Les Paul standard replacement bridge pickup

[Lorenzo]

So the stock Burstbucker pro in the bridge of my LP was too thin.
So I tried a Black Dog and another paf style humbucker but both weren't fat and powerful enough.
What would be a powerful bridge pickup that has kind of a dark and compressed sound?
I tried a Duncan Distortion pickup and I liked it but it was a bit too flubby on the bass.
Any suggestion?

[FELINEGUITARS]

Miracle man
Similar to Duncan Distortion but darker and more controlled

[Lorenzo]

Hey Feline, I think my guitar was once in your shop before it became mine. It's a Les Paul Standard limited Edition in Midnight Blue. Any remembrance?

Since I'm planning on keeping the stock BBpro in the neck would the Miracle Man unbalance the volumes between the pickups?

[ericsabbath]

I'd say holy diver instead

[kevinr]

+1 Holydiver

[Alex]

As a (former) user of all three of these pickups I would suggest the Miracle Man. Its bottom end is just perfect and the pickup works great in LesPauls. I would not suggest the Holy Diver; if the Duncan Distortion was already flubby the Holy Diver will not be an improvement in the lower end. The Holy Diver works for me, because the baritone I use it in has a maple neck and is already naturally well-defined on the low notes. Previous to that I had the Holy Diver in my Voodoo LesPaul and it was not nearly as tight as the Miracle Man I had in there before.
(The Voodoo LesPaul has a bit more bass and treble and less mids than a typical LesPaul).

Concerning the neck pickup: Usually you can compensate this by adjusting the height of the neck pickup according to the bridge pickup.

[Lorenzo]

Ok seems like I have to make choice here! Thanks for all the opinions

[ericsabbath]

in my experience, the holy diver in near standard tunings still sounds a bit tighter than the duncan sh-6 (compared both side by side in two mahogany/maple top les pauls)

the miracle man isn't compressed at all

win/win situation, anyway

had both miracle man and holy diver in the same guitars and I could never decide which one sounded better, cause that depended on the tuning, amp, what and how loud I was playing
they're true masterpieces

[Lorenzo]

had both miracle man and holy diver in the same guitars and I could never decide which one sounded better, cause that depended on the tuning, amp, what and how loud I was playing
they're true masterpieces

So let's say I play mostly in standard tuning.
Into a vintage Orange or a Mesa Mark III or a Marshall Slash.
Various styles (not much extreme metal) and pretty loud.
What should I go for?  :D

[ericsabbath]

had both miracle man and holy diver in the same guitars and I could never decide which one sounded better, cause that depended on the tuning, amp, what and how loud I was playing
they're true masterpieces

So let's say I play mostly in standard tuning.
Into a vintage Orange or a Mesa Mark III or a Marshall Slash.
Various styles (not much extreme metal) and pretty loud.
What should I go for?  :D

I liked the Diver better in standard tuning
very middy and clear with just the right amount of low end
clean tone is much better

the Miracle Man has a weird thing with volume
it sounds a bit boxy in low volumes, but the louder you set your amp, the bigger the pickup sounds
gets a lot more open at band volumes
but it doesn't sound dark or compressed at all in standard tuning, unless you have a very dark guitar
it tends to emphasize the strongest frequencies

both will be a big change over the other pups you had
if you want to keep the BB Pro voicing, but with a thick high output character, then you might like the nailbomb
sounds darker than the MM in standard tunings and it's hotter than the HD (but a lot less middy)

[gwEm]

Miracle man
Similar to Duncan Distortion but darker and more controlled

i'm with jonathan here.

[Alex]

I liked the Diver better in standard tuning
very middy and clear with just the right amount of low end
clean tone is much better

the Miracle Man has a weird thing with volume
it sounds a bit boxy in low volumes, but the louder you set your amp, the bigger the pickup sounds
gets a lot more open at band volumes
but it doesn't sound dark or compressed at all in standard tuning, unless you have a very dark guitar
it tends to emphasize the strongest frequencies

both will be a big change over the other pups you had
if you want to keep the BB Pro voicing, but with a thick high output character, then you might like the nailbomb
sounds darker than the MM in standard tunings and it's hotter than the HD (but a lot less middy)

Good description, spot on.
Considering your amps and standard tunings, yes, then maybe the Holy Diver is better.

Miracle Man - tighter, more aggressive
Holy Diver - looser, warmer, rounder