HELP - New guitar, or new pickups?

MetalFinatic14

New member
Hey guys, I've been playing through an sgr c-7, shecter's entry level 7 string. Although i love the way it plays and the sound is decent, I can't help but think it would be better to upgrade to a better axe rather than putting new pickups in the c-7. (Keep in mind the pickups are about the only thing lacking in this guitar.) was going to replace stock with Pegasus/sentient. Thoughts?

Play through a blackstar ht-5r head and 4x12 cabinet.
 
Re: HELP - New guitar, or new pickups?

I have a C+ 7. Probably an '05. Came stock with a DD HB-7 set. Essentially a JazzN/JB set. I wired the neck through a push/pull to do series/parallel. Swapped the A5 mag in the bridge pickup for a regular ceramic. Bingo!

Sent from my MotoE2(4G-LTE) using Tapatalk
 
Re: HELP - New guitar, or new pickups?

MakerDP said exactly what I was going to say. You answered your own question.. if the guitar had rough frets, high action or something to make the guitar itself unpleasant, might need a new guitar. If you like the way it plays and feels, then a pickup swap may give it new life. The cool side of that is you are already familiar with the guitar.. Don't get caught up in GAS (gear acquisition syndrome) like many guys. (myself included) My first real guitar was an old Kramer Striker. Bought it new way back when it first came out.. I thought the guitar was lacking.. It was suggested I put in a SD JB. Didn't know how to do it myself back then.. Bought a nice Charvel. Then, had the JB installed. Woke that guitar UP!! The Charvel was still better, but that's how I learned how much diff new pups can be.. Ive still liked to buy more guitars, but honestly, wish I could find one that I love to play above all others and learn the nuances of that guitar..
 
Re: HELP - New guitar, or new pickups?

Honestly, for something like an SGR, I would consider looking at another Schecter. The necks will be similar in feel and the hardware will be a bit better, in addition to better pickups. I'm not saying that a pickup swap would be completely worthless in that gutar, but you'll probably put in more money in pickups than the guitar is worth.
 
Re: HELP - New guitar, or new pickups?

If you can articulate what you don't like about the current pickups, certainly change them. If you love the rest of the guitar, keep it. You can always get another guitar down the road. But don't let go of one you really like.
 
Re: HELP - New guitar, or new pickups?

Pretty much what everyone said.

I currently own guitars that cost between 300 and 3500 euros and I find that their initial cost isn't a factor for how much I like them or how often I play them.
Granted, the more expensive ones needed less work and/or hardware upgrades to get to the level I like them (whereas the 300 might have gotten 1500-euro-worth of upgrades to get there) but my point still stands.

Decide if the only thing you don't like are the pickups or whether you'd also like to replace something else.
Once you've got an idea of what you'd keep and what you'd replace, a simple calculator will answer the question of whether an upgrade would suffice or whether a new purchase is warranted.
 
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