Which BKP is closest to...

[itamar101]

The seymour duncan vintage 59' SH-1.
I am on the verge of buying some BKPs and I have always liked SD SH-1s but found that they lacked a bit of bass.
What do you guys think the solution would be/what is the closest to an SD SH-1.
I am planning on matching it with an Emerald bridge. does anyone have any experience with one? I fear that it might not be high enough output.

I mainly play hard rock and a bit of metal (Guns N Roses, Bon Jovi, Rhandy Rhoads) but I also play lots of blues and funk so I use a lot of cleans so cleans are very important and I want good bass response especially with distorted chords but I don't want it to sound too loose and definitely not muddy.
I generally use a less scooped and slightly less distorted tone than what you'd associate with Rhandy Rhoads.

Also, i play a Gibson Les Paul Studio with an Orange Thunder 30 if that helps at all.

The combos I was thinking of:
The Mule Neck & Emerald Bridge
The Mule Neck & Rebel Yell Bridge
Emerald Neck & Rebel Yell Bridge.

TL;DR 1) Closest pickups to a SD SH-1. Actually, If theres a pickups close to the JB-4 but less harsh sounding then that'd be great too.
2) Do you have any experience with and emerald bridge? how is it?
3) what combo would you recommend? I'm open to other suggestions but id really like to know whether the Emerald will be high enough output.

[ericsabbath]

get a riff raff set
I doubt you'll regret that

[itamar101]

Sorry, could you explain this further?
Do you mean that the Riff Raff is most similar too the SD or that I should get it for the bridge pickups or do you mean something else.

I don't especially want it as the bridge pickups. I'd like a minimum output of around 12.0k really.
The only reason that I'm unsure about getting the emerald bridge is really that in my mind i imagine it as very thin sounding and not very powerful. If someone could dismiss this claim (from experience) it'd be great.

[Slartibartfarst42]

Well the Riff Raff uses an alnico V magnet like the SH-1 and is similar power, though the EQ is a little different as the SH-1 is more scooped in the mids. The VHII may also be an option for similar reasons but I'm afraid I don't know enough about these pups to say more. I know the VHII is a popular choice and I've read a number of favourable comments about the Riff Raff from Eric before so it's obviously impressive, as I suppose might be expected from BKP.

[itamar101]

I don't especially like the sound of the VHII in chords and I'm not sure of how well it could handle the heavier side of things.
I'm mainly going towards an Enerald VS Rebel yell bridge pickup and I'd like to know what you guys think of the then against each other for my needs.

[darkbluemurder]

The seymour duncan vintage 59' SH-1.
I am on the verge of buying some BKPs and I have always liked SD SH-1s but found that they lacked a bit of bass.
What do you guys think the solution would be/what is the closest to an SD SH-1.
I am planning on matching it with an Emerald bridge. does anyone have any experience with one? I fear that it might not be high enough output.

I mainly play hard rock and a bit of metal (Guns N Roses, Bon Jovi, Rhandy Rhoads) but I also play lots of blues and funk so I use a lot of cleans so cleans are very important and I want good bass response especially with distorted chords but I don't want it to sound too loose and definitely not muddy.
I generally use a less scooped and slightly less distorted tone than what you'd associate with Rhandy Rhoads.

Also, i play a Gibson Les Paul Studio with an Orange Thunder 30 if that helps at all.

The combos I was thinking of:
The Mule Neck & Emerald Bridge
The Mule Neck & Rebel Yell Bridge
Emerald Neck & Rebel Yell Bridge.

TL;DR 1) Closest pickups to a SD SH-1. Actually, If theres a pickups close to the JB-4 but less harsh sounding then that'd be great too.
2) Do you have any experience with and emerald bridge? how is it?
3) what combo would you recommend? I'm open to other suggestions but id really like to know whether the Emerald will be high enough output.

Hi,

This is all a bit confusing TBH. Are you speaking of the SH-1 neck or bridge model or the set? And regarding the Emerald - do you already have one or are you considering one to buy?

As regards your suggested combos: Emerald set (if GnR is the main focus) or Rebel Yell set (if Randy Rhoads is the main focus) would seem more obvious to me. Since clean tones are also important to you Emerald set seems more appropriate although I have not yet played one.

