Cold Sweat bridge users, need your help

[Lucas]

Hi,
Today finally I want to place an order for my 3rd set of BKPs but I want to make sure one thing and need your help!

Cold Sweat bridge... ok, I know it`s bright, clear and crunchy but how bright and how crunchy is it and how does it`s high end sounds like? Does it have any bass at all for palm mutes ect?
To make it clearer I have 2 bridges already, Miracle Man and Ceramic Nailbomb. I absolutely love Miracle Man, perfect pickup for me. I play hard/heavy rock and metal, Metallica and Trivium would be the heaviest and would describe my style of playing the best.

Cold Sweat`s high end is not as smooth as Miracle Man, but does it really sound sharp/piercing/shrill and crunchy? Is it much different to Miracle Man? I love Miracle Man.
I don`t really like aggressive, pissed off high end of Ceramic Nailbomb, not ideal for smooth leads/shreding. Just being afraid that I might end up with something like Ceramic Nailbomb. I`m mainly lead guitar player and play solos mainly on bridge pickup so a bit smoother not aggressive and shrill top end is really important for me.

And also how bright is Cold Sweat bridge? It will go into custom Warmoth build, bolt on Alder/Maple top Tele with rosewood neck and board. Bright body with warm neck.
Somewhere I read that apparently Cold Sweat`s high end is similar to Painkiller, that would put me off completely. Is that true?

Many thanks,
Lucas

[Dave Sloven]

I have a guitar that has had the A-Bomb, Cold Sweat, and now Miracle Man in it.  I haven't played the Miracle Man very much yet but I immediately noticed that it was a higher output than the CS.  Actually the CS is the lowest output of the three.  The A-bomb was easily the most middy and raspy.  Both the CS and MM are smoother sounding.  The CS has a good amount of bottom end.  I don't think I really noticed a lack of that when I went from the A-Bomb to the CS.  The MM has more.  They are all tight sounding, I'd say on a par.  The CS is the least modern sounding of the three, and is good for stuff like early '80s Judas Priest, early Slayer, Pantera, etc.

The guitar is an SG Standard with a rosewood fretboard.  I would describe it as a bright guitar.  It's certainly a lot brighter than my Explorer.

For solos it was better than the A-bomb.

I mainly went to the MM because I wanted more bottom end, given that SGs don't have a lot naturally.

[Lucas]

Thanks.
Would CS be good for stuff like Metallica? I mean older Metallica, And Justice for All upwards?
Someone compare its high end to Painkiller, would that be true?

[Dave Sloven]

I have never played the Painkiller.

I would think it would be good for early Metallica.  It is tight and scooped.  With top end it's hard to say.  I will say that I preferred it with 300K pots rather than 500K

[Dave Sloven]

I just found this video of someone playing Ozzy on Cold Sweats and it is kind of what I remember mine sounding like.  I played Crazy Train a fair bit on mine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4QYkh6nBTw

[Lucas]

I must admit, I'm a bit lost now. Cold Sweat looks like a perfect pickup but I'm a bit afraid of its brightness as well as the fact that apparently it's underwound Nailbomb. I have Ceramic NB and prefer my Miracle Man big time over NB.

I know there's also mighty Holydiver, but I would want something a bit aggressive and not as much 'round' in rhythm playing terms.
Painkiller puts me off due to its scratchy sound while playing leads.
Aftermath... Too dry and again not a great leads.

[ericsabbath]

it sounds quite different than the c-bomb
it's a lot less compressed and has a lot more upper mids
less center mids, though, but still a thick low end
lead tone is amazing, just like the miracle man, but different
I have no idea how it should in those woods, though
only had all of them in les pauls

[Lucas]

Thanks,
Lead tone different in what way?
By the way just being curious, what would be ceramic equivalent of Holydiver?

