Spend my money: Best humbucker for Franken7

[Iron1]

I bought a JS22-7 on the (dirt) cheap and took it apart, painted it, put it back together and now love it. But, I need to swap out the Jackson HO bridge pup for obvious reasons. It's a basswood guitar w/maple neck.



It's my second guitar when recording, and the other is a JS32-7 loaded with a Nazgul. I'm a rhythm guy at best, so I'm not overly concerned with lead tones, but do like nice cleans.

Most of what I play is a combination of old school death/doom metal with some elements of thrash and the occasional jaunt down early-Voi Vod lane.

While I'm in love with the idea of a Black Winter, I'm also open to just about anything else that will mix well with the Nazgul.

What would you buy & why?

 

[Mincer]

Re: Spend my money: Best humbucker for Franken7

Yeah, I'd go with either a Black Winter or a Pegasus. They are different, but modern, and both sound great at many different gain ranges, although they tend to excel at lower tunings with lots of gain.

 

[Iron1]

Re: Spend my money: Best humbucker for Franken7

Yeah, I'd go with either a Black Winter or a Pegasus. They are different, but modern, and both sound great at many different gain ranges, although they tend to excel at lower tunings with lots of gain.

So, you'd suggest one of those ahead of a Distortion, Invader or Custom?

 

[Mincer]

Re: Spend my money: Best humbucker for Franken7

Personal preference, yes. I like the Pegasus & Black Winter's EQ over those other 3.

 

[Masta' C]

Re: Spend my money: Best humbucker for Franken7

The Invader-7 surprised the heck out of me...really nice, not as dark or boomy as you'd think. Thinking about grabbing one myself for a basswood Ibanez. I can totally see it working for the styles you mentioned.

The Black Winter is great as well, splits nicely and has a little brighter top end if you want that. I like it better than the regular Distortion.

Not a huge fan of the Pegasus myself, but it's a decent, versatile pickup and definitely best in the 7-string version

 

[Synapsys]

Re: Spend my money: Best humbucker for Franken7

Slight off-topic: awesome influences on your style. Keep me post via PM on your band releases. Really curious to hear your stuff!

 

[Iron1]

Re: Spend my money: Best humbucker for Franken7

The Invader-7 surprised the heck out of me...really nice, not as dark or boomy as you'd think. Thinking about grabbing one myself for a basswood Ibanez. I can totally see it working for the styles you mentioned.

The Black Winter is great as well, splits nicely and has a little brighter top end if you want that. I like it better than the regular Distortion.

Not a huge fan of the Pegasus myself, but it's a decent, versatile pickup and definitely best in the 7-string version

I had an Invader in my S540LTD for years but just pulled it and sold it a few months back. Is there much of a difference between it and the 7 string version? The 6 stringer didn't seem to sit well with the Nazgul-7 in my tracks. And, what is it about the Pegasus that doesn't work for you?

Slight off-topic: awesome influences on your style. Keep me post via PM on your band releases. Really curious to hear your stuff!

PM sent.

 

[Danglin' Fury]

Re: Spend my money: Best humbucker for Franken7

The Invader-7 surprised the heck out of me...really nice, not as dark or boomy as you'd think. Thinking about grabbing one myself for a basswood Ibanez. I can totally see it working for the styles you mentioned.

The Black Winter is great as well, splits nicely and has a little brighter top end if you want that. I like it better than the regular Distortion.

Not a huge fan of the Pegasus myself, but it's a decent, versatile pickup and definitely best in the 7-string version

I second the Invader 7... I had it in a B.C. Rich 7-string V.... it was very much a tone Monster! The mids were sooooo thick....sounded good when I turned my amp mids up or scooped... but what really surprised me about it was the super tight low end... palm mutes were soooo focused but HUGE!

 

[Iron1]

Re: Spend my money: Best humbucker for Franken7

At the risk of getting launched out of a cannon for asking, anyone ever compare actual Invaders with the DragonFire Crusaders?

 

[chris effect]

Re: Spend my money: Best humbucker for Franken7

SH-6 Distortion. It's become my favorite pickup by far. Black Winter next, then probably nazgul. I'm into modern metal /hardcore / thrash and it's so perfect.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

 

[LonePhantom]

Re: Spend my money: Best humbucker for Franken7

I've got the alpha and omegas in my JS22-7, they are fantastic

 

[Iron1]

Re: Spend my money: Best humbucker for Franken7

I've got the alpha and omegas in my JS22-7, they are fantastic

Those have never really been on my radar, but I'll have to check some vids out. Thx!

