Where the numbers come from

“The Full Shred is a tad lower in output and gets close to the lead sound of a JB.”

“To me they cover a lot of the same ground, but the BB3 seems less shrill in the high end.”

“The 490r/490t set is closest to the A2P.”

“the Super D and DD are two VERY different sounding pickups.”

“The DD is very different from the SD. As mentioned the DD is tight, percussive and hot, while the SD is big warm and fuzzy.”

“Sound nothing like the Gibson 57 Classic to me…..which I find boxy and blurry sounding. The Dimarzios are really open and clear.”

“Of the two the DF is closer to the SD than the DD.”

“JB is very touchy. It likes the heights about the same on the high and low side.”

“I love JB's in a Les Paul or other Mahogany/Maple body. I had one in an Alder Jackson SL3 and did not like it in there.”

“I usually cant stand the JB, but a combo of the guitar and amp make it ok.”

“They have VERY tight and incredible overall clarity with very sweet upper high spectrum sounds.”

“I find the Gibson has less tight lows and more upper mid focus vs bareknuckle mules are balanced with tight lows and more output overall.”

“balanced PAF is the first word on my mind. Seth lover set is quite close.”

“I love the super distorsion, it's the sound in my head from all that older rock.”

“I had one on my BC Rich Gunslinger back in the day. I didn't like it. It was very muddy.”

“Super distortion- instant 80s tone, great for hard rock from that era.”

“498t- brighter more chimey, decent with gain, a bit thin.”

“I had the 498T in a LP custom and it was about as fat as you could get. Great string to string clarity.”

“My two favorite Gibson pickups, the 57 for A2 classic rock tones, and the 498T for mid to high gain A5 tones.”

“I can see why people say they can be muddy, but I like the fatness they bring to the sound.”

“The '57 classics were really nice in this guitar, but I did find the neck a bit muddy and the bridge at bit harsh in the highs.”

“Yeah, the A2 magnets in the 57's can be a little soft and compressed. Great in a Les Paul if you're doing Allman Brothers stuff.... Not so much for heavier rock.”

“I hate '57 Classics in a Les Paul, but like them in an SG.”

“I'm really sold on the SD 59 OR lil' 59. As said above, they just have great clarity and definition.”

“I purchased a PRS Singlecut Trem used that had the Imperial low winds in it. Initially, I was a little disappointed that the original pickups weren't included, but am completely sold on the Lollars. They excel in every area, from ultra clean to gritty.”

“I really like the Black Dog as well, though its a bit more open and darker.”

“The Black Dog was leaner and had a little more of a bump in mid-mid to upper mids.”

“The Black Dog sounds slightly more percussive and open..”

“So I popped in a Cold Sweat bridge and presto Excellent clarity and my high end articulation is back.”

“I tried the Cold Sweat bridge and found it scooped with shrill high end and a thumpy low end.”

“A warpig neck or Cold sweat neck would be smooth but tight enough for low tunings.”

“Sand cast Alnico IV magnets give The Mule faster response in the bass, fuller mids and better control in the high end..”

“A little off topic but as a polar opposite comparison In a Thick/ Dark sounding guitar I love the Ceramic Nailbomb , that pickup also kicks ass.”

“Nailbomb Bridge: Powered by an Alnico V magnet (or Ceramic, specify if applicable), the bridge pickup delivers a fat, punchy low-end, rich middle ground, and a controlled high-end response.”

“I absolutely love the nailbomb in my jackson RR1T, though the particular beast is very dark and midrange heavy as far as sound goes.”

“The Nailbomb is the tighter one IMO and it's rhythm sound isn't far off from the JB, but it sounds less mushy with lots of gain and the top end is warm, not icepicky, and very articulate.”

“The Ragnarok neck has the same syrupy but clear mids and top end of its bridge counterpart, but with a more reduced low end.”

“Rebel Yell - super tight, all high mids and highs, nonexistent lows (in my LP).”

“The marshallhead has a lot of mids and upper mids (I hear the rebel yell is also like that) with nice, musical highs.”

“Rebel Yell - Offset coils, 43awg wire and hand wound, similar wind count to the JB, it’s going to be bright and clear.”

