Your opinion: Lundgren M-7, Blaze Custom or Blaze Bridge?

[stijn]

Greetings to you all,

Recently I bought myself my third 7-string and yes, it's a Baritone, Ibanez rg1077XL. I like extreme downtuning (Meshuggah in F ) and was wondering if anyone knows which pu to choose to build into my new axe (bridge position)? Meshuggah uses Lundgren, but I'm not really sure about their sound too......Is there a better pu than the Blaze II out of my UV7? Thanks!

 

[The Dark Wolf]

I also downtune. I play an Ibanez RG2027 7-string, that I tune down to, ironically enough, F!

I use the Blaze Custom. Works terrific, as it's one of the best passives I've heard. But 2 disclaimers...

1. I've never played the Lundgren M. But I have heard samples, and of course, I listen to Meshuggah. It's often described as a sort of EMG-like pickup, only passive. Lots of bass, lots of highs, scooped mids, lots of clarity and power.
2. I plan on getting EMG's myself. But not because I'm dissatisfied with the Blaze Custom. It's an awesome pickup, and I've yet to hear a passive I like better, to be honest. But, I just prefer active pickups, and especially EMG. Not so much for their sound, although that's part of it, sure. But I like the design and low-noise of EMG's.

So there's my 2 cents. I really doubt you could go wrong with either. There's also (supposedly) a big-ass pickup review thread or some such around here, that could help you as well.

 

[Drew]

http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/showthread.php?t=459

That'd be this, Bob. A scan of this will help answer a lot of your questions and suggest a few additional pickups, stijn.

Really, they're entirely different pickups. The Blaze and Blaze custom are the most similar, but their midrange characteristics are completely different - the Blaze is slightly scooped, while the Custom has a lot more midrange presence. I personally love the Blaze in that the slight scoop adds a ton of clarity to my already mid-heavy tone coming out of my Nomad combo. The Lundgren, on the other hand, is a very aggressive, high, high, high output passive pickup that really does nail the EMG sound - in fact, of the clips I've heard, I actually prefer the Lundgrens in that they sound a little more "alive."

What are you using in your other sevens, and what do you think of those pickups? Also, what do you play through? There are so many factors involved in getting the right pickup for your "sound" that the more you say, the better.

 

[The Dark Wolf]

http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/showthread.php?t=459

That'd be this, Bob.

That's the one! Good lookin' out, Drewmiester.

 

[stijn]

Yeah Drew, you're right, I'm kinda incomplete here.....First of all I play a lot of heavy Meshuggah-like stuff usually in Bb on my rg7620 with just the stock pu's (Custom 7's) and using my UV7MC (Blaze II) for recording these low stuff. I like the sound the best of the three 7's I own, but its so ugly. For now I'm a big Blaze bridge pu fan and wondering what a custom Blaze or a Lundgren would add to it. In my band I play deathmetal in Bb.

Now that I have a baritone RG1077XL (basswood body, custom 7's), I really want to try out to play Meshuggah low stuff in F (string gauge .068). Experiments are always expensive...My line-up is currently my RG7620, put into my noise supressor BOSS NS-2 to avoid feedback, then a line6 POD PRO with most gain, going through an Alesis EQ, then through my 200W Tube amp Marshall 9200 connected to two 1960's 4x12's. I have a very brutal and deep sound, but sometimes I miss some articulation. Wanna go from heavy to extreme heavy. Thanks for the info about those Lundgrens man.

 

[Drew]

What Pod model are you running?

So, essentially you're looking for a punishing rhythm pickup, eh? Well, you want something hot and bright, probably, if you're tuning that low. A Lundgren would probably work excellently for you, although a Bareknuckle Warpig is worth a look - a few guys around here rave about their stuff. Likewise, an Evo7 is another good passive alternative to an EMG - similar brightness and power.

 

[WayneCustom7]

OK guys I don't want to sound stupid here, but can someone give me the rundown on exactly what "scooped mids" mean. Thanks!

 

[eaeolian]

What Pod model are you running?

So, essentially you're looking for a punishing rhythm pickup, eh? Well, you want something hot and bright, probably, if you're tuning that low. A Lundgren would probably work excellently for you, although a Bareknuckle Warpig is worth a look - a few guys around here rave about their stuff. Likewise, an Evo7 is another good passive alternative to an EMG - similar brightness and power.

A Duncan Distortion might do well, too - they're pretty bright, and the bass rolls off a bit so it doesn't get too muddy. It was *too* bright for me, but I like the alnico in the JB, so...

 

[Cancer]

"Scooped Mids", IMO, is a perceptional concept, in that the ear perceives more Lows (bass) and highs (treble) then midrange from a selected sound source. This tends to emphasize third and fifth order harmonics (treble), while maintaining note definition (bass). Historically, guitarist (particularly those in metal genre), would use equalization in various places on the signal chain to achieve that effect (ie, eq pedals before or after the pedal board, eq within various gain shaping pedals, or on the amplifier itself). This same methodology i commonly applied to the sound source (guitars) by use of it pickups which by their construction can be "eq'd" to achieve various tonalities.

....That, and the smiley eq just sounds cool when you're going chugga chugga chugga... .

 

[stijn]

I use a POD Pro 19''. Thanks all who gave me new opportunities! Didn't know there where so many....I found out something: the custom Blaze is designed to be a soloist's pickup....But I'm a heavy rythm chuggar.....so exit Blaze Custom? Thanks

 

[Drew]

"Scooped Mids", IMO, is a perceptional concept, in that the ear perceives more Lows (bass) and highs (treble) then midrange from a selected sound source. This tends to emphasize third and fifth order harmonics (treble), while maintaining note definition (bass). Historically, guitarist (particularly those in metal genre), would use equalization in various places on the signal chain to achieve that effect (ie, eq pedals before or after the pedal board, eq within various gain shaping pedals, or on the amplifier itself). This same methodology i commonly applied to the sound source (guitars) by use of it pickups which by their construction can be "eq'd" to achieve various tonalities.

....That, and the smiley eq just sounds cool when you're going chugga chugga chugga... .

That's actually interesting, re: the 3rd and 5th order harmonics.

In plain English, scooping your mids means turning them down.

 

[stijn]

After a long, long time of doubting about which pu to choose, I decided to buy the Lundgren M-7.....Thanks

 

[amadeus]

Lundgren m7, i have tried Both the blaze II and Lundgren M7 in a Ibanez Universe and the Lundgren Blew the blaze away when comparing Clarity and tightness.

in a rythm setting you could feel the tightness its was like heavyly compresed sound, when it came to soloing on the low B string the blaze had a mushy sound to it
**note i am using a Wah as a filter which makes the Mush sound More apparent**

when it came to the lundgren You had to be very sloppy to hear your B string mush out as much as the blaze.

Not only taht when comparing the blaze to an evo the blaze sounded very, Dead and lifless, i beleve you have to really sit down and set your settings properly to get that blaze to shine beautifully, BUT!!! i'm not saying its a bad pickup

wow im about 4 years too late with this answer