Pickups for sykes

[dsguitar1]

Hey guys,

Im thinking for my next guitar im gunna put together a Sykes Les Paul!! will probs go for an 89-99 LPC ( I know his is a 78' with a 3 piece maple neck where as this LPC will have a mahogany neck) but yeah.

Not sure What pups to stick in it, do I go for........

Dirty Fingers/57 Classic - Like in the Gibbo run and thats what he was using way back when (although people have said the new DF is nothing like the original ones?)

57 Classic/57 Classic - Thats whats in his Guitar now not sure when he had them put in (i've got the thin lizzy 'one night only album' and his guitar doesnt seem as sharp but that could be down to the mix of the album I guess.)

BKP Cold Sweat/Cold Sweat - From what I know Sykes has never used these but Tim based the pickup on his Thunder and Lightning era. (anyone played these pups in a LPC what did ya think)

Also how would these sets work for other styles of music like gary moore blues to zakk wylde ozzy stuff.

Most of my les pauls have emgs in which I love how the notes still pop out and sound clear with lots of gain but hate how cold they sound compared to P.A.F pups, so a set of pups that are some where in the middle would be great but can do real Sykes!!

So what would you guys go for out of these and why?



F.Y.I - I run a JCM800 ZW2203 boosted with a Boss OD-1 or a JCM2000dsl if I want to go for a more compressed high gain sound.

[Dave Sloven]

I think the Cold Sweat bridge can do a good job of the Zakk Wylde era Ozzy stuff.  It's not as hot as the Miracle Man but you could use a boost pedal to get around that.  Otherwise its characteristics are similar, except the CS is brighter and cleaner.  Again you could adjust the tone control and EQ a bit if needed.  The basically tonality of the CS is not at odds with that of the MM, I'd put it that way.

Some people say that the CS does not sound especially like Sykes, at least in their guitar.  That said I haven't read much in terms of opinions on this from people who have actually used it in a Les Paul!

I really like the Cold Sweat set in my SG and find it very versatile but it doesn't immediately bring to mind the song 'Cold Sweat' when I play it, unlike the alnico Warpig in my Explorer, which when tuned to C# really does make me think of 'Children of the Grave' immediately.

I think the CS neck is very close to early Sykes.

Bridge pickups tend to be pickier regarding what you put it in.  If Tim Mills thinks it sounds like Sykes in a Les Paul then I would tend to believe him.  I just don't really hear that in my SG

[ericsabbath]

Some people say that the CS does not sound especially like Sykes, at least in their guitar.  That said I haven't read much in terms of opinions on this from people who have actually used it in a Les Paul!

it's just that the dirty fingers is way dirtier, middier and also darker than a cold sweat
the cold sweat has a very focused and sharp tone, more like Nuno, Dimebag Darrell and Wolf Hoffmann (Accept) sound around the 80's
even the miracle man sounds way closer to Sykes, in my opinion, despite of having a more modern voicing
my first bet would be the ceramic nailbomb for the thin lizzy and whitesnake stuff and the alnico nailbomb for the early blue murder stuff
I'd also expect the new juggernaut model to work for that, but I still gotta hear more raw clips

[darkbluemurder]

The Rebel Yell does Sykes and Ozzy tones really well in my LPC. Never tried the Cold Sweat there because that one sits so well in the other guitar ...

Cheers Stephan

[Slartibartfarst42]

I think there's a distinctly 'Sykes' feel to the Cold Sweats, though not really an exact duplicate. The Cold Sweat is maybe a bit too bright and not quite as thick or compressed enough but it certainly has the basic voicing there. It's hot without being OTT and has an element of modern aggression while still having some openness about it. It always makes me think of a really modern interpretation of a PAF. Other than the Cold Sweat, I'm not sure what I'd suggest that might be better. The Miracle Man is certainly a possibility but I think it has more bottom end that was characteristic of his sound and I think it's a bit smoother too. I can see the logic of the Rebel Yell but I'd have been inclined to say the A-Bomb before anything else as it has some bottom end to it, it has some aggression in the upper mids, it's more open than I expected and you can feel a PAF heritage in it, albeit in a VERY modern form. The only other one that leaps to mind for me is maybe the Black Dog but my top two suggestions would be either the Cold Sweat or A-Bomb.

[Dave Sloven]

I can see how Stephan might have gotten a good (Rhoads era) Ozzy sound out of the Rebel Yell.  I would have thought the Cold Sweat closer to Sykes though, at least in the Thin Lizzy era and maybe Tygers of Pan-Tang

[Telerocker]

What about Emeralds?

[Slartibartfarst42]

Obviously the Emerald has a Thin Lizzy tone but I'd have said it was too bright and open for Sykes.

[Dave Sloven]

Sykes and Robertson had very different sounds.