“I'm just concerned that Riff Raff in the bridge may be too bright or trebley as the Kenai has this natural lively,open tone to it.”

“I like the Polymath so far but it does not have the same open, airy quality that the Riff Raff has.”

“About Riff Raff capability of driving lead sustained tones, the one that goes closer is the JB but, the Riff Raff doesn't have those shrill highs that the JB has..”

“I've installed them in PRS, McInturff, Gibson and Fender guitars, and in every case the result was fat, warm and smooth, with that Stormy Monday "honk" that everyone is chasing.”

“It would definitely be too muddy for my tastes since I like to play the neck pickup squeaky clean 99% of the time, but if you're using it only or primarily for overdrive leads, it should be just fine.”

“It has that warm roundness I liked from the air classic but the bass is much more articulate.”

“Don't over look the Air Classic in an HSS strat if you want smooth humbucker response with clarity and dynamics.”

“I have used the air classic a few times and found it a little muddy and compressed for my ear..”

“I love the stratty response of the Dimarzio Air Classic Neck BUT it can be just a little too shrill / piercing...”

“This is where a split Air Norton fares better, but it can be too woofy/muddy on the low strings in humbucking mode.”

“I was hoping the Air Norton to be a hotter and more mid-focused version of that.”

“I believe the DiMarzio Liquifire is a slightly altered Air Norton with less high end, but also leaner lows.”

“The Air Zone has a BIT more highs than the Breed which has a BIT more mids and comes off as very very slightly warmer..”

“I was looking at the PAF pro and the Air Zone, but it seems that they may bet boomy on the low end awfully quick....”

“An Air Zone is the perfect pickup for ANY guitar that needs the benefit of a big fat warm yet CLEAR bridge humbucker..”

“I still like the tight bass response, bite and balance of the Area 58 in single coil mode, but the Area 58 is not as full and dimensional as the Antiquity..”

“The SSL-1 works the best for me for this neck position test: clean, bright, clear, musical, with the Area 58 coming in second with a more normal but real sound.”

“The Area 58 is too bright and the 61 sounds compressed.”

“When I tried the Area 61 I found it was a lot brighter than the STK-S7, in fact too bright for the bridge position.”

“The Area T is has a very flat EQ whereas the Jazz is kinda scooped sounding, very full bass, bright treble.”

“For cleans, well, ANS or BC-1 are darker & hotter, but with more harmonics..”

“The BC-2 pedal is very easy to use with the common Level, Bass, Treble, and Sound (Gain) controls.”

“The FT2 is powerful, but has too much focus in the mids, giving that midrange honk; very different from the BC-2.”

“One was the Bluesbucker, which has more of a single coil midrange with some of the fatter lows and rolled off highs like a humbucker.”

“That's cool, well it sounds like the D-Activator must be a pretty rippin pickup for tight/articulate gainy tones!.”

“But right now, I want an aggressive midrange emphasis, or else, I would keep the D Activator in there..”

“I like the D activator sound but want more low end and more sparkly highs so I thought I might experiment with combining the neck pickup with the bridge pickup to get a really full rhythm sound..”

“But, I just traded the D-Sonic (too thick and dark for me) in for a Steve's Special (hopefully a bit brighter and articulate)...”

“I wouldn't put the D Sonic in a baswood body cause basswood has tons of midrange and low end so your sound might turn to mud..”

“D-Sonic in my current guitar (korina body, maple/ebony neck), because the highs get shrill distorted, and clean tones are far from great with it.”

“DLX Plus is hotter but on the warm and creamy side of things.”

“The DLX plus is both more powerful and more clear and articulate, and the lollar Firebird is clear and complex in the neck.”

“I kind of liken the Dominion bridge to a Tone Zone without the boomy bass response, and a little bit quicker and direct.”

“The Dominion has a tighter low end and more of a low mid push compared to the Super D, it is still more than capable for the classic rock thing.”

“The Dominion also has a faster, bolder low-end that's a bit leaner and less stuffy in the low mids.”

“Dimarzio Dominion- Too tight, too much high end (I was rolling the tone knob 3/4 of the way down, to get a useable tone).”

