Pickup suggestion for EBMM JPXI 7

[VESmedic]

Hey guys, thinking of swapping out the stock crunchlab/liquifire in my JPXI 7. I actually really enjoy the liquifire in the neck though, it is very smooth, and the midrange is perfect on it. I have a Jackson RR-1T with a ceramic warpig, and a les paul studio with an aftermath in it. I enjoy both, however the warpig is sounding too dark to me these days, and I am not a fan really of the recorded sounds I've been getting lately, just seems too hot.

What I'm looking for: Something with alot of punch, that stays tight, but with a big bottom end that is rock solid. I like grindy mids, but something that is versitile as well. I want something I think alittle on the brigther side as well. I have a schecter C-7 atx with EMG's in it that I have surprisingly been digging alot lately. I really do enjoy EMGS for lower tunings. Anyways, mostly worried about the bridge pickup here., I find the crunch lab somewhat dull, and not tight enough for what I am doing. I woud like something big and open, but that can be razor sharp and brutal as well when need be. My style ranges from arch enemy,carcass, fear factory, up to death metal: decapitated, fleshgod apocolypse,  to pantera. I have really been enjoying the my 7 string alot lately, and will probably go all 7's.

As far as amps: I have a VHT ultralead, and 2 Deliverance 4x12's. My main rig is going to be my new Kemper profiling amp with a matrix power amp through both of my 4x12s, and a main out to the FOH. So in reality, I can probably get any sound I want with my setup, especially the Kemper, as it can do anything. Specs on the guitar:

Body Wood:Alder with maple top and mahogany Tone Block
Neck Wood:Select mahogany
Fingerboard:Ebony

I don't feel a really high output pup is necessary, as I have all the high gain I need at my disposal. However, I definitely like a hotter more alive sound.

[eighteen-0-nine]

I wanted the exact same as you. I ended up getting recommended the Emeralds. I was originally torn between the Miracle Man and Holy Diver for a Mahogany guitar with Maple Top and Mahogany Neck with Ebony Fingerboard. The Miracle Man bridge describes your needs well, but the Emeralds were chosen as I wanted a more open, vintage, organic tone that was also brighter that the Holy Diver. I'll paste my 2 replies:


The Holydiver works very well in Les Pauls - my bosses weapon of choice, out of all the guitars he has he uses his LPs with Holydivers for hi output tones.
 
The Emeralds would also be a great idea. They are much more vintage than the MMs. Alnico v bridge and alnico Iv neck. Lighter and brighter then the HD - still with a wicked bass response and used by many modern metal-heads for their clarity, organic feel and crunch.
 
Depends how 'all-out' you want. Not sure of range you play, but Emeralds will do a lot.

Yes the Emerald is great for LPs as it offers a bit more cut and crunch and will liven up even the dullest body. So you can get warm and sweet tones ( the neck uses alnico iv like the mule), blues, classic and hard rock and is often used in 7 strings and even 8 strings - so you can see how good they are for clarity and definition.
 

[Mr. Air]

This is strictly on a hunch, but I think the Emeralds would be a good choice when you have an amp that can give you all the gain you want.

[TheyCallMeVolume]

Maybe even a Rebel Yell if you want a bit more oomph.

[VESmedic]

Thanks for the help guys, the rebel yell crossed my mind, didn't think about the emeralds though. Does anyone know how the emeralds compare to the crunch lab that is currently in my jpxi? As well as the rebel yell ? Thanks!

[eighteen-0-nine]

Well, after all my research into the Emerald, it's a very different beast to the Crunch Lab. It has more cut. I remember a while back people where recommended the C-Bomb/Cold Sweat combo to replace the Crunch Lab/Liquifire, but I reckon the Holy Diver is a great Crunch Lab substitute. It's fat, tight, and sounds great.

[TheyCallMeVolume]

Well that'll help a bunch with the bottom end, but not as much as an Emerald or Rebel Yell would.

[VESmedic]

Thanks for the help guys you guys rock! Just found out I have another guitar on the way as well, a kxk sii 7 baritone with an ofr 7! Mahogany neck and body as well, so now I have both of these guitars to outfit :D after playing my les Paul with an aftermath, damn every time I plug in I remember how much I love that pup, just freakin wicked tuned down, Wouk love to hear it one of my 7s, opinions  for each guitar??? Thanks!!!

[Kiichi]

For the incoming baritone look at the vintage range. Sounds strange and counterintuative, but Tim swears by it for a reason. Remember that guy is a guru. Especially the Black Dog is often recommended.
Thing is that baritone produces more high and low end, and the BD is very middy, so that comes together perfectly.

Depending on what you want there are different options, but one of the low output vintage range would be great. IŽd say BD would be really really nice.

[VESmedic]

Since I am a death/thrash metal guy at heart, I still contemplate putting in aftermaths, painkillers, miracle mans etc.

I found a set of miracle mans slightly cheap, how do you guys think they would sound in my EBMM? I honestly don't know what to think about how they would sound. Sure, the guitar has a mahogany toneblock, but then it also has alder, and a maple top, so I don't really know what to think.

[itamar101]

Since I am a death/thrash metal guy at heart, I still contemplate putting in aftermaths, painkillers, miracle mans etc.

I found a set of miracle mans slightly cheap, how do you guys think they would sound in my EBMM? I honestly don't know what to think about how they would sound. Sure, the guitar has a mahogany toneblock, but then it also has alder, and a maple top, so I don't really know what to think.

Don't worry about the woods too much. It's an inaccurate description of the likely tone you'll get. Just play the guitar unplugged and work out its characteristics... Bright? Tight? Dark? Middy?
It's all very easy will give you a much better idea of what will suit the guitar.

For the baritone the black dogs are an excellent choice... Unless you can find something higher output with similar mids. The holy diver would get closest as it sounds very similar to the black dog.

For the first guitar I think that anything from the holy diver to the rebel yell to the emerald would suit it very well. It all depends on what characteristics you want. The Holy Diver is reasonably tight, fast bass response, heavy but not overpowering mids and sweet but big and "obvious". The rebel yell is much brighter and more cutting... Too much for some guitars and perfect for others... It has an even faster bass response and is SLIGHTLY tighter and more aggressive and less mids. Depending on the guitar it can all be way too much or spot on. The rebels yell is also extremely responsive to pickup height. I can't comment much on the emerald bridge so I any add too what has already been said but I adore the neck.Articulate, smooth, responsive yet very vintage sounding and open rather than hi-fI sounding.

[VESmedic]

Well, back to the drawing board... The miracle man in the bridge is just too muddy in my jpxi. Wayyyy too much low miss that I just can NOT dial out, not my thing in this guitar. Very surprising, because comparing to my strictly 7 cobra ( mahogany body, maple top ebony/walnut neck through, warpig in bridge) the jpxi gets stomped by the strictlys tight agressivr sharp tone and much tighter bass with no mud and pure clarity. I couldn't believe it. In contrast the jpxi is super thick in the low mids, and is just a huge sounding guitar, but I'm having a problem getting the sharpness and edge I want out of it.... Plays fantastic, but the MM bridge just does not suit this guitar at all in my opinion.... However , I very much enjoy the MM neck pup for its liquidy smooth leads, sounds great.

[TheyCallMeVolume]

I still like the RY for this. Not sure how well it'll pair with the MM neck though.