Which BKP is closest to...

[Miracle Man]

1.) Without taking it all apart? Probably not. Also, not worth the hassle.
2.) I guess. Depends on what you want (coil split?)
3.) If I'm not mistaken, Les Pauls need long shaft pots (not 100%)
4&5.) My advice: go to the BKP online shop - you need:
         2x BKP/CTS 550k pot (neck&bridge volume)
         2x Regular 500k pot (neck&bridge tone)
         2x Jensen BKP 22n capacitor

If you want coil splits then substitute one or two regular 500k pots with 500k push/pull pots (two if you want each pickup to have it's own coil split or one if you want to have one push/pull for both pickups). Either way, be sure to use push/pull pots in place of the tone controls and 550k pots for volume.
The caps in your gibson are ceramic (cheap). You don't NEED new caps but the ones I suggested are definitely a tonal improvement. It's up to you. Again, the weakest link in the chain.... 

[itamar101]

Thanks.
So why suggest that I change the components if it's not worth the hassle? Should I change them or not?

[Miracle Man]

I thought you were asking about changing one or two pots on the PCB. If I were you I'd tear out that whole PCB and replace everything with the parts I listed. Don't change the pots&caps ON the PCB, just pull that sucker out and start from sratch with quality components. PCBs don't belong in guitars anyway...

[itamar101]

Ok, thanks.
Well I'll get a tech to do it anyway because my solder iron is broken and the nearest DIY store is about 1 1/2 hours drive from where I live.

One more thing (I hope): Should I get long or short pickup legs for my Les Paul when I order the pickups?

I am inclined to thank this whole forum for the amount of help that they have given me once more.

[Miracle Man]

Short or long, It doesn't matter in your case. But if you plan on moving your pickups to something like a PRS or similar in the future, then short (not enough room in the pickup cavity for long legs in those guitars).

Be sure to tell the tech to use the 550k pots for volume controls to get the best results. Regular or push/pull 500k for the tone controls.

[itamar101]

Hey, I'm just about to order the Holy Diver bridge and Emerald neck but I'm the having some inescapable second thoughts.
The thing is, The holy diver sounds great and I love that it has a thick tone unlike the rebel yell yet it still lets through the treble frequencies but it is still obviously a bit darker and the thing that's worrying me is that I'll be using a Les Paul and an Orange Thunder 30 which is quite a dark amp. Of course, it sounds amazing and isn't overly dark and I can get really nice lead and rhythm sounds that doesn't lack in treble at all but it's certainly darker than others british amps used to get the sound that like marshalls. Now, I imagine that i should still be able to get a nice bright but not shrill sound with the holy diver but I really just want to double check because I'm understandably (I hope) having some insecurities about whether to spend £100 on the oly Divers or whether the rebel yells would be a better option. I would really like to get the holy divers TBH and although the rebel yells are getting great reviews the Holy Divers just seem right for me and I'd be kind of disappointed if I don't get it and get the rebel yell instead but I just want to know whether I'm making the right decision and that it wont be too dark. I really like that rich, thick, fluid tone of the holy divers and the fact that they are still tight. By description they seem absolutely perfect for me but I'm having doubts whether they'd suit my rig.
Oh, I forgot to mention that my les paul actually is quite a bright guitar despite the mahogany. Maybe because it's chambered and has a maple top but anyway, it's actually overly bright with my hum-sized P90s.


Anyway, can anyone please dismiss my unreasonable insecurities? :)

Anyway, thanks and sorry for the long post and the hassle.

[Slartibartfarst42]

lol, buyer's remorse before you've even bought! It's a lot of money so I guess it's natural but it's nothing other than unfounded self doubt I think. If I were to suddenly say 'You're right, get the Rebel Yell', you'd then be asking if that's really the right thing to do. The Rebel Yell is a lot brighter so will cut through better and stay tighter for longer but you'd also be losing all of the qualities that make the Holydiver so good. Unless you've had BKP before, you can't really imagine the level of articulation these things have. That link I posted earlier was to Holydivers in a Les Paul and it sounds just fine. I've also used my Holydivers with a Marshall amp and a Hughes & Kettner and in both instances they were fantastic despite two very different amps. When I tried using DR Hi-Beams on the guitar the whole thing acually became too bright and cuttin g so I had to revert back to Tite Fits. The thing is, you want rich, thick and fluid and that's Holydivers, not Rebel Yells.

