Pickup recommendations for a couple LTD 7-strings

[Despised]

(***Necro-bump from waaaaaaay back... scroll to last post for latest. Thanks!!***)

Hey everyone,

As the title says, I've got a couple LTD 7-strings that need help in the tone department. One is the new LTD AW-7 Alex Wade signature, and the other is an LTD SC207 - the one with the Duncan Designed humbuckers in it.

The AW-7 is way too damn dark and the DiMarzio D-Activator 7's in it don't help. I've tried EQ'ing everything from the amp to my pedals, and I've tried adjusting the pickup height, pole piece height and everything else. In some of the recommendations I've gotten so far, I've been told the Distortion 7 quite a bit. At the same time, I'm curious about the Blackouts - either the regular AHB-1's or the AHB-3 EMTY's. I'd like to get and keep a good set of passives in it if I could, as I've been using actives for too long and want something different.

The SC207 has a basswood body, bolt-on maple neck with rosewood fingerboard and a TOM/string-thru bridge. I'd like to be able to have a replica of the original ESP Stephen Carpenter 7-string that was made in 2000, and want something that is more powerful and has a lot better tonality and dynamics than the stock Duncan Designed pickups that's in it. So what would be a good humbucker set and single coil to use in the neck? From what I've seen, the original SRC-7 had an SSL-7 in the neck, along with a JB-7 bridge and the '59 middle humbuckers. I've tried the JB-7 in the past and don't like it at all, and want something hot and aggressive, yet dynamic and versatile for any style/genre and still sounds good in split coil, parallel and phase switched modes...

So with this being said, what would you recommend for these??? I mainly play a lot of Deftones, Crowbar, The Sword, Corrosion Of Conformity, AC/DC, Deep Purple, Carcass, Primus, Faith No More and way too much more to list.

Thanks for reading this and for the recommendations in advanced!

 

[Despised]

Re: Pickup recommendations for a couple LTD 7-strings

Anybody??? Surely I'm not the only 7-string player on this forum...

 

[Jerky Chid]

Re: Pickup recommendations for a couple LTD 7-strings

Well on your Wade I'm not sure about the original Blackouts if you want to get away from dark tones. The EMTYs keep the bass more in check.
For your Steph, sounds like you want a Distortion.

Also consider a Fullshred. It's not as hot as the other pickups but it's got more treble bite, which you might like.

 

[tonello]

Re: Pickup recommendations for a couple LTD 7-strings

I use distortions for everything, except blues, so that's my recommendation. For the Steve Carpenter one, i'd go with JBs. Up until a few years ago, he was using JBs in the bridge, and I wanna say a Jazz in the middle.

 

[Despised]

Re: Pickup recommendations for a couple LTD 7-strings

I use distortions for everything, except blues, so that's my recommendation. For the Steve Carpenter one, i'd go with JBs. Up until a few years ago, he was using JBs in the bridge, and I wanna say a Jazz in the middle.

From the past experiences I've had with the JB-7, it's tone is okay, but not anywhere near enough bite and growl compared to my EMG equipped guitars. It lacks the power that I look for. And I've tried the JB-7 in a few guitars and I get the same results every time, weak as hell. So the JB is out.

And the original 7-string that had passives had a JB-7 bridge, '59 middle and an SSL-7 in the neck... I'd be looking for something much more hot and aggressive.

@Jerky Child: From the demo video that Kieth Merrow did, it seems the EMTY's had more low end and were darker sounding than the regular Blackouts, which I found odd. And I'd emailed Kieth and he even found the normal Blackouts to be brighter in comparison...

So with that being the case, I was kinda hoping we'd have news of all these supposed new 7-string models already. But it seems that everyone is dropping the ball, and still nobody says anything about this supposed new stuff and new options. Plus, I can't seem to get a reply from anybody regarding the new stuff either, which makes things even more sad. I'm getting ready to have a spare set of pickups I have rewound instead of spending money on a new set, since nobody can bother to reply to an email or anything.

 

[Jerky Chid]

Re: Pickup recommendations for a couple LTD 7-strings

Yep sounds like a Distortion is what you want.

