I ordered a Nazgul... talk me into or out of getting a Sentient for the neck, please.

[Rex_Rocker]

I'm in love with the Nazgul right now. I have one on my Strat, and I just ordered one for my Les Paul.

My original intention is keeping the Evo Neck I have in the Les Paul right now... but that would be kinda boring. Plus I've not been 100% happy with that pickup for a while.

I know the Sentient was designed to be the partner to the Nazgul and the Pegasus... but they claim it's kind of in between a '59 and a Jazz, and I dislike both the '59 and the Jazz (I don't really hate either in isolation, I just don't think they pair all that well with a high-output mid-focused bridge pickup). I'm pretty sure I don't want a scooped low-output pickup. But is the Sentient really that? Or is it its own thing?

I mean... it would be great if I could match the look of the Nazgul, right?

I'm thinking I could either get an Air Norton or a PAF 36th Anniversary Bridge with black polepieces. I mean, they won't be the same as the ones on the Nazgul, but at least they'd both have matte bobbins and dark polepieces.

Opinions? Thoughts?

 

[hamerfan]

My point in these situation was to use what i have at hand. Just to see what works and what i am missing in the combo with that new pickup.

 

[Mincer]

The Sentient isn't scooped the way a 59 is. It has less bass. The EQ is closer to the Jazz and Full Shred, actually. You can always go for a neck Black Winter if you want something in the neck with more mids.

 

[ToneFiddler]

i currently don't have my sentient installed in anything, but at one point i will pair it with the nazgul since i like that one a lot.
I had installed it before with a pegasus but not for very long. It's a bit fuller than the Jazz. I prefer it over the Jazz for leads.
You can always roll down the tone a bit.

But yeah you might be happier with a shop floor WLH (maybe even bridge) / Demon in the neck or something...​

 

[Aceman]

You are more worried about some imaginary beliefs in the sound of the pickups than the actual sound of the guitar, the amp, and your ears.

Stop it.

 

[Aceman]

And while I'm at it, "paired" how? I really wish people would "use their words" instead of making me have to be freaking psychic about "How things pair."

There are INFINITE legit pairings of pickups.

Output matching: When going from neck to bridge - you keep the heat (or cool)
EQ matching: Bass 5, Mids 7, Treble 4 maintains neck to bridge
COMPLIMENTARY matching: A b/M/t bridge with a B/m/T neck for two different sounds and a unique middle position.
AMP EQ matching (you PITA people know who you are): I want the neck and the bridge to sound really good without changing the EQ on the amp.

We can do this all day.

I have an LP with TWO Pearly Gates; Basically EQ and output calibrated
I have an LP With a PG and a Custom. A 59 would be the "match" EQ, a 59/C would be the match output, but I choose a PG. Why? I like the extra upper mid and lower bass of the PG. If I want thump, that's in the bridge.
I have an LP with a T-Top and a Distortion. WTF?!?!?! It's my main metal Les Paul. And I love the neck T-Top so much I just left its. So I'm either Bridge (99.6%) and playing metal, or neck and playing Blues. Or Sweet Child.

Do what you want, do what you need. But don't go around matching pickups for no good reason like they are Giranimals.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

And while I'm at it, "paired" how? I really wish people would "use their words" instead of making me have to be freaking psychic about "How things pair."

There are INFINITE legit pairings of pickups.

Output matching: When going from neck to bridge - you keep the heat (or cool)
EQ matching: Bass 5, Mids 7, Treble 4 maintains neck to bridge
COMPLIMENTARY matching: A b/M/t bridge with a B/m/T neck for two different sounds and a unique middle position.
AMP EQ matching (you PITA people know who you are): I want the neck and the bridge to sound really good without changing the EQ on the amp.

We can do this all day.

I have an LP with TWO Pearly Gates; Basically EQ and output calibrated
I have an LP With a PG and a Custom. A 59 would be the "match" EQ, a 59/C would be the match output, but I choose a PG. Why? I like the extra upper mid and lower bass of the PG. If I want thump, that's in the bridge.
I have an LP with a T-Top and a Distortion. WTF?!?!?! It's my main metal Les Paul. And I love the neck T-Top so much I just left its. So I'm either Bridge (99.6%) and playing metal, or neck and playing Blues. Or Sweet Child.

Do what you want, do what you need. But don't go around matching pickups for no good reason like they are Giranimals.

For me, when a neck pickup "pairs" well with a bridge pickup means keeping the heat from the bridge to the neck. I like my neck position to sound "necky" (fat and smooth without being muddy), and my bridge pickups to sound "bridgey" (aggressive, cutting, and tight). The worst experience I've had with paring neck pickups to bridge pickups has been the DiMarzio PAF Pro to the Dominion. I hated my neck position being brighter than the bridge. But on the opposite side of the spectrum, I've also had a JB in the neck (with a BW in the bridge) which sounded absolutely dark, muddy, and with no life at all.

Be patient with me. Sometimes I don't even know what I like when it comes to neck pickups. Like I thought I liked the Evolution, but in the end, I didn't. Especially passives I'm lost with. For some reason, the plain jane EMG 81/85 and Fishman Modern and KSE combos have worked for me just fine.