[ericsabbath]

Thanks,
Lead tone different in what way?
By the way just being curious, what would be ceramic equivalent of Holydiver?

the cold sweat has a less modern and perhaps less thick lead tone than the miracle man, but sounds a bit more 80ish
eith proper midrange boost (eq or overdrive) it gets to sound a lot like the rebel yell lead tone

there's no ceramic equivalent to the holy diver
the painkiller has the closest specs, but still has its own sound
the painkiller and the aftermath have a similar midrange push and still sound quite different

I like these painkiller clips
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3us-PA7zPo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLOzbX2SBwc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emscEB0_aac

I really don't get it when people compare it to the miracle man, since they sound completely different in every aspect
the miracle is one of the most unique sounding pickups I've owned

[Lucas]

I`ve been always thinking that Painkiller has that scratchy, abrasive tone especially on higher notes, leads. Like ice picky one,  but that first video sounds quite fluid.
You see, lead tone is my priority as being mostly lead guitar player, I play majority solos on bridge pickup.
Painkiller or Cold Sweat...

So far Miracle Man bridge is my best pickup hands down (but only have 2 BKP sets).

[ericsabbath]

I`ve been always thinking that Painkiller has that scratchy, abrasive tone especially on higher notes, leads. Like ice picky one,  but that first video sounds quite fluid.
You see, lead tone is my priority as being mostly lead guitar player, I play majority solos on bridge pickup.
Painkiller or Cold Sweat...

So far Miracle Man bridge is my best pickup hands down (but only have 2 BKP sets).

well, it is very abrasive and kinda scratchy
not as scratchy as the aftermath, though, but more hairy and compressed
although I like the midrange push of the painkiller, I'd still take the cold sweat over it for leads
it's a much more versatile pickup, kinda like a crossover between the vhII and the miracle man

[Dave Sloven]

it's a much more versatile pickup, kinda like a crossover between the vhII and the miracle man

+1

[Lucas]

Many thanks,
so Cold Sweat is then.
For the neck I`m thinking  Emerald.

Although I don`t like fat, warm neck tone and Slash type of sound, I cannot get on with idea of Holydiver neck. Black Dog neck is still brighter sounding, but it`s hard to find good samples and get overall idea of it`s sound.
A little while ago I had a long debate with Slarti sbout Holydiver neck, but seriously I cannot find even one example that I would like. Too vintage, dull, flat and ordinary  sounding to me. I know that many people would argue about it, but don`t find HD neck attractive at all. I already have Cold Sweat neck in my other guitar so I`m looking for something different.

need neck not too modern and not too vintage, clear and not too dark sounding, a bit with single coil sparkle, not dull, but still fluid for solos Metallica/Trivium style.
Recently my Aftermath neck started growing on me.
So what neck would you suggest to go along with CS bridge, would Emerald be a good options? Although it can be a bit darker.... and not a big fan of VHII neck either,

[ericsabbath]

emerald neck should be fine
quite different from the neck cold sweat, though
it sits somewhere between the vhII, nailbomb and mule neck versions, so it's kinda hard to describe
it's got a pretty good high end definition without getting spikey like the neck nailbomb, but a somewhat dark and hollow midrange like the vhII
it's like a fatter and louder mule with more treble and compression
definitely less bright in the mids than the neck cold sweat, but I wouldn't call it dull

[Lucas]

Recently in the last couple of days I find myself liking Aftermath neck more than Cold Sweat, maybe getting bored as I`ve been using CS neck for about 4 years time. Don`t know
I think I like the fact that Aftermath sounds more modern than CS. I still find loads of PAF vibe in CS.

How much vintage does Emerald neck sound?

I`m a big fan of Metallica and Trivium and my style of playing is quite similar (but not ability of playing unfortunately  ), while Miracle Man/Aftermath seems to be perfect, this time I want to go 'one step' down only, but don`t want to go too vintage with both bridge and neck pickup. Cold Sweat seems to be perfect, but what about Emerald neck?
I know that CS is often paired with Painkiller neck, but dont like it either.
I would rather appreciate neck model with little compression rather than open one.