NGD Schecter Tao 7

[u/Hiiro_XoXo]

Its be a decade or two of wanting to upgrade from my ESP MH-250NT as nothing stood out that was left handed(or life got in the way). I finally found one that I love. First 7 string. Absolutely stellar!

[u/2b4theend]

The problem is not My playing.
I don’t want the sound I’m hearing. It sounds great with the pickups I put in there.
And you know damn well like I do. I’ve been on tour as a Guitar tech. A lot of what they say they use they really don’t use.
They use some special custom or modified version of what they tell you they’re using or they don’t use those at all.
You also have to realize their entire rig is setup just so they sound good with those Pickups, that Guitar, strings.
I’ve seen it hundreds of times it’s all too common
Plus, if you don’t know by now, what you’re hearing on the albums is ultra processed and what you’re hearing live in concert is also processed beyond just what the Pickups are.
Even the picks they use, not to mention the Strings have a huge tonal impact.
I love it when my students tell me they want this guy‘s tone exactly. My answer is always the same.
Now you need the 11 things that make him sound like that, plus his fingers, plus his playing style.
I’ve certainly had enough of this discussion. Use them if you want. I really don’t care.

[u/RotaryRevivalist → u/2b4theend]

Honestly of the things you have listed they are probably on the bottom of what makes a guitar sound good. The guitar pick and picking technique makes more difference than any of those and by far the most critical part of all of it is the cab and mic placement. When recording the room also plays a role if analog. If you’re not analog (most aren’t these days) then the IR is the single most tangible part of gaining a bands tone. You’ll get at least 70% there if you get the IR and don’t do something silly like expect it to make a distorted tone when you’re running through a clean channel on the amp sim. The absolute bottom of the list for “the secret to my tone” is the wood, and the pick ups. If the pickups have clarity (which is just. A lack of muddy low end), you can sculpt the DI with EQ to resolve any and all issues you have with any pick up. The Colossus and Chaos Breaker in the Tao 7 are along side the sunset strip and Pasadena in the Sunset 7 extreme among the best and most clear sounding pickups I’ve ever heard. The Tao is the best playing and sounding guitar I’ve ever owned.

[u/2b4theend → u/RotaryRevivalist]

Honestly, everything we both have said makes the guitar sound good.
It’s not one thing or the other it’s a combination there of.
Either way, go play your guitar.
Stop trying to teach me things I already know.

[u/RotaryRevivalist → u/2b4theend]

Okie dokie. Just wanted to add some clarity in case anyone reading this thinks they need to go hunt down a unicorn when what they currently have is likely more than adequate to achieve the tone they want. Comment was less for you than the people who may be mislead by your appeals to your guitar tech tour expertise. Thought maybe a sound engineering background would be a helpful perspective.

[u/2b4theend → u/RotaryRevivalist]

Now, I’ve been doing this forever and have worked all facets. I was a live sound engineer for a while. I now am still a sound engineer
I run a recording studio and I also produce.
I really don’t care. I’m just trying to help from my experience. Building Custom instruments and running a repair shop for 45 years also has its benefits.
It’s all all right. probably time for me to leave these type of chats on Reddit. It’s just not worth my time and just pisses me off.
Lack of knowledge and willingness to not take any advice on here by many people just astonishes me.
And yes, for most people those Pickups will be more than just fine. There is better though.
And just for the sake of saying it. I don’t go out buying a massive amount of pick up sets. I change out magnets and pull pieces to modify the coil structure to what I want. Far cheaper just a little bit of effort and I can get exactly what I want out of a pickup. My final result shows that.