Pickups for Charvel So-Cal?

[Alfi27]

Hello!

Going to pick up a Charvel So-Cal tomorrow, my first Floyd-equipped guitar in a few years. Luckily it has been upgraded with a Gotoh Floyd, but it still has the stock Dimarzios. I am also in the very fortunate situation that I can try some of the most suitable pickups in the guitar first hand: An Abraxas set and a Holydiver bridge. I do however have another candidate for the job: a VHII set. I have tried that set in a PRS Mira before, and I cannot say that I was particularly impressed really. Maybe because it sounded very similar to the stock pickups, and the guitar was naturally quite thin and bright sounding. The guitar has an alder body and a quartersawn, 1-piece maple neck.

I have to admit that this purchase is not entirely unrelated to my recent obsession with Steel Panther... It will be my go-to hair metal guitar, but it has to be versatile as well. Even though I am starting to wonder if that is even a question with BPKs, the last ones I have had were extremely versatile regardless of output.

So, what do you think? I will know much more after I have tried it with my pickups of course, but what are your experiences with pickups for super strats like this? I read some people love the Miracle Man in super strats as well, but I don't think it is for me.

[Slartibartfarst42]

The Miracle Man is indeed good in a Superstrat and has a lot in common with a Holydiver but in this case I believe a Holydiver itself is exactly what you need.

[Alfi27]

That was my initial thought as well, I will certainly give it a try! Even though the Abraxas is not the typical hair metal/80's rock pickup I love the versatile, driven and open tones from it. I have also heard great things about its performance in alder bolt-ons. That being said, I have been biased towards the "wrong" pickup before... My Abraxas' are also covered, so I am not sure if I can make them fit in the pickguard. Shipping them to the UK for cover removal is certainly not an option either, haha. I know this kind of "shouldn't be spoken of" due to BKPs policy (a little bit silly policy if you ask me, no offence). But if I decide to remove the covers; should they be rewaxed when I put them back on?

[Dave Sloven]

I'd be really surprised if the Holy Diver did not give you what you want.  Keep the covered Abraxas set for something else, they will go well in many different guitars

[Slartibartfarst42]

I agree with Agent Orange. The Holydiver is an ideal choice here, for both the guitar and musical style, while the Abraxas is extremely flexible so can be used elsewhere. It seems to have a wider operating window in terms of style and doesn't appear to be too fussy with regard to the guitar it's in so it makes sense to simply use it for something else as you have a Holydiver there anyway.

[pcarrion]

I 've got experience with both HD and MM in superstrats. I would say that both had a lot in common but the HD is more versatile, more classic (though being modern), is the pickup for all these hard rockers in the 80s that had not enough with their current pickups and the HD is that step towards "modernity". You can cover from fat blues to metal. But for me then came the Miracle Man, for all these that said "ok, great pickup, but I need even more!". Of course MM is named after Zakk Wylde, but for me is the pickup to get closer to George Lynch tones. For me George Lynch was the heaviest guitarist of the 80s but was imprisoned in the hair metal movement. You can get close to his tone with the HD, but my experience is that the extra heaviness and aggression, this feeling of being on the verge of feedback, is easier to get with the MM. Of course you will lose versatility with the MM.

 I have a fender strat with HD bridge and Irisht tour in middle and neck, and is my allrounder guitar. I can play almost everything. But then I have an Ibanez rg with a MM and is the perfect combination for this "heavier side of the 80s and beyond".  And I don't mean only Metallica, Slayer, Pantera,... but, as I said before, this "Lynch-esque" kind of sound that had a lot in common with the HD, still thick but slimmer and edgier.

[Alfi27]

Thanks a lot for your advice! The reason why I want to try both is that I will most likely buy a new set, because I prefer open reverse zebra coils and the Holydiver bridge pickup has larger holes that does not fit regular screws (has been direct wood mounted). I totally agree that the HD in theory should be the best match, but when I have the opportunity to try both it would be a bit silly not to imo. Maybe the seller is wrong as well, that a covered pickup might fit. I will pick it up later today and I will most likely try the Diver in there first

[Slartibartfarst42]

I'd have thought that making the scratchplate slightly bigger would be a reasonably straightforward modification.

[richard]

Your Charvel seems to be the type of guitar that the HD is aimed at but I'd really curious about how the Abraxas set would sound considering they seem to sound great in just about anything.

[Slartibartfarst42]

It would be an interesting comparison. I'm guessing the Abraxas would sound very similar, just a bit more vintage and a shade softer in the bass. TBH, I see the ideal 80s Metal pickup as an Abraxas with an AV magnet because where the Holydiver drifts away from the 80s Metal sound is its use of a hotter wind and 44AWG wire. Ideal 80s Metal tone, to me at least, is an AV magnet wound with 43AWG wire to a DC resistance of 13-14K.

[Alfi27]

Alright, so I got the guitar home today! I couldn't play even one song with the original pickup (it only has a bridge pickup) before I found my soldering iron and installed the Diver. The Diver certainly is a huge improvement, where the Tone Zone is overly bassy and muddy the Diver is very balanced and nice. However, being used to the sound of my very powerful and huge sounding Gibson R0 the tone is a little disappointing to be perfectly honest... That is an issue I have had before, having a really hard time getting used to the more "scratchy" and less full-bodied tones of an alder guitar compared to my mahogny guitars. I will have it around for a couple of days, and we will see. The guitar is very cool though, almost an exact replica of Gary Moore's Charvel!

[pcarrion]

I liked the fullness of the Holy Diver but it lacks the rawness of (as Slarti pointed out) 43AWG. It's not an "angry" pickup, actually I found the Abraxas to have even more edge than the Holy Diver. That's why I prefer the Miracle Man over the Holy Diver for 80s metal. I know the Miracle Man has not 43AWG but the ceramic magnet adds some bite. The Rebel Yell is a great 43AWG pickup for 80s metal, but I only tried it in a Les Paul and I can imagine that in less full bodied guitars it may not work the same way.

[Alfi27]

Yeah the Diver doesn't bite like most alnico V pickups I have tried, and certainly nothing like the Rebel Yell. Sick lead tones though, certainly one of the best bridge pickups for leads in the BKP range! I have decided to try the Abraxas set in the guitar though, with some push pull fun. If it sounds great I might just remove the covers and keep them that way, even though it will look a bit odd with gold polepieces and chrome hardware

[Slartibartfarst42]

That seems understandable and it was that lack of 'hair' in the Holydiver that eventually led me to find another solution to my quest for 80s Metal tone. You seem to be responding in a similar way to me so based on that I would expect you to prefer the Abraxas.

[Alfi27]

Yeah, we'll see. The Holydiver certainly sounds very good, and I could easily keep the guitar this way, but I need a neck pickup as well. And if I am being really, and I mean really picky, it might be a tad too smooth and compressed. The Rebel Yell is more in the lines of my ideal 80's pickup, but I know it will be too bright for this guitar. I understand the Nailbomb is closely related to the Rebel Yell, but maybe not suited for this guitar either? Too bad BKP doesn't swap magnets anymore, an Alnico V Abraxas would probably be the bomb for this axe!