“I can almost guarantee that you won't find the EJ Custom too dark/muddy.”

“The Evo 2 is a bit more mid-rangy and the PAF Pro (on the neck) cleans up the mud a bit better.”

“On the other hand the Evolution is brighter and extremely tight.”

“The evolution is definitely one tight pickup, which has a strange reputation on here for being bright from people who have never actually used it.”

“I had the full shred in my jackson soloist, and decided to try the evolution as it's a supposedly a similar pickup - tight, defined and articulate..”

“The rails configuration hears a little wider aperture and can shave a little top end off, although the Cruisers and Fast Track 1 are pretty bright.”

“Fast Track 2 would be another big, thick, smooth option with output to match.”

“Also, Fast Track 2 has that midrange hump of Fred, but is just a tad hotter.”

“I'd sooner look at a Cruiser or Fast Track 2 for the neck, unless you want the guitar to have a thick and creamy tone by default.”

“The fred is more vocal and more articulate,the screaming Demon sounds more direct and cuts better!”

“The Fred has better note separation and definition than the Demon.”

“To me the FRED is too shrill and the Tone Zone is too dark, and this is a perfect compromise.”

“If you are looking for high mid crunch forget the Gravity Storm, I have that set in one of my guitars and it is a lot of lows and low mids with a rolled back high end.”

“However, to say the gravity storm will have scooped mids because it has an A5 is a stretch, as the Tone Zone example proves.”

“Well in the neck i want more attack and sustain like the evos (or even the Gravity Storm, i like them too) would give me and the Bridge should have high treble, high bass and some middle.”

“The HS-3 bridge sounds warm, the HS-4 neck sounds creamy and 95% of the spank is gone.”

“I seem to need to drive the mids harder for the HS-3 than I'd like to for the Custom Custom, and I like to drive the Treble harder when using the Custom Custom than is best for the HS-3..”

“I can tell a difference when I'm recording, but playing live the HS-3 sounds fine clean through my Bandmaster (lotsa treble already).”

“In this guitar, Illuminator has a balanced EQ w/ slightly less highs.”

“I hear good things about the Injector models that Paul Gilbert uses currently, those have smoky midrange and singing sustain..”

“The Injector has a little tighter low end, more, stiffer mid range, and an equally smooth high end.”

“The Injector neck will be darker than a A61 but brighter than the FT1 & also balance well.”

“All in all, the LiquiFire has more body, more tone, more soul and perfect articulation without having any harsh or ice-picky tendencies..”

“Both have very nice high gain solo voices the Sentient clearer and more articulate the Liquifire more aggressive compressed and smooth and thicker.”

“The new Jake Bowen "Mirage" also looks somewhat promising with its emphasized lows/mids and rolled off high end..”

“Mo Joe is a Fred but a little hotter, more aggressive, and has slightly less highs.”

“It has an aggressive presence but somehow it's smooth and not too bright just like the Mo Joe, except without the lower midrange quality the Mo Joe has..”

“The Norton was powerful, had great lows and mids but the highs sounded quite muffled and sythetic.”

“It's like taking a PAF 36th anniversary and going a bit over the top in the low end and low mids.”

“Paf Joe is warmer/rounder, and does not flub out in the low end quite as bad.”

“I prefer the FS2 for its midrange and clarity, but I also like the Tone Zone S more for the bridge and the Pro Track for the middle and neck to be honest.”

“There is a dimarzio pro track in the neck which seems to work well, it will stay as it marries the quack with the humbucker fullness when I roll back the tone knob..”

“On the negative side to me the little 59 is a bit nasal and harsh, and Pro-track sounds a bit soft and 'hollow', doesn't have much of a punch.”

“I think I want more midrange out of the Red Velvet (I'm gonna go for a twangbanger) and I want more treble-bite out of my neck and mid single coils..”

“I have a set of the Red Velvets in a Strat, and I get the feeling they call it "velvet" because the highs are punchy, but the high-highs are soft like cotton, and not Strat like at all.”

“I'd go with Satch track for the neck rail choice over the chopper, little less bass & smidge more clarity but very close tonally.”

