well
I use a lawsuit Les Paul, I'm a Huge Pantera, Arch Enemy and Zakk fan too, and I had all kinds of pickups on this guitar
I'd say the SH-6 is one of the muddiest high output pickups I've played on a Les Paul
considering only the BKP's I have/had, the Holy Diver is unbeatable for Michael Amott tones (and some calmer stuff like Alice In Chains and Tool) when combined with my Peavey Rockmaster preamp (I played it through a 5150 too)
it sounds very fat, but still tight with a thick and tasty lead tone
the Miracle Man has a more focused tone, less fat, but with more low end and punch and a sharper treble attack
it's great for Pantera and BLS rhythms, and it's way more powerful than the SH-6 without messing up with clarity
the Painkiller has a very middy voicing, like the SH-6 but totally clear
the highs are sweeter than the MM, but it's not as punchy on the low end
it's very lean and precise
the Warpig (alnico) I only played once and not through a les paul, but a thinner mahogany guitar (an ibanez rg)
it reminded me of the Holy Diver, but it has a grainy sludge metal thing on the midrange
would be my choice for Down/Crowbar stuff
but for fast/tight metal, it didn't work no near as good as the Painkiller in the same guitar
but I ended with my once least favorite one: the Cold Sweat!
damn, this thing is good!
it worked way better for old Pantera (not that old: CFH and Vulgar era) and old Zakk with Ozzy than the Miracle Man, the EMG ZW Set, the Bill Lawrence L-500XL and that was a great surprise!
it doesn't have any bass and mid boost or cut, it just crunches the big low midrange of the wood and adds a nice top end sparkle
it doesn't have a ton of output, but has more power than the SH-5 (used by Exodus on the last 2 albums) and more cut than the Holy Diver
I tried all of them with a Wylde Overdrive as a boost, and I usually play through a modded Framus Cobra or a Peavey Rockmaster
now I bought a vintage Maxon 6 band EQ (1979-1981) to use as mid booster in the front of the amps
Thanks for the input, so a last couple of questions...
1. How does the Cold Sweat handle Metal, High Gain, Downtunings...
2. When I order a covered humbucker it will be less noisy but will it also loose tone or attack or Volume, etc ?
3. What do I need to order for a Gibson Les Paul: 50 or 53mm spacing? long or short leg? 4 conductors (if I want to split them) ?
1. great! just like every contemporary line bk! hahah
2. probably a bit, but no big deal. I don't think it will affect too much a ceramic pup.
3. measure your strings from the 1st to the 6th string right on the bridge pickup position... most gibsons have 51 or 52mm, so I only buy 53mm for the bridge.
