Best pickup for Solos

[explorer76]

The emerald neck is one of them rare pickups that provide absolutley stunning clean tones, as well as overdriven/distorted tones that stay clear and musical under whatever amount of gain you use. Fav neck pickup for me :)

ABSOLUTELY TRUE!

[TheyCallMeVolume]

Cool to know! I think he's made his decision, Riff Raff bridge/Emerald Neck. Objections? Thoughts? Concerns?

[itamar101]

Sort of an objection but it's really just to make sure that you're aware of this:
The Emerald neck is higher output than the riff raff bridge. I've never really tried that but it seems a bit "out of place" cos it should be te other way round.

[Attica!]

Sort of an objection but it's really just to make sure that you're aware of this:
The Emerald neck is higher output than the riff raff bridge. I've never really tried that but it seems a bit "out of place" cos it should be te other way round.

Yh that's what I was thinking. How about the Emerald Calib. or the Abraxas? I have the Abraxas/Emerald and it's very very versatile and great for the music you described, but the Emerald may "bark" more. I also have the Holy Diver/Emerald combo and like people said at the beginning, that is a great combo

[Slartibartfarst42]

Not thought of the Abraxas/ Emerald combo before but it sounds like a great mix of pickups and I've certainly heard the Holydiver/Emerald is a good mix so that's what I'll be getting next. However, as a change to the Riff Raff/ Emerald set, I'd say calibrated Emeralds instead.

[Attica!]

Not thought of the Abraxas/ Emerald combo before but it sounds like a great mix of pickups and I've certainly heard the Holydiver/Emerald is a good mix so that's what I'll be getting next. However, as a change to the Riff Raff/ Emerald set, I'd say calibrated Emeralds instead.

Whilst the Emerald and Abraxas can both do rock very well, the Emerald is slightly more agressive in the upper registers, whilst being slightly smoother in lows. This makes it good for heavier rock styles and even metal. The Abraxas is more suitable to instrumental styles like Andy Timmons, which the Abraxas has become a favourite to nail his tone. The Abraxas has a less aggresive top end, whilst having a bit more lows than the Emerald. I really want an Emerald Bridge again whilst thinking of it haha.

[itamar101]

What about a rebel yell in the bridge and an emerald the the neck? The rebel yell has always been the better sounding bridge pipckup of the two IMHO but it is still similar sounding to the emerald and will match well with the Emerald neck. It'll also be slightly better at high gain cos it's a tighter pickup and won't get as messy under high gain.

What amp does he have?

[Attica!]

What are the woods btw? Is it a Gibson style V or jackson style? Just  rebel yell's can have a lot of high end presence so in a bright guitar it may be a bit too much. And regarding the Abraxas; an Emerald or Rebel Yell would be better in a Mahogany kind. Thing with Rebel Yell, it's far from vintagey sounding, which he says he was looking for

[TheyCallMeVolume]

Well he's putting these pups in his Epi LP, not the V.

[rjtm]

Hey guys,

I am allstar's lead guitarist and I decided to just join the forum and post directly instead of just going through him. So anyways, I've been looking at this post for a while now, and I think I'm set on a few choices. The pickups will go into an epiphone les paul standard. Its a great piece and I would like to upgrade it to make it a nice guitar for a much lower price than a Gibson les paul. I am looking for pickups for mainly 80's hard rock/metal (gnr, vh, ozzy, aerosmith, metallica, etc.), and I would like the pickups to be able to have that warm vintage sound, but be able to handle some good gain (for the metallica stuff) and be very punchy and reactive. I would also like for it to be a great solo pickup that can really shine on the solos.

so now, I have a few choices im deciding between and a few questions for each pickup:

The Riff Raff- I really like it because ive heard it has a really punchy and reactive feel, and nice vintage tones. I was wondering if it is a good pickup for solos and if it is versatile enough. Also, would I need to boost it with an OD pedal for solos or does it cut through enough so that I can just use a clean boost?
I am also thinking of mixing the riff raff bridge with a PG blues neck for a smooth solo sound. would that be good? (And i have the same questions for the PG neck too)

Emerald- A lot of people on here have suggested the emerald. I guess it has a very high reputation, but from the videos and from what I hear, I feel like it is not punchy enough and isnt too good for solos, although a versatile pickup. Same thing for the rebel yells.

As for the VH and Black Dog, I really like them but they are too middy and compressed for me, and I would like more of an open tone, with a decent amount of mids though for cutting through and for a vintage tone.

Any other suggestions?

Sorry for the long post lol but thats basically the summary of my questions and what im looking for right now.

Thanks,
rjtm

[Attica!]

