7-string pick-up with a powerful neck position?

[AngryGoldfish]

I emailed someone this question already, but I thought I'd ask here as well, if that's alright?


I have a seven string Ibanez Apex with a Mahogany RG-shape body, Rosewood fingerboard and Maple/Walnut neck. It currently has stock Dimarzio PAF-7 pick-ups installed, and they don't have enough output for what I want. They sound nice with a clean tone but aren't quite the perfect match I was looking for. My amp is a Soldano Avenger 50. I normally don't push the gain very high – even though I play metal – I just have enough so that it has plenty of harmonic content.

For the neck position, I'm looking for something that has enough output to drive my Soldano into distortion like a bridge pick-up would. I'm tired of having this soft, clean neck sound that is almost useless in a stoner-metal setting – which is what I play; doom, stoner rock, sludge metal, etc.

I love a tone that's clear, articulate, not overly distorted but still high in output, as I already mentioned, and has a very organic edge to it.

The Nailbomb has always been on my mind. What's the consensus on that?

Cheers.

[HairyChris]

Warpig neck is THICK. Totally OTT, but in a good way. Acts like a PAF at around 1/3 volume, pushes like you won't believe when you max it. ;) Still dynamic but you want sludge? Oh yeah.

[AngryGoldfish]

Thanks, man. Mucho appreciated.

I just read on Rig-Talk that the Warpig is pretty much BK's most aggressive pick-up they have at at 22k.  PDT_003 And also the Miracle Man is a little below the Warpig in output but may be a little "too low middy" with a Mahogany body.

Is that a good estimation?

[HairyChris]

Only got a MM in a 6 string, bridge position. MM has ceramic neck magnet so will sound a lot different. I don't have any direct experience, sorry.

A-Pigs have a lot of bass, although I don't know if I'd necessarily class as low-mids. They are hot, yes, but not necessarily aggressive (I'd class 'aggressive' as having a tight middy punch, A-Pigs aren't like that).

My A-Pigs are in a mahogany bodied guitar with a rosewood neck. They are approaching too much, but are fun. There's a lot of  Holy Diver love on there boards which I was considering too!

[AngryGoldfish]

Only got a MM in a 6 string, bridge position. MM has ceramic neck magnet so will sound a lot different. I don't have any direct experience, sorry.

A-Pigs have a lot of bass, although I don't know if I'd necessarily class as low-mids. They are hot, yes, but not necessarily aggressive (I'd class 'aggressive' as having a tight middy punch, A-Pigs aren't like that).

My A-Pigs are in a mahogany bodied guitar with a rosewood neck. They are approaching too much, but are fun. There's a lot of  Holy Diver love on there boards which I was considering too!

That's weird. On fthe BK website it says I can order a set of MM's in a seven string humbucker shape, and it has all the choice of finishes and covers available (which is why I have never bought BK before; because my Apex is green and black just doesn't go with it).

Oh wait, are you saying YOU only have a MM in six string? Sorry for the confusion.

When you say it will sound different, is that from personal experience, or just what you estimate from what people have told you?

And soz for the n00b question but what is an A-Pig?

To be honest, I'm not necessarily looking for extreme aggression; just something well rounded, articulate and high in output so that the neck pick-up isn't too weak in comparison to the bridge - which is often the case.

Thanks for the info, by the way, so far.

[Nolly]

I highly recommend you get yourself a set of Nailbombs.

Also, A-pigs = alnico Warpigs  :)

[AngryGoldfish]

I spoke to Nick at AxePalace and he stongly urged me to go for a set of Warpig's; a cermaic in the bridge and an alnico in the neck.

I think I'll go with them. I just wanna make sure it's not going to be too distorted when my Soldano arrives. Thanks for the all the help!

[ratspeak]

I spoke to Nick at AxePalace and he stongly urged me to go for a set of Warpig's; a cermaic in the bridge and an alnico in the neck.

I think I'll go with them. I just wanna make sure it's not going to be too distorted when my Soldano arrives. Thanks for the all the help!

That's interesting because he said the exact same thing to me regarding my horizon. Wait.. Is your Jackson the neck-thru model?

WPs are great, no doubt. Nick seems to really like them a lot.

[AngryGoldfish]

I spoke to Nick at AxePalace and he stongly urged me to go for a set of Warpig's; a cermaic in the bridge and an alnico in the neck.

I think I'll go with them. I just wanna make sure it's not going to be too distorted when my Soldano arrives. Thanks for the all the help!

That's interesting because he said the exact same thing to me regarding my horizon. Wait.. Is your Jackson the neck-thru model?

WPs are great, no doubt. Nick seems to really like them a lot.

I don't have a Jackson guitar. I have an Ibanez Apex seven string, the KoЯn signature model.

To be honest, I think the Nailmomb will be great, too, and also the Miracle Man and Painkiller. I've still got a while before I decide so I'm in no hurry.

[ratspeak]

I don't have a Jackson guitar. I have an Ibanez Apex seven string, the KoЯn signature model.

To be honest, I think the Nailmomb will be great, too, and also the Miracle Man and Painkiller. I've still got a while before I decide so I'm in no hurry.

D'oh. Wrong person. That's what I get for not sleeping.

[AngryGoldfish]

No worries!

[pop]

@AngryGoldfish: sorry this is slightly off topic but I  have to say that I love you avatar pic! great new album!!

[AngryGoldfish]

lol

Yeah, it's an awesome album. Thanks for noticing. I wanted the owl without the logo and album title but couldn't find one. Looks like a job for photoshop. ^_^

[HairyChris]

If you don't mind riding the volume then you can be quite subtle with the Pigs. Or drop the gain by a couple of notches!

[AngryGoldfish]

If you don't mind riding the volume then you can be quite subtle with the Pigs. Or drop the gain by a couple of notches!

I don't actually use that much gain. I prefer using high-output pick-ups over stupid amounts of gain or volume on my amp. The Soldano I have has plenty of gain, but I only use half of it, maybe even less.