SD Pegasus or SD Distortion in Mahogany?

[Matze777]

Hi guys,

I have got an Ibanez RG7421PB (lightweight Mahogany body, poplar burl top, Rosewood fretboard).
Now for swapping the bridge Quantum pickup, I'm torn between SD Pegasus or SD Distortion.

The PU should be versatile with tight lows, punchy mids and singing highs. I play Nightwish, Dream Theater, Lamb of God, Metallica, Guns 'n Roses, Rainbow, Gamma Ray, AC/DC, Hammerfall, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest...

So I thought the Pegasus has that full organic Sound because of the Alnico Magnet, but it might be too bass heavy/muddy in Mahogany.
The Distortion might balance the dark character of the Mahogany body well - I don't know if it's too harsh/sterile on the high end...

What do you think? I'll appreciate any help.
Thanks very much for your thoughts.

 

[Zoobiedood]

The Pegasus would be my choice, even in mahogany, especially if you are looking for a versatile pickup. The Distortion does essentially one thing really well. The Pegasus can do many things well (and sounds good split) although you might have trouble with the single coil-y Rainbow sounds and the buttery GnR sounds. The Pegasus is much too tight for those.

 

[AkiraSpectrum]

The Pegasus would be my choice, even in mahogany, especially if you are looking for a versatile pickup. The Distortion does essentially one thing really well. The Pegasus can do many things well (and sounds good split) although you might have trouble with the single coil-y Rainbow sounds and the buttery GnR sounds. The Pegasus is much too tight for those.

I'm going to agree with this post above.

I have a Pegasus in my Ibanez RGA121H (all mahogany body, no maple top like the regular RGA121's) and it sounds great. The Pegasus does seem to be a 'love/hate' relationship for most though. I think people expect a higher output and more aggressive pickup, but the Pegasus is medium output and 'smooth/organic'. Can it get aggressive? Yes, with an OD pedal and a boost on the treble on your amp, but its not 'naturally' aggressive and high output like most people assume.

The Pegasus is focused in the lows/bass but it is also very grunty and throaty in the lower mids. Personally, I'm a big fan of the Pegasus--definitely worth a shot!

 

[capac]

Pegasus sounds too soft in lower tunings IMO. Could work for you.

 

[elkoki]

What does your guitar sound like now? Is it bright? too bassy? I tried the Pegasus in a lightweight mahogany body Schecter, it just wasn't for me, although the amp could've been the bigger problem. The Pegasus was round sounding,very low output, and raising it up closer to the string just made it sound muddy, well to me. But like I said a big part of that probably was the amp, now i'm using a different one. But between the 2 you mentioned, Pegasus is your best choice.

 

[BubbleWrap]

The PU should be versatile with tight lows

The Pegasus does not provide a tight and punchy low end.

I just recently swapped out the Pegasus/Sentient set in my SCB7 after trying really hard to like it for over a year. I even tried swapping in a ceramic magnet and changing the pole pieces to socket cap screws. Which did help somewhat, but still wasn't cutting it. The low end is very "rounded". That helps provide the "bloom" that sounds really great for lower gain complex chords. And it does sound pretty damn good for classic rock type tones and mid gain lead work. But when gain and speed increase, and you're looking for more punch and attack, I was always left wanting. And that's with compression, high and low cuts, heavy EQing, and noise suppression.

I have a distortion/jazz set in my sz4020fm and really like them. The distortion is punchy, tight, and powerful. It can be a little overpowering in some scenarios, but just roll the volume and tone controls down a little bit, and it's much more compliant. If you swap in an alnico 5 magnet, you'll have a JB. They also sound great with alnico 8s.

If you're sticking with SD, you should also check out the Custom, it's really nice. If you're open to suggestion, contact Adam from Elysian Pickups and check out the work he does.

 

[Wolfos]

I've heard rave reviews about the SD Omega pickup too you should look up some youtube reviews

 

[Matze777]

Thank you all, I'll try the Distortion first.
Does anybody have experiences wiring it with a Quantum neck and Ibby 5way-switch?

 

[Spaced Out Ace]

Distortion/Jazz or Distortion/59 set.

A Custom Custom might also be cool since you play Guns N Roses. Slash didn't use a Custom Custom so far as I know, but he does use pickups with an Alnico 2, which the Custom Custom uses.

 

[juankyman]

Dds sounds thin to my liking. Plus are not very versatile. Ill go with the pegasus... if interested in one i have a mint condition one for sale. Pm. Cheers!

 

[cthroatgtr]

I have a pegasus in a mahogany body super strat with ebony board and a korina (similar to mahogany) body super strat with rosewood board. I love it in both, it has become my go to pickup for mahogany guitars. I would say the korina guitar maybe the best sounding guitar I own. Here is an example from my last cd:

https://www.reverbnation.com/kensnyder/song/26873320-wtf

It was the mahogany super strat/ebony neck through a mesa boogie mini rectifier into a rivera silent sister loaded with V30. I should add I use 250k pots, not tone knob on all of my guitars. I hate tone knobs and found that using a single volume 500k without a tone knob was often very bright as the tone knob rolls some highs just being in line.

