Replacement pickup suggestions for MusicMan JP15 7 String?

[firejack]

Getting back into 7 String guitars and grabbed a Music Man JP15 7. The guitar is amazing except for the pickups. I just cannot stand the Dimarzio Illuminators. The Illuminator 7 bridge sounds thin and brittle. It's lacking in mid grind and percussive bass. And the highs are very fizzy. Just a raspy mess. The Illuminator 7 neck is slightly better, but still has that fizziness and could do with some treble roll off and more fluidity. Totally uninspiring pair of pickups for my tastes.

So I need a set of 7-string pickups to replace them. The JP15 7-string has an African mahogany body with roasted maple neck and fretboard. Acoustically, it's a clear and focused sounding guitar with a balanced tonality. Tuning is in standard 7 (BEADGBE) with 009-046 strings and a 056 string on the low B.

I'm considering the Duncan Distortion set, the Black Winter set, and the Nazgul/Sentient set. First thought was a Duncan Distortion set, but then I stumbled across some Black Winter clips that impressed me with their growling personality. Also considering the Nazgul/Sentient set but I'm thinking they'll be too bright for the guitar?

 

[guidedbyechoes]

I have the black winter's and nazgul / sent set. I prefer the black winter's they are very tight in the low end. Nazgul seem more tame in the highs.

Black winter's are my favorite production pickups. If they were slightly lower output they would be perfect.

 

[firejack]

I have the black winter's and nazgul / sent set. I prefer the black winter's they are very tight in the low end. Nazgul seem more tame in the highs.

Black winter's are my favorite production pickups. If they were slightly lower output they would be perfect.

Yeah I'm definitely leaning towards the BW set.
Which of the neck pickups do you prefer and why? Sentient or BW?
Cheers.

 

[guidedbyechoes]

BW again the bass is tight and clear. The sentient isnt a huge way off but it has a warmer top end and less output. Either are great pickups, but the bw set has the most clarity I've ever used. For me if you lower the output by about 25% and we're fishman style they would be perfect.

 

[firejack]

BW again the bass is tight and clear. The sentient isnt a huge way off but it has a warmer top end and less output. Either are great pickups, but the bw set has the most clarity I've ever used. For me if you lower the output by about 25% and we're fishman style they would be perfect.

Ok sweet. Pretty certain the BW set will be right up my alley. Every clip I've seen of the BW bridge denotes a ferocious mid-grind snarl and very composed lows.

 

[guidedbyechoes]

BW again the bass is tight and clear. The sentient isnt a huge way off but it has a warmer top end and less output. Either are great pickups, but the bw set has the most clarity I've ever used. For me if you lower the output by about 25% and we're fishman style they would be perfect.

Ok sweet. Pretty certain the BW set will be right up my alley. Every clip I've seen of the BW bridge denotes a ferocious mid-grind snarl and very composed lows.

I think that's a good choice. I haven't met anyone that tried them, and hated them. They would be a perfect all around pickup if they weren't so high output. But that's why guitars have volume knobs.

 

[jeff5]

I never used a BW in a 7 string but did in 6 strings for awhile. I thought they were great high output pick ups and more versatile than the name gives them credit for.

 

[ibanez4life SZ!]

You may already know this, but make sure to keep pickup dimensions in mind. Aside form the tab shape (Duncan square mounting tabs will not fit the triangular Dimarzio routes without modification), the 7 String JP pickup routes can be a pain for pickup swaps. Depth wise, they're made exactly for his Dimarzio pickups, which are not deep enough for many other 7 string pickups. You may be able to get away with the bridge (depending on your height preference), but at the neck, the Illuminator is a very 'thin' pickup, and a Seymour Duncan with its backplate will sit too high. If you make this swap, you'll need to do some routing to allow at least that pickup (if not both) to sit low enough for appropriate height/string clearance.

Didn't want you to have an unfortunate surprise after you had the guitar pulled apart.

 

[guidedbyechoes]

You may already know this, but make sure to keep pickup dimensions in mind. Aside form the tab shape (Duncan square mounting tabs will not fit the triangular Dimarzio routes without modification), the 7 String JP pickup routes can be a pain for pickup swaps. Depth wise, they're made exactly for his Dimarzio pickups, which are not deep enough for many other 7 string pickups. You may be able to get away with the bridge (depending on your height preference), but at the neck, the Illuminator is a very 'thin' pickup, and a Seymour Duncan with its backplate will sit too high. If you make this swap, you'll need to do some routing to allow at least that pickup (if not both) to sit low enough for appropriate height/string clearance.

Didn't want you to have an unfortunate surprise after you had the guitar pulled apart.

Good call! I used a dremmel to make my pickup tabs fit.

 

[firejack]

I think that's a good choice. I haven't met anyone that tried them, and hated them. They would be a perfect all around pickup if they weren't so high output. But that's why guitars have volume knobs.

Exactly. In the last 5 years of playing I've discovered the benefits of utilising the volume and tone knobs on the guitar. Although I've found that I need a treble-bleed circuit to be installed in the guitar for the best results.

I never used a BW in a 7 string but did in 6 strings for awhile. I thought they were great high output pick ups and more versatile than the name gives them credit for.

Yeah I keep hearing and reading comments regarding their versatility despite their extreme metal origins.

 

[firejack]

You may already know this, but make sure to keep pickup dimensions in mind. Aside form the tab shape (Duncan square mounting tabs will not fit the triangular Dimarzio routes without modification), the 7 String JP pickup routes can be a pain for pickup swaps. Depth wise, they're made exactly for his Dimarzio pickups, which are not deep enough for many other 7 string pickups. You may be able to get away with the bridge (depending on your height preference), but at the neck, the Illuminator is a very 'thin' pickup, and a Seymour Duncan with its backplate will sit too high. If you make this swap, you'll need to do some routing to allow at least that pickup (if not both) to sit low enough for appropriate height/string clearance.

Didn't want you to have an unfortunate surprise after you had the guitar pulled apart.

Yeah I've had the same experiences with late Ibanez Prestige guitars with direct-mount pickups. I just get my tech to rout the pickup cavities deeper, pop some foam under the pickups to allow height adjustment, and also cut the pickup tabs to fit in the triangular mounting slots. All good.