Wanting to try BKP in my custom build Carvin

[james...]

Hey guys, hopefully you can recommend me some Bare Knuckles based on all this info.

I'm about to order a custom Carvin C66.  Basically it's a double cutaway bolt on.  Alder body with Maple neck and fretboard.  fixed bridge.  I need some humbuckers for this thing.

I want something that's dirty but not over the top.  70's rock to 80's hair metal basically is my territory.  I also play a lot of modern rock but nothing "brutal."  I have other guitars for that stuff.  When I say modern rock I mean Smashing Pumpkins levels of gain.  Nothing crazy.  But I do need enough gain on tap to get to say, Paul Gilbert levels of distortion.  Nothing past that though.

Obviously I don't need a lot of highs.  With an alder body and a maple fretboard, I think I'll have enough already.  So I guess the RY's are out of the question, maybe even the VHII's. 

Thanks dudes.

So what do you think?

[Nolly]

Holy Divers are my initial instinct for a great rock pickup without too much high end.
If you'd rather go for a more classic-voiced pickup then maybe the Crawlers are worth a gander based off common opinion in these parts, though I've not tried them myself.

[james...]

Holy divers would probably be too much gain for me.  Crawlers sound okay though.

[MDV]

Holy divers might be the rock end of the spectrum to metal nutters like nolly and I

A more realistic option for the sounds you want would be VHII.

[Antag]

Holy divers might be the rock end of the spectrum to metal nutters like nolly and I

You might not be saying that if you'd tried it ;)

[MDV]

Maybe, maybe not.

[bucketbot]

I'd give the Carvin pickups a good try first.
There pretty good.

I have a DC400CW and I would say the pickups do exactly what I need.
I got it with an M22T Bridge Pickup  & M22V Neck.

It aslo has the active passive system which really works well.