Hot Dirty Hairy humbucker for blues rock with an edge

[Aceman]

I was gonna say Pearly Gates. Seems to work for the Rev with either the right amp or a dirt box. Why fight it?

And that amp should have no problem doing what you want. I'm feeling you are having trouble communicating the sound you seek.

My 2nd call would be a DiMarzio Super Distortion

[jeremy]

Currently using a Soldano Hotrod 100+ , but I don't run the pre-gain past 5.
It will do ZZ easy, but you have to be careful not to get too much gain going on or you can go into hyper drive really quick.
What I love about Soldano amps is I don't need gain pedals to get the dirt, there's plenty in the amp to spare.
Would an A8 be a good choice in my 59/C I already have?

if you want more output and a thicker tone, than yes, a8 in the hybrid might work for you!

[Clint 55]

Now that sounds interesting.
Would you be talking about a JB/59 hybrid.

It works well. The JB provides some rattly blues character then the vintage coil increases edge and lowers the compression. A 59 is a good candidate or you might have something else that would work. I used a Seth once and it worked really well.

[soulforger]

Just for something different Dean DMT Leslie West "Mountain of Tone".

[Ascension]

I'm building a Tele Esquire with a humbucker and I'm looking for a pickup that's good for blues rock but fatter.
I need a hot, dirty, hairy humbucker but won't throw me in heavy metal or over compressed late 80's rock.
Think of playing some ZZ Top in a smoke-filled raunchy bar with bikers and gambling tables.
I've tried the 59/C but lacks some hair, Custom models just sound like a loudmouth PAF, next up to the Ant JB, the JB is the closest so far for what I'm looking for but it's just slightly too smooth.
Maybe something like a JB with some hair but not so compressed.
Any suggestions would be great.

Maybe look at the Saturday Night Special set? That is the closest I have used to what you are describing. They hit a lot harder than many think and are much better at higher gain than most think.

[Mincer]

I say, a Pearly Gates with a boost pedal. If you start going hotter, you get more compressed. BTW, ZZ Top (especially from the last 20 years or so), is super compressed and boosted. He is using a lot of gear so no matter what guitar he uses, he essentially gets the same sound.

[Phantasmagoria]

Lace Dirty Hesher's.....they're the ones you want.

[Masta' C]

Just for something different Dean DMT Leslie West "Mountain of Tone".

Honestly, this is a great recommendation!

[soulforger]

Honestly, this is a great recommendation!

I had two of those Dean Leslie West Solteros, the Korean ones (pretty sure they were made at World Music where they used to build the PRS SEs), they came with that Mountain of Tone pup and were amazing guitars and that pickup was pretty great. One of the guitars I bought used at GC in Phoenix for $360! There are quite a few videos on YT of Leslie playing it with different amps, mainly Blackstar and Budda as those are what he had played in his last years.

[JB6464]

I say, a Pearly Gates with a boost pedal. If you start going hotter, you get more compressed. BTW, ZZ Top (especially from the last 20 years or so), is super compressed and boosted. He is using a lot of gear so no matter what guitar he uses, he essentially gets the same sound.

Thinking about what you stated above about his tone being "super compressed and boosted" I started playing around with my Mahogany Tele that has a Ant JB in it.
This time around I backed off the pre-gain to about 4 on my Soldano since the JB has plenty of drive and dialed the amp in for old school blues tones, I think I'm close enough to start with.
Crunchy, hot and dirty with an edge without sounding too compressed, and best of all it has that sustaining note quality that I hear Billy get when I listen to his live vids.
Probably not perfect but close enough to start with.

[Chistopher]

Or Dimarzio Super Distortion with a .047 cap wired in series to take out the mud.

As I grow older and wiser, I find that the benefit of less mud using a cap is out weighed by the fact that it messes up the input impedance on certain old school fuzzs. Granted, that's a very narrow use case.

[Mincer]

Thinking about what you stated above about his tone being "super compressed and boosted" I started playing around with my Mahogany Tele that has a Ant JB in it.
This time around I backed off the pre-gain to about 4 on my Soldano since the JB has plenty of drive and dialed the amp in for old school blues tones, I think I'm close enough to start with.
Crunchy, hot and dirty with an edge without sounding too compressed, and best of all it has that sustaining note quality that I hear Billy get when I listen to his live vids.
Probably not perfect but close enough to start with.

Well, that's great if you don't feel like you have to buy anything right away. Early ZZ was not nearly as compressed, and when he switched guitars, you could hear the difference. He has been using very light strings for years now, and EQs all of his guitars to sound more or less the same. Kinda buzzy and compressed. It is a tone that works for him, but I don't think most people could make it work for other music.

[ArtieToo]

Just for something different Dean DMT Leslie West "Mountain of Tone".

This is what I love about this forum. You reminded me of Leslie West. Listening to Mountain, on YT as we speak.

[JOLLY]

Dirty Hairy would actually be a great name for a pickup.

[Chistopher]

I at first thought this post was about someone wanting a hot version of a Dirty Hairy, so I didn't comment.