Need new Pickups for my Strat...

[Cpt_Gonzo]

Hi guys,

I was really successful in finding pickups for my other Ash/ Maple Strat on this forum last year, so I'm trying this again ;)

Scored a nice Lite Ash Strat which is S/S/S but routed H/S/H. Want to convert it to H/S/H to so it can cover everything my primary guitar can do.
That guitat is fitted with Holydivers as well as a Slowhand single, you can check the thread if you search for it on my profile!

So basically I'm looking for the same possibilites the Holy Diver has, but with another, maybe more aggressive approach.
I'm loving H/S/H Strats for their flexibility, and the Holy Divers pretty much do everything, so that's something the Pickups will have to do.

For the lazy people, I play everything from Blues to Hard Rock to Metal to Progressive stuff. Lots of 80s metal and pop, too.

thanks in advance guys!

Eye candy:

[itamar101]

Sweet guitar!
The only BKP pickups similar to the Holy Diver is the lower output Black Dog.
BUT... I think that a a Black Dog Neck and Holy Diver Bridge with a Trilogy Suite Middle would sound really great, be very versatile and suit your needs very well.

Another really nice option would be to get a Nailbomb Bridge instead of the Holy Diver bridge. It's similar to the Holy Diver and slightly higher output and more aggressive but I'm really not sure how well it'd suit your needs. Some people complain that they can't get it out of the 90s metal sound (Pantera sorta stuff i guess) but it might be more versatile in a strat.

But i'd definately go for a Black Dog neck and Trilogy Suite Middle.

[Cpt_Gonzo]

Woudln't the Black Dog neck be sort of a Vintage-ey pickup? What I love about the Holy Diver neck is that it
a) sounds very fluent
b) yet sounds very clear and punchy
c) is better than any single coil I've played when split.

I was eyeing the A-Bomb aswell to be honest.

[itamar101]

Yeah, The black dog is a vintagey sorta pickups but its really quite hot for a PAF. It's more of a Vintage Hot/Overwound PAF sort of pickup. But actually, scratch it, something better has come to my mind and I cant believe that I haven't thought about it before!

VHII Neck/Trilogy Suite Middle/Holy Diver or Nailbomb Bridge.

The VHII fits so well in strats that it's unbelievable and its so "at home" with 80s metal and hard rock that it's unbelievable. The VHII is actually generally the most popular humbucker for strats in the range. Followed by the Holy Diver.

A Holy Diver neck would work really nicely too but I honestly think that if you're willing to try out a VHII neck then a Holy Diver bridge would be a great match along with an Irish Tour middle.
On the other hand, if you get the Holy Diver (which would also be great) then an A-bomb bridge would be well in place in terms of how it balances out with the Holy Diver and the Trilogy Suite Neck and Middle respectively. The problem is, although it is talked about by BKP as a very versatile pickup, it seems many people say that they only get it to sound like a metal pickup. These people are usually using darker guitars like les pauls or Ibanez guitars though so I don't know how well it'd work in a strat. I've got a feeling that you'd like it though.

I'd also check out the black hawks. They look EXTREMELY versatile and their cleans are stunning, only beaten by the emerald neck IMO.

[Cpt_Gonzo]

Def. looking at the Black Hawks. They look interesting enough to try them out. Kinda like the Blade design.

If I would want to choose them I'd wait until someone posts a detailed review on how they handle more classic stuff like Rock/ Blues. I'd imagine they sound awesome split, though.

The VHII...well, the DC Res is pretty low, but that doesn't say anything. How does the Output compare to the Holy Diver? I'd need to swap the guitars without tweaking the amp, which is of course a matter of setting the amp to the right compromise, but I figure that the Pickup does a lot, too. And both guitars sound pretty much alike, so if there is a deciding factor, well than it's the pickup.

[AndyR]

Def. looking at the Black Hawks. They look interesting enough to try them out. Kinda like the Blade design.

If I would want to choose them I'd wait until someone posts a detailed review on how they handle more classic stuff like Rock/ Blues.

That's what I want to hear as well. I can remember when actives/etc started becoming widely available and everyone got excited about it. But after trying/hearing them, all us old (or not so old at the time!) blues/rockers went "nah!" and put our old pickups back in. They seemed kinda sterile etc for what most of us were trying to achieve (I'm certainly in that camp, anyway).

But there was still something about those pickups that it would have been nice to have, if they had also had some of the other stuff we were relying on... I have hopes that Blackhawks might be interesting in that direction.

[Cpt_Gonzo]

I'm in the same boat, really can't get used to EMGs and/ or Blackouts. They are way too "glassy" if that makes sense.

How does the trilogy suite middle single coil work with the A-Bombs? Anyone?