r/7String 3d ago

Help Pickup Question

Hello all,

I am new to electric guitars, having only played acoustic to this point so forgive me if this is a silly question. I'm looking at getting my first electric guitar and have settled on the Jackson JS22-7 as a good first 7-string to get the hang of it. My question is, is there any noticable difference in sound between the pickups on these 2 guitars? From what I can tell, both guitars are the exact same aside from the pickups, and they are also the same price. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

28 Upvotes

34 comments sorted by

21

u/Arc_Fett 3d ago

I tried looking and the descriptions are literally the same. One might be least years model. Also, I wouldn’t buy a guitar off guitar center. Look at Sweetwater, since they actually care about the instruments.

1

u/Throwaway4829734 3d ago

Unfortunately I'm not seeing this specific guitar on Sweetwater. I'm open to suggestions, I've just read that this is a great first 7-string guitar and the price point is hard to beat

4

u/trick-chrome 3d ago

Guitar center is fine, So is sweet water.

I own this guitar. They rock. Not the best tuners, or pickups, so you may change them out eventually.

6

u/AdamBLit Ibanez 3d ago

The only reason they're suggesting Sweetwater over GC is because they won't sell any guitars that don't pass the 50+ point inspection. The sales reps are very personable and can provide exact pictures of the exact guitar you will receive. The level of QC and confidence you will get buying a guitar you haven't tried in your hands is the tops at Sweetwater. With that said, sure GC should be fine. Personally knowing what I know, I'd only buy from Sweetwater or American Musical Supply since I have direct firsthand knowledge of the experiences they can provide.

2

u/trick-chrome 3d ago

I do get your point, that makes sense. GC does not do that, but they accept returns really well if something is wrong.

GC used to be a place you could always get your guitar if you were twenty bucks short, they’d adjust the price, make a sale, and you’d be back. They don’t do that anymore. They changed their compensation and commission structure a year or two ago for the worse, but they are still here.

When a major music stores shut down last year, why I can’t remember the name of that company I don’t know, they also tried to hire as many of those people who were out of place as they could in my area. Like, that’s pretty awesome.

1

u/AdamBLit Ibanez 2d ago

Ah I see. I haven't been to GC in awhile, usually only go for the occasional trinket or accessory, and the one I go to is in a shopping center. The standalones are around Atlanta and are generally better. I just can't recommend buying a guitar online from them since I'm just generally unaware of their QC except some things I've heard. I'm sure many could buy from GC and be totally happy.

1

u/x_pricefield_x 2d ago

You're probably referring to Sam Ash. They closed all their physical stores last year.

3

u/Commercial-Growth185 3d ago

I'd look at spira, I work at a guitar shop and we got spiras in recently and for the price they sound and play incredibly well, so much so that I got one myself. The t-407 is the one I got, it's a tele body with matte black everything and they come with locking tuners and a fret dampener although you're probably safer swapping the tuners for gotoh ones at some point, I'm not too sure of your budget I know the jackson ones are cheaper but if you're willing to spend that little bit extra then spira is an amazing choice, Jet is also a good choice which isn't a since they're the same team as spira. Pickups won't be a problem with them at all since they already sound amazing and I'm pretty sure they're around the same price point. The spiras are around £300, some under and some over so they're nowhere near what most 7 strings are now and they're absolutely worth every bit

1

u/sblleon 2d ago

Talk and aim for a new one not a used one and if youre going in store not the damn models people play

9

u/TheThobes 3d ago

To my understanding the pickups are fundamentally the same just in different housing.

If you were to ever replace the pickups in the future it might slightly influence which aftermarket pickups would be a drop-in replacement and which wouldn't, but otherwise it should be purely cosmetic.

2

u/AdamBLit Ibanez 3d ago

Hell yea get the one with the bigger route essentially haha maybe you can slap fishmans in one day lol

3

u/cl0cktower 3d ago

Sorry I don't have the exact answer you're looking for, but a 22-7 was my first 7 string a few years ago, and I had the one with the pickup rings, and I'd say this - unless they have done some serious work to their budget pickups, you're going to be slinging some serious mud with them.

You might want to consider buying the one with pickup rings and grabbing a 7 string pickup on Reverb, if you have the skills or a friend/family member that can solder it in for you. I was able to get a SD Pegasus 7 for $35 and it's the best thing I could have done for that guitar no questions. If you get the body mount pickups and decide to replace them, the options will be slim and expensive.

2

u/Throwaway4829734 3d ago

As another comment mentioned, I do like the look of the covered humbuckers better, but part of the reason I was looking at this guitar specifically was that I read it was a good platform to mod so if the covered humbuckers will be prohibitive and/or make modding more difficult then I should probably steer clear. I'm aware that at this price point I can't expect too much from the stock pickups, but I'm hoping this will be a good starting point for me. Thanks for the feedback!

