Overkill?

[dingleberry]

I bought a holydiver for an epi lp, loved it,  then bought a used one for my lp style prs.  Same pickups in neck and bridge but both guitars have their own voice

[TheyCallMeVolume]

So VHII over RY or RR?

[darrenw5094]

So many BKP's and not enough guitars. :P Not seen to many with VHII's in a LP, but it should still rock, they do in my PRS CU22. Can't see you being disapointed with any one of a number of BKP's.

[clivey]

So VHII over RY or RR?

I've just installed a set of VHII's in my Les Paul Custom, I think they'll fit really well for what you want. Pack quite a punch for relatively low output pickups, great for chunky rhythm playing, clean up really well and also great for coil splitting. Very versatile, they'll easily cover the bands you listed before. And if you ever do feel like a bit of lead playing, they'll handle that great too!

I've tried three other BK sets in my Les Paul - Miracle Man, Holydiver and most recently a Black Dog/MQ combo - the VHII's are the best match for this guitar by far; much more open in the midrange and much less compressed in general. Although I did really like the MQ and was tempted to go for a matched MQ set instead, but the VHII's are staying put I think!

[itamar101]

So VHII over RY or RR?

For me, yes.
The VHII and RY will give you a nice range of sounds but are similar enough in terms of EQ for you to not have to change your settings much.

[gwEm]

rebel yells have got a really addictive stadium rock sort of tone.

but if you want to try something different, but in the classic rock territory, why not try a set of mules? they still have enough definition for the harder end of the spectrum, and you'll get a good contrast with the rebel yell guitar. you'll get a vintagey, very versatile, open tone

[TheyCallMeVolume]

So Tim said that he thinks Riff Raff's would be my best bet. Waddya think?

[darrenw5094]

Tim is the man.  8)

[TheyCallMeVolume]

Even though he said RR, all this research on a VHII has me really interested in one. Just had a few more questions on it. I just want to be sure they will sound good in a LP. Also, does the VHII have good neck cleans? If not, what could I pair it with that would work well?

[Telerocker]

The VHII-neck is praised a lot here, but will be a tad darker then the RR-neck.
RR and VHII both are great pickups, just different. Choiche is merely a matter of taste, where the RR is more or less a brighter, punchier and tighter version of the Mule (talking bridge here). Personally I like the open, dynamic, full, deep yet crispy qualities of Mules. If you want to get close to a 59 PAF-sound, these are the one. They handle gain very well. For classic rock they have all the necessary qualities. The VHII will take you hardrock-terrority if necessary, but can handle blues, bluesrock and rock too. I still think the VHII fit your needs best.

[DoomBuggi]

Black dogs, or Riff Raffs

[TheyCallMeVolume]

Ugh, this is such a hard decision. I emailed Ben just to get another opinion from the BKP team, and he picks RR over VHII, by a hair. This makes it really hard, cuz I don't really wanna go against 2 of the people who make and sell them, but something still has me leaning towards VHII now. Should I really go against their advice?

[itamar101]

Ugh, this is such a hard decision. I emailed Ben just to get another opinion from the BKP team, and he picks RR over VHII, by a hair. This makes it really hard, cuz I don't really wanna go against 2 of the people who make and sell them, but something still has me leaning towards VHII now. Should I really go against their advice?

It seems to me like you want the VHIIs. It's a sort of "gut vs brain decision" I guess. When I chose the Holy Diver over the RY and the Cold Sweat it was what my guts were telling me to do.... I'm very happy with the decision.
I would personally go for the VHIIs because:
1) It seems like you want it more.
2) The RR is just too similar to the RY to my ears. I feel like its pretty m Ich just lower output and slightly more open. I don't feel like you'll be getting anything new if you go for it whereas the VHII is also similar but different enough to offer a wider variety of tones.

[TheyCallMeVolume]

Yeah, my gut is definitely telling me to go VH, as I just feel like it'll get the job I want done better than the RR, but it's really difficult because I had gone in favoring the RR, but after really doing my homework on the VH and the RR as well,I just have that feeling about the VH. But having Tim steer strongly towards the RR really makes me wanna turn on my gut.