extra cash hit, and get Bareknuckles. They absolutely slay all those pickups you've listed, seriously. Also send tim at Bareknuckle your middle single coil for him to rewind it (costs 30 or so £).

Stop trying out loads of pickups, and just get ones which will sound completely awesome. It is so worth the extra cash, and living in europe, there really isn't much difference between them and dimarzios.

I did this with my 1077, Hal heard the guitar and ordered Bareknuckles the nex day even though he was on a tight budget. Yes. They really are that good. My guitar rips with them in, i've gigged it twice, and it's cut through the mix like butter, sounded absolutely awesome, rich and full.

Seriously. Get a Nailbomb for the bridge, Nailbomb or Coldsweat for the neck. And get the middle single coil rewound.

As for comparisons, I've got an evo7 in one guitar, blazes in two, seymour duncan JB/59 in the other, and these pickups really do piss all over all of them. It's like they all sound quite bland and lacking if that makes sense.

Anyway, I'd hate to see you get pickups when you can just end your search for tone right here and now by getting bareknuckles

 

[7 Dying Trees]

please don't start recommending me further PUs as i don't want to go over all the reading again

any help would be greatly appreciated!

Sorry But if you definately don't want the BKP's, the evo7 works well in basswood, will be very tight

Still .... you know what I think!

 

[Zepp88]

You Europeans are lucky when it comes to bareknuckles....they are SO expensive over here...

 

[Nick]

i've read from a user from this board (dont remeber who), that the evo7 can be quite trebly/harsh in a 27" basswood guitar : /
he had it in a 1077xl, which is pretty much the same in specs as my 7680

according to dimarzio, the evo7 should be the most middy out of the bunch (x2n7, da7, evo7), though

I also said that because ive got one in a basswood 1527

My initial thoughts on the pickup were that it was tight as fuck on the low end but when i was playing high on the neck it was earpearcingly harsh.

i wasnt so worried because im not generally somoene who is twiddling away up there a lot. However i do venture up there for some leads every so often .

I changed my settings on my amp slightly and it was problem solved a few minor changes to my overal tone and the harshness was gone.

id deffinetly recommend the pickup

 

[The Dark Wolf]

Nick - totally off topic, but every time you post, and I see your avatar, I can't help but think, "Whoa! From that picture, he looks like TNA wrestler Christian Cage!"

On Topic, the D Activator is neat, but my Custom D Sonic 7 is the best bridge pickup I've ever heard or played. Like a passive EMG (whereas the D Activator is like an EMG passive).

 

[Nick]

lol! i can see the likness in the two pics but in person i dont look anything like that guy

I think its just my facial expression

 

[distressed_romeo]

Dude. You live in germany. Take the extra cash hit, and get Bareknuckles. They absolutely slay all those pickups you've listed, seriously. Also send tim at Bareknuckle your middle single coil for him to rewind it (costs 30 or so £).

Stop trying out loads of pickups, and just get ones which will sound completely awesome. It is so worth the extra cash, and living in europe, there really isn't much difference between them and dimarzios.

I did this with my 1077, Hal heard the guitar and ordered Bareknuckles the nex day even though he was on a tight budget. Yes. They really are that good. My guitar rips with them in, i've gigged it twice, and it's cut through the mix like butter, sounded absolutely awesome, rich and full.

Seriously. Get a Nailbomb for the bridge, Nailbomb or Coldsweat for the neck. And get the middle single coil rewound.

As for comparisons, I've got an evo7 in one guitar, blazes in two, seymour duncan JB/59 in the other, and these pickups really do piss all over all of them. It's like they all sound quite bland and lacking if that makes sense.

Anyway, I'd hate to see you get pickups when you can just end your search for tone right here and now by getting bareknuckles

You are Hal are really taken by these things aren't you?

I was seriously tempted by the Nailbombs, but money is supertight at the moment (especially now I spent £500 on a new Hellraiser). You never know...maybe in the future I'll upgrade again.