BKP's for ESP Horizon FRII ala PRS Cu24 - Your thoughts?

[adr1anos]

Hello friends,
I have recently acquired an ESP Horizon FRII (neck though, alder wings, maple top, ebony fingerboard) and want to explore its sonic possibilities using BKPs in both neck and bridge.
I target the general hotness of my main guitar which is s PRS Cu24 with HFS/Vintage bass.
I play though an Elmwood Modena 60 and a custom T-REX Pro 2x12 Celestion V30 cab.
I DO NOT play metal, I play hard rock and need good articulation from the neck with sufficient treble, while from the bridge I aim for a fuller sound than the HFS, purely for leads, at the same levels of hotness, certainly with more bass but still articulated and modern.
Any ideas?
I have spent ages reading, listening and forming some kind of opinion, but I will not influence you with my findings, I would really value any opinions or hints from the most experienced users of BKPs..  
Thank you and cheers to all!
Adrian

 

[kevinr]

To me it sounds like you need a Holydiver set.

[Nolly]

Yep, Holy Divers would work well in my opinion.

[adr1anos]

Would you care to elaborate as to why the Holy Divers would be suitable for my application?

[fr33man1]

The holy diver has a great (I even could say awesome) midrange push. It will fatten up your sound and give you real thick and clear lead sounds on bridge unit. Also the neck pickup will give you very musical clean sounds.

Those pickups cope well with more bright woods too. From what I remain playing an horizon with Fr and alder body they are pretty bright (seems that the wood of the neck plays a big part in the final sound response of a neck through guitar) so the Holy Diver set (in particular the bridge unit) will really give you a fat but still very punchy, middy and clear sound.

I might just say that I did not find the holy diver neck pickup very good for playing leads as its not really so powerful. But that is just a matter of personal taste so its better to try it out.

T

[HairyChris]

Drop in replacement in Cold Sweat, but "while from the bridge I aim for a fuller sound than the HFS, purely for leads, at the same levels of hotness" points away from them. CS bridge is tighter.

Seriously thouhg, if you use a Cu24 with HFS/VB, the CS set blow them away but still keep the vibe the same.

;)

[Zaned]

Maple often has a heavy dose of mids, which the HD might exaggerate.maybe. First reading your post, I was thinking of the ceramic nailbomb, which is essentially an overwound cold sweat. So, less sharp highs, more output and mids. Dunno about the neck, maybe the regular CS neck which is absolutely wonderful for distorted leads. It's Alnico V by the way.

How does the guitar sound acoustically, and what is wrong with the pickups that are in it now? If we know the starting points, more accurate responses will follow :)

-Zaned

[asianaxeman]

I think holy divers will sing in the alder horizon to cover a hard rock sound.

Compared to the HFS ( I can compare because I have a prs std 24) the HD bridge is about the same output, much more organic, fatter lead tone but less bass overall. THe HD neck is fat and medium output, if you want something more output and treble response and articulation then nailbomb neck is superb.

I actually think the ceramic nailbomb bridge reminds me of the HFS but it's very modern sounding and wont give you that 'openess' you need for lower gain rock tones

so overall I recommend HD calibrated set or HD bridge with NB neck. Other sets to consider if you're a rock purist are the mule and the rebel yell sets.

 

[Doadman]

Wouldn't a Rebel Yell or Cold Sweat bridge be too bright in this guitar? My Jackson SL3 has similar specs and that's certainly what I was told and it's all that put me off a Rebel Yell because the clip done on a Les Paul sounds awesome. If a Maple neck is also a bit middy and a Holy Diver has fat mids, wouldn't he be better looking at an Alnico V Nailbomb to retain the more vintage tone but without overpowering the mids?

[ratspeak]

I personally am considering getting another Horizon NT-ii and putting a CS bridge/PK neck combo in it. I want it to be bright and middy, but I'm not sure if the coldsweat will fall into that "very bright" range with the NT-ii (mahogany wings), or stray into "way too bright" territory.

[ericsabbath]

the cold sweat is very bright for sure, but not overbright
if anything, my riff raff sounds significantly brighter than the cold sweat
I think you'll be fine

[adr1anos]

Thank you all for your time and replies.
I thought, for the benefit of us all,  that I should post the "Master's" reply and opinion for my predicament:
"Hi Adrian,
the CS neck should certainly work well in that style of guitar and for the bridge I would recommend a Holydiver - similar output level to your HFS but sweeter in the high end and more bass response.
kindest regards
Tim"
Needless to say this makes sense to me and I already ordered these.
I will come back with feedback, as soon as I have tried them on with my gear.
Cheers!

[ericsabbath]

the holy diver is pure win  :D

[asianaxeman]

Pure win- I second that!