 

[Iron1]

Re: Spend my money: Best humbucker for Franken7

At the risk of getting launched out of a cannon for asking, anyone ever compare actual Invaders with the DragonFire Crusaders?

Or any other of the knock-offs to the real thing?

No takers on this, opinion-wise?

 

[Masta' C]

Re: Spend my money: Best humbucker for Franken7

The general consensus on the internet is that the Dragonfire Screamers and Crusaders are not as nice as the Duncans they (sort-of) emulate. I had the Screamers a long time ago...they were "ok", equal to the better quality stock pickups found today.

I wouldn't expect the Crusaders to sound the same or as clear as the real thing (and I believe the Crusaders are single ceramic mag, rather than triple), but they are regarded as nice pickups for the price. They are made by Artec, so you may find the same pickups sold under other brand names, although they do custom winds, as well. I have noticed that a lot of the Chinese no-name "Invader" style pickups are lower in output and/or DC resistance than either the Invader or what I would expect the Crusaders to be based on specs and reviews.

 

[Iron1]

Re: Spend my money: Best humbucker for Franken7

The general consensus on the internet is that the Dragonfire Screamers and Crusaders are not as nice as the Duncans they (sort-of) emulate. I had the Screamers a long time ago...they were "ok", equal to the better quality stock pickups found today.

I wouldn't expect the Crusaders to sound the same or as clear as the real thing (and I believe the Crusaders are single ceramic mag, rather than triple), but they are regarded as nice pickups for the price. They are made by Artec, so you may find the same pickups sold under other brand names, although they do custom winds, as well. I have noticed that a lot of the Chinese no-name "Invader" style pickups are lower in output and/or DC resistance than either the Invader or what I would expect the Crusaders to be based on specs and reviews.

That's good info, thx. I'd heard the Dragonfires were GFS, not Artec... or is that one and the same?

 

[Masta' C]

Re: Spend my money: Best humbucker for Franken7

Artec makes most of the GFS stuff, as well, though I can confirm they are to GFS specs

Dragonfire pickups may be made by Artec, but they are not identical to the GFS stuff

 

[Iron1]

Re: Spend my money: Best humbucker for Franken7

Artec makes most of the GFS stuff, as well, though I can confirm they are to GFS specs

Dragonfire pickups may be made by Artec, but they are not identical to the GFS stuff

Which would you say is better? I sent an email to Dragonfire asking about their quality control and return policy and instead of answering my questions they told me this:

"We value our customers and have pride in our products, but we absolutely understand your reservations and would encourage you to go with a retailer or brand that you trust. The last thing we want is to have anyone unsure or doubt their decision in regards to a purchase."

Not really sure how that answered my questions, and honestly I'm not sure what to make of it. :lol:

 

[Masta' C]

Re: Spend my money: Best humbucker for Franken7

Quality control is largely on Artec and they make good quality stuff overall. I'm sure if you had an issue with the Dragonfires, you could get it resolved easy enough.

If you're on a very tight budget and want something similar, these OEM Artec 7-string pickups are essentially the same specs as the Crusaders, just without the Invader-style pole pieces, and the second-hand price can't be beat: LINK

EDIT: I just want to add that most of these "budget" pickups may not be a big improvement over your stock Jackson units. If you like the neck tone of the guitar as it is, maybe consider just replacing the bridge pickup with a higher quality, aftermarket unit like you originally planned? Something like a JB7 or even a DiMarzio Evolution-7 (sounds closer to the "Evo 2" 6-string model than the original Evo) might be interesting matches to the Nazgul in a mix

 

[Synapsys]

Re: Spend my money: Best humbucker for Franken7

PM sent.

PM replied (I think so, doesn't show up on my "sent items"...).

 

[Iron1]

Re: Spend my money: Best humbucker for Franken7

PM replied (I think so, doesn't show up on my "sent items"...).

I got it... twice! Ha.

On the topic at hand, looks like I might be getting a modded Pegasus from a friend. He replace the magnet with a ceramic one from another SD pup. Said it tightened up the lows and boosted the mids a bit. Curious to check it out.