Hey guys,

I am allstar's lead guitarist and I decided to just join the forum and post directly instead of just going through him. So anyways, I've been looking at this post for a while now, and I think I'm set on a few choices. The pickups will go into an epiphone les paul standard. Its a great piece and I would like to upgrade it to make it a nice guitar for a much lower price than a Gibson les paul. I am looking for pickups for mainly 80's hard rock/metal (gnr, vh, ozzy, aerosmith, metallica, etc.), and I would like the pickups to be able to have that warm vintage sound, but be able to handle some good gain (for the metallica stuff) and be very punchy and reactive. I would also like for it to be a great solo pickup that can really shine on the solos.

so now, I have a few choices im deciding between and a few questions for each pickup:

The Riff Raff- I really like it because ive heard it has a really punchy and reactive feel, and nice vintage tones. I was wondering if it is a good pickup for solos and if it is versatile enough. Also, would I need to boost it with an OD pedal for solos or does it cut through enough so that I can just use a clean boost?
I am also thinking of mixing the riff raff bridge with a PG blues neck for a smooth solo sound. would that be good? (And i have the same questions for the PG neck too)

Emerald- A lot of people on here have suggested the emerald. I guess it has a very high reputation, but from the videos and from what I hear, I feel like it is not punchy enough and isnt too good for solos, although a versatile pickup. Same thing for the rebel yells.

As for the VH and Black Dog, I really like them but they are too middy and compressed for me, and I would like more of an open tone, with a decent amount of mids though for cutting through and for a vintage tone.

Any other suggestions?

Sorry for the long post lol but thats basically the summary of my questions and what im looking for right now.

Thanks,
rjtm

If you don't think the VHII won't have an open tone, then you are very wrong. It is an extremely open pickup, as well as very touch sensitive. And don't be worried about the Brown Sound description. I was about this at first, but it is far from a one trick pony. Regarding the Black Dog, I think the Mids would over power the Highs in your guitar for what you want.

And again, don't realy on the clips on the website as I don't find them helful at all. They start losing meaning after listening to 5 in a row haha. I'd prefer clips that showed the pickups in guitars that they really shine in, as a few are done in guitars that don't really suit the pickup.

I'm saying this as I think you've described the Emerald through and through. Very versatile set. The neck is absolutely fantastic.

If you want to go for a set that's the most "open and vocal", then there's the mules which I've just been recommended off Tim. But I think the Emeralds will do metal better :)

[Slartibartfarst42]

For the neck, you described the Emerald to me because when I asked Tim about a very versatile neck pickup in a mahogany guitar for good cleans and great solos, specifically mentioning the Dave Murray neck tone, he had no hesitation in suggesting the Emerald as his favourite. It will do everything you want in spades.

For the styles you mentioned, the obvious bridge pickup is the Holydiver as it's made for that style but is also VERY versatile. If you want something tighter and brighter, I honestly think that for your styles your best options would be either Cold Sweat or Emerald. Reading your post makes me think that Holydiver, Cold Sweat and Emerald are the stand out choices.

[Attica!]

For the neck, you described the Emerald to me because when I asked Tim about a very versatile neck pickup in a mahogany guitar for good cleans and great solos, specifically mentioning the Dave Murray neck tone, he had no hesitation in suggesting the Emerald as his favourite. It will do everything you want in spades.

For the styles you mentioned, the obvious bridge pickup is the Holydiver as it's made for that style but is also VERY versatile. If you want something tighter and brighter, I honestly think that for your styles your best options would be either Cold Sweat or Emerald. Reading your post makes me think that Holydiver, Cold Sweat and Emerald are the stand out choices.

+1 about the Emerald

But he said he wants an open tone and the HD is a bit too compressed. Still a great pickup, but will sound a bit dark and compressed in his Les Paul. That's why I thought Emerald. Its hot enough to do styles from soft to heavy, but the calib set also has a great versatile aspect to it. But I do think the HD/Emerald is a great match up :)

[rjtm]

Ok thanks for the quick responses. The reason I like the riff raff a lot is because its very punchy and reactive. My worry with the emerald is that it is not punchy enough and isnt reactive. Is the emerald a punchy pickup?

And also, so are the riff raff and PG's out of the picture?

thanks,
rjtm

[Slartibartfarst42]

In answer to your question on the Emerald - YES. It's exactly what you describe. It's vintage enough to have the openness you want while being hot enough to do the higher gain stuff you want and bright and tight enough cut through in a Les Paul while still being very versatile. I'm certainly not saying the Riff Raff won't work, it's just that what you describe suggests an Emerald more strongly to me.

As for the PG Blues; the alnico II magnet will make it very smooth but I'm not at all convinced it's the best fit for the range of tones you mentioned. If you really don't want an alnico V in the neck, I would suggest you look at alnico IV instead as then you'll get the smoothness of an alnico II with a lot of the cut of an alnico V. The Abraxas and maybe the Mule would be good choices here. As for the Emerald neck, the reason I mentioned it was exactly because you mentioned ' a smooth solo sound' and when I asked Tim about a pickup for the Dave Murray neck tone, I was specifically referring to the early albums when he was using a PAF humbucker and in that era, neck solo tones don't come much smoother or creamier than Dave Murray's. When thinking of that really smooth solo tone, Tim suggested the Emerald neck above all others as his favourite and he should know his own pickups. It's obviously a very popular neck pickup here and I assume it's that way for a reason.