Pickups for Ibanez K7

[Myth]

Hi !

I'm currently saving a bit of money to buy a set of bare knuckles for my ibanez K-7 (old korn signature. Mahoganny body, rosewood fingerboard, And i think it's a 2004 model with 5 pieces maple/bubinga neck).

So, what's wrong with the current pickups ?
Well... It's the original DiMarzio PAF set. Do I need to say more ?
They're meant to sound like Korn like their sound. Muddy, dirty and all that kind of stuff. They're cold, i really don't like them. But the guitar itself is awesome.

I've already tried two sets of Bare knuckle :
CS neck, nailbomb bridge on a lag arkane (mahoganny body/maple top, maple neck, ebony fingerboard) : for what i planned to play with this one (thrash metal), they're perfect. But the nailbomb is way too aggressive, and I find the cold sweat neck a bit too cold.
juggernaut sets on another lag arkane : holy shite, they're awesome ! I felt in love with the jugg neck, but maybe the bridge lacks a little bit of high mids, or they may be not well placed for my amp (or the guitars wood, dunno).

So, I was thinking about another set of juggs, but i'm afraid they won't work in an all mahoganny guitar (even if my k-7 is more in the bright side of mahoganny), or go to a VHII (i heard the jugg neck was based VHII) and... maybe a crawler ?

I absolutely don't know what to pick for the bridge.

Any advices ?

[one]

Why not the impulse as a companion to the CS neck you already like?

[Dave Sloven]

Impulse set might be a good choice here in the mahogany.  The neck pickup in that set is very nice

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-5Ysauhjw4

[Myth]

Hi !

Thanks for your advices. I will listen to a few sample/demo of the impulse.

I forgot to mention that my k-7 is a 7 string (it may be obvious, but it's always good to menttion), my two other guitars are 6 strings.
And i'm playing on a mesa boogie roadster (you can see it as a more polite version of the dual rec, or a cheaper version of the road king... as you wish xD)

[northlane.josh]

We designed the impulses around my baritone 7 strings. Wherever overbearing low mids are an issue they work great, you can tune them down as low as you can and they won't get muddy. The top end is kinda smooth but your mesa will already have plenty of bite there.

[one]

We designed the impulses around my baritone 7 strings. Wherever overbearing low mids are an issue they work great, you can tune them down as low as you can and they won't get muddy. The top end is kinda smooth but your mesa will already have plenty of bite there.

Are they good for standard tuning? I'm tired of my Cbombs and wanted something with less highs since I also own a trebblish 5153. I plan to play all kinds of metal, but I especially love progressive in standard. I'm torn between the impulse of the blackhawk bridge

[Dave Sloven]

Here's the six string version of the Impulse.  It's in Drop C with a 24.75" scale, so that should be no problem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kot1vCp0IQ

[one]

Sounds absolutely killer AO, the guy plays as a wizard too, but talking about the pups, I wish to know what is better in my B standard 7 with that weird sounding walnut top I talked before. I don't care about the EMG hi-fi character of the blackhawks, normally put as a flaw as I have read a few times, but I'd like to know what is less unforgiving with mistakes, and what is more versatile and heavy to tame my EVH 5153 crazy trebble nature.

[Dave Sloven]

Josh would be the guy best placed to answer that, as he is familiar with the Blackhawks, Impulses, Cobras, and some custom bladed single coils that BKP made for him.

[northlane.josh]

Sounds absolutely killer AO, the guy plays as a wizard too, but talking about the pups, I wish to know what is better in my B standard 7 with that weird sounding walnut top I talked before. I don't care about the EMG hi-fi character of the blackhawks, normally put as a flaw as I have read a few times, but I'd like to know what is less unforgiving with mistakes, and what is more versatile and heavy to tame my EVH 5153 crazy trebble nature.

The impulse is a little brighter overall but has a smoother treble response so any piercing high frequencies won't be as bad. Both the blackhawks and impulses are fairly forgiving pickups as far as BKP's go, I don't think either are easier to play on. Both are quite versatile but the impulse seems to do better on mid-gain applications

[one]

Sounds absolutely killer AO, the guy plays as a wizard too, but talking about the pups, I wish to know what is better in my B standard 7 with that weird sounding walnut top I talked before. I don't care about the EMG hi-fi character of the blackhawks, normally put as a flaw as I have read a few times, but I'd like to know what is less unforgiving with mistakes, and what is more versatile and heavy to tame my EVH 5153 crazy trebble nature.

The impulse is a little brighter overall but has a smoother treble response so any piercing high frequencies won't be as bad. Both the blackhawks and impulses are fairly forgiving pickups as far as BKP's go, I don't think either are easier to play on. Both are quite versatile but the impulse seems to do better on mid-gain applications

Thanks for your help! then, would you say the blackhawk bridge is better on a high-gain context? by the way, are you meaning the AV or the Ceramic? I plan to leave the ColdSweat as a pair and though I try to be eclectic and 100% versatile in music due to my advanced age (haha), I must admit my love for death and tech metal.

Sorry for hijacking the thread.

[northlane.josh]

Sounds absolutely killer AO, the guy plays as a wizard too, but talking about the pups, I wish to know what is better in my B standard 7 with that weird sounding walnut top I talked before. I don't care about the EMG hi-fi character of the blackhawks, normally put as a flaw as I have read a few times, but I'd like to know what is less unforgiving with mistakes, and what is more versatile and heavy to tame my EVH 5153 crazy trebble nature.

The impulse is a little brighter overall but has a smoother treble response so any piercing high frequencies won't be as bad. Both the blackhawks and impulses are fairly forgiving pickups as far as BKP's go, I don't think either are easier to play on. Both are quite versatile but the impulse seems to do better on mid-gain applications

Thanks for your help! then, would you say the blackhawk bridge is better on a high-gain context? by the way, are you meaning the AV or the Ceramic? I plan to leave the ColdSweat as a pair and though I try to be eclectic and 100% versatile in music due to my advanced age (haha), I must admit my love for death and tech metal.

Sorry for hijacking the thread.

I wouldn't say it's better, just different. Most of what I designed the impulse for, what I do in my band is all high gain stuff. I was referring to the ceramic.

[one]

So, in the end I probably give the Impulse a try. Thanks for your help!

Edit: no black screws chrome cover for Impulses either so... back again to:

1. cheap option: painkiller bridge, and finally accepting everyone of my friend's piece of advice

2. expensive option: get rid of the Coldsweat (though I like it) and throw in a pair of blackhawks to make it aesthetically par with the guitar.

Good luck, Myth!!

[Myth]

Hi again.

After reading and listenning all this thread and all i could find about the impulse, i think these aren't the pickups i'm looking for.

I spend a few time thinking about what i'm really looking for as a bidge pickup, and i think i need a pickup with solid lows (for chugging), a wide fat warm singing mid range and a smooth high-end.
I'm looking for a pickup that is tight on the low B but let me "feel" the low-end, and that can be really singing as a lead pickup. 
That's why, i think, i really liked the juggs, their midrange is no really "wide", but warm and singing enough to be one of the best lead pickups i played (for me), and had a lot of chug.

Am i describing something that exists ? xD

You'd propably ask why i'm not using another jugg set, btw. There are two reasons for that : I want another set of pickups, and... the jugg won't fit in my k-7 (they're way too big)