New Build - 7 string tele

[K-Roll]

Hey guys,
hope you're all doing well. I've been building a new custom made guitar with my luthier and thought I'd just stop by and ask you for your ideas.

The build is gonna be a tele shaped 7 string:
 2 piece swamp ash body
 flamed hard maple bolt-on neck with walnut stripe
 25,5''
 7 strings
Gotoh bridge
 no lacquer just some staining + oil/wax..

I'll be going with a HB-HB setup and thought I'd ask you about your opinions. I have not had a chance to play a swamp ash/maple sevenstring and wanted to do something like 'classic meets modern'
Any ideas on which PUP to get? I am leaning towards chrome covered ones that's one thing I know and I'd certainly like to get a nice smooth singing full bodied sound (no harsh sounds/ presence or thin tones on upper positions)
I've been playing a boogie mark 5/traditional cab sort of a modern rock/metal alternative crossover kinda thing.

Another 7string I have is a mahogany/maple neck with a blackdog and somehow I like the medium/lower output tone and let the amp do the distortion

I know it's a lottery, but at least I'll know where to start :) I've had quite many experience with BKP pickups but not in the above mentioned combination, so I just want to keep my mind as open as possible and my own biased thoughts based on a guitar with a different combination of woods.

my first thought was holy diver, but then I started going through dozens of posts here (most of which are, however for maple neckthrough/swamp ash guitars and not usually 7stringers) so I got lost pretty easily heh
oh, and it should be alnico rather than ceramic (had to learn it the hard way that my amp hates ceramic pups )

[Telerocker]

Classic meets modern = Abraxas...  But, I bet a Diver would be great in swampash too, and fit to your musicstyles. The Diver seem to be a better choice for a sevenstring, I guess. Not to much low end and tighter then the Abraxas, I presume. I can't judge very well on this, since I don't have an Abraxas, but I play the Crawler in a swampashstrat. Crawler is an uber-Abraxas with extra mids and round topend. Bottom is full, but too soft for metal and certainly for a sevenstring guitar.

[K-Roll]

Hi Telerocker, thanks for your response.
I somehow lean towards an HD set. Anyway, I've sent an email to BKP and got a response from Ben who advised the following:

What about a set of Rebel Yells? They are quite full and clear and use the warmer alnico v magnets in bridge and neck - so no shrill top end. A chunkier option would be the Nailbombs. I would also look at the alnico Black Hawks for a smooth and modern feel.

But looking at their specs I would gues both the RY and NB would have a sharper edge, which i am not quite sure is wanted with maple/swamp ash.. Certainly do not want to end up with a glassy tone..

[Telerocker]

RY"s have quite some mids, but are one of the brightest BKP's, I read here several times on the forum. They kill in mahogany, in an ash/maple-combi I would hesitate. The NB has a brighter upperregister then the Diver and you have to like the topend sizzle.
A good vintagehot-option would be a Black Dog, fat but open, and often recommended for sevenstrings.

[Slartibartfarst42]

As you already have a Black Dog, I'd go with the Holydiver. It does Classic Rock up to 80s Metal really well and will go either side of that with some ease too. Lovely tone that is thick but not too dark and although it is quite a tight pickup, it has enough smoothness to keep it versatile. The Nailbomb is a monster in comparison. I found the A-Bomb to be a lot tighter and more aggressive. It's strange because Tim and Ben often suggest the A-Bomb as a really versatile pickup yet it's the least versatile pup I've ever used. I just think it needs a big slab of mahogany, which isn't what I tried it in. I doubt you'd regret the Holydiver; it's my favourite all round BKP pickup.