Illuminators vs Dreamcatcher/RainMaker

[txaggie929]

As the title says, looking for anybody who has directly compared both. Have the Illuminators in my JP15 & Majesty 7, and really like them. I acquired a new Ibby w/ BKP's (and double locking trem) and hate those pickups. Was fully planning on swapping to Illuminators until I heard about the new set.

Concerned about the lower output vs the Illuminators, especially on a guitar that is known for sounding "thin" if you will due to the tremolo.

Any input is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[LordRiffenstein]

I've had 2 guitars with Illuminators and currently have a Majesty 2019 with the Dreamcatcher/Rain Maker. I prefer the Dreamcatcher/Rain Maker combo by a lot. To me, the Illuminators had too much presence/high end. The dream catcher is reasonably high output and a fairly balanced tone across BMT. The Rain Maker is lower output but not terribly so, I run it through a Mark V 25 with an RC booster and it just sings. The low mid range on both make them feel much fuller to me than the Illuminators.

tl:dr they're both JP pickups, if you like his sound you will probably be happy with either. Illuminators seem to accent more high, DC/RM more balanced low-mid focused.

 

[Vadauco]

I compared the Illuminators to the Crunch Lab + LiquiFire combo. The Illuminators have less output, and more attack/brightness. If that's a trend for JP, since the Dreamcatcher + Rainmaker have even less output, then I'd bet the Dreamcatcher + Rainmaker have more attack/brightness too.

Personally, I think the Illuminators sound better for cleans, whereas the Crunch Lab + LiquiFire sound better for high-gain stuff.

 

[Mace13]

I'll chime in about the Illuminators compared with CrunchLab/LiquiFire. The Illuminators are brighter and more middy/honky. In fact, I'm finding myself looking for alternatives to the Illuminators which is how I ended up here. They just seem a little brash and "bitey" at times, with a kind of 2D brittle feel. The CrunchLab/LiquiFires are more fuller sounding (maybe because they are not as bright).

I'm really curious about the latest Dreamcatcher/Rainmaker combo and maybe dropping those in a 2018 Majesty. The 2018 Majesty I have has the electronics from the 2019 model due to some guitar repair work by MusicMan. So, not sure if that is adding to the overall middy, brittle tone of the Illuminators? In other words, if the electronics inside the guitar are from a "DC/RM" pick-uped guitar, would that be a bad match for the Illuminators?

Ultimately, the Illuminators aren't 100% my thing and I'd like to try different pick-ups in the 2018 Majesty.