Help me decide, please...

[Sancho]

I've been pondering over which pickups to put in my LP Traditional for a while now.
Finally had my mind set on the Emerald combo, as recommended by both Tim and Ben.
But...
My situation has changed. The classic hard rock band I was in folded. I am going to move back in a more old school heavy metal direction, and will probably be getting a new high gain amp to replace my DSL.
So... Do I stick with the Emeralds, or go for something with a bit more punch?
Cold Sweat?
Miracle Man?
Painkiller?

I will add the guitar itself sounds quite woolly, so a dark pickup will not be the answer.

[darkbluemurder]

Definitely a Cold Sweat bridge.

You can go with the Cold Sweat neck as well. It is a fine pickup (I have two of them) but it is already dark compared to the bridge pickup. Further considering that you describe your guitar as woolly I would definitely ask Tim whether there are brighter neck pickups than the Cold Sweat (maybe Riff Raff, VHII or Abraxas).

Cheers Stephan

[Sancho]

Ben recommended the Nailbomb. I had never given that one much thought (because of the Cavalera connection I suppose) but the soundclips do sound up my alley.

[Telerocker]

Just a sidestep: how about Rebel Yell's. They do old school metal too. But a Nailbomb or Coldsweat would do too. Just a matter what kind of voicing you like and if you prefer alnico's or ceramics.

[Sancho]

I definitely prefer Alnico. Ceramics can work, but my experience with them in Les Pauls hasn't been all too positive.

Rebel Yells were my original idea... I just can't choose :?
I think I'll follow my own advice and listen to BKP's suggestion. So I will probably go with Nailbombs.

[BigB]

As far as I'm concerned, I find the Abomb bridge to be kind of a "best of both worlds" pickup, as it manages to combine the tightness you would expect from hi-output ceramic pups with the much more organic midrange and "sweeter" highs (well, not really a "sweet" pickup but it doesn't have that ceramic kind of harshness) of AV, which is probably why it can do both metal and more classic rock tones. (disclaimer : I never tried BKP ceramic pickups).

If your guitar is rather dark/full/warm sounding and you're looking for more cut and tightness and a rather aggressive hi-gain tone while still retainaing some of that more classic midrange,  the ABomb bridge could (should ?) work fine. And well, if it doesn't work for you, you can always send it back for a swap 8)

NB: not commenting on the NB neck as I never played it but doing a "diff" between the soundclips and what I know of the Abomb bridge, I think I'd like it too.

My 2 cents...

[Telerocker]

Alnico Nailbombs seems to close the gap between classic/heavy rock and modern metal. They sound to my ears more contemporary then Rebel Yells. Could be the right one for you.

[Sancho]

OK, thanks guys. Decision made, I'm going for the Nailbombs.
Hope to order them next week, should have them installed a week later, together with my Holydiver (finally)

Still need VHII's for a Charvel, maybe another one for a Strat...