“I tried an old Dimarzio SDS-1 in the bridge and while I liked the output, it had way too much midrange and not quite enough highs for my taste.”

“However if you put short fillister screws in the SDS-1 the highs become round/fat/sweet, the midrange is meaty and the bass is solid.”

“I would like to smooth out the highs on the sds-1.”

“It works great in the Steve Morse model guitar or in an ax pushing a Mesa Rectofier as it doesn't get muddy and is very punchy through an amp with a lot of lows like the Mesa.”

“Yes, it's dark ish, I had treble at 3 o'clock, but it DOES sound like Steve Morse, that's his tone.”

“The Chopper edged out the ProTrack for me because it was a little clearer (the ProTrack was muddy exactly, but it wasn't as articulate).”

“Had a Chopper T in a mid 90s MIA Tele, killer crunch tone.”

“As a bridge pickup, the Chopper has pretty tight bass and a lot of great midrange overtones.”

“I suppose the Dimarzio Chopper T is an option, but I've used them before and while great, they lean more towards the bright side of the spectrum than fat..”

“I'm totally open to clear, single coil-voiced humbuckers like the Humbucker From Hell, which I agree might be close to what I want in full humbucking mode but probably wouldn't work out if split..”

“It keeps the tighter low-end of the Humbucker from Hell, but has some of that glassy single coil character of the Paf Pro on the top end.”

“Get the DiMarzio Norton (Crunch from Hell but it's still clear) or the Breed neck model.”

“For me, Tone Zone S is too muddy, boomy, bass-heavy.”

“The Transition bridge has more high mids and less low end than the Air Zone, I wouldn't say it is bass heavy, but again, totally different guitar than you are asking about.”

“The PAF has more of a creamy midrange with just enough clarity up top while the Transition is a little hotter and more modern sounding.”

“Go for the True Velvet if you want more midrange and a warmer top end than what you have now..”

“I tried the Dimarzio True Velvet neck in another guitar, and while less bright than the Twang King neck, it was still too bright for my liking.”

“The twang king in my kotzen very bassy with a real harsh top end.”

“From examples and reports I could find online, the Twang King bridge seems bright with an extra helping of "twang", as its name implies.”

“Chopper is heavy on the mids and twang king is nice bright and scooped with the bass that comes in the neck spot..”

“But the Twang King neck pickup straight up kills any Duncan neck Tele pickup that I've tried as far as clarity goes..”

“They designed it because some people thought the Virtual Vintage Solo was a little harsh and wanted it hotter..”

“I think the 60A is A5 which makes it a little warmer but I tend to like a bit brighter of a neck pickup anyway, although I'd like to try the 60A.”

“I can't comment on the 60A but I find I have enough warm in my 60 and wouldn't want to lose any clarity( if that's the case ).”

“The 60A should provide the sweet jazzy cleans I want and the 81 provides the raunch I crave..”

“"The EMG-SA pickup combines the attributes of the early Strat* sound but with an added midrange response and higher output, giving it "bell-like" ringing harmonics and increased sustain.”

“It is full and a touch dark so the brighter sv was needed.”

“They're actually designed by Bill Lawrence, and I really like his noiseless Strat pickups (they don't really sound vintage-y, but very clear and articulate)..”

“I don't hear the tendency for harsh treble like I got from the stock Burstbucker pro #1 and #2.”

“However, the Burstbucker Pro in the bridge, sounds a little thin, and sometime bright, but in a piercing way.”

“But to me, the Burstbucker Pro was brighter and had the typical Gibson raspy voicing to the high-end.”

“Well first of all, the Dirty Fingers is going to be WAY hotter and WAY more aggressive than the Angus sugnature.”

“The DirtyFingers is hotter (to my ears/fingers) and downright nasty dirty gritty fizzy hairy..”

“Distortions are bright, tight, and aggressive, whereas Dirty fingers are massive, kinda muddy, and loud as hell, not that all that's necessarily a bad thing.”

“To me, the Unbucker has a more open midrange and clearer, twangier tone than Lindy's stock humbucker.”

