Pegasus/Sentient 7 set sound like the best bet for me?

B

Blobby

New member
Hello, so here's the players so far in my tone quest.

Jackson JS22-7 DKA-M, basswood body, maple neck and maple fretboard, Hipshot style bridge, 26.5" scale. Tuned down 1.5 steps to Ab standard. 66, 52, 40, 30, 17, 13, 10 Daddario strings.
Peavey VIP-2 mimicking a 6505.
MXR 10 band EQ.

I guess what I'm going for is more of a "prog" metal sound, where as it seems to stock pups are more aggressive, like some black or death metal. The have a "bitey" or kind of "harsh" top end. It may be upper mids I'm hearing that are nasty to my ears (2-4-sih K?). I know they are ceramic and resistances of about 15.5k and 9.5k. I tried a 250k pot, which helped, but it's not ideal. EQ'ing also helps some, but it seems you can't make a pickup something it just isn't.

So from the research I've done, the Pegasus/Sentient combo seems to the way to go. Just figured I'd drop a post to see others opinions or if maybe I need to give more details. Thanks!
 
Re: Pegasus/Sentient 7 set sound like the best bet for me?

Welcome to the forum!

I thought tuning down 1.5 steps is C#? You'd have to go down 1.5 steps more.

From what you described, I can't think of anything better than the Pegasus/Sentient for what you want. It is really a remarkable set.
 
Re: Pegasus/Sentient 7 set sound like the best bet for me?

Mincer said:
Welcome to the forum!

I thought tuning down 1.5 steps is C#? You'd have to go down 1.5 steps more.

From what you described, I can't think of anything better than the Pegasus/Sentient for what you want. It is really a remarkable set.
Click to expand...

Yeah the 6th string would be a C#, but the 7th string is a Ab/G#, so that's what I thought I should go by.

One more thing I thought of, the 7th string doesn't sound bad to me now. It's really the other wound strings that are too harsh sounding. Maybe a Pegasus makes the 7th string a bit muddier? Not sure if I can have my cake and eat it too...

Thanks for the suggestion!
 
Re: Pegasus/Sentient 7 set sound like the best bet for me?

Pegasus/Sentient are definitely a great pickup set for Prog. They are quite polite and tame and not overly 'aggressive.' One of the more 'clear' (string separation) Duncan pickup sets I've played too. I find most Duncan bridge pickups can be a little harsh on the top end if you're not careful; however, the Pegasus is less likely to be harsh in comparison to most other Duncan's, in my experience.

I would also recommend looking at the Dimarzio Titans, which are also great for Prog styles (especially more Prog-metal styles), and are a little more aggressive than the Pegasus/Sentient. The Titans are very tight, clear, and are in no way harsh at the top end.
 
Re: Pegasus/Sentient 7 set sound like the best bet for me?

Oh I get it! The Pegasus is a pretty clear pickup, which helps with articulation. It doesn't have the high end of a Nazgul, though. If the other strings sound harsh, you might also want to experiment with the alloy of the strings you are using.
 
Re: Pegasus/Sentient 7 set sound like the best bet for me?

Looks like the Pegasus/Sentient are in my future! In case the Pegasus isn't my cup of tea, is there another SD pickup I may keep in mind for an exchange?

Thanks again!
 
Pegasus/Sentient 7 set sound like the best bet for me?

I’ve got a Pegasus/sentinent in my 7 String. TBH, I don’t often play it but they do sound really good. As described above, someone said “polite”. I think that’s accurate. They are articulate, they can handle lots of gain if needed, and can handle the low end. My B string never farts out. I don’t tune as low as you though. I’m in B standard.
I think you will like them.
 
Re: Pegasus/Sentient 7 set sound like the best bet for me?

Welcome to the forum. I dont have a 7 string, but I do have the Pegasus/Sentient. I think they are my favorite set of Duncans. Nice percussive sound, very capable of far more than metal and the Sentient is a great neck pickup too. With the 21 day replacement that Duncan offers, its a no brainer to me. I bet you dont send em back tho, but its good just in case. I also have the Nazgul, and at times it can cause fatigue for me. But I think I dont play low enough tunings for them and thats where they really shine. Get the Pegasus, bet you love em
 
Re: Pegasus/Sentient 7 set sound like the best bet for me?

Pegasus sounds like a real winner ;)

Guess I have one more question. My guitar has a 3 way switch, and I think a 5 way is what I'll need to get the most tonal variations out of these pups. I'm looking through switches, and seeing terminology I'm not quite familiar with. Any tips on getting the right switch for this Jackson?
 
Re: Pegasus/Sentient 7 set sound like the best bet for me?

You could use the 3-way and swap out the pots with push/pull for splitting...?
I’ll let someone with more knowledge on this chime in though. I’m still a noob with all this wiring stuff.
 
Re: Pegasus/Sentient 7 set sound like the best bet for me?

Gtrjunior said:
You could use the 3-way and swap out the pots with push/pull for splitting...?
I’ll let someone with more knowledge on this chime in though. I’m still a noob with all this wiring stuff.
Click to expand...

I think you're right, but I have a new "good" 500k volume pot for it. I'm going to do away with the tone since I never use it, and I've saw some interesting wiring schemes using 5 ways I think I'd like to try.
 
Re: Pegasus/Sentient 7 set sound like the best bet for me?

So I got a "Fender" 5 way switch, but it looks different from the wiring schematic I see from SD which says it uses a 5 way "Super Switch".

So I guess I need a basic understanding of what wires do what. Is the black wire from either pup going to be full humbucker? Is the red + white a single coil?

BTW, I won't be using a tone pot and I'm not exactly sure how that changes anything.

Thanks for any help!
 
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