Seymour DuncanBlack Winter Set 8 Black - Pickup for 8 String Guitars

It is tough to find an 8-string pickup that sounds even across the spectrum, and that lets the low strings sing in a chord voicing under high gain without swamping the higher strings. So far I've found two pickups that fit the bill: Fishman Fluence Moderns and Seymour Duncan Black Winters. I've got Fishmans in two guitars (A Strandberg Boden 8 and a cheap Harley Benton fanfret 8) and Black Winters in my Schecters (a 7-string Apocalypse, and now an 8-string Hellraiser) and, as good as the Fishmans sound, my heart is with the Black Winters: a more open sounding pickup (that is, less compressed-sounding) with a detailed, slightly throaty midrange. Absolutely love the sound, both high-gain and pristine clean. Tight bottom end for chugga-chugga riffing, plenty of harmonics for squeals, and very articulate for leads.FWIW: years ago I had a Duncan Invader in the bridge position of an ESP Horizon 7-string, and never liked it that much: shapeless bass, a bit fizzy. These sound nothing like the Invader. Lots of comparisons on Youtube if you're curious.These fit the EMG-equipped Schecter perfectly with no routing or drilling additional mounting holes, though you may have to slightly bend the metal feet on the Duncans to line up with the mounting holes. You'll also have to replace the pots if you're going from actives to passives. (Also: huge thumbs-up to Schecter for putting a bridge ground wire on a guitar that comes from the factory with active pickups!)

I put these in an 8 string Ibanez RG. The tone is super heavy and beefy, but with plenty of mids and highs. I was pleasantly surprised by the clarity and definition coming from these pickups. Fantastic for any extreme metal subgenre, as well as more progressive stuff. The bridge pickup is super heavy with just the right amount of crunch, and the neck pickup sounds crystal clear on a clean channel. Definitely going to buy another set of these for my next 8 string!