7 String RGD (Basswood) Pickups?

[charles55]

Good day to all of you! Hows it going?

I am writing here to get some advice. Well, the day finally came that I acquired my second 7 string guitar. (first one is years ago)
Its an Ibanez RGD 7421 (Basswood body, Bolt-On, Fixed Gibraltar bridge, 26.5" scale, Rosewood fretboard, Wizard maple neck).

The guitar plays well, nicely set-up from a pro luthier, construction is great. I bought it 2nd hand from a jazz player.
Everything seems fine except for the pickups. Its not bad but it lacks something.
We play Metal. My main guitar for years is a Gibson LP standard tuned to B. It has a Nailbomb set.

For the Ibanez RGD with the Basswood body, what set can you recommend that will stay tight & clear?

I am both a rhythm & lead player so I want something that can do both. I love FLUID sounding leads, TIGHT Rhythm parts, & occasionally play some clean parts.

I may tune down to drop A just to experiment with lower stuff but currently we are always in B Standard. Please help me decide which BKP will be more suitable. I know theres a lot guys here who has BKPs in their Basswoods. Dont know much about basswoods. Appreciate all the help & inputs.  :)

Here are some tracks that we've recorded with the LP with Nailbombs.
https://soundcloud.com/pariahmusicsg

Thanks a lot! - Charles

[Slartibartfarst42]

I don't know much about basswood either so I may be wrong but my first thought was Miracle Man/Cold Sweat and then I started to wonder about Painkillers. Not so good on cleans I imagine but fits the bill for everything else. Black Hawks might be another option as they always sound quite versatile to me.

[Toe-Knee]

I used to have an RGD and i tried loads of pickups in it and a lot didnt work quite right due to the extended scale over hyping the highs and the lows.

The best match that i found was the Aftermath set. It was nicely balanced and nice and tight. The neck pickup delivered excellent cleans and great lead tones.

My normal go to pickup for basswood is the miracle man but in the RGD it was far too boomy and overly bright.

[Slartibartfarst42]

I used to have an RGD and i tried loads of pickups in it and a lot didnt work quite right due to the extended scale over hyping the highs and the lows.

Wouldn't that suggest the Painkiller might work as it has more mids than either the Miracle Man or Aftermath?

[charles55]

There is a guy in our local forum that sells a Painkiller Bridge. Seems a good deal for $100.

But I am just wondering, Considering the EQ of the PK in the site & the tone of Basswoods, will the sound be too mid focused or bright?

Im also considering the Aftermath/Cold Sweat set for now.  :)

[MerlinTKD]

The PK's, especially in basswood, have a ton of HIGH mids, where the Aftermath (I think) is more of a balanced midrange. I'm *guessing* that an extended scale basswood guitar is going to be pretty balanced (basswood seems to lose highs and lows, leaving the mids more or less, but the scale will accentuate highs and lows, so... I think), so you may be okay with pretty much anything... still, I dunno if I'd go with PK's unless someone who's used them that way can specifically recommend. My only experience with PK's is in a basswood 7 25.5 scale tuned down a step, so they'll probably sound a bit different in yours!

I'm wondering if Nailbombs might not be a good choice there, or Blackhawks, or the Rebel Yell... so many possibilities!! ;)



EDIT:
After listening to your SoundCloud samples, I don't think Nailbombs... Blackhawks, yes, RY, yes... but the Miracle Man or Cold Sweat might be best. See what more experienced heads around here have to say!

[Toe-Knee]

I used to have an RGD and i tried loads of pickups in it and a lot didnt work quite right due to the extended scale over hyping the highs and the lows.

Wouldn't that suggest the Painkiller might work as it has more mids than either the Miracle Man or Aftermath?

Im not sure how the highs & lows are on the PK as i've only played one briefly but it could work. The Miracle Man definitely isnt a good idea for an RGD. That is unless the OP wants massive lows and highs

[charles55]

Ben suggested an AfterMath set. I think I will have to follow his advice.  :)