Cold Sweat, Rebel Yell, Holy Diver - which should I go for?

[Simon D]

I'd like to have my PRS SE Singlecut (Mahogany body, maple cap, mahogany neck, rosewood board, stop-tailpiece) set up to fill in the tonal middle ground between my Mule loaded LP and my (shortly to be built) Warpig Warmoth.

I'm therefore after a straight-down-the-line hard rock pickup. To give an idea of the sort of tones I'm looking for - current era Whitesnake (the 'Doug Aldrich' sound, if you like) Alice In Chains/Jerry Cantrell solo stuff, Alter Bridge, lighter Opeth, Black Stone Cherry, Brand New Sin, classic metal - Maiden, Priest, as well as a bit of drop-D chugging - System of a Down etc.

I'm after good clean tone, plenty of definition for riffing, and the ablility to scream and deliver pinch harmonics on demand for lead stuff, and a fluid tone from the neck for a bit of shredding (or as close as I can get to shredding!)

I've narrowed down my choice, through a fair bit of reading and listening on the forum, to the Cold Sweat, Rebel Yell and the Holy Diver. I'd be really interested to hear what people think would be the best choice for my needs. Opinions from those who own more than one of the pickups I've mentioned woud be very welcome. I'd be interested to know how people find the CS played clean - I believe the bridge is ceramic, and I've previously found other ceramic pickups (not BKs) I've played to be very dull and lifeless when used clean.
Any help greatly appreciated.
Thanks for reading that lot!

Cheers,
Si

[TwilightOdyssey]

I think Rebel Yell.

[steve]

I say cold sweat, it nails the Aldrich tone (its like John Sykes) and will do all other tones required and more.Not Gary.

[Doadman]

Rebel Yell
I have to hold my hand up and say that I don't really know anything about this one so I will refrain from commenting.

Holy Diver
I looked into this one VERY carefully when I got my BKPs and was on the verge of getting it but Tim said that it wouldn't cut through the mahogany of my guitar as well as a ceramic magnet. I wanted a very articulate sound; something crisp but rich in tone.

Cold Sweat
I really wasn't looking at this pup at all until Tim suggested it as the best option. The tone is massive, takes buckets of distortion so you could certainly play modern high gain Metal on it, is perfect for the classic style Rock you mention and cleans up surprisingly well for a ceramic pup. I can't say I've ever found it dull and lifeless. Oh, and it will do Gary Moore too as it reminds me of classic Gibson tones  :D . Not surprising really as John Sykes used a Gibson Dirty Fingers pup.

Overall I'd have to say the Cold Sweat would be best for what your after. This is partly because all the research I did before making a purchase also tells me it would be best for you; partly because I'm biased    and mostly because I play it every day and know for certain that it will absolutely nail the sounds you're after.

Oh, almost forgot, a Cold Sweat is a MUST for the neck.

[ericsabbath]

holy diver (the last one) is PERFECT for aldrich and cantrell tones
for opeth, alter bridge and system of a down, i'd say painkiller, cause it's the closest to their pickups (PRS HFS, PRS Tremonti and Duncan Distortion, respectively)
brand new sin uses EMG, but they sound very nailbombish
black stone cherry seems to use more paf like pickups
for maiden and priest i'd go with cold sweat or the old ceramic holy diver

i think most BK humbuckers are made specially for les paul style guitars, so there's no reason why a contemporary bk wouldn't cut through mahogany
holy diver is JB based, so it's plenty of mids and cut

[TwilightOdyssey]

Well, there ya go. Get all 3!! PDT_008

[shaman]

I checked into aldrich and his pups...suhr makes his now..he emailed me and told me he modeled this pup after burstbuckers....nice dude,btw!..he didnt tell me exactly which one,but he did reference a Rossington Les Paul he used on a Guitar World demonstration video..which has bb #2's in it, I think..he said he was going for that alnico tone with a little more sizzle-suhr has it listed at 17.5 dc res....I decided to go with rebels in my LP standard and it nails the aldrich tone-to me, his tone is more stoked PLEXI than anything-heard he is playing Diezels now, but I know he has a lot of plex in his arsenal-the rebs are awesome for that!just bought a HOLY D, but I havent installed yet-rebs just have that classic rock with a little extra sizzle that I find quite flexible...with the proper amp,you can get just about anything you want unless it is 1 trick pony land

[TomW]

Holydiver is perfect for Jerry Cantrell's tone, it reminds me of Alice In Chains everytime I play it. :twisted:

[maliciousteve]

Holy Diver with a ceramic magnet (the older version, which I have). Sounds like it's what you're after.

[Yamhammer]

The Cold Sweat neck is nice