+1 to andy; there are usually pretty big differences between the same BK in different guitars as well as different BKs in the same guitar.
They let A LOT of the acoustic sound of the guitar through. Moreso than anything else I've used, and even the high output stuff.
I remember one particular miracle man that I had for a while. It saw action in
- "The Gimp/Frankenstien"; an old and heavily modded hondo somethingorother that I tested out many guitar techy things on in my early days
- An Epi LP
- A dean custom superstrat
This one pickup gave some sounds that are up there with the best I've had and it gave the single worst sound I've ever had!
In the Epi it CRUSHED. It was thick, dark, tight, heavy as all hell, somewhat scooped and very aggressive. In drop C (as it was tuned at the time) it was 'Black album tone on steroids'
In the dean, alder body, maple neck, FR, it was bright with some bass but not a hell of a lot, middy, palm mutes crunched more than hammered as in the LP and the whole pick response was different; twangier and a bit quacky, from the alder and trem, rather than the note-leaps-right-out-at-you from the fixed bridge and mahogany.
In the Gimp it was DREADFULL; nothing but a sheet of grating, peircing top end without any body at all, which is pretty much what that guitar sounded like acoustically then.
Moral of the story; yes the pickup matters, but the most important thing is exactly how the pickup interacts with the guitar. Its not always predictable, and sometimes only makes sense in hindsight, when you realise what parts of the guitars sound the pickup is emphasising and diminishing.