My starting point is usually a JB and then I go from there. For mahogany I needed a more open pickup than the JB and that is where the pegasus sits as it is more scooped than the JB. I have tried a C5, which is very popular in Les Paul's, but that was a little too scooped and thin. I always prefer A5 over ceramic mags for leads. Under gain, ceramic can be a bit brittle to my ears.

 

[KnightBrolaire]

tight lows, punchy mids, singing highs in mahogany is the calling card of the black winter (basically a clearer distortion with a little warmer high end). The omega doesn't have the percussive thud that the black winter has, and it has more of a snarling midrange than the black winter, though the omega is definitely clearer than the black winter for lower tunings/complex chords. Both clean up really well, though the omega has a better split sound. The pegasus has a rounder low end compared to the black winter or omega (which is essentially a slightly tweaked ceramic pegasus). The pegasus is a pretty versatile pickup but as others have said, it doesn't have the tight low end, and isn't nearly as mid forward in its voicing as the omega or black winter (though that can be mitigated with a ceramic magnet/using a tubescreamer or other boost). The ceramic magnet will slightly tighten the low end, but it still won't have the percussive thud/chug that the black winter gets.
If you're open to other pickups the dimarzio titan would work really well for what you want. Same with the guitarmory polaris (very much in the vein of the titan, it's tight, middy and slightly warmer on the high end) or a goliath from Elysian pickups. Adam at elysian can tweak all of his designs depending on what kind of sound you want, and his pickups are really excellent imo.
TLDR version:
Clearest: Goliath>Pegasus/Titan>Omega/Polaris>Black winter>Distortion
Versatility: Pegasus/Goliath>Omega/Polaris>Blackwinter
Tight low end: Polaris/Goliath/Black winter/Distortion>Omega>Pegasus
ALL THE MIDS: Goliath/Polaris/Black winter/Omega>Pegasus/Distortion
MOAR HIGHZ: Distortion>Goliath/Black winter>Omega/Polaris>Pegasus

 

[Manurack]

Before Willie Adler of Lamb of God joined Fishman, he actually put out a signature set with Seymour Duncan.
He used the JB for years then he wanted a tighter, more aggressive tone so he started using the Distortion.
His signature set was basically a modified Distortion in the bridge paired a 59' in the neck.

 

[TheShreddinHand]

The Pegasus does not provide a tight and punchy low end.

I just recently swapped out the Pegasus/Sentient set in my SCB7 after trying really hard to like it for over a year. I even tried swapping in a ceramic magnet and changing the pole pieces to socket cap screws. Which did help somewhat, but still wasn't cutting it. The low end is very "rounded". That helps provide the "bloom" that sounds really great for lower gain complex chords. And it does sound pretty damn good for classic rock type tones and mid gain lead work. But when gain and speed increase, and you're looking for more punch and attack, I was always left wanting. And that's with compression, high and low cuts, heavy EQing, and noise suppression.

I have a distortion/jazz set in my sz4020fm and really like them. The distortion is punchy, tight, and powerful. It can be a little overpowering in some scenarios, but just roll the volume and tone controls down a little bit, and it's much more compliant. If you swap in an alnico 5 magnet, you'll have a JB. They also sound great with alnico 8s.

If you're sticking with SD, you should also check out the Custom, it's really nice. If you're open to suggestion, contact Adam from Elysian Pickups and check out the work he does.

Quoting this because it's similar to my experience with the Pegasus in a mahogany Jackson Soloist I have. Pegasus just didn't have the punch I wanted out of a bridge pickup (I have a light pick attack) so the Distortion (and JB) work much better for me. I'm actually thinking about trying a Black Winter set soon as well.

 

[tuttermuts]

In general I keep reading plenty of mixed opinions on the pegasus, I ordered one for my upcoming guitar...hope I made the right choise.

I kinda based my final decision on this clip, sound plenty heavy and gain-y to me, or is it that Keith did a lot of production to get it tight afterwards?

 

[BubbleWrap]

In general I keep reading plenty of mixed opinions on the pegasus, I ordered one for my upcoming guitar...hope I made the right choise.

I kinda based my final decision on this clip, sound plenty heavy and gain-y to me, or is it that Keith did a lot of production to get it tight afterwards?

It can sound heavy and gainy, any pickup can, but his videos have a very high level of production. The Pegasus just lacks punch, even with a ceramic mag and socket cap pole pieces. It’s a lovely pickup for certain tones, but fast and aggressive metal isn’t one of them.

AkiraSpectrum described it pretty clearly, it’s smooth and organic. Cthroatgtr’s track is a very accurate representation of what to expect. I run a pretty high end modeling rig so my effects options are very expansive, I could use a ridiculous amount of compression, but unless I was using a hard gate set for a very fast attack, it can’t be described as tight. My KXK neck pickup has a tighter and more aggressive response than the Pegasus in the bridge position. But like I said, it’s great for certain tones.

 

[Shask]

I would think the Distortion would be too much of a fuzzy chainsaw in the high end for those bands. It is best for something like Soulfly, or Coal Chamber. I think the Custom is a good suggestion, as long as the guitar is not bright. I think the Black Winter and Custom are my favorites. I currently have guitars with the Custom, Distortion, Invader, Nazgul, and Black Winter in them.