Last night I installed a Duncan Pegasus-7 in the bridge position of my Jackson SL7.
It previously had the stock Duncan Distortion-7, which was a lot of fun to play in isolation but didn't provide usable tones for recording. I prefer it to the six-string Distortion, but it still manages to be both messy and harsh at the same time.
The Pegasus is sort of inline with the Suhr Aldrich as being a "JB without the annoying stuff". None of the low-end wooliness and nasty upper-mid spike of the JB. I've seen the Pegasus criticized as lacking character, but it responds well to pole piece adjustments and you can make it thick like a Timbre Wolf or more precise and cutting like a JBJ (in some guitars).
It lacks a little of the richness of a Timbre Wolf, but the low B responds really well with no muddiness. Perhaps I'll change my mind, but for now the Pegasus seems like a keeper.
I might end up putting a Sentient in the neck, but the Distortion-7 neck position is pretty good for lead tones (which is all I do with the neck position on a Soloist).
I really liked the Pegasus I had, but iirc it didn’t mix well with my other pickups. Mine had the ceramic mod, so not apples to apples. But as a stand alone I dug it and can easily see why you would too.
I pretty much had the exact same reaction to both the SD and Pegasus that you described, and the Pegasus worked much better with the volume knob, the Super Distortion is more on/off .
I love mine. My main live axe has a Pegasus/Sentient set on it and it can do pretty much everything. I guess it will work nicely with the Jazz as well.
I've read the "lack of character" thing before. That's not necessarily a bad thing. To me the best pickup is the one you forget is in there.
I did NOT like the Pegasus I tried - it was very dry, and sort of hyper-articulate in the treble frequencies, whereas I like the high end a little more rounded off in the presence range on brudge humbukcers. Ironically, I thought the Sentient was awesome in the neck for pretty much the same reasons. :lol:
I did NOT like the Pegasus I tried - it was very dry, and sort of hyper-articulate in the treble frequencies, whereas I like the high end a little more rounded off in the presence range on brudge humbukcers. Ironically, I thought the Sentient was awesome in the neck for pretty much the same reasons.
I can hear that. I've been going back and forth on the "dryness" of the Pegasus since I installed it. I won't be able to make a proper decision until I've had the chance to record with it. My guess is that it'll sound pretty great in a mix. It certainly doesn't forgive sloppy playing.
Have any of you guys had a chance to try the Suhr Hot 7 set? I'm not looking to switch immediately (haven't even recorded the Pegasus properly, yet) but more for future reference.
I actually have a zebra set I'm considering putting in my DR7. I had one in the SLAT3-7 for a while and it wasn't bright enough, but in that guitar NOTHING was bright enough to compete with my SLS-7. If I swap them, I'll record something and let you check it out. It was bright like the Sentient but not so sterile, from what I remember.
Ultimately, what would be great is if Wolfe starting offering a stock 7-string Timbre Wolf.
I gotta say, though, that the Pegasus is fantastic on the low B. It sounds like a guitar string should, not like a bass string going through a guitar rig. The main thing with it overall is that it has less compression than any pickup I can remember playing. It gives back exactly what you play--for good and bad. On the plus side, you can crank the master or the level of your drive pedal higher than with something like a JB or Timbre Wolf.
I'm not 100% sold on it, but I'm still going to wait until I have a chance to properly record and mix it--and my next 7-string song in line for development is a little ways off.
Followup on this thread: I ended up not digging the Pegasus that much in the SL7 for exactly the reasons Drew stated.
I found a used cheap Suhr Hot 7 on Reverb that was already drilled for direct-mount, and it's a huge improvement. Definitely a first choice for 7-string bridge pickups.
Came here to say that the 7Hot is a fantastic pickup. Although last time I tried it was maybe 3 years ago? Suhr 7 into a Mesa Triple Crown and Mark V:25 is never going to sound bad is it? :lol: It had a little bit of the 'hollow' thonk I like from the EMG 707 oddly.
I'm assuming it's basically a 7-string Aldrich. It's an overwound Alnico V that just's nice and balanced with nothing weird going on. Tight enough on the lower strings, but also plenty of scream for leads.
I forget exactly ehat the pickups that came in my Suhr were, but I'm about 98% sure they were the 7V and 7+. They were pretty good, but had a LOT of low end. I'm happy with the set I have in their now (PAF Pro and Blaze), but I suppose one day I should toss them back in to try, since I've been really happy with the Thornbucker set in my 6.
7Hot doesn't have a ton of low end. It's very balanced. I'm quite happy with it, so far.
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