Pickups for Charvel So-Cal?

[Dave Sloven]

Personally I would just shove a Miracle Man in it, cleans be damned

[Alfi27]

What about a neck Miracle Man in the bridge position? I was actually thinking about it but I figured it might be too compressed. I do like the Suhr Aldrich bridge pickup though.

[mantrasky]

I love the Holy Diver Calibrated set (Trilogy Suite Middle) in my Charvel. for me it's very versatile to cover many styles. Unless your using the exact equipment "back in the '80,s" for me it was Duncan Distortion and Marshall Superlead with a Tube Screamer or Boss Super Overdrive to hit the front. The MM didn't appeal to me, frequency-wise and I've tried All of the BK pickups (Wonderful Builder!) So I just tried to do the best that I can with what I have.

[Alfi27]

Wow! That is just a sick rig. I bet the Friedman and Soldano sound unreal! Cool guitar as well, and even though HSH is not my favorite setup it is certainly the most versatile.

I just figured out something strange with my Charvel: the tone actually has a bit less highs and significantly less upper mids compared to my massive Gibson Les Paul R0, so it seems darker overall! Which leads me to the question: would a brighter pickup be the answer here? I can of course change the profile on my Kemper to a profile of a much brighter amp, but I like to keep it simple in a gig context. Honestly I do not think the Rebel Yell would be a good match, but I certainly need something brighter and more biting than the Holydiver! Does not need to be super high output either, maybe a VHII?

[Slartibartfarst42]

That Charvel is very reminiscent of the Adrian Smith Jackson. There's something about a white guitar with a black scratchplate and maple neck that really does something for me! If I ever change my white Strat into HSS, it's getting a black scratchplate and black pickups.

[mantrasky]

For my Charvel I'm using the Schaller Mega-E Switch (I can split the coils in any configuration) which is very versatile and sounds awesome! I also play a lot of Jazz with the Charvel so the Neck-Humbucker sounds beautiful and one of the best "distorted tone neck pup" I love the Holy Diver in that guitar as a "SuperStrat" it has a very "singing voice" which can also be aggressive depending on how you articulate. As far as Les Pauls I have a Historical '59 Murphy with Mules which I like for more of a vintage vibe, but in my Les Paul Custom the Rebel Yell sound pretty killer with the Ebony Fretboard, although I'm not as into the Les Paul as Strat type guitars.

[mantrasky]

My '59 Historical "Looks nice" sounds good.

[Alfi27]

I bet! The Soldano SLO is on my future must-have list!

Tried the Abraxas (bridge only) in the Charvel now, and I had to remove the cover to make it fit. After discovering that huge amount of wax underneath the cover I started to think that I might have made a mistake... Well, I certainly did not! I think it sounds much better in this guitar than the Diver did. The low end is huge, but controlled. There is more high and mid-mids, as well as more high end. It should also be mentioned that I changed the pot as well, from one that read 465k to one at 512k.

The Abraxas has some qualities I have never heard in another pickup before: it sounds driven, full, and even a little bit aggressive at the same time! Very hard to explain, I strongly advice those of you who have not tried the Abraxas to do so ASAP! It is not a picky pickup either, unless your guitar is extremely bright or extremely dark it will most likely work very well! I cannot say I miss a neck pickup either, this is a true 80's rock guitar and they didn't use the neck pickup back then

[mantrasky]

Alfi27 for the last 10+yrs my goto amp was the "SLO" I've own all the other amps (Bogner, CAA, VHT, etc) plus so many Modified Marshall's (Arrendondo, Cameron, Suhr, Bogner, Soldano) My "All-time" favorite is definitely the Friedman BE100 and it's also modified by Dave Friedman for me. The best of "Marshall & Fender" Plexi/JTM45/JCM800/Twin/Super Reverb/Deluxe. I use what works for me and in the studio every subtle change makes a difference, Live is a different matter and also sound amazing.

[Slartibartfarst42]

Tried the Abraxas (bridge only) in the Charvel now, and I had to remove the cover to make it fit. After discovering that huge amount of wax underneath the cover I started to think that I might have made a mistake... Well, I certainly did not! I think it sounds much better in this guitar than the Diver did. The low end is huge, but controlled. There is more high and mid-mids, as well as more high end. It should also be mentioned that I changed the pot as well, from one that read 465k to one at 512k.

The Abraxas has some qualities I have never heard in another pickup before: it sounds driven, full, and even a little bit aggressive at the same time! Very hard to explain, I strongly advice those of you who have not tried the Abraxas to do so ASAP! It is not a picky pickup either, unless your guitar is extremely bright or extremely dark it will most likely work very well! I cannot say I miss a neck pickup either, this is a true 80's rock guitar and they didn't use the neck pickup back then

This is very much as I expected and seems to prove my point. It's the 43AWG wire that makes all the difference here in my opinion. I really liked the Holydiver but eventually sold it because it lacked that bit of hair, aggression and drive you get from 43AWG. I eventually went with a pickup that was just a shade lighter in wind than the Abraxas with an AV magnet and I found perfection. I only ever buy bridge humbuckers now with 43AWG.

[mantrasky]

"Nothing is perfect" and absolute!

[Slartibartfarst42]

Well, despite looking I've never found better for that particular tone.

[mantrasky]

Gary Moore one of the "Very Best" guitarist.

[Slartibartfarst42]

My favourite guitarist. Gary Moore just had everything; a real guitar god.

[Alfi27]

Gary Moore is without doubt one of the greatest guitarists of all time! Great combination of feel and speed. My Charvel is identical except for the matching headstock, but I want it to be "inspired by" rather than an exact replica.

Speaking of which, I do actually consider to try a Rebel Yell in it as well. The Abraxas is great, but it is certainly not too bright so it would be interesting just to try. It won't cost me a dime either, but it is not very tempting to "disassemble" the best sounding rock guitar I own