Thanks for the responses everyone.
Okay, from what I've gathered so far, I'm better off with a calibrated set that mixing and matching. Ok, cool.
And the general consensus so far is that the VHII probably isn't what I'm looking for..I should go for something a little more substantial.
I have another V with Bill Lawrence XL100's in it. I like those pickups..to a point. The clean tones are bell-like and flawless. The XL100 is big on the treble, but the V I have it in is darker than my new V, so it doesn't overpower the frequency range, but it would probably be too much for my new guitar too handle. The bass isn't as thick as i'd like it to be, but I'm happy with the midrange and it's clarity is outstanding. It's just a bit sterile for me and am looking for something like the XL but with more balls and character.
I saw another thread that likened the Painkiller to the XL100. I'm just worried about getting something that's TOO MUCH for this guitar....like I said, it's rather bright and I want to warm it up just a bit and thicken it a little more, but maintain it's "alive" nature. Something i can play "Raining Blood" with but then turn around and play "Rock and Roll All Nite" with.
