I tried asking the elektra-Pantera message board this same thing but I got next to nothing. I am thinking about swapping my 496R/500T pickup setup in my two Gibson Flying Vs and I hear the two best pickup brands are Seymour Duncan and EMG. I am looking for a high gain, treble heavy distortion that is very crunchy(like ...and Justice for All crunchy). Can you guys tell me which brand you would use and what kind of pickup set from each brand. I am kinda floating over to the Duncan side because I don't think the inside of my Vs have enough to hold a battery but I could be wrong. But anyway could someone help me out with this?

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well SD sure does have some kickass pickups, but compared to a nice EMG 81/85 set, I'de prefer the EMG's because of their pure power.

the SD's however seem to have a bit of a brighter clean sound...

in my guitar i've got two sd's. a pearly gates in the neck and a custom/custom in the bridge. It allows me to get quite a bright sound and quite an unusual distorted sound compared to other bands who use the common emg 81/85 set. i prefer sd's cos they accentuate the sound and tone of the wood used on my guitar. And also nearly everyone i know has emg's on their guitars.

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i have an invader in my bridge, its bright and clean. it very clean compared to my dimarzio (but when i need the mad distortion palm mute ways i use the dimarzio). but i wouldnt know about the 81/85 set.

I've got a SD Invader in the bridge of my BC Rich Bich, and it sounds great... what a difference. I just put EMG 81/85's in my Gibson Les Paul and my BC Rich Beast... they sound great too. If you have no room in your guitar for the battery, wiring, and the foam you are supposed to shield your battery with, then I guess you should go with a S.D. Go to their website... you can hear the pickups in action (as you can in the EMG website).