Hmm maybe it was just my guitars then; or a faulty memory switching the two around

 

[Despised]

Re: Pickup recommendations for a couple LTD 7-strings

I'm still leaning toward the Distortion for the passive, and two ceramic model Blackouts for the active alternative. Maybe if we can get some answers as to what the new stuff is supposed to be, that might change my mind. Who knows, only time will tell. But thanks, and I'll keep the Distortion in mind!

 

[tonello]

Re: Pickup recommendations for a couple LTD 7-strings

From the past experiences I've had with the JB-7, it's tone is okay, but not anywhere near enough bite and growl compared to my EMG equipped guitars. It lacks the power that I look for. And I've tried the JB-7 in a few guitars and I get the same results every time, weak as hell. So the JB is out.

And the original 7-string that had passives had a JB-7 bridge, '59 middle and an SSL-7 in the neck... I'd be looking for something much more hot and aggressive.

@Jerky Child: From the demo video that Kieth Merrow did, it seems the EMTY's had more low end and were darker sounding than the regular Blackouts, which I found odd. And I'd emailed Kieth and he even found the normal Blackouts to be brighter in comparison...

So with that being the case, I was kinda hoping we'd have news of all these supposed new 7-string models already. But it seems that everyone is dropping the ball, and still nobody says anything about this supposed new stuff and new options. Plus, I can't seem to get a reply from anybody regarding the new stuff either, which makes things even more sad. I'm getting ready to have a spare set of pickups I have rewound instead of spending money on a new set, since nobody can bother to reply to an email or anything.

Well, I'd try the distortion in both of them. It's definitely my favorite pickup of all time, and if I couldn't play a guitar with one anymore, I'd probably stop playng guitar and just go to bass for the rest of my life.

 

[Despised]

Re: Pickup recommendations for a couple LTD 7-strings

Well, I'd try the distortion in both of them. It's definitely my favorite pickup of all time, and if I couldn't play a guitar with one anymore, I'd probably stop playng guitar and just go to bass for the rest of my life.

Hahaha, funny you say that. I'm almost at the point of quitting guitar and going back to playing drums again. The only problems with that is I don't have the cash for a kit, and I don't have the place to keep it.

But I will definitely keep the Distortion in mind. I wound up putting the D-Activator 7's from the Alex Wade into the Carpenter and I was reminded as to how good those pickups sound and are better mated with basswood than mahogany. I'm still considering the Distortion and a set of Duncans for the Carpenter though, just because of authenticity reasons.

But thanks guys!!!

 

[Despised]

Re: Pickup recommendations for a couple LTD 7-strings

Little bit of a necro-bump here - if it's even considered a necro bump being since the end of January...

Anyway, I've been inquiring a little further about what to do with the AW-7, and what I wanna drop in it. I've been in contact with a few others, and they have recommended the Full Shred 7 set as the set to use. They said that while it's not as high end-y as the Distortion, the FS-7 has a more pronounced high-mid and a slightly scooped low mid. They also made mention that while the EQ of the DD-7 has very little bass EQ to it, they've said that the DD can sometimes still be very deep and boom-y in the low end area...

So now I find myself right back at square one with this damn guitar again. I'm getting annoyed and aggrivated that I can't seem to find something that will work best in this guitar. And it's getting me annoyed because the damn guitar is sitting bare with nothing in it and totally unplayable until I get a new set of pickups for it. So with this in mind, I've narrowed it down to the following 4 sets:

Passives:
*Distortion 7 set...
*Full Shred 7 set...

Actives:
*EMTY Phase 1 Blackouts set...
*EMG 81-7H set - IF I can't find and decide on a set of Duncans that will work the best in this guitar...

So what says YOU guys? Which set would you get, and why?

 

[LatsMcGee]

Re: Pickup recommendations for a couple LTD 7-strings

Have you considered the Crunchlab 7/Liquifire 7 for it? I think you wood like it....

 

[Despised]

Re: Pickup recommendations for a couple LTD 7-strings

Have you considered the Crunchlab 7/Liquifire 7 for it? I think you wood like it....

I was considering those, but quite a few have told me that these too would be rather deep and dark sounding in this guitar as well. But I have a set of pickups I had rewound on thier way that I'm going to try first. I'm either going to keep these rewinds in it, or either going with one of the 4 sets I mentioned in my last post. I just really need to decide if I want passives or actives, and then which set.

