Which Pickups best for 7 string Heavy Metal?

[JCN1218]

I 'm looking for something that's tight enough to handle fast palm muting on the lower strings. My guitar is a B.C. Rich JRV-7 (Mahogany body/neck: ebony fretboard), tuned to standard through a Fryette Deliverance 60. I'm really craving a tone similar to Nocturnal Rites, kind of a heavy Power Metal sound. I'll put a link to one of their songs on Youtube, not the best quality, but hope it helps. Any help would be greatly appreciated, I've spent hours reading reviews not specific enough for me, and I'm on a tight budget, so I want to have as much info as possible before buying.  :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7HMLyYkuFw&playnext=1&list=PL23D48DDC7894BB46&feature=results_main

[JCN1218]

I've been running around the site all day, I'm thinking maybe a painkiller in the bridge and a cold sweat in the neck? I was looking at the aftermath too though, and everyone seems to rave about it. Everything I read I makes me change my mind again. :roll: Any thoughts?

[richard]

If you've looked through all the reviews you're probably not going to read anything else that will give you the information you're looking for. There's only so much that can be said to describe sound in words. Bite the bullet and buy the pickup that sounds closest to what you want and take advantage of the return policy if it's not what you need. Good luck.

[Zaned]

Great heavy tone on that clip! Very well produced.

I have no experience with 7 string guitars, but I feel that the Painkiller would be too midheavy for that kind of tone. The clip made me think of Miracle man, or possibly Cold Sweat. Depending on the amount of mids you want (CS has less, and a brighter top too), and the natural tone of the guitar.

For a fluid, defined and singing shred tone on the neck, the Cold Sweat neck model is hard to beat, but I've heard great things about the Miracle Man neck too.

Of course, the tone on the clip model is also very heavily amp-dependent, but my gut feeling is that Miracle Man or Cold Sweat would get you there. It wouldn't hurt to e-mail BKP staff for a word on the matter.

-Zaned

[Dr.Pain]

I have the same guitar and it was recommended to me that an Aftermath would be best to keep control on the bass side.  However I'd jumped in before seeking advise from the guys at BKP and got a ceramic warpig and it didn't work for me.  I've since gone another direction and put blackouts in it and it's now mental, needing it's own padded cell.  I would email the guys at BKP and ask them.  They respond quick. :)

[JCN1218]

thanks for the advice everyone, I really appreciate it! I sent an email out this morning and got a reply back saying again that miracle man or cold sweat would be pretty much perfect for me. I think I'm pretty set on the Cold Sweat for the neck, my only hold up now is whether to mix it with the MM in the bridge or get another CS for the bridge too. My main concern is that I've heard that the MM will be louder than the CS when switching in between. I'd probably be using the CS for soloing mainly and the MM for rhythm, so it might be a problem if there were a noticeable volume drop between them. Anyone have any advice?

[Dr.Pain]

Use a tube screamer or some form of boost on your solos.  Set it so it's helping the cold sweat's volume.

[JCN1218]

Excellent point, thanks! In that case I think I've made up my mind, hopefully my I get my tax return soon so I can order them  :D

[Studiostriver]

Hi I pretty much like the Nocturnal rites sound also...Coldsweat rules for neck! :shock: For my taste on bridge i like little bit agressive and Sabbath/Bruce Dickinson`s Chemmical Wedding sound so I would choose something slightly different...I like how Coldsweat is a little bit scooped ,but I think Miracle man for bridge have a little more modern tight/bright updated sound.Well in my humble opnion. :)
Cheers! :P

[JCN1218]

I'm definitely still open to suggestions, so thanks for the input. Honestly, I'm still going back and forth between CS and MM in the bridge. I'm sure I'd be happy with either one, but the option of having the calibrated set of the CSs is pretty appealing to me. So, let me ask one more question, does the calibrated set make a big difference? And/ or, what kind of advantages would a calibrated set have over a pair of mix'n'match?