Suggest a 7 string BKP for me

[MikeSap]

Hey guys, as the title states, i'm looking for some BKP suggestions. i've played quite a few but never in a guitar with the specs of my current build. I'm having Perle guitars build me in "ibanez" 7 string. specs are as follows

Mahogany body
maple neck
maple fretboard

I'm hoping the maple neck and fretboard will help me balance the heavy dark mahogany body tone.

as far as BKPs go, i was considering the Blackhawks, Warpigs, Nailbombs, Or Jugs. i want something with a ceramic bridge magnet.

but i'm open to suggestions and would like to hear some opinions based on people who've played these or had them in a similar spec'd guitar.

all suggestions and info are greatly appreciated. thanks!

 

[sunken0887]

Nailbombs will give you a very Dark tone against that mahogany body, i have a nailbomb bridge in my LTD MH-1000, has a dark organic type sound, kind of like an overdrive PRS or Gibson with much more ballsy metal style, although i have alnico V magnets, Ceramics are much more higher end

Blackhawks are nice as well, but are very specific, my friend has said they almost have a lead tone like Surgzio from Luna Sea, but i don't have much experience with them, so that might not be correct

i just got the Warpigs haven't installed them yet, but those are very high output pickups, those might be really nice to be honest, i'd almost say go with those

and i've heard clips of the Juggernaut and i thought that they sounded absolutely abysmal, if you are tuning your 7 down to like G or F# and plan to do Djent they'd be alright, but other than that i would steer clear of them

 

[timbale]

The Black Hawk should satisfy you. Great articulation, even on extrem gain settings, you won't find a Pickup handling extrem gain settings that good, but he's isn't made for clean tones.

 

[potatohead]

Cold Sweat
BlackHawk
Miracle Man
C-Bomb

In that order. I lean highly toward the CS though as they slay in mahogany.

 

[TheWarAgainstTime]

What type of sound are you going for? Could you post some examples?

 

[MikeSap]

hey thanks all for the suggestions so far!

as for sound i'm going for, it's hard to say as i'm not too solid on any specific genre or sound really. which makes choosing hard. but i definitely need clear, tight bass response and articulation.

i like keith merrow's tone. almost seems like the low end is scooped out, making the lower notes clear. i'm not too big on a boomy warm low end. i like it to be focused.

 

[jc986]

I have a Painkiller in my PRS Singlecut (mahogany neck/body, rosewood fretboard, maple top). I think it would be a good fit.

 

[Sdrizis89]

i have a ceramic nailbomb in a les paul axcess and i love it. Great low end, Mids are not overwhelming and the highs are nice and present. The alnico version should have a little more mids and less highs, if im not mistaken. I also have the JUGGS in a maple neck thru mahogany body soloist. Absolutely love these pickups, the cleans are great and the high gain tones are thick. Good low end, lots of mids, and highs that are almost perfect and not harsh at all.

 

[Steinmetzify]

I have a Painkiller in my PRS Singlecut (mahogany neck/body, rosewood fretboard, maple top). I think it would be a good fit.

+1....I have one in a bright guitar....alder body, ebony board. It's dark and evil as ..... I love it.

 

[crg123]

I have a pair of after maths in my 6 (rosewood board, Mahogany body and neck) and love them, but I have Warpigs in my skervesen 7 (rosewood/ebony neck, ebony board with ash body) and holy moly they're the best pickups I've ever played. They just sound huge and the clarity is still there despite some reviews I've heard from people. I've also tried nailbombs and painkillers btw.

Btw I just recently heard some bad things about juggernauts. My friend who works for guitar center knows Victor from the Axe Palace (their tech) and he said he's getting lot of returns on them since they sound like "black hawks with a blanket over them". Maybe this is for another discussion but I thought that was interesting. From their description they sound to be amazing pickups. I'd love some insight from people who actually own them or Nick (zimbloth's) opinion instead of hearsay

 

[MikeSap]

thanks so much for the tip on the Juggs, man. and thanks everyone else for the comments on the other bkps.

anyone with a mahogany body 7 out there with some bkp opinions?