[itamar101]

:) So the holy diver will still be bright enough even going through an orange amp? I think I'll stick with the holy divers because my guitar is very bright despite being built with mahogany and having 300k pots and I'm getting 550k pots for it anyway.

Anyway, I'll hopefully be buyin a set tonight but any more input is welcome.
I'll notify you guys when I order and what I ordered.

[Slartibartfarst42]

I think that if you get them open poled with 550k pots you'll be fine. As I said in an earlier post, I already have a covered Holydiver in my Jackson and it's great, even on the darker channels of my amp. I remember when I bought mine, my concern was mids as a maple neck-thru guitar tends to be very middy and the EQ suggests the Holydiver is also very middy but I needn't have worried. I like it enough that a Holydiver is going in the bridge of my PRS SE Custom 24 too and that's mahogany but I have no qualms at all. I'll get it open poled this time and get a 550k pot for it but that's really just to enhance what will already be a great sound. You can always send them back if you don't like it but I can't imagine that will be the case. I look forward to reading a review.

[itamar101]

Thanks so much.
I'll be getting the Holy Diver soon then I hope :)

I'll be sure too post my opinions on it as soon as I fit it in.
Thanks for the help.

[itamar101]

Well, after simply not being able to bring myself to buy either pickups because my brain said rebel yell but my guts said holy diver I ended up emailing Tim for a bit of advice. I explained my situation a bit better than I have here and then I apologised for the long email. Nonetheless, he replied only a few hours later saying:
"without hesitation, Holydiver bridge and Emerald neck.
The soundclips on the website were all recorded using the same LP Custom(which generally sounds a little darker than a Standard).
I use this combo now in 2 of my main live LPs(one Standard and one Custom) and the tone/balance of the two is excellent. I also have started using this combination in my main recording Vee - mahogany with a carved maple top - again excellent results not just for driven tones but cleans too and very responsive to volume pot changes.".

A so, I went ahead to order the Holy Diver Bridge and Emerald Neck because I figure that it'd be foolish to argue with Tim's advice! Anyway, after lots of sampling different looks on an exact clone of my guitar on SC Guitar Editor, I got them in Reverse Zebra and I really looking forward to their arrival!!

I also bought:
2 BKP 550k pots for the volume controls
1 CTS 500k pot for the neck tone control
1 CTS 500k Push Pull pot for bridge coil-splitting and tone controls
2 Jensen 22n Capacitors

I meant to get 2 push-pulls so that I could split both pickups but I made a mistake and I can't see a way to fix it on the BKP site so I might just buy a DiMarzio 500k Push-Pull for the neck tone and keep the CTS for the neck in my box of spares.
Unfortunately I can't just do a master coil split because you need a special kinda pot for that :(

No matter, even if I don't get the DiMarzio Push-Pull I don;t think I would've used the neck coil split much anyway. 4.5k is just a bit too weak.

Anyway, thank for all your help guys and I'll be sure to post feedback and pics when the pickups arrive!!! SOOO EXCITED!!!!!!! Ok, I'll stop, I'm beginning to sound like a 10 year old girl!

[Slartibartfarst42]

I'm really looking forward to a good, detailed review of both pickups  :D

[Miracle Man]

I'm really looking forward to a good, detailed review of both pickups  :D

+1!  You owe us that much after a 5 page thread  PDT_003

[itamar101]

Hahaha, don't worry. As you can probably tell by now, short posts don't work for me, I need to make long posts!
I'll be sure to write a very good and long review for you guys, I owe it to you!

[itamar101]

Well, I just got an email saying that the pickups have been dispatched and I am now super excited and TBH I'm not even feeling one bit nervous (which may come as a surprise seeing as for most of this thread I was nervously comparing pickups and worrying about my choices)!