Please get cold sweats, so you can compare them to DF for me please :D
Still unresolved issue of my bridge P'up and what to do with it
They have an overall similar EQ and vibe, but just very generally - actually they are quite different pickups and I don't think you'd mistake them.
The Dirty Fingers have a certain 'messed up-ness' to them, which I think can be cool in some situations. I also think the Dirty Fingers have alot more mid range grind. Cold Sweat has a very mild mid range.
Cold Sweat has a rather extended treble response, which I think is pretty nice. I'd say both pups have a similar bass response.
Dirty Fingers is quite compressed - it sounds good dirty and clean, but 'breaking up' tones are not very good in my opinion. Cold Sweat is alot more versatile in this regard, handles all gain levels... Maybe the DF bridge sounds a bit nicer clean than the CS though, but very hard to say.
In terms of output I find them both to be similar levels.
DFs are the best commercial pickups I tried, i have a set of early 80s ones. they didn't come potted are were very microphonic before I potted them. CSs are 'better' than the DFs in quite a few ways, but they are not really that close.
500T is closer to DF than CS.
Soon I will have a Painkiller bridge in a guitar... I'm interested to hear the difference on my rig. Previously I just heard them through Feline's rig.