SD Jazz vs. Emerald or other BKP

[PK]

I'm still in doubt about the neck pickup I want in my Mayones Setius.
At the moment I have a SD Jazz (SH2n), and I actually like it. But just as with the JB, I dont love it.

So how do BKP like the emerald, HD neck, VHII neck etc. compare to the SH2?

[Slartibartfarst42]

It's so long since I played a SD Jazz I would hesitate about drawing any specific comparisons but as I do own both an Emerald and Holydiver neck, I feel obliged to say something.

The Holydiver is brighter and a bit thinner than the Emerald. Given that it uses an AV magnet and 43AWG wire, the sound is surprisingly vintage. I can only put this down to the light wind, which gives the bass notes the more rounded feel I generally associate with vintage pickups. For leads, it's lovely and fluid and creamy with excellent articulation, especially in the upper register. Cleans are excellent.

Given where it is in the range, you might expect the Emerald neck to be the more vintage of the two, especially with the AIV magnet but it's not. The 43AWG wire and hot wind give it a real cut that is much more modern in style than the Holydiver. Notes are thicker and well articulated all over the neck. It doesn't have that roundness in the bass that is a feature of the Holydiver and thus comes across as more modern. For all its modern cut, the AIV magnet keeps things really sweet so in many respects it gives you the best of both worlds with the sweetness of a vintage pup but the cut of a modern one. It's a very harmonically rich pickup, which really comes across when playing cleans. Beautiful pickup.

I really like them both but for different reasons. The Emerald neck is massively popular for good reason. I think I like it because it gives me a lot of what I like about the Cold Sweat neck but with better cleans and a sweeter tone. The Holydiver was also a popular option but isn't suggested as much these days, which is a shame as it's a very musical pickup. Much underated these days I feel.

[Philly Q]

In theory, based on specs, I would imagine the closest BKP to the Jazz neck would be the Riff Raff neck.

But I haven't owned the Jazz neck since about 1989(?) and I've never owned a Riff Raff neck, so the comparison may be totally invalid soundwise.  I do remember finding the Jazz too thin and bright for my taste.

[Slartibartfarst42]

I do remember finding the Jazz too thin and bright for my taste.

Hence you don't fancy the Holydiver neck  :D

Based on that however, out of the two pickups mentioned, perhaps he might prefer the Holydiver neck. It has the vintage wind and uses an AV magnet but has that bit more cut to it due to the more modern wire.

[Philly Q]

I do remember finding the Jazz too thin and bright for my taste.

Hence you don't fancy the Holydiver neck  :D

True, never liked the sound of it at all (based purely on descriptions).  But then my favourite neck pickup sounds are far too warm and woolly for most people's taste.

[darkbluemurder]

The Holydiver was also a popular option but isn't suggested as much these days, which is a shame as it's a very musical pickup. Much underated these days I feel.

Not by me ;)
I am a fan of the HD neck for the exact reasons you described.
I never played a SD Jazz so I have no idea how it compares to any of the BKP models.

Cheers Stephan

[Slartibartfarst42]

I think the Holydiver neck is a victim partly of the success of other alternatives but mostly because of where it sits in the range. Sitting in the contemporary section, I think most people assume it will be something of a shred machine in the style of many modern pickups. It's no, it's more vintage than that but when people think 'vintage' they automatically look to the 'vintage' and 'vintage hot' sections. I made that mistake myself because when I bought it, I immediately put it in with my Holydiver bridge and moved the Emerald in with the Crawler. They were combinations that worked fine but the more I played them and came to appreciate the inherently vintage nature of the Holydiver neck, the more it became obvious that I had them the wrong way around. Remarkably, the Emerald neck is a more modern sounding pickup. The combination of AV magnet and 43AWG wire in the Holydiver neck gives me some of the cut of a modern pickup that I miss in authentically vintage pickups yet I can still have an awful lot of that creamy vintage tone. I'd say that where the Emerald neck is a modern sounding pickup with a vintage twist, the Holydiver neck is the opposite - a vintage sounding pickup with a modern twist. More people should try the Holydiver neck; it really is very good indeed.