I do know for a fact that DiMarzio offers more variety in the type of neck pickpus that I like over Duncan, though. Not all, but many of the DiMarzio neck offerings are more lower-mid focused and with a smoother high-end rather than bassy and attacky, which makes for a nice throaty tone rather than boomy and not as chirpy. JMO, of course.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

It does at least sound less chirpy than the PAF Pro here, which is the epitome of the neck pickup tone that I don't like.

 

[El Dunco]

And while I'm at it, "paired" how? I really wish people would "use their words" instead of making me have to be freaking psychic about "How things pair."

There are INFINITE legit pairings of pickups.

Output matching: When going from neck to bridge - you keep the heat (or cool)
EQ matching: Bass 5, Mids 7, Treble 4 maintains neck to bridge
COMPLIMENTARY matching: A b/M/t bridge with a B/m/T neck for two different sounds and a unique middle position.
AMP EQ matching (you PITA people know who you are): I want the neck and the bridge to sound really good without changing the EQ on the amp.

We can do this all day.

I have an LP with TWO Pearly Gates; Basically EQ and output calibrated
I have an LP With a PG and a Custom. A 59 would be the "match" EQ, a 59/C would be the match output, but I choose a PG. Why? I like the extra upper mid and lower bass of the PG. If I want thump, that's in the bridge.
I have an LP with a T-Top and a Distortion. WTF?!?!?! It's my main metal Les Paul. And I love the neck T-Top so much I just left its. So I'm either Bridge (99.6%) and playing metal, or neck and playing Blues. Or Sweet Child.

Do what you want, do what you need. But don't go around matching pickups for no good reason like they are Giranimals.

Like white wine and seafood, even down to blind tests suggesting it’s all BS in people’s heads!

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Yeah, well... I got it in the Les Paul, and I honestly don't feel it's a bad companion to the Evo Neck. The volume balance between both is perfect, TBH. The 500T slightly overpowered the Evo, but not the Nazgul.

I'll need some more time to evaluate, but I don't think the Sentient would be as hot as the Evo Neck, would it?

 

[ToneFiddler]

Yeah, well... I got it in the Les Paul, and I honestly don't feel it's a bad companion to the Evo Neck. The volume balance between both is perfect, TBH. The 500T slightly overpowered the Evo, but not the Nazgul.

I'll need some more time to evaluate, but I don't think the Sentient would be as hot as the Evo Neck, would it?

Well i got a dimarzio blaze neck (7strng) which according to dimarzio is close to the evo neck, which makes sense, since it originally came in a vai guitar.
We could argue if the evo neck dropped down to the ring is similar in output to the sentient raised all the way up, but at the same height it's no contest.

The nazgul sentient pairing is comparable to the JB/jazz pairing (i know you don't like it).
(The sentient is a bit louder than the jazz, but so is the nazgul to the JB).

For dirty lead work you will lose heat going from bridge to neck, it will be good for dirty bridge, clean neck stuff. Pegasus is definitely a better match to the Sentient.
If you drop the Nazgul all the way down and move the sentient is all the way up, you thin out the bridge, but at the same time increase the fat in the neck. Also i think you don't like to compromise on the bridge, so that height is kind of a given.
Pretty sure you will be happier with something else!

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Yeah, ended up not liking the Nazgul on the Gibson, so scrap this whole thread, LOL.

The Nazgul was too low-middy for the already fat-sounding Gibson.

Back the 500T went, and I've got a Distortion Neck that I'm going to try to see how it matches the 500T.

 

[Aceman]

But on the opposite side of the spectrum, I've also had a JB in the neck (with a BW in the bridge) which sounded absolutely dark, muddy, and with no life at all.

I think a JB in the neck is a killer pup for neck leads.

 

[Teleplayer]

Have you tried the Evo neck in the bridge position?

 

[RanchManSandy]

dang, just try the sentient. but from a place with a good return policy like Sweetwater

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Have you tried the Evo neck in the bridge position?

I haven't. My guess is it wouldn't be bad, just not very hot.

 

[Teleplayer]

I haven't. My guess is it wouldn't be bad, just not very hot.

That’s what I’m thinking to do with mine. It would probably balance with a S/C size rail neck pickup, or maybe the 36th anniversary neck.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

That’s what I’m thinking to do with mine. It would probably balance with a S/C size rail neck pickup, or maybe the 36th anniversary neck.

I bet it would be an interesting mid-focused mid-low output pickup. I'm not much into mid-output pickups myself. I prefer them blistering hot or vintage slightly overwound. But having guitars with only high output pickups, it gets kinda hard to dial in a tone that will work for all of them if the output levels are all over the place.

 

[weepingminotaur]

From personal experience, the Sentient is a great neck pickup if you are OK with your neck pickup being very articulate. It doesn't have any trouble keeping up with the Nazgul IME. But it's definitely not overly warm.

 

[Ascension]

The Sentient is one of my favorite neck pickups. Not as muddy and undefined as a 59, but also fatter and smoother than a Jazz. They really sing with gain for an articulate solo but also have a solid clean tone. Have a Sentient paired with an Alt 8 in one guitar and a Hybrid in another.