Pegasus/Sentient in mahagony body?

[Agitator]

SD says "Best with bright to semi-warm woods (from Maple to Korina) with either Maple or Rosewood fingerboards." How do they do in a darker wood like mahagony? Specifically, I'm thinking about putting these into a Schecter Hellraiser C-7 (7-string, rosewood fretboard), if I don't get too attached to the 707tw EMGs. I'm open to other 7-string pickup suggestions aswell. Cheers

 

[Agitator]

Re: Pegasus/Sentient in mahagony body?

Bump

 

[Diminished Triad]

Re: Pegasus/Sentient in mahagony body?

The more I read, the more I find people swearing that whether the type of mount (wood or pickguard), the type of wood used for the guitar body, or even the type of wood used for the neck/fret board, the most important and dominant feature is the pickup itself - most other features are cosmetic. The amps sending out the sound do not get any of it from the guitar wood, but only from the pups........so those arguing wood types make very little if any difference seem to have a real point.

 

[Agitator]

Re: Pegasus/Sentient in mahagony body?

The more I read, the more I find people swearing that whether the type of mount (wood or pickguard), the type of wood used for the guitar body, or even the type of wood used for the neck/fret board, the most important and dominant feature is the pickup itself - most other features are cosmetic. The amps sending out the sound do not get any of it from the guitar wood, but only from the pups........so those arguing wood types make very little if any difference seem to have a real point.

I don't think seymour duncan would put suggested wood types on the pickup pages if they made no difference. Also, this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLxE8iDWD_w

 

[darthphineas]

Re: Pegasus/Sentient in mahagony body?

I'd like to ask the OP is the guitar has been clearly identified as dark? I have mahogany that'd take off the top of your head and mahogany that is dark. I also have maple that will take off whatever is left of the head that mahogany left and I have maple that is more neutral than bright. And then I have poplar and alder that is more lively than some maple. That is all to suggest that there are different types of each category of wood and can often work against stereotype. Neck wood, board wood, neck scale, string gauge, bridge type, hardware and wiring can also have an impact. And that's not getting into what happens when the signal leaves the guitar.

If the OP has clearly identified the guitar as dark, the so be it.

 

[Agitator]

Re: Pegasus/Sentient in mahagony body?

I'd like to ask the OP is the guitar has been clearly identified as dark? I have mahogany that'd take off the top of your head and mahogany that is dark. I also have maple that will take off whatever is left of the head that mahogany left and I have maple that is more neutral than bright. And then I have poplar and alder that is more lively than some maple. That is all to suggest that there are different types of each category of wood and can often work against stereotype. Neck wood, board wood, neck scale, string gauge, bridge type, hardware and wiring can also have an impact. And that's not getting into what happens when the signal leaves the guitar.

If the OP has clearly identified the guitar as dark, the so be it.

I only assumed that mahagony in general is one of the darker sounding woods. I have not 'clearly identified' the guitar as 'dark'. I am only asking this question because of the SD website's reccomendation to use it with 'bright to semi-warm woods from maple to korina' and I don't know where mahagony fits here lol.
I am otherwise aware that there's a difference between different pieces of the same wood and that other factors affect tone aswell.
Neither of you have even tried to answer my question about using these specific pickups in this specific guitar though.

Cheers

 

[darthphineas]

Re: Pegasus/Sentient in mahagony body?

I can appreciate that. But it's not always as simple as A+B=C when it comes to all the factors involved. Someone can say, 'oh yeah, I have one in a mahogany ABC brand 123 model and that does not mean it will translate to any/every other mahogany guitar.

People can take suggestions from online forums all day long. It will be a little better than playing a slot machine. But only your ears will know for sure.

Personally, based on what is in the OP, my personal experience would be to start with a 7-string Alt-8 or a 7-string Full Shred. But that's just a suggestion.

 

[Gibson 1964]

Re: Pegasus/Sentient in mahagony body?

The more I read, the more I find people swearing that whether the type of mount (wood or pickguard), the type of wood used for the guitar body, or even the type of wood used for the neck/fret board, the most important and dominant feature is the pickup itself - most other features are cosmetic. The amps sending out the sound do not get any of it from the guitar wood, but only from the pups........so those arguing wood types make very little if any difference seem to have a real point.

The more I read the internet, the more I would believe that, whereas the more i play my guitar, the more reasons I have to disbelieve this as unfounded and laughable, and realize that wood is probably more dominant than pickup. If you believe wood makes no difference, it is clear you have not played multiple guitars with the same pickup or done builds. Certain woods can be rather tricky to match with a pickup for optimal sound.

