Replacing vintage/vintage hot pickups with contemporary BKPs?

[algarridm]

Hi!
I've got 3 guitars with BKP, they all sound excellent, but I'm playing different music now. So I want to replace my pickups with contemporary pickups, for more output and more modern tone. My question is about which contemporary (not vintage hot, except for a hollow body) pickups are nearer to  pickups I've got now? I'm not necessarily talking about "on steroids" versions, because maybe there aren't that kind of pickups with contemporary tone, but nearer to response, mids, high end, warmth, fullness (not necessarily voicing).

My guitars and pickups are:

- Caparison Angelus 22 (Les Paul/PRS guitar style, mahogany body with flamed maple arched top, mahogany neck and rosewood fretboard): I've got a Mule in the neck and a Riff Raff in the bridge. I want both contemporary humbuckers replacements.
- Fender Custom Shop Stratocaster (mahogany body, maple neck, rosewood fretboard): I've got a Mother's Milk sxet. I wanta contemporary strat set replacement
- D'angelico Deluxe DH (Hollowbody, Spruce Top, Flamed Maple back and sides, 3 pieces maple-walnut-maple neck and rosewood neck): I've got a 2 humbuckers Stormy Monday set. I want a vintage hot 2 humbuckers set replacement. In this case, are there "Stormy Monday" on steroids for a hollow body?

Thanks!

[Yellowjacket]

For the Mule / Riffraff set, I am incline to think of Cold Sweat / A-Bomb, or Rebel Yell / A-Bomb, or maybe a Painkiller in the bridge. 

The A-Bomb is such a hairy, aggressive, and pissed off pickup that does have upper mids and treble. 

I have a Rebel Yell neck and A-Bomb bridge in my Les Paul and it's great for more contemporary tones! 

[algarridm]

The A-Bomb isn't in the currently BK web page :(

[darkandrew]

The A-Bomb isn't in the currently BK web page :(

Just checked to see if I can see it - yep, still there. Nail Bomb in both alnico and ceramic flavours are still on the website. I would recommend A-bombs and Cold Sweats - I really can't sing the praises o these pickups enough. I generally don't think too much of ceramic pickups- too "fizzy" in my experience but Cold Sweats are anything but. I also tend to go for matched sets, as I find the combinations to always work really well. The A-bomb set gives you an aggressive and scratchy bridge with a holly, woody neck while the CS set gives you a rumbly yet crisp bridge with razor sharp attack and just enough compressio, and a chimey, crystalline neck.

[algarridm]

Ok, I didn't know A-Bomb was AlNiCo Nailbomb, sorry 

How is the clean up with volume with these pickups? At least neck pickup.
What about upper mids and highs? I like bridge humbuckers focused on upper mids with more or less bright highs, and neck with balanced response, full mids and good control on high end. I like to have good harmonics with interesting overtones in general, too

What about other guitars/pickups?

Thanks

[Yellowjacket]

Ok, I didn't know A-Bomb was AlNiCo Nailbomb, sorry 

How is the clean up with volume with these pickups? At least neck pickup.
What about upper mids and highs? I like bridge humbuckers focused on upper mids with more or less bright highs, and neck with balanced response, full mids and good control on high end. I like to have good harmonics with interesting overtones in general, too

What about other guitars/pickups?

Thanks

In that case, consider the Rebel Yell bridge and the VHII neck.  I have these pickups in an all mahogany guitar and they are really what you describe.  They are more contemporary but not full on modern tones like the A-Bomb.    The A-bomb does have upper mids.  The Rebel Yell neck is somewhat of a PAF on steroids, GH, Insulin, and SEOs.  It has a super wide pick attack and it has a really clear and beautiful voice.  It snarls up nicely under gain too. 

The A-Bomb cleans up well with the volume pot but the Rebel Yell is even better.  So do you want 80s metal and contemporary rock tones or do you want full on thrash / contemporary tones? 

[algarridm]

Contemporary rock tones.

I've got a question, when yopu said "The Rebel Yell neck is somewhat of a PAF on steroids, GH, Insulin, and SEOs" did you mean VHII?

Thank you!

And would you mind telling me about  my strat and hollowbody guitars question, if you know?

[Dave Sloven]

Yeah my first thought to replace RR/Mule was RY/VH2

No idea on the Strat

On the hollow body, maybe Emerald bridge, not sure about the neck

[algarridm]

What about CS/RY?

And for hollowbody I need something like Stormy Monday on steroids

Thanks

[Yellowjacket]

Contemporary rock tones.

I've got a question, when yopu said "The Rebel Yell neck is somewhat of a PAF on steroids, GH, Insulin, and SEOs" did you mean VHII?

Thank you!

And would you mind telling me about  my strat and hollowbody guitars question, if you know?

Rebel Yell neck.  It has that distinctive, raunchy PAF vibe but at what point do we stop comparing vintage humbuckers with super modern ones?  It's not super compressed and shreddy, it is more bright, open, with a wide pick attack. 

The VHII is lower output and it has a more hairy tone.  It's warm but as you pile on gain, you get more and more of a nice cut in the highs.