Which replacement for my Country Boy?

[stringtheorist]

I absolutely love the tone of my Country Boy bridge pickup but it's way underpowered compared to my humbucker loaded guitars, and this imbalance is a pain as it means messing with my amp settings when I swap over. I would like to get a replacement with a similar tone but an output to equal the EMG humbuckers on my ESP Eclipse. Would the Piledrivers be a good choice or are these OTT for playing country? I don't mind a versatile pickup as I play metal too (usually use the ESP for that) but I don't want to sacrifice the guitar's function as a country/rock tool. Alternatively, would The Boss or Brown Sugar do the job?

[BigB]

I absolutely love the tone of my Country Boy bridge pickup but it's way underpowered compared to my humbucker loaded guitars, and this imbalance is a pain as it means messing with my amp settings when I swap over. I would like to get a replacement with a similar tone but an output to equal the EMG humbuckers on my ESP Eclipse. Would the Piledrivers be a good choice or are these OTT for playing country? I don't mind a versatile pickup as I play metal too (usually use the ESP for that) but I don't want to sacrifice the guitar's function as a country/rock tool. Alternatively, would The Boss or Brown Sugar do the job?

No passive single coil pickup is going to get you the output level of an active 'bucker, and let's not talk about keeping the country boy tone. You'd be better using a clean boost to level out the guitars.

Note that you'll probably still have to mess with your amp's EQ...

[Telerocker]

The're is noting vintage that will hold up with any passive pickup. I agree: try a booster or eq-pedal, maybe in the loop.

[BigB]

I agree: try a booster or eq-pedal, maybe in the loop.

Since it's about hitting the front with a similar level, I wouldn't put the clean boost in the loop here... But YMMV ;)

[Lucifuge]

Or turn down the volume on the EMGs?

[Roobubba]

Have you tried his Father? You tele boys like to keep it in the family, I understand...

[richard]

I have different amp settings for all of my guitars. It's not that big a deal. If you love the sound of the Country Boy can't you just get used to adjusting your amp ? Once you've figured out the settings it only takes a couple of seconds to tweak a few knobs. Surely better than getting rid of a pickup you really like.