I have a guitar body that will make almost any pickup sound dull and lifeless. (It has sentimental value or I would toss it) I would also state that I can definitely hear major tonal differences between guitars.

IOWs wood is critically important to your sound. I will say that on the modelers I have played that this has not been the case as much as amps and pedals. Most I have played, 11rack and Line6 are very homogenizing.

Body woods act as a filter just like most anything in a passive electric guitar.

I tried to like SGs better than LPs for the sake of my back and aesthetics. I even transplanted the entire electronics out of my LP into the SG in the hopes it would sound the same and it didn't even sound close. The only difference was the guitar's wood.

Mahogany varies quite a bit. IMO about as much as Limba which is also very variable. IMO poplar/body maple/neck is about the most consistent wood combo I know. And it sounds good.

 

[DreX]

Re: Pegasus/Sentient in mahagony body?

SD says "Best with bright to semi-warm woods (from Maple to Korina) with either Maple or Rosewood fingerboards."

That sounds like euphemistic language for "dark pickup".

I agree that woods of a given species can be both warm or dark, and not just because of the particular cut, but also depending on the body shape, especially how thick the body is overall. Usually what I notice about a wood is not how bright or dark it is, but how snappy the attack is or isn't. IMO, the acoustic attack is the most important feature of a wood. A soft attack wood with a soft attack pickup makes for a rather soft sounding guitar.

Honestly, I would be a little concerned about putting them on a mahogany body. I have a DiMarzio Air Nortons (no, they're not shoes), which have a somewhat dull attack and decidedly warm mid-range, in a fairly spongy sounding mahogany FSR Tele, and I'm having a hard time working with the overall tone. On the plus side, it kind resembles the tone of a hollow body guitar, but with a lot more sustain and in a more comfortable shape, so I have mixed feelings about it. The same guitar sounds excellent with bright pickups, though.

 

[Big D]

Re: Pegasus/Sentient in mahagony body?

i have always found Schecter's mahogany guitars are pretty dark sounding. But if your amp is pretty bright then I think you could get away with using the Pegasus if your going for that sound.

 

[guitarjunkie986]

Re: Pegasus/Sentient in mahagony body?

My Schecter SLS C-7 is mahogany and is actually very bright when unplugged. Just goes to show that each individual guitar has its own unique sound, even if the specs may be identical.

 

[Diminished Triad]

Re: Pegasus/Sentient in mahagony body?

Unlike a speaker in a wooden cab, the sound of the guitar comes out from either an amp or mains (or both).
The wood of an electric guitar shouldn't have as much of an effect on sound as the pickups themselves.

 

[DreX]

Re: Pegasus/Sentient in mahagony body?

Unlike a speaker in a wooden cab, the sound of the guitar comes out from either an amp or mains (or both).
The wood of an electric guitar shouldn't have as much of an effect on sound as the pickups themselves.

If you play musical chairs with your guitars and pickups enough, you'll find that wood makes a difference. Pickups that sound boring in one guitar will sound interesting in another.

I don't necessarily agree with OP that SD wouldn't mention wood if it didn't matter, as guitar accessory makers frequently try to make more of of their product than is really there, but in this case, SD is potentially scaring away would-be buyers like OP, because they must know this is a dark pickup on the edge of being outright muddy, and so they put this disclaimer in case this pickup finds it's way into a spongy guitar that eats up all the high end by itself.

 

[Diminished Triad]

Re: Pegasus/Sentient in mahagony body?

I think pickups will sound different in different guitars, even if the guitars are completely identical in wood/shape etc.
The acoustic sound will be very different in a different wood (because that is part of the sound), just not anywhere near as much when the pups are sending an inaudible signal out the guitar jack, through a cable, and either into an amp or a mixing board and out of the PA mains. "sound" is only produced at the tail end of that chain.

I recognize strings vibrate differently in different woods and so there can be an effect. I'm just saying that effect is not anywhere near as substantial as the choice of pickups.

 

[RipperShred]

Re: Pegasus/Sentient in mahagony body?

