Re: Lookign for some advice on matching sounds
There are some threads on here comparing the various PATBs if you do a search, but the main difference between the PATB1 and 2 is that the 2 is hotter and better for fast, precise work. I think the 2 is supposed to be more hi-fi too, though I wouldn't say the 1 is very hi-fi, just enough so for clarity and presence. I like to play fast rhythm palm mutes (sixteenth notes at 150-160 bpm), de-muting for accents, sort of like Shadows Fall's rhythm parts, and the PATB1 does it nicely. I've only played a Dean with a Dimebucker in Guitar Center and it was hot, the highs were aggressive, and there was a lot of all around chunk, it definitely handled lots of gain.
For what its worth, I just took the PATB1 out of my strat and put in a Virtual PAF Hot, and tried it with both an Alnico V and Alnico II magnet... and really, the sound isn't too terribly different. That's part of why I suggested the PATB1, because most pickups with the level of gain that Linkin Park and bands like that use end up sounding pretty similar - its more dependent on amp and guitar. I understand that you want to make it a good one, and I think the PATB1 would be as good a starting spot as any - you get an alnico magnet for a genuine feel, its one of Duncan's modern-voiced humbuckers, it has enough output to drive your amp but can still get good cleans if you keep the pickup low enough, its articulate with lots of gain, and it has some extra girth in its very tasty lower mids that gave the strat a little more thickness than with the VPAF Hot. It sounds "polished," I'd say, and only I took it out because I think it will match up with my Les Paul pretty nicely, plus I'm just curious how it will sound. My strat is alder though, and its pretty balanced sounding, but you may just use a 250k tone instead of a 500k. I ran mine through a 250k volume and 500k tone and even with both knobs all the way up the highs were never icepicky or overbearing, there were just lots of them.
