Pickups for a basswood 7 (aka This Indecision Is Killing Me...)

[MerlinTKD]

I had asked back in April for a pickup suggestion for my basswood 25.5" 7-string (currently running a Painkiller set) that would be more versatile; Tim had suggested the Rebel Yell. Around here, the Holy Diver was also suggested; having no personal experience with either, I'm in a quandary, I just know I'm not consistently happy with my Painkillers.

I currently tune to drop-G with heavier strings (11-49+68), but I'm realizing I may need to give up the low tuning to get the tone I want out of this guitar; if I can find a pickup that lets me keep it, great, but if not, so be it, I'm tired of being tonally frustrated.

What I'm looking for is a bridge that will take me from metal to rock to indie/punk (Liz Phair/Pixies/Breeders) reasonably well (perfection not required), and a neck that can do fluid leads and really warm (not bright) cleans; a set that is smooth and doesn't get fizzy (a struggle with basswood, I know) under moderate amounts of gain (using a Fender Mustang recording setup, EVH5150 model, gain is never higher than 4, usually 2-3).

Should I go with the Rebel Yell? Would the Holy Diver be smoother and warmer? To get the tone I'm looking for, will I need to tune back up to standard/drop-A, and does that change the recommendation?

Thanks for reading all this, I look forward to hearing your suggestions!

[Kiichi]

Thing is when I think of punk (and indie) I usually donīt exactly think of a smooth rythm tone. Maybe that is just me (donīt exactly listen to a lot of punk), but I see a conflict there...
Until you said smooth I was thinking RY. Dunno how punky the HD can get, but it is smooth and can do the rest pretty well I recon. Though if you go HD I would probably do the HD Emerald combo as the HD neck is said to be on the brighter side and the Emerald is pretty much exactly what you want in the neck.
Might actually work in the bridge too depending on how the guitars acoustic tone is.

[MerlinTKD]

I hear what you're saying... I suppose I should have "smooth, relative to the Painkiller!" :lol:

The PK in my guitar wants to be really grindy and a little fizzy, which is fine for some stuff but not for others, and I finally have given in to the truth that a high-mid focused pickup in a mid-focused guitar is going to have lots of mids, especially high mids, and not much else.  :roll:

So the Emerald neck is warmer than the Holy Diver neck? Interesting....

[Slartibartfarst42]

The Rebel Yell is less compressed than the Holydiver and is probably a bit more towards Classic Rock while the Holydiver is a bit more 80s Metal. However, the Holydiver is the most versatile pickup I've tried, has a beautifully sweet lead tone and is lovely and smooth with enough aggression to give it the little bit of edge it needs. It loves an overdrive pedal and the Emerald is the best neck pickup I've ever tried from any manufacturer. Another option might be the Cold Sweat. I know it looks very bright and the Holydiver is certainly warmer but I had a Cold Sweat set in a maple neck-thru and it honestly wasn't that bad. A bit more open than the Holydiver and most obviously described as 'tight' where the Holydiver is 'thick'. I think the Cold Sweat would do the 'Punk' side a bit better but overall, I'm inclined to say Holydiver/Emerald.

[llJasonll]

I've tried all three pickups, and I understand your feelings about the painkiller.  It's a great pickup, but there were a few things that I couldn't get along with (personal taste).  I really liked the Rebel Yell that I had, but I ultimately swapped that one out for a Warpig in that particular guitar.

I currently have a Holy Diver in an Alder bodied, Charvel San Dimas, and I absolutely love it.  Such a thick sound, with no fizz, and a smooth top end.  I would highly recommend that pickup.  I was always hesitant about the Holy Diver, and it was never my first choice when analyzing which pickup to swap out because I always assumed that there were "better" pickups to achieve the sound I was going after.  After seeing a few people rave about it on these forums, I decided to try it out, and I am so happy I did.

Either way all Bare Knuckles are amazing, and it truly is a matter of taste, so either the RY or HD will sound great.