“The pg rules the vintage tweed amp twang (as far as gibson style buckers go) but that sweet and hazy top end comes at the expense of beef and heft.”

“Duncan Screamin Demon (would have more of a treble type clang to the attack instead of an upper mid type of clang that the Dragon II has).”

“'s "Youth of the Nation" almost to the T, going from cleans to lows and the Dragon II would do it all.”

“HFS > too harsh/wiry with lots of treble, if set lower then suddenly underpowered and dry (probably due to being high output/ceramic and having this click that i hate in ceramics).”

“I changed the HFS to a Custom in my CU24 and the tone while slightly more open in the mids was very simular..”

“For me, the HFS in the bridge position is just a bit 'thin' and doesn't have as much Crunch as I would like.”

“SC250 bridge pickup is balanced as is the Tremonti, but also a bit dark.”

“The Tremonti is great under high gain, very articulate and thick.”

“I also heard the PRS Tremonti treble is like the 500, with more mids.”

“When they first released the Tremonti II's they were offered with Marks actual neck profile as opposed to the Wide Thin / Wide Fat stuff PRS was offering at the time..”

“The Chisel is comparable in output to the JB but tighter in the lows, without the upper midrange peak that gives the JB its distinctive lead tone.”

“In the tone chart I´ve seen the TB15 Alternative 8 wich is Alnico (tone) and seems to have the same highs that the JB has but It has more mids and lows too..”

“So I got an Alternative 8 in My SG and I am finding it to be a bit aggressive on the high end and upper mids..”

“I like the fact that the Alternative 8 has the drive but retains good articulation and clarity.”

“It doesn't have as much of a dramatic low-end rolloff as the Black Winter, but it not a fat bassy pickup like the X2N.”

“The Black Winter and Distortion sound similar too, I hear the high end clarity on the Black Winter:.”

“We have also heard legends of how articulate and clean the Black Winter can get on the forum here..”

“I'm starting to think you need blackouts maybe BO metal, 'cause you have a mahogany axe tuned down two whole steps, with big brass block, and yet you still want a lot more of mids and lows.”

“Duncan Custom 5 or Gibson 498T (these are similar sounding/feeling pickups, and would be darker/growlier/not as smooth sounding overall).”

“When I changed to the Duncan Custom, I had to raise OD1 to about 8.5, but the sound is still clear, punchy and round.”

“A Duncan Custom (ceramic for a bright, tight sound best for metal) or C5 (A5 with more color, for rock & blues) would be a good fit.”

“Less mids could make the custom five scoopy in the mids but as it is, No; he's definitly not scooped.”

“For example you'd think the bg1400 (30k DCR) SD makes would be all mids and darker than a chalkboard covered in shoe polish but by all accounts it still sounds like a telecaster pickup..”

“The Brobucker is too dark for my taste in a Les Paul but the CC has no highs at all in one..”

“The Brobucker is more on the fat side, the C5 very scooped.”

“Brobucker - it is very warm and chewy, a bit on the dark side to me.”

“Seymour figured out how to wind A2 PAF's so they don't sound dark and muddy; Gibson hasn't totally mastered this concept.”

“I personally really like the ultra smooth singing qualities of the Crazy 8 in these clips what do you think..”

“The Crazy 8 seems to have a more buttery smooth high end than the C5 and more of a singing quality on the solos.”

“The Salas had a really smooth singing solo voice but it was rather muddy on crunch rhythms with the Crazy 8.”

“The El Diablo, although with a weaker alnico2 mag, is wound "hotter" and has lower highs, higher mids and an overall more balanced eq..”

“Whta concerns me is the lack of warmth in the low mids and bass of the El Diablo in clips that the 5150 is able to get .”

“Yeah can't speak to the Nokie but the El Diablo is pretty tight when pushed really hard and warm when cleaned up.”

“Whereas the Psychedelic Strat is brighter, with less midrange and output.”

“I liked it with the vari-air thing Falbo came up with, mag touching the slug coil on the bass side, mag touching the screw coil on the treble side, kinda crooked in there.”

“I don't think it's a tight, percussive, metal beast like the Titans or the SLUG, but it's a great pickup.”

