so is the '57 like bottom heavy or throaty then? you know, i was thinking about it a lot the past couple days and started to kinda wonder if i shouldn't look at it like this. the guitar itself sounds very tight, abrassive, and thin. so should i be looking for a 'looser', smoother, 'rounder' pickup. ie the CC, AIIP, or even the Air Zone or Tone Zone. the one thing i deffinately HATE about the pickups now, is they sound GREAT clean!! im serious!! big shocker im sure but clean these things are wonderful. if i was in a vintage style band they'd be the cats ass, but soon as i throw a lot of distortion on these pups, they almost mud out. thats why earlier in the post i was asking if the '59's could handle much grind...not gonna prolly get the '59 anymore but you get my point. i think AT LEAST i need a moderate/high output pup. by the way thanks a lot again to everyone who's chimed in. and thanks for not just writing me off. like i said before when i play these things clean or like a lower vintage or boss ds-1 territory they sound awesome. but soon as i try modern tones it just get crappy. ok im starting to ramble so i'll let all this sink in. i think im most surprised nobody said i should try the PATB-3. from what i hear its suppose to pretty much make anything sound like an LP. anyways....have a good one guys.