Alnico NBs are in 3 of my guitars..love them...pissed off, articualte and tight...sound decent clean too.
Have not tried the BW, but I have a SD 59 Custom Hybrid in a Charvel that is fantastic. Can chug with any of them.
It replaced the Nazgul that came in the Charvel. The Nazgul is pretty hot...
I do like the Schallers, but I also have a couple of these straps too and so far they've not been a problem..lock on both regular strap buttons and the Schaller buttons for me...But I am not doing the acrobatic Yngwie guitar throws and Ritchie Blackmore moves either..
I've got both a Boss WL50 and a Lekato WS70 (Amazon).
Both work great...both brighten the sound a touch, but the Boss is just a bit better. Neither is ridiculously expensive...the Lekato is like 34 bucks and you have good wireless.
Blues will always be a foundation of modern rock and metal guitar...I am a huge fan of the shred genre..started with EVH/Lynch/Rhoads/Malmsteen...etc..etc...Every one of those guys "quoted" if you will maaaaaaaany ancient blues licks in their playing .Nothing wrong with blues in my book...Pretty...
My main 4x12 cab I use now has the Texas Heat/Manowar combo..go out from my FM9 into a Marshall 9005..I like the Eminence speakers as they seem to have a smoother top end that allows for less ice pick...but you can still up the highs and get the definition you want. They are also 150 and 120...
I've got the Sentient in a couple guitars and do like it...has enough but not too much. I've also go the Blues Sarcaeno Trembucker in the neck on my Solar...excellent once you find the sweet spot on height.
Ah..the good ol days...
My notes:
Man that is a thin and bright sound!
Don could still sing
Pilson and Brown were a super solid rhythm section for the band.
Count me as a BKP guy..was hooked from the first one I tried.
It's probably more for me about the feel and response of their pickups...don't know if it's the scatter winding thing but BKPs have so much more definition and pick/volume knob response nuances than the usual suspects.
I can't say...
The Sentient is a pretty cool neck pickup...I've also used the Blues Saraceno PA bridge in the neck too..pretty cool. I've also seen the Screamin Demon suggested as a neck pickup.
I've got the 24 and it fits an AX8 and one pedal...wish I would have gotten the 34, but the stages and bars I have access to are not space friendly.
One thing..I could not get the Ax8 or the FM9 to line up with all four feet..had to be slightly canted to mount/line up with the holes.