“Custom staggered has more mids, subdued highs, and like you guys said, about the same amount of bass as the TB.”

“I prefer to run an EQ in the loop to boost low end on it, so that way when you switch guitars like say to the Dimebucker your bass setting on your amp won't be too much.”

“I have one in my Soloist and its different from the Dimebucker or X2n which have the tight low end chainsaw sound, but if your lookin for palm mutes and heavy riffage, the Alt8 can do no wrong.”

“In my experience the Dimebucker will have a little more scooped sound and the SH6 is more complex in the mids.”

“The Duncan Distortion is similar to your EMG 81, strong upper mid cut but with a little more bass and slightly warmer.”

“I may add that the Duncan Distortion is definitly a tight sounding pickup and it retains clarity even when playing fast stuff..”

“Both the Nazgul and Duncan Distortion have very aggressive mids.”

“The Real Duncan Distortion is A very High output pickup though (which can be good and bad), With Great Tight bottom end, Thick mids, And Cutting highs.”

“The Duncan Distortion is a brighter pickup that's more open sounding because of that.”

“I'd say the Duncan Distortion has more grind and bite, while the Super Distortion has a warmer, thicker, old school tone (in Gibson-style guitars, anyway...”

“I see that the Duncan Distortion has more mids and treble than the Distortion Parallel Axis...”

“Duncan Distortion tight, aggressive, high output.”

“Is the Duncan distortion bright and open sounding.”

“I'd go with a PATB-2 Parallel Axis Distortion, they're designed to beef up a thin floyded superstrat to more closely resemble a fat Les Paul.”

“Tight, bright, punchy, with great harmonics, but very different from other Parallel Axis pickups or the Distortion..”

“PATB-2 Parallel Axis Distortion is hotter than the Invader, but not as dark.”

“A Full Shred sounds very nice in that guitar, similar to a Strat lead pickup but much hotter and more full sounding on the low end.”

“Common Complaints Some people complain that the Full Shred is harsh, too bright, or doesn't have enough bass ...”

“I'd say the Full Shred will be brighter than you expect (unless you're a JB fan), and if you find the bass to be missing ...”

“Invader was muddy, and the JB's mids were annoying in the SG.”

“I wouldn't want a super thin pickup in the neck with a super thick one in the bridge, which is why I wouldn't through a Jazz in alder with an Invader bridge.”

“It is like an Invader that has been low/hi passed for more low end clarity, and less high end fizziness than the Distortion.”

“The Invader is a mega-beefy, wall-flattening pickup with all the bass chunk and chugga you could ever want, and then some.”

“The Invader is beefy, dark, powerful, no doubt.”

“Have an Invader in my Epi Les Paul that has that thick, warm and heavy tone and am very satisfied.”

“I dig the beefy, gritty Invader tone, and hate sparkly-shimmery tones.”

“You might want a pickup that's more bottom heavy like the Custom, or maybe even the Invader if you want super-chunk and rumble and your guitar is naturally on the bright/thin side.”

“I like to switch back and forth but if you want more bass and low mids, Invader.”

“I use an invader in the neck, especially for cleans, because it has a nice round bassy sound.”

“The JB Jr sounds like it has great crunch on the bass, good mids but way too ice-picky treble.”

“The JB Jr sounded bright, almost glassy and the mids seemed, well nasal, if that makes any sense!”

“The Jb Jr is awfully bright and kinda bass deficient in the bridge.”

“The JB Jr was a bit dark in my alder strat and it compressed in a weird way for me under overdrive....”

“The Jerry Donahue sounds fabulous in my bright alder body Tele, but sounds a little lacking in treble in my warmer sounding and lighter weight swamp ash Tele..”

“I'd go with the Lil Screamin Demon as it will still be fat/thick enough for the styles you listed, but it'll mix with your neck and mid pickups better than the JB Jr.”

“In this particular guitar, the little 59 is hollow sounding, bright and lacks output..”

“I like the 59 too, but the SL seems to punch the mids out there a little more, and it's still slightly warmer, maybe due partially to the nickel cover.”

