Mules or Black Dogs for a semi-hollow 7?

[celticelk]

I scored a "life list" guitar on eBay not long ago: a Schecter Jazz-7 semi-hollowbody (maple top/back/sides, mahogany neck, rosewood fretboard).  I love everything about it, except for the open-coil pickups; I'm looking to replace them with a covered pair of 7-string BKPs.  I'd like pickups that can credibly cover a tonal range from a more traditional PAF semi-hollow through a moderately-distorted hard rock/metal sound in the Pelican/Baroness vein.  The guitar is wired for coil-splitting in both positions, so I'd also like pickups that split well for a more "wirey" single-coil-ish sound (for percussive funk licks).  I've been trying to decide between the Mules and the Black Dogs; from the sound samples, I like the beefier tone of the Dogs, but am a little concerned that they might overpower a semi-hollow, especially with cleaner tones.  Thoughts?

[Fourth Feline]

Hello and welcome !  :)

I have no direct experience of the Black Dogs - and  have never put my Mules in anything other than my Les Paul, but I think the Black Dogs sound like your best bet , based on three things:

1)  When I enjoyed my Mississipi Queens in a Basswood 335 copy ( For clean(ish) Blues tones ) -  but raised the question as to what B.K.P. humbucker would give a similar richer, thicker tone ; one of the guys on here said he thought the Black Dog would be pleasing ( in my case ) - and I quote it in your case, as at least one assumes they may  be a feasable tonal choice for you too, that is to say, they are not thought to be incompatible with a semi-hollow.

2)   If you are coil splitting them anyway, I feel that the thicker and more powerful Black Dogs would better survive the process of being split - and still sound confident, whilst still 'Old School'. when you need them to. The Mules are great,  but their  authentically 50s 'P.A.F'. sound is already quite open, before applying the the coil split.

3) I put a Warpig Neck pickup in  a fully Hollow ES-175 copy ( for clean / Low volume Jazz tones )- and I could still tell it was a hollow body.  Even the very powerful Warpig, still had the characteristic B.K.P. subtlety and adjustability.

I hope the Black Dog owners can comment further.  :)

P.S.

In a semi-hollow, I tend to feel that a more powerful magnet / pickup  makes  the Bass strings sound 'tighter' for Funky stuff - and riffs in general.

[darrenw5094]

Not into the semi guitars, but i have a BD in a Tokai LP. Much richer, midier sound compared to the Mule, which is also love. I would agree with the split coil thing with the BD even though i don't have that with my BD Les Paul.

[Telerocker]

Hello and welcome !  :)

I have no direct experience of the Black Dogs - and  have never put my Mules in anything other than my Les Paul, but I think the Black Dogs sound like your best bet , based on three things:

1)  When I enjoyed my Mississipi Queens in a Basswood 335 copy ( For clean(ish) Blues tones ) -  but raised the question as to what B.K.P. humbucker would give a similar richer, thicker tone ; one of the guys on here said he thought the Black Dog would be pleasing ( in my case ) - and I quote it in your case, as at least one assumes they may  be a feasable tonal choice for you too, that is to say, they are not thought to be incompatible with a semi-hollow.

2)   If you are coil splitting them anyway, I feel that the thicker and more powerful Black Dogs would better survive the process of being split - and still sound confident, whilst still 'Old School'. when you need them to. The Mules are great,  but their  authentically 50s 'P.A.F'. sound is already quite open, before applying the the coil split.

3) I put a Warpig Neck pickup in  a fully Hollow ES-175 copy ( for clean / Low volume Jazz tones )- and I could still tell it was a hollow body.  Even the very powerful Warpig, still had the characteristic B.K.P. subtlety and adjustability.

I hope the Black Dog owners can comment further.  :)

P.S.

In a semi-hollow, I tend to feel that a more powerful magnet / pickup  makes  the Bass strings sound 'tighter' for Funky stuff - and riffs in general.

I can add that the Mule-bridge is full but quite crispy at the same time, I think a splitted BD will fit your needs better.

[clivey]

I scored a "life list" guitar on eBay not long ago: a Schecter Jazz-7 semi-hollowbody (maple top/back/sides, mahogany neck, rosewood fretboard).  I love everything about it, except for the open-coil pickups; I'm looking to replace them with a covered pair of 7-string BKPs.  I'd like pickups that can credibly cover a tonal range from a more traditional PAF semi-hollow through a moderately-distorted hard rock/metal sound in the Pelican/Baroness vein.  The guitar is wired for coil-splitting in both positions, so I'd also like pickups that split well for a more "wirey" single-coil-ish sound (for percussive funk licks).  I've been trying to decide between the Mules and the Black Dogs; from the sound samples, I like the beefier tone of the Dogs, but am a little concerned that they might overpower a semi-hollow, especially with cleaner tones.  Thoughts?

I'm a big fan of the Black Dog, but have only tried the bridge version, not the set. That said, the bridge position will definitely cover the musical ground you're wanting - I think it'd be great for Pelican/Baroness, can really drive an amp hard and handle a lot of gain with ease, even with very low tunings, without loosing clarity. Back off the gain and it'll cover all sorts of vintage rock and blues, very sensitive to dynamics, great clean tones, splits really well too! It's darker, midier and more powerful than a PAF, but if you like a vintage tone with a bit more grunt then I'd say go for it.

[celticelk]

Black Dogs it is, then!  Thanks for the input, everyone.