Best BK pickups (playing from classic rock to alternative metal)

[wfe06]

Hello fellow BKP-lovers,

I'm a new user here... decided I'm gonna invest in a BKP set soon. But I have no idea what to choose! There are way too many choices and they all seem great.

I'd like to replace the 500T and 496R on my '05 Gibson Les Paul Classic with something clearer and more versatile. I play styles that range from classic rock (ex: Slash) to hard rock (ex: Black Stone Cherry) to alternative metal (ex: Alter Bridge).

So basically I need a nice clean tone - mostly on the neck pickup - and a gorgeous, clear distortion that shouldn't be muddy. I tend to use the bridge pickup for soloing most of the time. What do you guys suggest?

PS: I'm open to mixing different pickups in the neck and bridge position... i.e. they don't have to be both Nailbombs, or both Rebel Yells, or both Black Dogs, etc...

[darrenw5094]

Holy Diver bridge.

Cold Sweat or Emerald neck.

[wfe06]

Thank you for your feedback!

[wfe06]

Holy Diver bridge.

Cold Sweat or Emerald neck.

Although, the Holy Diver is recommended for bolt-on brighter guitars, but my LP has a warm tone (as all LP's do) and has a set-in neck.

[PhilKing]

I have a few LP's with BK's, but for what you are looking for I would suggest an Emerald bridge and Mule neck.  That combination gives a great Gary Moore, Paul Kossoff and Peter Green sound on my LP, while still letting me drive a bit harder with the bridge if I want.  The Mule neck gives you the versitility you are looking for, though if you want a little cleaner tone, then a Stormy Monday would also work.  I think that either neck pickup would give you what you want, the SM has a bit more of a bell like tone where the mule can give a bit more fatness in the cleans.

[itamar101]

Holy Diver bridge.

Cold Sweat or Emerald neck.

Although, the Holy Diver is recommended for bolt-on brighter guitars, but my LP has a warm tone (as all LP's do) and has a set-in neck.

That will not be a problem it all. The recommendations are VERY vague. I have a Holy Diver in my les paul and it's excellent.
In fact, the Holy Diver is Tim's (BKP's founder and CEO) favourite pickup for that sort of music and he primarily uses LesPauls. In fact, the sound clips are with les pauls.

Anyway, +1 for a holy diver bridge and Enerald or cold sweat neck.

[darrenw5094]

Holy Diver bridge.

Cold Sweat or Emerald neck.

Although, the Holy Diver is recommended for bolt-on brighter guitars, but my LP has a warm tone (as all LP's do) and has a set-in neck.

Holy Diver rocks in all guitars......never heard a complaint from anyone about it. Classic rock to metal is the Holy Diver bridge, but other BKP could do a good job.

[Slartibartfarst42]

I think there's a number of combinations that could work really well

Holydiver/Emerald
Holydiver/Cold Sweat
Emerald/Emerald
Emerald/Mule
Abraxas/Emerald
Abraxas/Abraxas
Abraxas/Mule

As Slash uses Alnico II pickups and the more modern tones suggest at least AV and possibly ceramic; in many ways the alnico IV of the Abraxas may be the best compromise as it's vintage enough for Slash but hot enough for the modern tones.

[richard]

Rebel Yells will cover classic rock and go a lot further if you want them to. They are aggressive but put them in a band mix and they are great for making sure you cut through. I'd love to try Holy Diver and Abraxas though.

[Telerocker]

I have a few LP's with BK's, but for what you are looking for I would suggest an Emerald bridge and Mule neck.  That combination gives a great Gary Moore, Paul Kossoff and Peter Green sound on my LP, while still letting me drive a bit harder with the bridge if I want.  The Mule neck gives you the versitility you are looking for, though if you want a little cleaner tone, then a Stormy Monday would also work.  I think that either neck pickup would give you what you want, the SM has a bit more of a bell like tone where the mule can give a bit more fatness in the cleans.

+1. Perhaps an Abraxas as a bridge alternative, if you want a tad more mids.

[TheyCallMeVolume]

Rebel Yell bridge, Emerald neck.

[shaman]

FWIW, I have 3 classics-one with Mules, one with Stormy, and one with Rebels...the Rebels are perfect for that style of music-my fave pup of all time
-make sure you check the value of the pots in your Classic...could be 300k
-the Rebs sound incredible with my Boogie Mark amps(which I play most often), but they also kill in my Bray and Glaswerks...very flexible
-the others sound killer,too, but the Rebs work a little better for the more modern stuff-Ilike the smoother sounding sustain I get in the highs...not harsh or biting,really works well with higher gain applications

[dheim]

my les paul classic is loaded with a rebel yell in bridge position and a mule in neck position. RY neck sounds even cleaner than the mule, but slightly single coilish and scooped on mids. the mule is better for slash tones. anyway a rebel yell is exactly what you're looking for, in my opinion...

[ericsabbath]

alter bridge and black stone cherry sound "very ceramic"
a c-bomb or miracle man should be great for that, but won't get a true slash-like tone
maybe the alnico nailbomb with knobs rolled off a bit

I like the holy diver better for most stuff, but it sounds nothing like any of those bands, in my opinion
more like a middy, fat and fluid Jerry Cantrell meets Eddie kind of tone than the heavy and edgy Tremonti sound (Mark used a 500t in the past, by the way, and his signature pickup was based off that... and black stone cherry's guitarist plays stock classics with the 500t/496r set)
my bandmate has a miracle man loaded PRS McCarty that previously had a cold sweat and also had a PRS tremonti treble pickup
the tremonti treble sounded quite wild, hairy and angry, somewhat like the 500t... (or a starving human-eating werewolf  :lol:)
the cold sweat was cleaner, brighter and more focused sounding, with less midrange body... really articulate response
the miracle man sounds punchier, pretty thick in the bass and low mids and has a more modern and controlled overall response, and still quite versatile, at least in that particular guitar... it cleans up pretty well and he gets quite awesome cleanish tones out of it

for the neck, a mule or cold sweat should be fine (second being hotter and more aggressive on the top and mids than the first)

[shaman]

as expected, about 10 plus pups have been mentioned...and all are great!How about your amp/cab/gear?