If I were to try Dimarzio's for this one, I'm almost considering the Tone Zone 7 and Air Norton 7 set, because I know how good they sound in mahogany. But it's been years since I've tried them in a mahogany 7-string, so I'd have to try them all over again...

 

[Despised]

Re: Pickup recommendations for an ESP LTD SC-207...

Re: Pickup recommendations for an ESP LTD SC-207...

Okay a little bit of an update on this issue...

The AW-7: Currently has a custom re-wound set in it from JGC Pickups in PA, and they are awesome. So much better than the D-Activators that were in it. This is a temporary solution as I am still looking at getting BOTH a set of Distortion 7's with the black metal covers and black poles AND a set of the new EMG 81-7H and 60-7H pickups in the black chrome.

The Carpenter: This guitar has become the new problem guitar. Since I put the DA7's in this, I have been finding that I'm having the worst time trying to get a good tone out of it and it's driving me nuts!!! So I am back to considering a new set for this one as well again. But the problem is, I don't know if I'd want something as bright sounding as the Distortion in there, when the tonality is really bright, yet the low B seems like it's got the tone pot stuck at 0 - muddy and lifeless...

So what would be the next best choice for a basswood bodied, bolt-on maple neck & rosewood fingerboarded 7-string? What would be a good set (H/H/Slant SC, like Stephen Carpenter's original 6 and 7-strings had...) to put in it and use? Looking for recommendations for all 3 pickups in this case, and am looking for a neck humbucker and single coil that won't be overly dark and muddy in the middle (humbucker) and neck (Slant SC) positions. Neck pickup for middle humbucker must have great coil split tones as well...

Can be either DiMarzio or Duncan, and wouldn't mind trying more Duncan stuff, and making this guitar a little more authentic to the original with the Duncans either... Just please DON'T recommend the JB-7 as I do not like it at all and don't have enough power, growl, definition or clarity that I look for. but anything else I'd consider.

 

[Despised]

Aight, SERIOUS necro-bump on this one! Sorry for the mad long post, but this one has been seriously racking the brain with the new choices...

So after all this time, I am picking up another AW-7. And I yet again am trying to narrow down another set to seriously tame the extremely dark and muddy tone this guitar has... But this time I have picked out a few other choices, as it has been a good long time since then and a ton of new stuff has come out since...

So what I am considering:
*Passive:
-DiMarzio Tone Zone7 & Air Norton 7 set
-DiMarzio D-Activator 7n in the bridge & ??? in the neck...
-Duncan Black Winter 7's
-Duncan Alpha Omega 7's
-Bareknuckle Aftermath 7's(***)

*Active:
-Fishman Fluence Javier Reyes 7's
-Duncan Jeff Loomis Blackouts 7's
-Duncan Dino Cazares Machete 7's

My concerns with the above sets:
Its been forever since I tried the TZ & AN7's in a mahogany bodied 7-string... I remember they sounded great, but I'd have to try them all over again.

DiMarzio said I could always run the neck position in the bridge, as it has a much higher treble response which will help balance it out, but then its the question of what to run in the neck...

I'm still seriously considering the BW7's, but can't get them in a Shop Floor Custom with reverse black and red zebra bobbins... And the Alpha Omega set seems like another good choice, but not sure if its gonna be a right fit for the guitar...

I'm extremely weary of anything from Bareknuckle, because I have yet to play any of them in-person to really make that kind of decision. Plus I've seen that they're stuff is NOT returnable... That in itself is why I am skeptical. I would be beyond livid spending more than $300 on a set of pickups I can't return if I don't like them... so the Aftermath set is a true last ditch effort choice...

As for the actives:
I'm not sure the Javier Reyes Fishman will have enough of a treble response to break up such a dark and muddy guitar...

The Jeff Loomis Blackouts I'm concerned are like the AHB-1's, and be so drastically hot and have to retweak everything in the signal chain to make them usable...

And I'm curious of the new Dino Cazares Machete model, but there hasn't been ANY talk about it since he unveiled his signature Ormsby at NAMM in January...

So what would you guys pick this time around??? Anything else I should consider not mentioned and listed here (please keep in mind, that this is for a 7-string and NOT a 6-string...)?

Thanks in advance all! Hope your staying safe in this insane time we're going thru right now...