Brightest Neck Humbucker ? (Emerald vs Riff Raff)

[Bridgerhumbucker]

I've always been searching for the ' perfect' neck pickup. The one thing I can't stand is a muddy /bassy Neck pickup ( the brighter the better). Over the years I've tried about everything ( closest being a Dimarzio Super 2). When I started using BKP, the neck Cold Sweat became a favorite ( along with the CS Bridge)

But I would like a little more brighter neck humbucker. The 2 I've been looking at are the Emerald and Riff Raff.
I emailed the good people at BKP, and they wrote back:

"The Emerald is a higher output pickup but has an alnico 4 magnet in it which will have a more rounded top end with a smoother bottom end.

The Riff Raff neck has slightly less output and is powered by an alnico 5 magnet which helps push through the highs more making it a brighter pickup. "

My question to you all is, What do you think would work best with a CS Bridge ( and what do you think IS the Brightest BKP in your opinion?)
Also would the Riff Raff have enough output to pair with the CS bridge without too much volume drop between pickups?
 I thank you in advance for your advise.

[darrenw5094]

I had a Painkiller bridge paired with a Riff Raff neck and they were perfectly matched. No volume drops at all.

I have never tried an Emerald neck, but the RR neck is the brightest I have ever had.

[gwEm]

The brightest neck humbucker in the BKP range, that I've tried, is the Riff Raff. From other manufacturers I've tried brighter, but lets forget about those on here.

[Telerocker]

The brightest neck humbucker in the BKP range, that I've tried, is the Riff Raff. From other manufacturers I've tried brighter, but lets forget about those on here.

Yep, the RR is quite bright, way brighter than a Mule-neck.

[Dave Sloven]

The Emerald neck is a dark, smooth pickup that is a strong contrast to the bright bridge

The EQ charts are all for the bridge only

[gwEm]

Some easy things to try:

put the screw pole pieces pointing towards the bridge
remove the bridge pole pieces
raise the pole pieces higher - a few turns should be enough


If you really want bright you can try some more drastic solutions:

coil split
parallel wiring
series capacitor
mini-humbucker in an adapter ring
strat coil in an adapter ring

[Dave Sloven]

From what I can tell the brighter neck pickups in the BKP humbucker range are Riff Raff, Holy Diver, and Nailbomb.

[gwEm]

From what I can tell the brighter neck pickups in the BKP humbucker range are Riff Raff, Holy Diver, and Nailbomb.

I'd love to know more about the Holy Diver neck. I've always been curious.