The Blackouts must be a success...

[Toshiro]

Yeah, I'm not a fan of gritty clean all the time. I usually use the "neck and bridge tapped" set-up(if the guitar has it), or the neck humbucker.

I don't think I've ever even tried the BO Bridge clean. I just don't use that pickup for that tone.

 

[noodles]

See, I love the sound of a bridge pickup for clean. Go figure.

And I just assume that you are talking about your Strat. On a Strat, every single pickup position is great for clean. They're just all different applications.

With humbuckers, the bridge tends to be too much output and midrange. Singles are naturally scooped sounding, with less output, making them perfect for cleans all by themselves. Humbuckers benefit from the phase cancellation of the middle position.

 

[Drew]

Actually, no - I love the sound of a bridge humbucker clean. Sure, the neck is a bit rounder and has a bit more airiness to it, but a bridge pickup (at least the ones I'm familiar with, the JB and the Blaze) has a sort of appealing "burnished" quality to the high end, where there's some high end cut but the actually "presence" is pretty rounded off.

It's an awesome sound to layer over other parts - remember I'm a big Porcupine Tree fan, Dave.

Strangely, I almost never use the Strat's bridge pickup for anything, aside from a really stinging blues tone...

 

[D-EJ915]

noodles, singles are scooped? I've always found thought they were supposed to be mid-heavy and lack bass.

 

[noodles]

noodles, singles are scooped? I've always found thought they were supposed to be mid-heavy and lack bass.

Compared to humbuckers? Oh yeah, they're lacking that upper midrange that humbuckers have in spades. That is why they have that really open, airy quality to cleans, and that is why they have such an amazing clarity up top.

 

[jacksonplayer]

I use bridge humbuckers for clean quite often. I just have to turn the preamp gain way the hell down.

 

[ZeroSignal]

I use both my pickups for cleans. They both sound great in all my guitars. And I play a lot of clean stuff so it's just as important to me as distorted.

 

[neptune]

I heard that Alexi is not playing Blackouts anymore...I dunno could be just a rumor but I wouldn't be surprised. I Don't like them live. Too muddy.

 

[ibznorange]

I dunno what you people are all talking about, ive never heard a muddy active pickup that wasnt some shitty stock generic nasty brand with even worse passives

 

[JerkyChid]

Once again, I'm taking my "Seymour Duncan" hat off and speaking freely as a consumer and SS.org forumite:

What will be interesting to me is how the public will respond to any move they make. Right now it seems they have to stick to their guns, and act as though there's no reason for them to change anything. If they come out with a passive sized 707 or 81-7, etc. it could be perceived as "following the leader" in a way, which puts them at a disadvantage. They certainly can't be the "first" anymore. And if it has sharp corners, it won't fit right in the Ibanez routes, and perhaps some of the other passive routes. So then, if they round the corners off, they've just come out with a "Seymour Duncan Blackout look-a-like" which may be really uncomfortable for them.

The same is true if they roll out a "new and improved" 81/85/etc. with lower noise, or whatever. They will be seen as responding to the competition. About the only thing they can do right now (I hope they're not reading this) is launch a new model, with a different sound or something. (watch our NAMM releases as well. There will soon be Blackout single coils, another Blackout bridge pickup, and Livewires Classic II's that are now 9-volts, 25k pots, and compatible with Blackouts)

If I were in their position, (now I really hope they're not reading this) I would play it off like they're the "Shure SM57 & 58". In other words, they're the standard by which other's are measured, and they're the ones that have been doing it the longest, etc. There are better mics than the 57/58 but Shure still sells them by the truckloads. If I were in their marketing department I would continue to create ads that showcase their artists, and how many classic albums throughout the past 30 years were recorded with EMG's. Kind of like the Duncan JB, or Celestion Vintage 30's, etc. Wow I hope I don't regret this post...

Aaaaaaaaaand now I've seen a few ads of them doing juuuust that.

 

[Variant]

Watching this thread, and while I'm very tempted by the Blackouts (I've got pretty comfortable with the EMG 81/85 arrangement I have now) as every demo I've herd was really good, I'm even more tempted by the "TW" series EMG's with the third, single coil in them... so honestly, I'm much more more likely to go that route.

The biggest thing I miss about the passives I've had in the past is the split coil position, particularly in the bridge and I guess the 81TW does that in spades.

 

[Emperoff]

Holy Bump

Watching this thread, and while I'm very tempted by the Blackouts (I've got pretty comfortable with the EMG 81/85 arrangement I have now) as every demo I've herd was really good, I'm even more tempted by the "TW" series EMG's with the third, single coil in them... so honestly, I'm much more more likely to go that route.

The biggest thing I miss about the passives I've had in the past is the split coil position, particularly in the bridge and I guess the 81TW does that in spades.

Well, there's a lot of opinions out there. There's people that say that Blackouts smokes the EMGs, and there's people that say that there isn't that much of a difference. I personally went for the 707TW route because I want more versatility and I can live with the EMG tone. People just don't know how badass the 707 sounds split (it's actually an EMG-SA). The cleans on the center position with bridge and nick pickups in single mode is simply awesome.

 

[Aso]

I have Blackouts on order and when they come in they will be put into my Charvel Model 5. Ya it's only a six string but figured to try them out and if I don't like them I can easily switch to EMGs due to the quick connector they both have.

 

[Xtremevillan]

I don't like them too much but that's just me.

 

[7 Strings of Hate]

i dig them, the sound like beefier emgs, but the active sound isnt for everyone

 

[F1Filter]

I've had them now for nearly 10 months in a Ibby 8127F, and about 6 months in my Jackson Soloist 7. These pickups absolutely slay in a Mahogany guitar.

IMHO, SD just made a better mousetrap. The lower amount of noise was immediately noticable when I was A/B'ing the BO's equipped Ibby, to the Jackson that had an 81-7 in there.

 

[Hawksmoor]

I've had the Blacouts in my Ibby S7420 and RG7620. Great results, much better than the 707's I had n my RR7R. I even got them to work well with my Line 6 POD XT pro live setup.
IMO they are better than the EMG's.

 

[Triple7]

I would have to say I have had my Blackouts for about 7 months now and I love them. In my opinion they are way better than EMG's.