les Paul 1995 standard pickup recommendation

[Telerocker]

But how does the cold sweat deal with a keys player?

I think the majority of problems with cutting through the mix are amps or amps that are not dialed in correct.

[Dave Sloven]

Yeah you would be better off getting the pickups with the basic tone you like and then using a graphic EQ (such as an MXR 10-band) to deal with issues like that.

[Yellowjacket]

But how does the cold sweat deal with a keys player?

It think the majority of problems with cutting through the mix are amps or amps that are not dialed in correct.

Yes, the super scooped tones combined with massive orchestration problems.  The rules of acoustics still apply to amplified instruments, no mater who may say otherwise.

[darkbluemurder]

But how does the cold sweat deal with a keys player?

I think the majority of problems with cutting through the mix are amps or amps that are not dialed in correct.

Not to forget keyboard players who simply play too much within a band context :)

[leolyonsofficial]

Hmm I guess I'm torn between cold sweats, rebel yells or mules!

[Telerocker]

But how does the cold sweat deal with a keys player?

I think the majority of problems with cutting through the mix are amps or amps that are not dialed in correct.

Not to forget keyboard players who simply play too much within a band context :)

Plus some drummers with too much talent that they must expose, like the one in my band, who's the former drummer of Epica (that tells a lot!).

[Kiichi]

But how does the cold sweat deal with a keys player?

I think the majority of problems with cutting through the mix are amps or amps that are not dialed in correct.

Not to forget keyboard players who simply play too much within a band context :)

Plus some drummers with to much talent that they must expose, like the one in my band, who's the former drummer of Epica (that tells a lot!).

Yes, we need more Keyboard players like John Lord, Jordan Rudess (who goes overboard sometimes but has the "wait, is this guitar or keyboard" thing down if he wants to), and Neal Morse. Or the guy from HIM actually. He played so much in the highend that the guitars could go in under that, followed by cymbals and then vocals.

I am inclined to say RY cause I just love them and they are just the thing that comes upfront without being too in your face. I think it is that it has the upper mids that make it cut. Those ones beyond the vocal range and under the cut of a proper keyboard player.

[Dave Sloven]

RY will definitely provide Randy Rhoads, but I'm not sure about the others mentioned in the original post.

[Lucas]

CS is cleaner, more crispy sounding than C-Bomb.  C-Bomb is aysmmetrically wound and has a lot of treble detail or 'hair', not as much maybe as the A-Bomb, but it's there. The CS is symmetrically wound and does not have that.  There's definitely plenty of high end in the CS if that's what you want.  I think the same is true of the RY.

thanks! Which one CS or Cbomb is more metal/modern metal oriented?

And how does CS bridge perform in your SG? Is it a good match?

[Dave Sloven]

The SG does work well in my SG Standard.

I had an A-Bomb in my SG and didn't like it ... a C-Bomb would have been a better choice.  Generally for an SG a more scooped pickup works best because of the mids focus.  That said, if you get a pickup with enough output that seems to override that problem.  My SG Special is fine with the A-Pig in it.  My Explorer was horrible with the A-Pig, really dark.  There are a lot of things to consider with choosing pickups, especially BKPs as they are very 'open' and this makes them more sensitive to the acoustics of the instrument you place them in.

With these '90s Les Pauls it seems to be the case that they can suffer from 'boomy neck, thin bridge' syndrome like you get with SGs (in that case mainly because the pickups are relatively close to one another) due to weight relief and can do with a bit of extra beef in the bridge slot.  I fitted an Emerald set to an early '90s LP Studio and it seems to be a little lacking in output at the bridge.  The CS or C-Bomb would be unlikely to have that issue as they have a good bottom end thump to them.

It's hard to say which pickup is more 'metal' ... I think the CS can probably do a broader range of styles than the C-Bomb. It can cover anything from old Judas Priest and Thin Lizzy through to Metallica and Pantera.  The C-Bomb does a good job of stuff like Slayer, Sepultura, Possessed, and Machine Head, and can generally do '90s styles very well.  The Cold Sweat is more '80s.

[Yellowjacket]

the boomy neck / thin bridge thing is awful.  A-bomb bridge,   RY neck solved it for me!! 

FWIW, A-bomb in a Les Paul is brighter and tighter in the lows with more mids than a Juggerbridge in a super strat, an instrument that is brighter and thinner acoustically.

IMO, you can get away with a fairly beefy bridge pickup in a LP provided you balance it with a neck pickup that will work with the guitars.

[ericsabbath]

CS is cleaner, more crispy sounding than C-Bomb.  C-Bomb is aysmmetrically wound and has a lot of treble detail or 'hair', not as much maybe as the A-Bomb, but it's there. The CS is symmetrically wound and does not have that.  There's definitely plenty of high end in the CS if that's what you want.  I think the same is true of the RY.

the CS bridge is asymmetrical
I think it's pretty much an underwound c-bomb
had those 3 pups in my '73 lp custom and I agree with your tone impressions
the alnico bomb seemed a little more "wild" under gain than the other two, but still had slightly better cleans and versatility
the c-bomb was actually the most balanced sounding, despite of the higher output and compression
I never thought I would like it, but it's one of the best BKP's I've tried
I really like the cold sweat, but it's a more specific and unique sort of tone, while the nailbombs have a more generic sound, in my opinion

CS has more bass, but generally speaking CS (bridge) would be brighter than CBomb?

in those 2 YT clips I prefer CS way better.

yes, it is definitely brighter
similar amount of bass, but less body in the low and center mids