The Eight String Pickup Guide

[KnightBrolaire]

Black Winter bridge demos:
https://soundcloud.com/skwisgaar-sandervaal/sets/seymour-duncan-black-winter-8-string-bridge-pickup

 

[KnightBrolaire]

https://soundcloud.com/skwisgaar-sandervaal/sets/overload-rea-8-pickup-shootout

 

[Tachy]

I have a schecter 8 string with the emg 808, it s not my fave from emg, but it does not suck at all imo.
The 808 is the most common pick up you ll find in a 8 string, and for shure is affected by the quality of construction and woods of the guitar itself.
Ther s a lot of crappy guitars that have the 808 in it.

 

[jwade]

So instead of spending the next week listening to samples of people playing through digital setups, I have to ask for a recommendation based on my setup.

I have an Orange Thunderverb 200 watt head, and the 8 string I'm nearly finished building is a 29.432" scale with a basswood body/maple top, a wenge neck w/maple laminated, and an ebony fb.

I know there'll be at least a couple people that want to argue about wood vs pickups but I'm not interested in that, please don't get into that discussion. I just want a recommendation for a few pickups to look at for this build. I like Gibsons standard pickups for the most part, so I'm thinking lower output and probably not ceramic magnets would be my main requirements.

 

[KnightBrolaire]

So instead of spending the next week listening to samples of people playing through digital setups, I have to ask for a recommendation based on my setup.

I have an Orange Thunderverb 200 watt head, and the 8 string I'm nearly finished building is a 29.432" scale with a basswood body/maple top, a wenge neck w/maple laminated, and an ebony fb.

I know there'll be at least a couple people that want to argue about wood vs pickups but I'm not interested in that, please don't get into that discussion. I just want a recommendation for a few pickups to look at for this build. I like Gibsons standard pickups for the most part, so I'm thinking lower output and probably not ceramic magnets would be my main requirements.

black dog. it's an alnico v mag and only runs around 9.5kohm. Plus it sounds awesome and is pretty versatile/clear sounding.

 

[skeeballcore]

Updated my pickup shootout, now with juggernaut demos.
https://soundcloud.com/skwisgaar-sandervaal/sets/overload-rea-8-pickup-shootout
if you want to just hear the juggernaut tracks:
https://soundcloud.com/skwisgaar-sandervaal/sets/bare-knuckle-juggernaut-8-string-version

Thanks for doing these. Makes me want a Lundgren though

 

[KnightBrolaire]

Thanks for doing these. Makes me want a Lundgren though

Yeah there really wasn't any good resources out there for 8 stringers other than simon sludge's clips (which showcase the metal side well). I wanted to show off more aspects of the pickups. Lundgrens are great for metal, especially if you want a tight low end. Just not the best clarity or versatility imo

 

[skeeballcore]

Yeah there really wasn't any good resources out there for 8 stringers other than simon sludge's clips (which showcase the metal side well). I wanted to show off more aspects of the pickups. Lundgrens are great for metal, especially if you want a tight low end. Just not the best clarity or versatility imo

I’ve got an Rg2228 and it’s strictly for metal so versatility isn’t my aim. Now I just need to find an M8 for cheap

 

[Gmork]

Black Winter bridge demos:
https://soundcloud.com/skwisgaar-sandervaal/sets/seymour-duncan-black-winter-8-string-bridge-pickup

How would you compare the black winter 8 to an emg808? (Bridge wise)

I feel the emg808 really picks up every tiny scrape and noise of the pick. Wouldyou say the BW is clearer and not as hot in that regard?

 

[lurè]

Thoughts on Instrumental SFTY3?

 

[KnightBrolaire]

How would you compare the black winter 8 to an emg808? (Bridge wise)

I feel the emg808 really picks up every tiny scrape and noise of the pick. Wouldyou say the BW is clearer and not as hot in that regard?

i hated the 808. quite dark on the low end,overall clarity was pretty bad. 808x or 81-8x are far better options for emg imo. bw are also darker on the low end but also have more output iirc. Both chug exceedingly well, bw will have slightly better clarity for extended chords. BW has a grindy midrange with a hint of snarl. BW neck is nice for solo work and cleans.
I have clips of the 808x and the BW in my 8 string shootout.

Thoughts on Instrumental SFTY3?

they're tight and mean sounding, relatively mid forward voicing. Good clarity across all the strings, solid cleans, can be a bit bright in the wrong guitar. Neck isn't super smooth and liquidy but performs well for sweeps/legato. Has a spanky split sound. They've been described as a bkp painkiller but more refined, and I would basically agree with that.

https://soundcloud.com/skwisgaar-sandervaal/sets/overload-rea-8-pickup-shootout

 

[lurè]

I liked the bridge but the neck pickup was a bit too stiff for my tastes.
I prefer a smoother pickup with just a bit of pick attack.

 

[Kyle Jordan]

@KnightBrolaire Can you share where the EMG 808x samples are? I'm not seeing them on your Soundcloud or YouTube pages.

 

[KnightBrolaire]

@KnightBrolaire Can you share where the EMG 808x samples are? I'm not seeing them on your Soundcloud or YouTube pages.

I think I deleted the clips from soundcloud since I needed the space for other clips. the only thing I have left is this video.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2R5LG4A-nYtNjk0ZDBLSzVPbWc/view?usp=sharing

 

[Acaciastrain360]

Has anyone stuck some Lungdrens (don’t know how to spell it) in an active Agile 8?????

 

[mrdm53]

Thoughts on Guitarmory pickups? I'm interested to put in either Atlas or Polaris set in my custom guitar (Ash body, bolt-on neck)

 

[@zwen]

So far, I've had experience with the EMG 808 and the 808X. I'm sure many other 8-string players here know how "iffy" the 808 is or can be, and how muddy it can tend to sound. The 808X, like all the X-series pickups, have a lot more headroom and slightly less output than normal EMG's, but the tone is self-explainable. The 808X brightens up the low F# beautifully, and keeps the B and the rest of the strings equally balanced and quite flavorful. From those who have made the switch to the 808X, I've had heard the same results as mine and those 8-string owners were VERY pleased with the end results.

-Guitar Used: ESP LTD FM-408, Basswood body, Maple neck-thru body
-Amp used: Ibanez 10 Watt practice amp with Korg ToneWorks floorboard, but sounds just as good on other amps such as the Bugera 6262, Peavey 6505+ and the Line 6 Bogner 100 Watt tube head

I have 81-8X and 85-8X loaded into my Etherial, and they make my tone sound like a djenty laser beam. The cleans are beefy and sharp.

 

[RBadel]

Thoughts on Guitarmory pickups? I'm interested to put in either Atlas or Polaris set in my custom guitar (Ash body, bolt-on neck)

I would be curios, too. Especially on the Atlas. heard a lot of good things of this company

Have played a Lundgren M8 a really long time ago and i really liked it. It just had a little less output for my taste though.

EMG808X sounds really good and tbh they just the most affordable 8 string pups out there
But i would go for passives if i am able to.

 

[kam4ff]

Anybody got any recommendations for an rg852mpb? It’s got stock DiMarzio Paf8 and they’re not cutting it for me. I want more clarity and response, they seems to thin on the bottom end and don’t hold up under high gain, though the cleans are good.

I play either through a jcm800, silver jubilee, Mesa roadster or digital through neural Dsp.
Overall the sound I want is to be able to have clarity like my bkp aftermath 7s do where I can hit a complex chord and hear the notes, rather than a jumbled mess. I’d still like higher output, non active, but clarity in gain would be best, and a decent clean ( I can roll back, etc)