Cold Sweat pros:
- Excellent sustain!
- Great output without being too much in most cases.
- Very punchy, makes palm-muting nice and chunky.
- Sings, sings, SINGS when playing lead lines (you'll be heard very well).
- Great late 70's/80's overall character (a little raucous in the right context).
And now the cons:
- Lacks just a bit of mid-range and treble for my instrument (although careful EQ adjustments and the correct pickup height can make up for most of that).
- The punchy nature comes from a big low end that can be annoying to try and EQ to a reasonable level.
- Not the greatest at responding to volume knob adjustments.
VHII pros:
- Also excellent sustain!
- A fair bit more controllable than the CS.
- Pinch harmonics are laughably easy.
- Plenty of mids and treble without being harsh (in the context of my instrument).
- Just a shade more clarity with complex chords than the CS.
- Much more responsive to volume adjustments.
- Less low end means I can tune a bit lower and still maintain clarity/timbre.
VHII Cons:
- Lower DC resistance generally (not always) translates to a higher resonant peak with a bit of twang/snap that requires a mild adjustment of pick attack to rein in.
- I do miss the output of the CS a bit (but not much).
- Lacks a bit of the raucous character I enjoyed from the CS.
If I understand correctly, these two pickups are aiming for voicings that were thought up in, vaguely, the same time period. So there isn't a giant adjustment from one to the other (to my ears). Likely I'll keep the VHII in my guitar for the time being, the overall jump in clarity is worth any loss of output or attitude I hear. Just sharing my thoughts for now, easier to type them out and see them organized than to keep rummaging through them in my brain. Your mileage may vary, I hope the day finds you well.
Patrick
