Seymour Duncan Blackout 8 String

[RockerAlex]

I didn't want to make this a "vs" thread per say, because they have been done a million times ... but the only 8 string pickups I have tried out so far are the EMG808s and I was wondering how much better the Blackouts are for Djenty stuff?

Here in Northern Ireland, guitar shops are extremely shitty ... we don't even have any 8 strings in stock nevermind 8 string pickups, so trying them out myself is simply not an option, at least not without buying both.

 

[iloki]

The same things will apply for Blackouts vs EMG's (6, 7 or 8s) but the Blackout is similar in tonality to an EMG 81X but MUCH MUCH hotter, this might not suit what you're looking for. A lot of people seem to like the EMG Xs better than the Blackouts, so it may be worth looking into an 808X

 

[stuglue]

if these Blackouts are a lot hotter than i'd advise you to stick with the EMG, you'll lose clarity and top end if the Blackouts are high output and your low B and F# will lose definition

 

[RockerAlex]

Cheers for the replies guys, I think I'll stick with EMGs!

 

[iloki]

In my experience with the blackout 7 it is very defined on the low end and sounded great all the way up the fret board, IMO. I have a clip on soundcloud that I did with my blackout 7, I will find it and update this post with it after a bit ( posting from my phone )


Edit: here's a clip, sound quality isn't the best.. Still trying to get a decent tone out of my interface, should be good enough to give you an idea though, I hope. http://m.soundcloud.com/joshuacarter-2/songsofar

 

[frank falbo]

You can always lower the pickups. The Blackouts respond great to height adjustments. EMG has traditionally recommended getting their pickups as close to the strings as possible.

The output is also not really higher than an EMG if you are playing softly. Once you hit the strings hard, their preamp clips and ours does not. So the headroom equals volume.

Also remember the 8-strings are a different design than the 6 and 7. The experience doesn't necessarily cross over 100%.

 

[sell2792]

EMG 808X's... though, I generally do prefer Blackouts to the standard EMG's. They sound similar to me, but just, "better."

 

[RobZero]

You can always lower the pickups. The Blackouts respond great to height adjustments. EMG has traditionally recommended getting their pickups as close to the strings as possible.

this.
I didn't like them at first, but lowering them made a huge improvement in the sound.
These pickups sound very organic compared to emg, always maintaining the tight and crispy tone of actives.
Cleans im my opinion are very harsh even on the neck pickup, distorted sounds are really crushing but the 8th string is muddy compared to the others.
Since i use cleans a lot ( chugging is fun but ERGs give so much possibilities for fingerstyle, tapping and jazzy stuff)i might replace them, but if you're mostly interested in driven sounds you may like them more than emgs