Beefing up a MusicMan Albert Lee (HH)

[Pierre]

For my Albert Lees with the Rosewood neck, I go with a Rebel Yell; it just sounds perfect in this axe.

I recently got another AL HH though which has a Maple + Ebony neck, vs. the full Rosewood neck of the stock model.
It sounds really nice with the stock DiMarzio (custom made for MusicMan) BUT does lack a little body compared to the stock one I have...

I'd like to beef up the bridge position, with a medium-to-high output pickup that'd keep the clarity, but give it an overall bigger body in the mids and bass.

Of course, and as usual, I am considering the usual suspects (Crawler, Holydiver), but I'm sure there's some other pickups I've not yet tried which could do the trick :) Cheers for any suggestions!

[Telerocker]

If you don't play metal, the Crawler will provide beef and growl for sure. Split is good too.

[Pierre]

I definitely do play metal, but I have other guitars in E standard tuning that sound heavier and better for it (the Rebel Yell, in fact, does an amazing job of bringing a little bit of an edge to an otherwise not metal-dedicated pickup).

I have a love/love relationship with the Crawler. I took it out of an EXTREMELY RESONANT Strat once because it sounded too big; all my carefully-crafted tones built for another guitar ended up way too bassy and middy when switching over to that Strat :P But in all other, more balanced sounding guitars I had, the Crawler did a perfect job of nailing that middle-ground between vintage and modern, and adding a lot of thickness and power to the tone.

Guess the Crawler also matches the output of the current pickup which will make it sound better with the neck pickup... It'd be an easy choice, but I keep thinking there are other BKPs I've not tried out there which may also work!

WOW! Prices have gone up A LOT! I paid ~GBP102 for my latest covered BKP, now it's GBP129 :( Even accounting for historical exchange rate that's a 25% increase :( On top of that it looks like the new website made me lose my history of BKP orders which dated back to 2006... that's a bummer :( I don't think I'll order much at these prices anymore.

[Telerocker]

Yeah, depends on the guitar. It sounds great in my swampash strat though. The Diver has a tad less bass than the Crawler. It might do the trick.

[Pierre]

Crawler worked fine! I had a covered black one I forgot about, it went in there quickly today.

It doesn't sound as huge as I had it sound in some other, more balanced guitars; but it added a little fill to the mids, and a tiny bit of extra bass.
Bonus: it's a 'richer'- harmonically-speaking - sounding pickup than the custom DiMarzio that comes in these guitars, and it's a little clearer sounding too. Open chords with loads of gain sound reaaally great.

Successful transplant for now!

[fdesalvo]

Nice, Pierre!

The Crawler that was in m Strat had a very wide and broad sound.  Just HUGE and silky smooth.  Sounds like it might have a more narrow spectrum in your particular guitar.  If you find it lacking or uninspiring and your guitar doesn't naturally lack midrange, then don't hesitate to try the Miracle Man.  This would give you the low and high end extension you might be seeking.

[Telerocker]

Crawler worked fine! I had a covered black one I forgot about, it went in there quickly today.

It doesn't sound as huge as I had it sound in some other, more balanced guitars; but it added a little fill to the mids, and a tiny bit of extra bass.
Bonus: it's a 'richer'- harmonically-speaking - sounding pickup than the custom DiMarzio that comes in these guitars, and it's a little clearer sounding too. Open chords with loads of gain sound reaaally great.

Successful transplant for now!

Great. I have mine set a little lower for less topend and more big mids.