Modern rock pickups for Les Paul

[Caleb]

Hi!

I just got a new Gibson Les Paul Standard 2013 (with a modern weight relief) and didn't like the Gibson pickups at all. They were too vintage, bright and they didn't have enough body. I play through Marshall JVM410 head and 4x12 cab with Celestion G12-75's. It's a high gain amp and I use the lead overdrive channels so I get modern voicing, but I use my gain pretty low for clear and punchy hard-rock sounds.

I'm looking for modern rock/hard-rock sounds: not metal, not too aggressive and not ice picky high end. I'm playing lead guitar and I like sweet top end for solos and punchy palm-muted rhythm sound. I like the sounds of the Metallica, Nickelback, Gary Moore and new Guns n' Roses.

From BKP pickups I've been thinking of the Holydiver and Black Dog pickups. The Holydiver sounds smooth on lead playing and rhythm is punchy enough with overdrive. I'm just worried if it's too muddy in Les Paul? The Black Dog sounds clearer, but I think it's too vintage sounding for what I'm looking for.

Which one do you recommend for a Les Paul with high gain amp and styles I'm looking for? Thanks! :)

[Dave Sloven]

That's a pretty broad range of sounds you are looking for.

Cold Sweat or Miracle Man would be good for Metallica but then again you say you don't want it to sound metal.  Also some people have found the highs of those pickups to be 'ice picky' (I haven't).

I would tend to recommend the Holy Diver, it is reputed to do well in Les Pauls but then again I've never had one.

Rebel Yell is another one to think about, as is the alnico variant of the Nailbomb.  Crawler might not be tight enough

[Telerocker]

Rebel Yell or the Holy Diver. Most of the other pickups in the contemporary range might be to metal-esque for you. The Crawler is very good pickup, but a little tricky for Les Pauls. It can be a hit or total miss.

[Alex]

I would say Black Dog. I'm very happy with mine and use it basically for the same sounds you are looking for. I have mine in an ESP Eclipse, which is not chambered.
It is not a very vintage sounding pickup IMO, I think that is a misconception. The pickup to go if you wanted a more vintage sound would be the VHII.

I had the HD a long time ago, so don't remember too much. I did not get on with it though, hence I got rid of it.

Obviously the other big choices for a LesPaul would be Mule or Rebel Yell. The Miracle Man, unfortunately, will 100% NOT do Guns'n'Roses sounds ;-)

[ericsabbath]

sounds like a nailbomb job
maybe a rebel yell

I just installed an emerald in my 73 lpc and I'm quite surprised with how hot and balanced it sounds
I was expecting a much cleaner, thinner and brighter sound

EDIT:
just found out it is actually a ceramic nailbomb and not an emerald

 

[Alex]

Yeah, but the Nailbomb doesn't do Gary Moore or Slash. I think the challenge for the OP is trying to find a pickup that covers his tonal bases. I feel the "rock/blues pickups" are more convincing doing "metal" than the actual "metal-pickups" doing rock and blues.

[Telerocker]

Yeah, but the Nailbomb doesn't do Gary Moore or Slash. I think the challenge for the OP is trying to find a pickup that covers his tonal bases. I feel the "rock/blues pickups" are more convincing doing "metal" than the actual "metal-pickups" doing rock and blues.

This!

[Dave Sloven]

I suspect that the Rebel Yell is probably the best answer

[Lucas]

Yeah, but the Nailbomb doesn't do Gary Moore or Slash. I think the challenge for the OP is trying to find a pickup that covers his tonal bases. I feel the "rock/blues pickups" are more convincing doing "metal" than the actual "metal-pickups" doing rock and blues.

This!

Agree, but surprisingly my CBomb in Lp style Dean Caddy copes with rock/hard rock really well. I like the way it plays with slight overdrive for more classic rock/hard rock tones. Yes, it adds aggression and a little bit of modern twist, but that`s the beauty of it. Although it won`t be suitable for Gary Moore, no doubt about that. Other than that I find it extremely suitable for classic rock/hard rock rhythm  if you want to add up some balls and horns into it.

on the downside it`s not the best option for leads anyway, it`s just ok for me in that aspect.

[aidilomorello]

I would recommend you alnico nailbomb it'll do everything especially on a les paul , i had one on my les paul and never regret it.

[aidilomorello]

alnico nailbomb does everything especially on a les paul . trust me :)

[Telerocker]

The OP wants something not TOO agressive. A Nailbomb is one of the most agressive pickups in the contemporary line.

[Dave Sloven]

I think Rebel Yell is modern enough sounding but could also go into Emerald territory if needed.

A RY bridge & Emerald neck might be a very good combo here if a new neck pickup is wanted.  I would just try the bridge first though

[richard]

I've never played a JVM but at my rehearsal place I use a variety of older Marshalls - 900, Jubilee, old type DSL. I'm not a big fan of these amps but they love my RYs. I only use the 'clean' channels with the gain up high for an older style crunch and kick in a Boss OD3 for screaming leads. Get some great tones. I think any of the higher output BK buckers would be too metal for me. I would also think about the Abraxas.

[ericsabbath]

sounds like a nailbomb job
maybe a rebel yell

I just installed an emerald in my 73 lpc and I'm quite surprised with how hot and balanced it sounds
I was expecting a much cleaner, thinner and brighter sound

I was suspicious about it being hot and having over 15k dc reading and asked the seller to check his other pups, so he just found out his ceramic nailbomb was reading 13k   
bad news is I'm still emerald virgin
good news is that I got a c-bomb and it sounds much more versatile than I would expect
I remember the alnico nailbomb being much edgier in this same guitar (that was 5 years ago, though, so my memory might be tricking me)