Following up on this later than I meant to for anyone in a similar position who searches the forums, finds this thread and wonders what happened next.
I rang Ben, basically recited that post, and he said Emeralds would be perfect. So I bought Emeralds, and I love them! It was kind of a foregone conclusion with a bright green guitar
So, here's an Emerald set review.First of all, I think the Emerald is woefully under-rated and misrepresented around here. I did a lot of research around the forum before I phoned Ben, and yes, a couple of people have found the bridge to be too bright - and don't get me wrong, it is bright, but not in the way you might think - but then others have taken that to heart and gone around telling people it's too bright in anything but the darkest guitar without having played it themselves. Anyway, whinge over.
BridgeThe bridge is a fantastic hot, fat PAF. If the Abraxas is the Mule on steroids, then (according to Nolly), this is the Riff Raff on steroids. I've only played a Mule - in this guitar's predecessor - so the only comparison I can make is that it's like a Mule that instead of steroids, has been to the gym and is on a high-protein, low-fat diet. It has that PAF tone and mid-range character, with rich harmonics, but the extra compression of the hotter wind makes everything feel very solid, and the A5 magnet gives it a faster attack. Under overdrive or distortion, single notes have this weight behind them, something you feel more than you hear, a kind of reassuring presence and fatness. I'm sure I've read another review of someone who had one in a PRS Bernie that said the same thing - after all the talk of brightness, the solidness and weightiness is a pleasant surprise.
So, about this brightness. It
is bright. It
isn't trebly, or brittle, or harsh. It has a bright airiness to it - the only analogy I can think of that almost makes sense is that if it were an amp EQ section, bass would be on about 3, mids on about 7, treble at about 6, but the presence knob would be right up. The only other pickup I can really compare it to back to back at the moment is the Seymour Duncan JB in my LTD Ninja. It doesn't have the harsh upper mids of the JB, and feels much more even across the frequency range, just with much tighter bass and more air at the top end. Speaking of the top end, while having that brightness, it's actually quite rounded/sweet, at least compared to the JB. The JB will scream with harmonics on lead lines, whereas the Emerald is much less inclined to do so; it's happier to keep the note fat and pure, so it's a different type of lead sound. The only time I notice the brightness of the Emerald is when I switch from the Les Paul to the Ninja and have to check that I'm not on the neck pickup, as lead tones aside, the JB is rounder and darker. So the Emerald cuts more for chord and rhythm work, but less so on leads.
One more thing I need to mention is the bass response. Part of what makes this pickup feel bright is the tight, controlled bass end. It keeps things sharp and bitey for crunchy rock rhythm parts, but it is now by far and away my favourite pickup for metal rhythm. I never understood complaints about the JB being flubby in the bass until I got the Emerald. So now I need to replace the JB, but that's another thread for another day
So to kind of summarise, the Emerald bridge feels like a bit of a juxtaposition, but it's just a very talented bridge pickup. It's bright, tight and cutting, but also fat and rich in the most satisfying way. I absolutely love it.
NeckThe neck is more well known as a great pickup around here, and it's much easier to describe. It's a fat, rich, thick neck pickup. Cleans are beautifully deep and harmonically rich, and the compression of the hotter wind helps keep things very even. It's not as excitable as the bridge, but still has that wonderful weight behind every note. Switch the drive on and it's your dream hot Les Paul neck pickup. Thick, creamy, full of sustain and harmonics. It is quite dark, almost as a polar opposite to the bridge, and the Duncan 59 in the Ninja is much more jangly in comparison. In fact, I'd say the only downside to this pickup - and it's entirely oown to what you need it for - is that it doesn't have the bright openness of the Mule, which is its own special thing that I also love. This pickup is a tad too hot for open jangliness, but it still has great touch sensitivity and is open in its own way, but it's less airy and more... rich, I guess. It's hard to describe, but if the Mule neck is a light golden ale on a sunny afternoon, the Emerald neck is the rich and flavourful pint you'll have with your roast dinner. If that makes any sense at all.
To summarise the set: these are fantastic hot PAFs. They still have that vintage character, so while the output is comparable to more modern-voiced pickups, it still has that old school attitude. They are aptly named; put them into a Les Paul, plug into something Marshally with a nice crunchy overdrive setting and these pickups are right at home. Hard rock heaven; Thin Lizzy right out of the gate. That said, these are far from a one trick pony. Dial things back a bit and these would be more than happy playing Gary Moore-esque blues all night, from pushed cleans to searing fat leads. Turn things up a bit and you have a metal tone that's full of character and richness, with great control in the bass; I imagine they'd also be excellent for lower range tunings and 7-strings, so long as you let the amp do its fair share of the work, which most high-gain amps are quite happy to do these days.
I
adore these pickups, and they adore being in a Les Paul. Mine isn't dark by any means - the Epiphone it replaced was much darker - and I would say it's as even and balanced as a Les Paul can be. If you've got a Les Paul with the 490R/498T set, I can imagine these would be the perfect replacement. If you've got 57 Classics and want more balls (like I did), these are perfect. Want less balls but oodles of tone? Get Mules.
Apologies for the wall of text, here's some pictures of my Green Ocean Burst/Emerald combo as a reward. Hope this review helps!
