Good day gents,
I come with happy news! I finally did what was a long time coming. No, not get new pickups, that is almost normal now, no, I finally went and got something I have been eyeing since day one and has just gotten tastier since then (to a large part thanks to Slarti). I used my christmas money to place another PU order with Jonathan (Feline Guitars) who as always was very nice to deal with.
Ok, no more talking around it. I got myself an Emerald neck and a Holydiver bridge. They were talked about so highly and made to sound very delicious by many people, first and foremost Slarti, I could not resist. Especially because I am now very convinced that Slartis and my taste are very, very similar there just was no more excuse.
Where did they go? Into a guitar that has a very special place in my heart, my first ever guitar, a 7 String Dean Vendetta (Mahagony body, maple neck, rosewood board) which I named Kezia. Cheap guitar, but one of those that blows that price range up imho. Previously it had the Crunchlab / Liquifire combo which I was fond of for a very long time but the more BKPs happened I could not stand them anymore. I needed a more organic, open sound. More life.
How do they look? I got brushed nickel covers so they look bloody brilliantly, best looking PUs I have ever had. Only problem was that the covers made the PUs large enough to not fit directly in the not very cleanly done cavities. So I had to do a bit of woodworking...
First sound impressions: First powerchord on the HD just made me smile. Full, power, character in the low mids, nice grunt, lot more harmonic content and high end than I expected, but also lovingly musically rounded. Plus a lot tighter than I thought it would be. I actually dare say that it is no less tight than the Crunchlab, even though it has more bottom end and a less middy sound. The gain character here is just amazing. Classic and full of character. Such detail and definition. Everything comes together amazingly well. Same feeling I have with the Rebel Yell. They are different and actually complement each other like they were meant to, but they both meld every quality together in a very special way. The HD though really feels like home to me. I am glad I have finally come here.
The Emerald neck....well the first thing I played was the simple melody hook from Steven Wilsons - The Raven that Refused to Sing.
My god. This might very well be the best neck PU ever. It has all been said before, but there is that AIV warmness and love with a more modern cut. Shreds like nothing I have heard before (Liquifire go home, you suck...to think I liked you to the end) with a wonderfull attack / body combination while being able to sing with such an open voice. Really blown away here.
I will do a lot more playing, but so far I can easily do classic rock and blues rock riffs up to Trivium on the HD (I can even take the p*ss out of Djent with this I think) and the Emerald is amazing for blues up to super high gain metal shred. Have not tried clean yet though.
I did say NPD x3 though, so what is the last one you might wonder? Well I have my RY guitar, a Ibanez S series with RY bridge, IT middle and Mule neck. Wonderful combination. I did buy it for versatility though as at the time I only had that one and the Dean. It was versatile as all heck, but now I have more guitars with different specialities and I ended up playing more heavy stuff and the occasional blues stuff on the Ibby. So I went about and took out the Mule neck (IŽd like to place it with a RR bridge in another guitar some day) and got a RY neck to match the bridge.
First impression is also great, but not the overwhelming change of the Emerald. To be fair this one replaced a mule and not a Liquifire so it could not make such a jump. It certainly is more compressed and more modern. Seems to fit the bridge really well and I think it will work better for what I need this axe to do. The blues sound got worse, but the more high gain is now a tad more rounded and compressed which lends itself very well to more legato style and such.
Did not play this one as much yet, but that is what I will do now, so excuse me.
Oh and yes, pics or it did not happen, I know....and yes I know red guitar on red sheet sucks, but it was all I had around atm. ;)
PS: Slarti: I did my move, now go and get some P90s ;)