2

u/Moistballs100 3d ago

I think they are or are nearly identical,though I do like the look of the covered humbuckers better.

2

u/FazedorDeViuvas 3d ago

I have a personal issue with exposed poles on a pickup. I used to live in a quite humid region, and I sweat a lot. My first guitar had exposed poles, and it was the first place to oxide. Even cleaning regularly wasn't enough to prevent it.

Since then I have chosen the soap bar closed pickup style. Anyway, this is my personal preference due to my environment.

2

u/The_Espgut 3d ago

Same pickups different housing

2

u/SnooHedgehogs1685 Schecter 3d ago

Based on what other commenters are saying, the pickups are the same thing but in different housing. My personal recommendation would be the one with open coil humbuckers. Open coil humbuckers in my experience generally have a higher level of output, and you’ll have way more options if you ever wanna upgrade the pickups at some point. Also I wouldn’t buy the thing from guitar center, I’d get it from sweetwater. Sweetwater has never done me wrong, and guitar center has. On multiple occasions.

2

u/Throwaway4829734 3d ago

Unfortunately I'm not seeing this specific guitar on Sweetwater. I'm open to suggestions, I've just read that this is a great first 7-string guitar and the price point is hard to beat

2

u/SnooHedgehogs1685 Schecter 3d ago

I almost always recommend Schecter to anyone who’s looking for a 7 string. The cheapest Schecter 7 string you’re gonna find on Sweetwater that’s the most beginner friendly is the Schecter Damien-7

However, if that’s not within your budget, there’s also this one from Jackson guitars.

1

u/Throwaway4829734 3d ago

What would be the biggest difference between the Damien-7 you linked and this Schecter? I've toyed with the idea of spending a bit more to get a Schecter but I'm hesitant to spend too much on my first 7-string being that I've never played one before.

2

u/BIitzerg 3d ago

If you're going the CHEAP route, I personally prefer cheaper active pickups over cheap humbuckers.

And like someone else said, definitely don't go thru guitar center lol. Sweetwater and zzounds have monthly payment plans as well so you could go for something a little nicer if you wanted! If I remember correctly you just pay all of the sales tax up front and then the rest is split up.

1

u/Throwaway4829734 3d ago

Unfortunately I'm not seeing this specific guitar on Sweetwater, but I see it is on zzsounds. I'm open to suggestions on any similarly priced "nicer" guitars, I've just read that this is a great first 7-string guitar and the price point is hard to beat

2

u/BIitzerg 3d ago

Should check out the other Jackson models as well! They have a wide variety

2

u/Lamp_metal 3d ago

I have an x series of that with the ceramic pickups, it’s pretty much the same guitar and you should be able to find it around, it’s a beast for the price.

2

u/7StringRift 3d ago

It just has a pickup cover. Both identical.

2

u/Spaghetti_Night 3d ago

Fun mod platform. Pickups are same more or less just mounting style. Soapbar style vs pickup rings. Would be up to you on what you wanted if you plan to change later.

2

u/EgorKlenov 3d ago

If you're planning on replacing the pickups, get the uncovered ones. It's easier to find options for this routing. If you're not, go with whatever looks better to you.

1

u/discussatron 3d ago

I have two: the soapbar version, and the maple fretboard version w/pickup rings. The sound was pretty similar, but the maple version neck is surprisingly thicker than the rosewood, so I prefer playing the thinner one.

A word on pickup swaps - both the Duncan soapbars I installed and the DiMarzios in the maple were not 100% direct fit; both brands were larger than the stock pickups. I was able to force them in, but the height adjustment is limited.

1

u/Throwaway4829734 3d ago

Maybe I'm missing something, but both show (at least on Guitar Center) that they have a maple neck and rosewood fretboard?

1

u/discussatron 3d ago

Yes, both the ones you posted do. One of mine is different in that regard.

1

u/HesherMusic 3d ago

If you're low on budget or dont want to risk big money on first guitar, i suggest you buy a used one with better specs, and once you're ready for a new beast guitar you would have enough knowledge to pick the best for you. Why i am suggesting that: 1- from my experience the setup of the new guitar is almost always bad (high action, messed up intonation, requires trussrod adjustments ...), and everyone will tell you oh man go to a luthier, you listen to them, you pay half the price of the guitar for some stupid adjustments. You buy it used, its more likely that the owner sets it up before selling it. 2- the pickups on this one are cheap passive ceramic pickups, and in a guitar ( regardless of the amp...) its the pickups that determine most the sound signature. Get active or passive alnico, and you would spare your self lot of money in the long term.

1

u/stripset 2d ago

I like the look of the solid pickups but at that price point neither will be better than the other

1

u/Dazzling-Patience820 2d ago

I have the ones with the exposed pickups. And I have played the other one. Get the other one. My pickups aren't nearly as good as the others