I have Les Pauls with Rebel Yells and Black Dogs. The only other BN pup I tried is the VHII.
My amp is a Soldano SLO and Soldano X99-VHT2150 simple but beast of a rack.
Black Dog is exactly what you'd expect: a hotter PAF style pup: chords such as 5ths grind more than a regular PAF with an overdriven amp but solo notes sing and are dynamic and defined like a PAF style pup. More dynamic than the Rebel Yell ...for blues or blues rock but I can use it for 80s-90s style metal too. This pickup is beyond fantastic!
Rebel Yell has a boost in the mids: the pup sounds tighter and more compressed than the Black Dog. It is hotter than the Black Dog too. Playing alone in a room this may sound a bit 'odd' or different. But it is a very good thing: with a hot amp the guitar cuts through the mix or band setting like a steamroller plowing through and over a crowd of people: it really punchs throught the band and mix. Very smooth pup, rich harmonics, not harsh, tight low end. For harder rock...like Steve Stevens. Hey....put it all together and... The Rebel Yell was designed by Tim to work in Steven's Les Pauls. I think he nailed it for a punch tight aggressive raw tone!
