VHII/Mule for Post-Rock and Post-Metal

[lauhcs]

Hi everybody,
i'm getting a new guitar and need some pickups for it. my band is somewhere between post-rock and post-metal, so 'm looking for medium output pickups which can go from completly clean to heavily distorted. i want a warm smooth sound which doesn't get too muddy with a lot of gain, so that you still can differ between the strings even when overdriven.
my choice would have been the VHIi as a bridge pickup and a The Mule for the neck, although i still am unsure if i would want them covered or not. should they do the trick or would you recommend different ones?
thanks!

[Dave Sloven]

Tell us some more about the guitar you plan to put these pickups into

[capac]

Personally, I'd go for something a bit hotter. VH2 is pretty much a PAF that is a little beefed up (VH in te name explains it).

[darkandrew]

Tell us some more about the guitar you plan to put these pickups into

That can make quite a difference. I put a VH2 set in a Fender Showmaster basswood superstrat and they just sounded so muddy and not at all how I thought they were going to be - no fault of the pickups, it was entirely down to the guitar and it's ability to suck all the top end out the pickups that you put in it. I've now ended up with a Cold Sweat set in there and, in that particular guitar, I would say they sound pretty much in the ball park of what you are looking for (a grittier Rebel Yell) but in another, brighter guitar they could be a million miles from what you want.

[Dave Sloven]

Yeah I was thinking Cold Sweat set could be a good option but it really depends on the guitar.

[lauhcs]

thanks for the replys
the guitar will be a singlecut with a mahagoni bidy and a walnut top.
i am a bit carefull with high output pups since i'm afraid the might give my clean sound too much grit

[capac]

Cold sweat isn't that hot... Aftermath did just fine with cleans on the bridge position. 

I wouldn't be too worried about that, especially when neck pups tend to have better cleans. You could also go a touch hotter than mule in the neck (like cold sweat or vh2) just to match the output a little better.

[lauhcs]

i'll check out the cold sweat again, although i think i liked the vhii better. also i forget to add, that i want to be able to split the pups.
also i preferd the mule over the vhii as a neck pup because it seems to be warmer

[capac]

Cold sweat is also a popular neck pickup.

[Telerocker]

Look at a Mule/RiffRaff-neck combo. The Mule is balanced from top till bottom, dynamic and take a lot of gain very well (just use a little more ampgain). Tim uses Mules too and Nolly (Periphery) did even some metaltracks with Mules.

The RiffRaff-neck is one on the brighter ones and will sure provide the topend and clarity in the neckposition, They have vintageoutput, but are not whimpy or thin. The advantages are 3D cleans and the superb crunch and rock tones, which you can really tailor with the amp.

I you have a highgain and a thick sounding guitar (mahogany) lower output BKP's often sound georgeous harmonically rich. Of course everything is matter of taste, but I like lower output pickups on highgainamps.

[lauhcs]

did you mean the riff raff in neck and mule as bridge, or vice versa? lower output pups on a high gain amp would have been my starting idea, but i think the riff raff is too bright for my taste. also from what i hear the cold sweat doesn't sound as warm as i would like it, or at least it seems so.
i really like the sound of the mule as a neck pick up, would you advise against the VHII/Mule setup, or rather "only" recommend the cold sweat or the other combinations?
also how big would be the difference between a vintage output pup, like the mule, and a medium to hot output one like the cold sweat or the vhii? i use a lot of pedals, and for my lead sound with the neck pick up i mostly use also a booster.
if the output should be about similar, i think i would prefer the riff raff over the cold sweat, if the vhii isn't that suitable. can i get a smooth warm sound out of the riff raff based on the guitar and the amp, or would it still be as bright as, for example, the examples at the homepage?

thanks everyone :)

[capac]

It's hard for a pickup to have great note seperation and still be warm - there's always a bit of a trade-off.

For example, aftermath is really tight and clear, but I wouldn't really say they are warm.

Also, I find that low output (paf) pups just don't give the balls I get from a little hotter pickup, even with a high gain amp. This is a subjective thing of course.

[lauhcs]

i forgot to mention, that i'm playing in c-standard. also i'm looking for something which reacts nicely to how strong the strings are hit. as far as i know, or have read, higher output pickups tend to lose dynamic an are produce a more constant sound with less regards on the way you play. is that basicly right, or would you disagree?
that would be one of the main reasons i'm rather looking for pups with less output.

[capac]

Bare knuckles are pretty dynamic, so unless you go with black hawks, you shouldn't really complain about dynamics. I found my aftermath to be quite dynamic (relatively). But yeah, in general, lower output pickups tend to be less compressed.

Juggernaut is supposed to be pretty dynamic and tight at the same time. They are pretty modern sounding but still pretty versatile.

[lauhcs]

i looked at the juggernauts, but exactly that modern sound made decide against them. i don't like that modern feeling too much, which is also probably why i don't enjoy the cold sweat pups as much