Humbucker recommendations for mahogany 7 string

[jjensson]

I don't have a 7-string yet, but i'm planning on buying one. 

What humbuckers would you guys recommend for a mahogany ibanez 7string (s5527) for multistylistic playing (but mainly fusion) and a great deal of lead playing? The goal is:

1) lively, chunky, chewy sound with some crunch when playing multiple strings and some screaming harmonics
2) percussive qualities, to counteract mahogany's slight compression in the mids: punchy attack, but no trebley clickiness
3) none of the typical ceramic type screechy grinding
4) not hoarse sounding!
5) powerful neck sound with some grit, again without "hoarseness"

I'm thinking maybe Rebell-Yell-7 (i like the soundsamples) or A-Bomb-7 for the bridge (but does the description throaty mean that it will sound "hoarse"?). For the neck i'm not sure - ATM in my 6-string i'm liking Dimarzio Gravity Storm Neck, which has single coil qualities but sometimes can sound a bit "weak" or "liveless".

[Dave Sloven]

Rebel Yell set would probably work

[Yellowjacket]

What do you mean by 'trebley clickiness'? 

[jjensson]

When the attack of the note happens mostly in the highs - it "clicks". I like it when the attack happens mostly in the mids, so it "pops".

I like what i heard of the Rebell Yell, it reminds me of the vocal qualities of DiMarzio Pickups, which is a good thing in my book (too bad all the DiMarzio sevens are ceramic). But does the Rebell Yell have the punchy mids i like?

[Ale84]

I would say holydiver...in my les paul it's fantastic

[Kiichi]

When the attack of the note happens mostly in the highs - it "clicks". I like it when the attack happens mostly in the mids, so it "pops".

I like what i heard of the Rebell Yell, it reminds me of the vocal qualities of DiMarzio Pickups, which is a good thing in my book (too bad all the DiMarzio sevens are ceramic). But does the Rebell Yell have the punchy mids i like?

The RY certainly is punchy. It low end is not super low, but it really punches. That makes it really tight and great for extended range guitars. The mids are very lively, with the focus being on the high mids, where it really screams in an amazing rock voice. The high end is present, but not shrill cause it mostly consists of harmonic overtones. Generally there are a load of harmonics to be found here.
Extremely alive and organic pickup, and can easily put you up front. Also very unforgiving to play, but when you get it right, man do you get it right.

It is a brilliant rock and metal pickup. I always like to call it a modern take on a classic sound. It has that old school heart in there, but it has all the modern qualities too. Bit like a tuned up classic muscle car or so.

If you get it also beware that it is even more height sensitive than most other BKPs, and that is saying a lot. Half a screw turn can really change things.

[Yellowjacket]

I think I asked about the 'clicky' treble because all the BKP I have tried are very articulate and have a lot of pick attack.  The artillery-esque pounding low mids are brought to the table by the Juggernauts, which have a lot of massive attack in the low mids.  I find them low mid dominant with a rounded treble, and this is in a relatively bright strat style guitar.  I think in an all mahogany guitar, they would be heavily unbalanced in favour of the lows.

The A-Bomb I have in my Les Paul I think has the predominance of treble attack you are talking about while the Rebel Yell has more of an upper mid predominance with super clear and crunchy mids, and a nice extended bite into the harmonics.  There is more of a 'sheen' in the sound and the low end thumps at a higher frequency.  In a dark and low mid heavy guitar, the resulting tone is very balanced and clear while the low end still comes through relatively well.  The result is a mid focused crunchy tone that is still very wide with the predominant upper harmonics and the emphasized slows and low mids.  It's quite a great recipe!  Heavier strings give more beef and clarity is not sacrificed as a result.

Also, boosting the Rebel Yell can give some absolutely SICK metal tones!!

[jjensson]

Thanks for all the detailed replies. It's very informative to hear from experienced people, especially when it touches things like "sheen" (love it) and "upper mid predominance" (might be important for mahogany).

Should i pair the RY with the neck version, or would the CS be more suitable?

[Yellowjacket]

It's tough to say.  I found the RY Neck to be a bit boomy compared to the bridge pickup, but I think this may be a guitar problem.  (Les Paul)  In my mahogany axe, I have a VHII neck with the RY bridge but I wanted more of a rock axe with that guitar.  The VHII is very warm and rich, and it can shred really well.  It may work in a 7 string but I really can't say.  I think you'll like the Rebel Yell bridge.  Did you check out the sound clip I sent you?

[jjensson]

Oh, i didn't see your PM. Wow, sounds great, very clear, very powerful. But also very "dry" for the lack of better word.

I like more of a plastic sound, but maybe this is the wrong term. On power cords or when playing multiple notes, i like the notes to glue together and make this "frying eggs" sound (a bit of it anyway). Hope you know what i mean - english is not my native language...

I have a bit of fear that this is more of a DiMarzio domain. Maybe BKP don't "fry" because they sound so clear? Sounds a bit crazy, i realize that, but it's very difficult to describe sound in words, because everyone has such a different perception/conception.

Reminds me of a couple years ago, when everybody on the Duncan forum raved about the 59/C5 hybrid pickup, so i believed the hype and went and bought the two humbuckers. I constructed the hybrid HB, and i hated the sound. Great harmonics in the lower registers but sounded tired and weak overall. I feel i'm looking for different things than most other guitarists, so i have to be careful with recommendations. And maybe ask crazy questions. :)

EDIT: I heard the RY hairmetal clips again and yes, the RY can "fry"! :)  I think what i'm trying to describe is kind of a wet crunch - that's what i like in a humbucker.

[Yellowjacket]

Hmm.  The Clip I sent you was of a very low gain sort of a setting, at least compared to what is common with metal.  That's my blues / rock amp and you really hear the tonality of the amp and guitar as well as the pickup.  The amp can have presence but it doesn't have the high end sizzle of something like a Dual Rectifier.  Unfortunately, I don't have any clips of the LG / RY combination through the recto where I'm not boosting the thing.

I think what you mean is that you want more 'presence' in the sound, right? 

What are you looking for in terms of output?  The Rebel Yell has power but it's really more 'vintage hot' than 'contemporary', especially when compared with something like the Juggernaut Bridge. 

[Duck2587]

Black hawks or aftermath. Aftermath is perfect for low voicing and mahogany.