Pickup suggestions for Ernie Ball Music Man Axis Super Sport

[LesterWicked]

First post. Big BKP fan, owning 5 sets.

Problem: EBMM Axis SS with rosewood fingerboard and vintage trem sounds dark. Compared to all my HB guitars the Axis lacks highs and presence. It’s very midrangey and ironically it perceivably drives amps less despite being overwound. I’m a firm believer a wide frequency spectrum adds to the punch.

This is a well known issue with the Axis. I’ve heard users online get great tones but mine just feels dark and dialing my rig and recording differently doesn’t measure up to my Riff Raffs, Mules and Duncan Alnico Pro 2.

The idea is to make this guitar more open and punch more while having more of a rock focus.

Suggestions have been the Rebel Yell, Abraxas, Emerald and Polymath/VHII sets as well as the Dimarzio Fortitude/36th sets.

Any experiences or recommendations would he highly appreciated.

[timmy_b]

Based on what you're saying, the Emeralds could be a great shout - they sit fairly close to the sharp cut of the Riff Raff, but shift the wire gauge up to 43AWG in the bridge for a bit more output and density in the mids, which could be great to both brighten up the instrument and retain a big rock tone.

[Ventanaman]

I have 3 Axis Super Sports, and fully agree with the comments on the original Axis PU's. They are good in a standard Axis, but with the tone circuit in the SS, they are dark and muddy.

Here are my three favorite BKPs for the Axis SS (vintage to modern):

Abraxas
Polymath (personal favorite)
Silo

Good luck! They are all improvements over the originals.