The closest BKP to a SH-1? Very difficult to say - probably the Riff Raff.

The closest pickup to an SH-4 but less harsh? This is not the first time I read that the SH-4 is harsh but the three I had lacked highs so badly that they never had the slightest chance of being harsh even if they wanted to. In that case check out the Holydiver.

Cheers Stephan

[itamar101]

Thanks for the detailed answer.
I was talking about the SH-1 neck.

I'm worried that the Riff Raff will lack in bass frequencies and sound very bright. Do you have and experiences with that? And does the Emerald sound thin at all?

[Slartibartfarst42]

It would help a lot if I read the whole post before saying anything  :roll:

I think Emerald is a good shout for the neck based on the way Tim described it to me. The Holydiver is similar to a JB but a LOT better in every way. If you quite like the tone of a JB you'll love the Holydiver. I'm putting mine into a mahogany PRS and there's a You Tube clip somewhere in the players section of a Holydiver in a Les Paul that's fantastic.

[ericsabbath]

the riff raff is plenty of bass
not as middy as shown in the chart, though
and yes, it's a pretty bright pickup (in a good way, not piercing), but the rebel yell is at least as bright

[Telerocker]

+1 for the RiffRaff-neck. Emerald might work fine too.

[itamar101]

Hmm...
I am actually quite interested in the Holy Diver and the Rebel Yell now.
How does the holy diver sound with lower gain tones? I don't think that i'm gonna be playing with the sort of gain that the holy divers are usually demoed with but they seem very cool but I'm not sure how they handle classic rock/high gain stuff and how their cleans are.

I really just want a full but bright and clear tone.
After rewatching a few demos of the emerald i find that i sounds a bit thin i think.

How does the rebel yell fare against the holy diver and vise versa considering what i have just said?

So far it think that the riff raff is gonna go in the neck.

[itamar101]

Actually, i've just realised that the Holy Divers are recommended for bright sounding bolt-on guitars. That means they're dark sounding right?
how would they sound with an already dark sounding guitar?
I really want quite a bright pickup in order to add a bit of high end to the les paul without it sounding harsh or piercing.

[Slartibartfarst42]

I wouldn't describe a Holydiver as 'bright' but they will work in a darker guitar. When I told Tim I was planning on putting a Holydiver in my mahogany PRS he said he loved the idea and here's a video clip of Holydivers in a Les Paul:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T26RqvH3YBA

The solo playing starts at about 20 seconds. If you want a brighter pickup for a Les Paul style guitar you should try looking at a Cold Sweat.

By the way, one of the reasons I'm moving my Holydiver to the PRS is because it's so good at Classic Rock. From bands like Free to those using far more gain that 80's Metal, the Holydiver can do it all and it even has good cleans. I actually think it will be even nicer in the PRS and I LOVE it in my Jackson! To me, the tone of the Holydivers in that video clip is awesome but if you want brighter than a Holydiver I'd seriously look at Cold Sweats.

[BigB]

I'm worried that the Riff Raff will lack in bass frequencies and sound very bright.

The RR bridge is indeed quite bright but in a good way - no harshness, no ice-pick, just a lot of clear high harmonics, and the low end is not lacking, this pup works a bit like a good Tele bridge, it's kind of twangy but fattens in a really nice way with overdrive and the tone pot.

The RR neck is very clear and detailed but still warm, very dynamic / touch sensitive too, and really sings from pristine clean to bluesy crunch to heavy gain. I do like my two others BKP 'bucker necks (crawler and mule), but the RR is actually the one I use the most.

To make a long story short: RR are bright but neither thin nor shrill sounding.

[itamar101]

Ok, so I'm pretty certain about the riff raff neck now.
I am still unsure about the bridge pickup but I'm considering the holy diver, rebel yell and the alnico cold sweat. Again, although I like what I hear of the HD and the CD I haven't found any rock demos which is what I play most of the time.
So I'll carry on searching but which one would you guys recommend for my les Paul?
Full but clear and bright but not shrill.

Thanks again!