 

[potatohead]

thanks so much for the tip on the Juggs, man. and thanks everyone else for the comments on the other bkps.

anyone with a mahogany body 7 out there with some bkp opinions?

The go-to BKP's in mahogany are the Cold Sweats and Rebel Yells. Since you want ceramic that nixes the RY. The C-Bomb can work but it can be a bit dark, it's works better with a maple top. The PK has a ton of high mids and is more suited to neck throughs IMO, but it could work also. MM is similar to the C-Bomb also but with more output again.

When Broderick was in Nevermore and first went to Megadeth he was using a CS set in his mahogany bodied RG's. I believe he later switched to a C-Bomb. The C-Bomb and CS are quite similar, but the CS is a touch brighter and a touch less output. They are both tight and lots of low end.

 

[Lorcan Ward]

Pretty much any Bare Knuckle will work in a Mahogany/Maple guitar.

 

[MBMoreno]

I have the Aftermaths on an all mahogany guitar (neck and body), with a pau-ferro fretboard and couldn't be happier. On a maple board the bridge can be a bit too "snappy", turning aggressive quite easily. With an alnico like the Nailbomb, or even the Juggernaut you could tame that a bit.
I don't know what type of sound you prefer, but I love me my Aftermaths and the Nailbombs alnico (which I compared in a guitar identical to mine). The Juggs are supposed to be the best of both worlds (I'm really curious)

 

[jedimindfrak82]

It's funny I have the Juggernauts in a mahogany bodied 7 and they sound spectacular! Really full and huge sounding but super clear as well. They clean up like nothing else. I think people that don't like them are used to hiding behind pickups with a massive output and don't know how to control their playing dynamics.

 

[Vigaren]

I have a pair of Juggs in my Ibanez RGD Prestige 7 with basswood body and maple/wenge neck. I am ultra happy with the tones I am getting, it sound very clear and full on big chords even with alot of gain.

Lead tones sound awesome and smooth, cleans aswell. Think I am getting another pair of juggs for my ESP guitar.

 

[crg123]

It's funny I have the Juggernauts in a mahogany bodied 7 and they sound spectacular! Really full and huge sounding but super clear as well. They clean up like nothing else. I think people that don't like them are used to hiding behind pickups with a massive output and don't know how to control their playing dynamics.

Im glad to hear people are liking the juggernauts I was really disappointed when I heard negative things about them. It's good to get additional opinions. Can anyone with BKPs compare them to their other pickups?

 

[MikeSap]

thanks everyone for the comments and opinions! i've dedided that i'm going with the Nailbomb set. with the ceramic bridge magnet option. from what i've heard i think they'll best suit my needs.

 

[potatohead]

thanks everyone for the comments and opinions! i've dedided that i'm going with the Nailbomb set. with the ceramic bridge magnet option. from what i've heard i think they'll best suit my needs.

I think that's a great starting point in the world of BKP's anyway. It's about in the middle of their high output range in terms of output and doesn't have a super modern feel to it like an Aftermath or Jugg, but it's no slouch. I actually will most likely be grabbing a C-bomb set myself for one of my DC700's in the near future .

 

[cardinal]

Sounds like you've made your decision, which is cool; I hope you really dig the pickups.

But I don't see why you're limiting your choice only to BKP? Granted, I've owned only one (Holy Diver 7 string), but I was far from blown away. It was a nice sounding, JB-ish pickup. But I can't say it was somehow superior to anything by Duncan or Dimarzio that I've played. Just a bit different sounding. From the tone you're kinda describing, for example, the Duncan Distortion (which I've played) might fit the bill. Dimarzio's newly released Super Distortion 7 might, too, depending on whether it actually sounds like the original Super Distortion.

Anyway, good luck!