Les paul new pickups. Help

[Ale84]

Hi,
I want to change the pickups in my leas paul traditional. At present i have a set of classic 57 but i don’t like them. The big problem is the bridge: no body, annoying highs, no definition. The other les paul with p90 nuntucket sounds much better and bigger also under heavy gain from my slo 100.
Basically i want something to play Aic, Silverchair, helmet, pearl jam so 90’s heavy sounds. I want something with more body/weight that excels at drop d riffs, clarity under heavy gain, fast attack.
What do you suggest?
Thanks

[Dave Sloven]

Sounds like a job for the alnico Nailbomb

[Ale84]

The Nailbomb? Isn’t it a metal pickup?

[ericsabbath]

true grit, holy diver, alnico nailbomb

[RobAbrams84]

I'd probably go True Grit, possibly Black Dogs (admittedly the BD is the only Vintage Hot pickup that I have not tried).  Les Pauls are  my #1 favorite guitars, and this is my favorite genre of music.  In my experience you don't need the level of output and aggression that the Nailbombs give you, but if you generally like higher output pickups like a JB, then they're probably a good choice.  Lots of people talk about how versatile the Alnico Nailbomb is, but it was very much a 90's + 2000's aggressive metal pickup to me when I tried one for a few months.

[Telerocker]

I'd go Diver here. I'm afraid you will dislike the hairy agressive high mid sizzling NB. Other contenders would be the Abraxas and maybe a True Grit.

[Dave Sloven]

Black Dog was the other one I considered suggesting

[Ale84]

Ben from bareknuckle suggests hd or ry. . I’m intrigued by the nailbombbut probably the best would be th HD. I’m just afraid it would be too bassy or dark in a Les paul

[darrenw5094]

The RY is an underwound Nailbomb.
I have never tried a HD in a les paul for the same reason as you.

[ericsabbath]

Ben from bareknuckle suggests hd or ry. . I’m intrigued by the nailbombbut probably the best would be th HD. I’m just afraid it would be too bassy or dark in a Les paul

the holy diver isn't a bassy pickup
it's quite middy and has a rounded top, so people tend to confuse its darker top end fame with too much low end
my absolute favorite for classic Facelift/Dirt Alice In Chains

the rebel yell is brighter, tighter, treblier and more open sounding, but actually feels hotter than the holy diver
it's my general favorite in my les paul custom, but it has more of an early 80's sort of upper mid focus and some early van halen rewound paf thing
it doesn't sound exactly like any other pup, but it has a very strong character
I tend to relate it to the riff raff it replaced, but pushed with a tube screamer, so it's quite upper mid heavy and more compressed in comparison

the nailbomb is a beast, but can be tamed
it has similar specs, but feels quite different from the rebel yell
thicker, less upper mid heavy and definitely louder and more aggressive
it does work really well for classic Helmet and 2010's Alice In Chains (the last couple albums and the live tones)

the black dog is another quite unique sounding pickup
it has this honky crunchy mids that reminds me of the holy diver, but without the compression, so it's a more articulate pickup
it does not sound like a mule at all, in my experience, but a different animal
I remember liking it a lot for Soundgarden-style riffs, when you want those opaque but dominating crunchy thick mids, but you don't necessarily need a lot of sustain

I'd say the true grit is the most versatile of the bunch, followed by the holy diver
it does remind me of most 90's stuff cause they are voiced to be like really versatile medium hot stock models from the big brands, so I can hear something in common with the gibson 498t, PRS dragon 2, duncan custom, some EVH model, but with the usual BKP clarity and punchy picking response, unlike these
it sits right between the black dog and holy diver, but it's more balanced in the frequencies than both (not as mid focused)
taking Alice In Chains as a reference again, this would be my Tripod/Black Gives Way To Blue pickup

[Ale84]

Which is in your opinion an humbucker with growling mids like the nuntucket/ like a p90?

[ericsabbath]

Which is in your opinion an humbucker with growling mids like the nuntucket/ like a p90?

all of those are pretty middy
the holy diver is the fattest in the midrange
silo if you want more body in the low end

you could consider the stockholm too

[RobAbrams84]

I love the Holydiver in the bridge of my Mayones, but I would get something else for the neck pickup if you want more of a traditional Les Paul neck pickup sound. 

Anyhow I chatted with the Bare Knuckle team multiple times about a recommendation for pretty much this exact same style of music (admittedly for a Mayones, not a Les Paul, but since Les Pauls have always been my guitar of choice I feel qualified to chime in).  Everyone in the live chats seemed to recommend the Nailbombs, Holydivers, or Rebel Yells.  I wasn't very happy with a Nailbomb bridge and didn't try the Rebel Yells. 

I eventually emailed Tim Mills (the owner/founder of BKP) directly.  I didn't mention what the other people had recommended, because I didn't want to bias his opinion.  I literally asked for a "modernized Les Paul on steroids" type of sound for Alice in Chains, Porcupine Tree, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, etc., with the occasional excursion into Pantera or Opeth in the heavy direction and Pink Floyd in the lighter.  He highly recommended the True Grits, with the Emeralds as his secondary choice (again, this was for a Mayones Regius, so not identical to a Les Paul).  When I specifically asked about the Nailbomb, Holydiver, or Crawler, his email response to me literally says "I don’t think you need to go that hot to get the results you’d like."

I currently have a VHII neck and Holydiver bridge in my guitar, so I didn't exactly follow Tim's recommendation after all!  But the Holydiver feels a bit more medium output to me, anyway.  Obviously it depends on a lot of factors like amps and effects, etc., but especially if you're used to using PAF-style pickups, I really wouldn't go for high output pickups.  I liked the True Grits a lot in my guitar, but mostly started swapping because I wanted covered pickups and I had bought them uncovered.

Hopefully this is helpful.

[Ale84]

Thanks for the replies. I was considering the true grit and i think i’ll go for it

[RobAbrams84]

Let us know how they work for you, I think you'll like them.