Gibson Explorer

[blue]

Hi guys,

as you may have guessed, i have a Gibson Explorer :)  it still has the stock Gibson 500t/496r pickups, and from the beginning my intention was to put in a set of Mules or Riff Raffs for a classic type of sound.  however, as i've been playing it with the stock pickups, i've been surprised by the variety of sounds i can get from it with the volume controls.  with that in mind, what i would want is basically a better, more articulate version of the Gibson pickups.  my guess would be a set of Cold Sweats.  any opionions?

[blue]

or, indeed, the new Blackhawks, which seem to go from SHOUT to whisper quite well

[Philly Q]

I think Cold Sweats would be great in an Explorer.  CS + Mahogany = Win.  :D 

They're probably not actually as hot as the 500T/496R, but so what.

The br00talz boyz will probably say Miracle Men or Painkillers, I'm sure they'd be fine too.

[FELINEGUITARS]

or, indeed, the new Blackhawks, which seem to go from SHOUT to whisper quite well

+1 to blackhawks!

[AndyR]

It is indeed Blackhawks I'm wondering about...

I have an Explorer, and one of my early posts was "wot do I do with this?"

I was in the same boat as you - going for the classic sound, but being somewhat pleasantly surprised by what the ceramic Gibson pickups could do for me... I actually think they're very well suited to that guitar (except I wanted covers! :lol:)

I seem to recall folks suggesting Cold Sweats to me, but I wanted to go vintage. In the end, I swapped Riff Raffs into it - liked it. And then swapped MQs into it, again liked it (and liked the Riff Raffs even more in the other guitar). It's stayed that way for a few years, but I'm thinking I want humbuckers back in it. But neither Riff Raffs or MQs, lovely as they are in that guitar, quite have the general oink and grind (and SHOUT to whisper :lol:) that I recall the stock ceramics providing...

With Jonathan's hot-off-the-press first impressions of Blackhawks... soundwise it seems to be AHA!! (But my Explorer is probably the one guitar that I definitely want the look of classic covered pickups in... bummer... hmmm... I need to see more pictures)

[blue]

i agree Andy, i am finding myself leaning towards the Blackhawks, the only stumbling block being the appearance.  but then, the Lawrence pickup always looked ok in Nuno's guitar :)
Johnathon's description of them sounds ideal, the tonality of the vintage pickups with more of a kick

[TheyCallMeVolume]

If you did like the RR, I'd recommend a Rebel Yell

[itamar101]

+1 9/4 for the blackhawks or cold sweat. They should fit really nicely in an Explorer.

[ericsabbath]

the closest is probably the ceramic nailbomb, tonewise, although the 500t saturation level is comparable to a c-pig
the painkiller and aftermath have a similar midrange bump and aggression, but they're way tighter and not as bassy
I'd surely choose between raffs and cold sweats for their extra sparkle

[DoomBuggi]

i am finding myself leaning towards the Blackhawks, the only stumbling block being the appearance.

Who cares what they look like?

 What matters most, is what the pickup sounds like.

[TheyCallMeVolume]

i am finding myself leaning towards the Blackhawks, the only stumbling block being the appearance.

Who cares what they look like?

 What matters most, is what the pickup sounds like.

This. If they sound incredibly kick-ass, I don't think it matters at all what they  look like. And at least you'll be a bit different than anyone else with those "regular" pickups :lol: