Low output set for maple

[CountFunkula]

Looking for a low output humbucker set for my all-maple Carvin. The typical choices for maple are usually high output pickups, but that would be somewhat of a problem for me. People tell me to go with slightly mid-scooped pickups for maple, as the "brightness" associated with maple is actually in the high-mids, not the treble. I'm looking for a punchy but somewhat smooth tone with great leads in the bridge, and a decent all-rounder neck humbucker with chimey cleans. So, what do you guys think?

[Vilches3]

I played a set of black dogs in an all maple guitar and it sounded awesome......its the only time ive ever played an all maple guitar though so I may not be the best person to provide an answer. Sounded sick to me though.

[BigB]

Looking for a low output humbucker set for my all-maple Carvin. The typical choices for maple are usually high output pickups, but that would be somewhat of a problem for me.

May I ask why ? (and what you consider "hi output" BTW ?)

People tell me to go with slightly mid-scooped pickups for maple, as the "brightness" associated with maple is actually in the high-mids, not the treble. I'm looking for a punchy but somewhat smooth tone with great leads in the bridge, and a decent all-rounder neck humbucker with chimey cleans. So, what do you guys think?

Crawlers work fine on my all-maple (rosewood fretboard) Vox, and they quite match your tone requirements AFAICT - but they are rather "medium hot" output. Oh, and they are definitly NOT mid-scooped - but have some emphasis on the lower-mids and smooth highs that help balacing the natural brightness of the guitar.

My 2 cents...

[CountFunkula]

May I ask why ? (and what you consider "hi output" BTW ?)

Crawlers work fine on my all-maple (rosewood fretboard) Vox, and they quite match your tone requirements AFAICT - but they are rather "medium hot" output. Oh, and they are definitly NOT mid-scooped - but have some emphasis on the lower-mids and smooth highs that help balacing the natural brightness of the guitar.

My 2 cents...

I don't like the way hot pickups drive my Orange Rockerverb. I've played a ton of guitar and pickup combination, and it seems that the hotter pickups always add a distorted, grainy quality to the tone. Lowering them helped, but most of them got too thin. Lower output pickups always distorted a little smoother to my ears, and I have all the gain I want from my amp.

I would consider the dividing line of a hot pickup to be somewhere around a Crawler or SD Custom 5.

[Telerocker]

If you want chime, but still a great rock/old schoolmetal-pickup that is articulate, punchy, a balanced eq, screams if necessary, and cleans up to a nearly singlecoil vibe, I would definitely look at VHII's. I have a VHII in an ash-strat and it's a great allrounder. You can get wicked tones when you dig in. This one has enough mids in brighter guitars, thanks to the offset coils. The neck VHII provides exactly what you want. Chime and punch, not brittle though. VHII's are clear, but the topend isnt'nasty at all. It has some smoothness to it that is hard to describe.

Just my experience.