Got a new axe coming in, so...

[Philly Q]

Depending how much of a vintage vibe you want, you could consider Crawlers, Abraxas, Emeralds... but Cold Sweats do sound like they're probably the way to go.

[Sancho]

Not after a vintage vibe at all. Unless the 80s are considered vintage nowadays;)
It's between Cold Sweats and Rebel Yells, basically. But I'm leaning more and more towards RYs.

[Sancho]

I have to add... This guitar will hopefully become my main gigging Les Paul.
I'll probably need to swap between a Gibson style guitar and a Superstrat a couple of times over the course of a gig, depending on the song and the need for a trem in certain tunes.

Looks like the RY might be slightly more flexible than the CS.
The CS would go very well in an Explorer one would think...

[FELINEGUITARS]

Honestly my vote goes with Cold Sweat - either for the Les paul or the explorer - will work well in either

For early 80s vibe the CS is killer - the ceramic in the bridge pickup gives you the right edge
So for Sykes era Lizzy, Judas Priest, MSG etc etc the CS will be killer

[Philly Q]

I would also say Cold Sweat out of those two, but then I didn't really like the Rebel Yell much so I'm a bit biased.

They're both quite bright, but the CS has more bass whilst the RY has more midrange - in-your-face upper mids which started to grate on my nerves a bit.

The CS bridge, by itself, probably isn't the most versatile pickup but in conjunction with the neck model you can get a great range of tones.

[Sancho]

Grmbl... :?

OK. What say you about Emeralds? To simplify matters...

[darkbluemurder]

It's between Cold Sweats and Rebel Yells, basically. But I'm leaning more and more towards RYs.

I have them both but have not played them in the same guitar. Both do 80s stadium rock and hair metal well. For the bands quoted CS would be my no. 1 choice.

Cheers Stephan 

[Philly Q]

OK. What say you about Emeralds? To simplify matters...

Haven't actually got round to fitting my Emeralds....  :oops:

From what I can gather, another fairly bright set, but maybe a bit more vintagey (in a '70s way) than the other sets you're considering.  That could be wrong though.

[Sancho]

Well, I asked the lads at BKP. "Both the Rebel Yell and the Cold Sweat will be fine for those styles"...
A positive reply, but not one that makes it easier to pull the trigger :?

[Telerocker]

I think Cold Sweats are a safer bet, but if you like agressive dominant (uppe)rmids the RY will provide.