"Glassy" neck pickup to compliment Rebel Yell bridge

[darkandrew]

I'm undecided between a VHii and Riff Raff neck pickup to compliment a Rebel Yell bridge. At the moment I'm not entirely sure which one of two guitars they're going in (ESP Eclipse or Fender Tele Custom) but they are both relatively thin mahogany bodies with a maple top (thicker top on ESP), set mahogany neck and rosewood fretboards. The neck will be used mainly for clean picking with some chorus (eg Nothing Else Matters / One - Metallica, etc) and as such I'm looking for a bright top end but with a little low end body as well, ie a glassy, bell-like tone. Which one of the VHii and Riff Raff necks would you recommend?

[Telerocker]

RiffRaff or a  - more modern - Nailbomb-neck.

[Alex]

I have a VHII in the neck of my Eclipse, it is great. What is "glassy" under your definition?

[darkandrew]

I have a VHII in the neck of my Eclipse, it is great. What is "glassy" under your definition?

By "glassy" I mean a tone similar to that which you would imagine to be from a glass bell; clear and bright but not fizzy, resonant and with body but not bloated in the mids.

Does that make sense?

[Telerocker]

The VHII-neck is clear, but also reasonably fat. VHII-neck-owners, correct me if I'm totally wrong.

[Guitarteach]

A humbucker sized P90 could nail 'glassy' - deeper and more bell like than a strat single coil and not as fat in the middle as a humbucker

[Guitarteach]

Putting a serial/parallel switch on a neck humbucker can also give a nice choice of brighter sounds for picking/chorus.

[darrenw5094]

I miss my Riff Raff neck pickup in my Tokai Les Paul. Suprised it hasn't been mentioned before.

[darkandrew]

A humbucker sized P90 could nail 'glassy' - deeper and more bell like than a strat single coil and not as fat in the middle as a humbucker

An interesting suggestion ... I hadn't thought about P90s.

[darkandrew]

I have a VHII in the neck of my Eclipse, it is great. What is "glassy" under your definition?

It's probably heresy to name that American pickup manufacturer but the Seymour Duncan Jazz almost has it, if only it had a little less bottom and a bit more articulation/attack.

[Alex]

The VHII-neck is clear, but also reasonably fat. VHII-neck-owners, correct me if I'm totally wrong.

Yeah, exactly that. Maybe not the glassiest pickup choice after all. It is warm, big and clear.

[darkbluemurder]

The VHII neck is a very good pickup - strong output, very articulate yet creamy and would pair well with a Rebel Yell bridge - but glassy it ain't IMHO.

You should look at the obvious - a Rebel Yell neck. That one easily qualifies as glassy, so does the Holydiver neck. BTW there is a Riff Raff neck in my signature but I have not yet installed it so I cannot yet comment on that one.

Cheers Stephan

[ericsabbath]

glassy = the mule

[darkandrew]

glassy = the mule

I know what you mean about the Mule neck (especially with a split coil) but I already have sets of Mules and Crawlers (both A4 necks) in other guitars and although they are great, I think I need an A5 for this particular one - a little brighter and deeper with a little bit of a scoop. The Rebel Yell neck is almost there but possibly not quite bright enough (or maybe that's just the recording on the soundclip).

[darkbluemurder]

Bright neck pickups with A5? The ones I have played

- Black Dog
- Holydiver
- Rebel Yell

are all quite clear and bright. VHII neck and Cold Sweat neck are hotter and bassier.

Cheers Stephan