I'd like to ask the OP is the guitar has been clearly identified as dark? I have mahogany that'd take off the top of your head and mahogany that is dark. I also have maple that will take off whatever is left of the head that mahogany left and I have maple that is more neutral than bright. And then I have poplar and alder that is more lively than some maple. That is all to suggest that there are different types of each category of wood and can often work against stereotype. Neck wood, board wood, neck scale, string gauge, bridge type, hardware and wiring can also have an impact. And that's not getting into what happens when the signal leaves the guitar.

If the OP has clearly identified the guitar as dark, the so be it.

I have basically a LP with a Floyd Rose, and is a warm and rich sounding instrument sounding the way you would expect something with a mahogany neck and body, with a maple top would sound, if that helps at all. I posted basically the same question apparently, so I'd like to know as well.

 

[Gibson 1964]

Re: Pegasus/Sentient in mahagony body?

I think pickups will sound different in different guitars, even if the guitars are completely identical in wood/shape etc.
The acoustic sound will be very different in a different wood (because that is part of the sound), just not anywhere near as much when the pups are sending an inaudible signal out the guitar jack, through a cable, and either into an amp or a mixing board and out of the PA mains. "sound" is only produced at the tail end of that chain.

I recognize strings vibrate differently in different woods and so there can be an effect. I'm just saying that effect is not anywhere near as substantial as the choice of pickups.

Wood is at least as big a player as the pickups. However, neck wood is a bigger player than body IMO.

repetitively saying that wood is a small player does not make it so. Doubt it? Try a Wenge neck. I have a warmoth Limba body that took 4 necks to find one that sounded right with that setup. White limba neck had some weird harmonics, maple sounded oddly thin, wenge had a nice growl, but subdued highs. The rosewood neck with ebony fretboard was just right. Difference was far larger than different pickups. FAR larger.

As someone who has built quite a few guitars with all manner of combos, wood is the key.

 

[McDube]

Re: Pegasus/Sentient in mahagony body?

Well, SD mentiones that the SM-1 minibuckers go well with mahogany. I have bought an used JTK30 (mahogany) with SM-1's retrofitted. It sounded like a thin aluminum guitar.
I then put the minibuckers in an RG270. Basswood. And the minibuckers came very much alive, with that advertised Firebird rock tone.
So I guess it's the wood of the day that makes the pups come alive.

And I have been very lucky with two used guitars for just a few bucks, leaving me one to give a great rock tone, and the other one currently being molested...

So I think it's just a matter of trial-and-error. Get them in, and see if it sounds good. I personally like the sounds of the Pegasus/Sentient.

 

[Diminished Triad]

Re: Pegasus/Sentient in mahagony body?

Wood is at least as big a player as the pickups. However, neck wood is a bigger player than body IMO.

repetitively saying that wood is a small player does not make it so. Doubt it? Try a Wenge neck. I have a warmoth Limba body that took 4 necks to find one that sounded right with that setup. White limba neck had some weird harmonics, maple sounded oddly thin, wenge had a nice growl, but subdued highs. The rosewood neck with ebony fretboard was just right. Difference was far larger than different pickups. FAR larger.

As someone who has built quite a few guitars with all manner of combos, wood is the key.

Is there a pup combo with certain wood guitar body that works well with wenge fretboard? Thanks!

 

[Gibson 1964]

Re: Pegasus/Sentient in mahagony body?

IMO lots. A wenge neck(not just fretboard) tends to bring a pile of low mids out in the sound, (and the ones I have played have been fairly consistent in their tonality.) so I would choose bright pickups without an emphasis on the lows.
Wilde L610 is fun.

My point is that with mahogany/maple there is a familiarity. Things like Wenge tend to growl very differently than say maple. And I am not meaning just a fretboard, but the whole neck. Neck wood is IMO very important. I would say that I did notice a difference between Wenge/wenge and Wenge with ebony or Pau Ferro fretboard. A rosewood neck sounds pretty different than maple as well. (My rosewood necks have ebony fretboards.) Generally Limba is a popular choice of body wood to pair with a Wenge neck. Ash and Mahogany can work well as well. Ash body wenge neck works well with PAFs. Wenge neck/mahogany body requires fairly bright pickups. I also had good results with poplar.

I have an aluminum necked guitar, and it has a very different tonality than most instruments. Your neck material matters.

But, a wenge necked guitar seems to have a very distinctive growl that you will recognize if you play them.

 

[bloughlin16]

Re: Pegasus/Sentient in mahagony body?

All of the new Schecter Blackjack models are mahogany and have the Sentient in them (Nazgul in the bridge). I'm sure they'd be fine in the guitar you're planning to put them in.