[Dave Sloven]

What I'm looking for is a bridge that will take me from metal to rock to indie/punk (Liz Phair/Pixies/Breeders) reasonably well (perfection not required)

Honestly looking at this I think you are possibly asking too much of one guitar, but something along the lines of a Rebel Yell will probably be most useful, as long as it suits the tonal qualities of your guitar. Punk is a very diverse genre.  You are obviously not talking about the noisy hardcore stuff, and for metal maybe you are not talking about Sepultura etc either. The sort of stuff you are talking about does require a much smoother sound, which I think the RY is likely to give you, considering where it differs from the Cold Sweat.  However if your metal tastes go into shredder territory I would suggest Cold Sweat or Holy Diver.  Personally I have the Cold Sweat and I really like its clean tones and lead tones, but it might not be for you and I have no idea about the bridge CS as I have an A-bomb there for the noisy hardcore and thrash stuff.

[mongey]

have you thought about blackhawks ?  I swapped out a Cpig set for blackhawk set in my 7 2 months ago and I am on the bandwagon. my fav BKP's for sure. thinking of putting them in my 6 when I get my tax refund

warm not bright cleans for the neck is spot on and I find the bridge as versitile as any 7 string pick up I've heard .

I tune to ADADGBe but have dropped to G to check it out and it works.

I've never owned a basswood guitar though so not sure on that front

[MerlinTKD]

have you thought about blackhawks ?  I swapped out a Cpig set for blackhawk set in my 7 2 months ago and I am on the bandwagon. my fav BKP's for sure. thinking of putting them in my 6 when I get my tax refund

warm not bright cleans for the neck is spot on and I find the bridge as versitile as any 7 string pick up I've heard .

I tune to ADADGBe but have dropped to G to check it out and it works.

I've never owned a basswood guitar though so not sure on that front

Thanks for the suggestion! Yeah, Nick @ The Axe Palace recommended either the HD or BH... listening to the clips around, I'm leaning HD, I think the 'dark and hot' (as it was described to me recently) is what I'm looking for. Regardless, I still have to save up the $$!

Honestly looking at this I think you are possibly asking too much of one guitar

Yeah, you're probably right... eventually I want to get a 26.5/27" mahogany 7 to put the PK's in, put that in drop-G, and keep the basswood 7 in drop-A with... probably the HD's. I've got an Agile 8 in ash also, tuned standard, but it definitely needs a pickup swap as well, but one thing at a time. :lol: Thanks!

[fhn_lopes]

I'll tell you I used the Emerald Neck as a bridge PU for drop tunes and man... it rips!! Definition all the way even with loads of gain....

my VHII works very well too for drop tunes, more agressive than the Emerald and a very strong low end... But both are bright pus by nature, not sure if you're looking for that... I don't think the HD is dark, but it has a smooth high end without loosing harmonics... Maybe aftermath can be an optiion too.. shitee, I think I've just made your indecision worse now  :P :lol: :lol: :lol:

[MerlinTKD]

I don't think the HD is dark, but it has a smooth high end without loosing harmonics...

Smoother, warmer... yeah, that's pretty much what I think I'm looking for...

Maybe aftermath can be an optiion too.. shiteee, I think I've just made your indecision worse now  :P :lol: :lol: :lol:

Damn you!!! :lol: No, thanks for the suggestions... I used to want super clear, edgy, and the PK's were (are) perfect, just have different needs now. Really, I just want one of EVERYTHING!!!! :D

[braintheory]

I have a Black Hawk set (ceramic) in my Jackson SL2H and the bridge is very smooth, balanced, and polished sounding (no rawness, no throatiness, no organic growl) which why I don't like it and I think the smoothness and polish would make it a bad choice for punk.  I find the neck to also be a bit bland.

Since you said you only want it to be smooth and warm relative to the Painkiller, you might like the Miracle Man, but it won't give you the cleans you want.