Re: Hey guys, Im new, with a question (big surprise huh)
www.billlawrence.com is the one you want. I've used pickups from both companies, the Bill and Becky ones are the better of the two IMO.
Yeal the l 500 XL is definitley what you need: Clarity, definition and BALLZ.
Otherwise, Domarzio now makes a pickup based on he EMG's but PASSIVE, that may be what you're looking for.
About duncans, in don't agree with what Mephis said above, the Screaming Demon has a tight low end and excellent clarity and definition, and has this GROWL and percussive tone that will make you riffs sound good, i don't think it get muddy when playing riffs. It's true that you don't hear the string separation, but tha makes your chords sound heavier i think. I don't think string separation is a good point foir playing riffs. Actually i don't think the emg 81 is a great pickup for riffs it's better for leads i think.
It doesn't have a HIGH output, to me that's actually better. That forces you to play better and make the sound come from your picckuing attack and not from your "everything on 11 mega-hyper-superboost-over-beyond-drive-pedal".
I'm currently getting rid of my high-output pickups because they turn the sound into mud and tend to absorb a lot of high frequencies.
The Jb is ok Dave Mustaine used it, the distortion is ok too, the custom i don't know. The invader is not what you're looking for, too muddy fuzzy buzzy to play speed riffs.