PUs for old lp custom

[Krabbesmark]

Hello guys
I want some new BK pickups for my old Gibson les paul custom. Its an oldie from 82 with 3 piece maple top, ebony fretboard and maple neck. Pretty heavy guitar compared to other les pauls i have tried and also a bit brighter due to the ebony fretboard and maple neck. The stock pickups are low output and i really dont like them they sound really muddy the neck pickup is too dark and the bridge is too bright. The sound i am aiming towards is Doug Aldrich meets Gary moore meets young Zakk Wylde. I like Gary moores tone on wild frontiers. And Zakk wyldes tone on Breaking all the rules from the no rest for the wicked album. My gear is currently a Engl Savage 120. and a Mesa Dual Rectifier
I hope you guys can help me with some inputs.

[darkbluemurder]

One of my guitars appears to be similar to yours, and it did not like low output pickups either - respectively my ears did not like them  :)

I like Doug Aldrich and Gary Moore, too. Same for Zakk Wylde's No Rest for the Wicked tones. I believe the pickup combination listed in my signature will get you in the ballpark. Since the HD is a warm sounding pickup it should complement your bright guitar nicely, and the Cold Sweat neck is everything but muddy.

However I would check the resistance of the pots in your guitar. Gibson has used 300k for volume and 100k for tone in some guitars. I would normally change these all to 500k but the lower values may work to your advantage to further mellow the brightness.

Cheers Stephan

[ericsabbath]

Hello guys
I want some new BK pickups for my old Gibson les paul custom. Its an oldie from 82 with 3 piece maple top, ebony fretboard and maple neck. Pretty heavy guitar compared to other les pauls i have tried and also a bit brighter due to the ebony fretboard and maple neck. The stock pickups are low output and i really dont like them they sound really muddy the neck pickup is too dark and the bridge is too bright. The sound i am aiming towards is Doug Aldrich meets Gary moore meets young Zakk Wylde. I like Gary moores tone on wild frontiers. And Zakk wyldes tone on Breaking all the rules from the no rest for the wicked album. My gear is currently a Engl Savage 120. and a Mesa Dual Rectifier
I hope you guys can help me with some inputs.

holy diver = great aldrich and jake E lee tones and killer fat pinch harmonics for zakk stuff

funny you find yours bright sounding
my '73 custom and my '81 standard (that I just sold today ) are quite dark and dense sounding (very different from newer gibsons)

I'm not a fan of the Tim Shaw pickups in the '81 at all
they're lower output than a Mule, for example, but don't retain the clarity and thickness

[Telerocker]

Holy Diver/Cold Sweat looks like the combi here.

[Alex]

I would have suggested the Miracle Man probably. I found it's lead sounds very promising - close enough in quality to those of the Holy Diver - but the rhythm sounds had so much more chunk to it.
I find the Holy Diver is not a very aggressive pickup, it is maybe a bit too smooth.