Best BKP pickups for this Explorer? Rebel Yells? Cold Sweat?

[Maximillian]

Just got a 2020 Gibson Explorer with the burstbuckers. Thought I might like them. I don't. To me, they are weak and pretty lifeless. Humbuckers just for the sake of being humbuckers. Place holders, if you will.

I bought it because I bought a 2001 Gibson Gothic Explorer a while back and fell in love with it. I couldn't put it down. I love that shape. It had the 500t and 496r combo. I have to say, I kinda like the 500t. Nice crunch, good hard rock punchiness and crisp highs. A good thunk feeling to the bottom end. But I swapped in some TV Jones Filtertrons and a B6 Bigsby. It's rad. Trust me.

So, replacing the Burstbuckers, I started looking at something like the 500t but more. More clarity, articulation, a bit hotter and a ripping mid-range thunk. The Cold Sweat seemed like the obvious choice. But BKP suggested Rebel Yells or Crawler and would normally suggest Nailbombs. I mentioned that I wanted to stay away from the really high output pick ups because I have plans to get a Baritone, at some point, and have that as a real high gain guitar. I'm leaning towards the Rebel Yells because I'd rather err on the bright side rather than get something dark. And Steve Stevens is a great guy. Every interview and rig rundown I've seen him in, he always was the same regular guy. Really into gear, tone and everything music.

For the neck pick up, I love the Firebird sound. It's a bit more like a single coil, glassy and punchy with no 60 cycle hum. If I get a Rebel Yell set, is the neck pick up close to that? Is there another neck pick up that that would pair well with a hotter bridge? I also love the middle position. I love a bright, chimey tone with both pick ups together.

Overall, for gear, I'm playing through a TopHat Club Royale 2x12, Dr.Z Therapy and occasionally an Orange Or 15. I have a Greer Amps Lightspeed overdrive and an old Fulltone OCD stacked for gain into the clean amps. Whether it be light, medium or heavy gain, I want this guitar to rip.

For playing style, mostly boomer bends and riffage. No shredding. In reality, I'm not a good player. Actually, I suck at guitar. But I do love me some great tones. I might tune down to D or C standard. I'm a big fan of High on Fire, Mastodon and a bunch of other stoner doom type bands. In particular, one of my favorites is Fire Flood and Plague from High on Fire. At 2:48, there is an earth destroying riff.

https://youtu.be/f8ICVf5es4E

I have a pair of Mules in a '94 Gibson Lucille and a Trilogy Suite set in a Strat. The Lucille eats up clean to light gain blues and rock. It absolutely sings. The Strat just punches amps in the face in the best way possible. But dial back the volume, and it becomes the sweetest strat you've ever heard.

Hopefully, this wasn't a confusing or rambling post. I'm sure there's more details I could fill in if anyone needs to. But any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[ericsabbath]

the rebel yell sounds like a good bet indeed, and definitely a favorite for me

i installed a cold sweat set in a friends gibson explorer and although it sounded pretty good I think the bridge pup midscoop didn't work as great as with my les pauls, so it sounded somewhat dark in the mids

if you want something aggressive/compressed/middy like the 500t, you should try the painkiller

have you thought of the brute force?

[Maximillian]

Hey. Thanks for the reply.

I've been spending the past few days focusing on more sound samples and thinking about where I want this guitar to be. I took a closer look at the Boot Camp series thanks to your suggestion. From that, I actually think the True Grit is closer to what I'm after. But then I go back to the Rebel Yells again. I'm under the impression that they are more dynamic, respond better to volume control and are more versatile to go from classic to modern tones. Then again, the True Grit set is a lot cheaper.

I think I'll spend some more time thinking about it. Maybe email BKP again and ask what the differences are between RY and the TG. Luckily, this doesn't have to happen any time soon. I'm still on the fence about keeping this Explorer. I'd rather find one that has a fatter neck but it seems the only way to get that is by getting a custom shop 58 reissue. Which, to me, is crazy expensive. Even on the low end of the used market.

Thanks for pointing me towards the Boot Camp stuff.