“The Little 59 is a bit brighter and the mids are voiced with a more open, less thick, tonality..”

“But the Nazgul and DD will come across as hotter/more aggressive due to their midrange.”

“Nazgul 8 - The strong treble, midrange and attenuated bass works very well with the lower notes and retains clarity.”

“I find when you compensate for a bassy 7th string the rest of the strings sound thin but the Nazgul has a big bottom end and thick midrange which means you don't get this problem..”

“The Omega is overall similar to a Duncan Nazgul, but with more of an emphasis on the low mids and bass frequencies.”

“I love the harsh, brutal, clear sound of the Nazgul, but it sounds a bit thinner than D-activator, and i'm thinking if D-activator would actually bring a more powerful sound to the guitar..”

“It seems like the Nazgul would have the high end and high mid attack the Tremonti has, as well as the beefy, tight low end..”

“Imagine a black winter but cooler, a bit more sizzle in the top end, tighter bottom and more crunch in the midrange, without being overly idiotic, like the Nazgul..”

“I believe the highs may be a bit more pronounced on the '59 as the mids are cut a bit, and the Pearly GAtes (as far as I know) has a bit more upper mids..”

“Essentially a variation on the Patent Applied For sound, the Pearly Gates sound is sweet, but slightly rude, with great sustain and a bright top that make harmonics jump out of the guitar.”

“I typically use the neck single for clean and the bridge pearly gates for crunch/leads.”

“The Pegasus looks like it has a scooped midrange..”

“I am loving the Phat Cat in the neck of my warmoth tele (semi-hollow mahogany body, ebony LP scale neck), and I'm looking for a bridge pickup thats just as fat sounding.”

“Too me, the Phat Cat has more mids than the jazz, and its covers more frequency from lows to highs.”

“The phat cat is not as fat or warm as the SL, but it has a comparable output and certainly does not fart out in the low end..”

“The Sentient more open and vintage vibe with less compression but still super articulate at gain.”

“The Sentient is more traditional sounding more even response sounds big smooth and sweet really nice super versatile neck humbucker that sounds really good at gain..”

“LOVE the tone with the sentient in my KOA Carvin DC 127 it's sweet fat and smooth but really well defined also.”

“For articulation the obvious choices are the Full Shred, Sentient and Jazz, but again they're A5 and, you guessed it, are a bit more compressed.”

“On the other hand, the Alnico 2 CC and Seth Lover N has a great tone, which is a tad darker, but a little less crystal clear sounding.”

“If you take a Seth Lover and wind it hotter you’ll make it dark and looser.”

“The Seth Lover has less trebly highs and more honk in the midrange..”

“The goal is to have the stag mag in the bridge for twang surf guitar and Jerry Garcia tones, and the jazz in the neck for Wes Montgomery chord action and warm deep blues rippage.”

“Yeah, the Stag Mag has noticeably more bass when in 'bucker mode, and more chime when in split mode.”

“Yeah, the Stag Mag in series is actually pretty dark/thick compared to most humbuckers.”

“That Twang Banger can bite my arm off, and it keeps me awake at night...”

“When you have such an open sound with as much punch as the Twang Banger has, in an ash and maple combination it's a pretty stark contrast to the Alnico II Pros.”

“The thought of a baseplate and the need for a hotter wind led my mind to the Twang Banger.”

“Tried a Whole Lotta Humbucker and that went too far the other way as I suppose I like hotter than vintage and it was too harsh in the midrange, too spiky.”

“I have my Whole Lotta Neck set fairly close to the strings (2/32 ths for both the treble and bass side) I have not adjusted the polepieces.”

“I'm trying to nail a smooth, fat Duane tone like his studio solos on "Blue Sky", without buying a new pickup (since I have about 150 already!”

“The A2 mags do what they are meant to by keeping the top from being too thin or harsh, yet somehow they managed to keep the total tele thing without sounding dark or muddy.”

“The alnico V magnet Aldrich is in the same ballpark, but with a smoother top end, a little less bottom end and has a slightly compressed attack.”

“The Aldrich was a huge step up in clarity and string definition.”

“In my experience the Aldrich is neither raw nor punchy.”