There is alot of good info youre being given here. I've learned so much since joining this forum. One of the things Iearned long ago though, was to stop trying to chase down an Adam Jones tone by spending money on guitars and pickups and pedals and pedals and amps and then trading or selling amps and guitars to get other amps and guitars. It can turn into an addiction, and just when you think you are getting close, you'll get that one piece of gear you could swear will put you there, only to use or install it and realize it did nothing, or worse, put you 10 steps further away.
I reached a point where I accepted that I just had alot more to learn about EQ and my guitar technique among many other things before I should allow myself to spend anymore money on gear. You have to be realistic about the fact that what you are hearing on an album is worlds away from what you are going to get just plugging into an amp and playing in a room. The album tracks are highly produced and mastered, not to mention the fact, that as someone mentioned before, its all happening in a mix. The bass and drums play a huge part in the overall sound, I dare say more so in Tool than in any other band Ive ever heard. Oftentimes it can be very difficult to distinguish whether a given part is being played by Adam on guitar, or by Justin on bass. They have a sincerely magnifacent way of weaving their parts togther so that they often sound as one. Also, you have to remember that guitar alone on a track is produced in a way that there is almost always at least one backing track to every bit of guitar part you are hearing, sometimes its layered with 3 or even 4 guitar tracks, but it's all put together to where we just assume its just as simple as a guitar. Metallica is another band that has made some sincerely badass music and had many guitar tracks layered together to make one killer sounding guitar part on an album. If you get an official sheet music book for a tool album and begin to research it and pick it apart and learn the songs, it will truly blow your mind just how much of the music you thought was a guitar part, but really is Justin Chancellor on the bass, and vice versa. I think Adam and Justin are by far the coolest and most innovative, original, and amazing guitar and bass duo in modern rock music. I am 37 and Tool is still my favorite band hands down, and it's been that way since I was 15 years old. Sitting and picking apart, and learning, and playing their songs played an incredibly massive role in my learning how to play the guitar, and then getting better and better. I still jam out on all my favorite tool songs to this day on a regular basis. And FWIW... I play a Gibson Les Paul Standard with stock Burstbucker Pro 1 & 2 pickups, into either a Peavey 6505+ 120 watt head, or a Marshall DSL40CR combo, and whichever of the two I'm using, I run it through a Mesa 2x12 Rectifier Cab. None of it is what Adam uses, but it sounds pretty darned great to my ears when I play, and while I do love SD pickups, I also really like the stock pickups in both of the Gibsons I own. I really like the sound of the 57 Classic/57 Classic Plus as well.
Hope your pickup sounds great for you. I believe it will. And good luck with all your Tool tone journeys! Cheers
