Best set for hard rock?

[ericwb95]

I was recently req'd the Cold Sweats through bkp's customer support. I have an RG652 in a limited run mahogany body, with a flame maple top and a maple neck/fingerboard. The guitar currently has Dimarzio Tone Zone/Air Norton bridge/neck, and while I dig the Air Norton, the Tone Zone is a real let down for leads. It has a decent rhythm sound imo, but just really lacks any harmonic versatility and is not as articulate as I'd like. I play hard rock, 80s metal, and classic rock.

I was req'd the cold sweat set through the bkp contact form, which I do think have quite a good tone, but I'm a bit concerned by how scoopy their spectral profile looks and the tone sounds over recordings I've gone through. I already have trouble getting mid cut over instruments in my group, so I am a bit concerned getting such a scooped pickup could lead to one of those "awesome by myself, terrible in a mix" type of tones. Balance wise, the rebel yells are looking more up my alley. The other pickups I was looking at (holy divers) seem a tad dark and too similar to my current tone zone in the bridge, which led me a little away from those.

Which set tends to do the job for what I'm looking for best?

[Potatohead]

What amp?
Typically play lead or rythym?
Typically prefer alnico 5 or ceramic?

I'm assuming this is a typical bolt-on RG and not a neck through model?

[darrenw5094]

I have a HD set in a ibanez J Custom and it's not dark at all. Nice top end, much tighter than the Tone Zone, but plenty of center mids.

[Telerocker]

Sounds like a Rebel Yell job to me!

[Dave Sloven]

I'm contemplating either a Holy Diver or Rebel Yell set for a Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder, which are bolt-on maple neck mahogany body super strat, so I am wondering where the strengths of each set lie.  I guess the hardest metal I would play on it would be Slayer, softest would be Dokken.  Also interested in the Miracle Man set.  Eb standard

[ericwb95]

What amp?
Typically play lead or rythym?
Typically prefer alnico 5 or ceramic?

I'm assuming this is a typical bolt-on RG and not a neck through model?

Amp varies; I spend most of my time on a Helix; usually using a Friedman BE-100 DLX sim though. A good bit of both lead and rhythm playing, which is why the not-scoopy tone is pretty important to me. Regarding alnico 5 vs ceramic, my only benchmarks for ceramics are the Seymour Duncan SH-6 Distortions, which imo sound like absolute trash (compared to, say, a JB). Not sure what other ceramics would sound like. Yah; run-of-the-mill prestige; only difference from the regular RG652s is the mahogany body.

[Potatohead]

I have a CS set in a mahogany/maple cap Carvin CS6 (singlecut) and I really don't find them that scooped. They don't have a mid push obviously but the eq is not nearly as scooped as my Miracle Man in another guitar, not even close really. If the CS bridge had about 10-15% more output I would almost call it perfect. The neck is quite warm and very creamy for lead work. The bridge is very smooth and open for a ceramic, it's not harsh and spiky like some ceramics can be.

In the end I think you'd be happy with either set but based on what you're saying if we are splitting hairs the RY probably suits what you want more - especially if the maple top on the guitar is only a veneer and/or the guitar is always in E standard. The RY is a slightly underwound CS with an A5. So, they should have a bit less output and a little more snarl in the mids. I have never played them but either them, or a set of Silos will end up in another CS6 I have at some point.

[Nolly]

I think you’d be very well served by the Holy Diver. Don’t be concerned about it sounding anything like a Tone Zone - it’s wildly different with a much more open top end and without the nasal ‘c--ked wah’ sound of the TZ.
Another one to consider, and I’d recommend this over the Rebel Yell, is the Crawler. It’s a lower DC reading than the Holy Diver but is actually a hotter wind with a thicker gauge wire so it’s got a very broad midrange with a smooth top end and chunky low end that should still be plenty tight in your guitar. It’s a bit more overwound than the Rebel Yell, which I think works excellently in superstrat guitars.

[Telerocker]

My Crawler sits in a swampash strat, maple neck/ebony fingerboard. I think this pick does fat up ash/alder bolt on guitars nicely. I just wonder if the lows of the Crawler perform that well in a mahogany based guitar, it might get a bit soft, but the maple neck/fingerboard might make balance it.
I stick to my recommendation: Rebel Yell. If you desire more center mids: Diver and maybe Crawler.

[Nolly]

I can't foresee any issues with soft low end using a Crawler into a Friedman amp or similar. Perhaps with thick strings directly into a loose amp like a Rectifier, Orange, etc, but that'd be the case with almost any pickup.
I do find it odd that often people get concerned about the Crawler being too fat, dark, loose etc, when it's actually underwound compared to the Nailbomb, which oddly doesn't attract the same criticism even though it is darker and fatter than the Crawler.

[Telerocker]

I use 10-46 gauge... the Crawler sounds tighter on my Diezel than on my Orange RV, but that has to do with the voicing (quite some low mids) and character of that amp. For me the Crawler is tight enough, but I'm not a metalplayer.

[ericsabbath]

I'd go Rebel Yell, but the cold sweat is amazing and nothing like the sh-6 (although I kinda like that one)
I prefer the extra upper mids of the rebel yell, though