I bought this pickup in combination with the bridge version and they make quite the pair indeed!
I play within the Metal genre and often favor higher output pickups, of which I have had quite a few. This pickup is sort of an enigma to me, as it is way more versatile than one would think.
Firstly the cleans are alright, if it's silky cleans you are after you might want to look at something else. However this does an admirable job considering it's name tells you what it's really designed for, DISTORTION.
This pickup is surprisingly smooth when you add some gain. Really great fluid lead tones for such a high output pickup. When split it sounds like a hot strat pickup.
It's warmer and smoother than it's bridge counterpart and they are a great match. Together with a 5 way switch, they are extremely versatile. The highs cut through the mix, but aren't as harsh and sterile as some similar models.
All in all it's a great metal/ rock neck pickup and will definitely make you smile while shredding. It can also nail the blues/ fusion anything with a bit of grit.
5 out of 5 Mosh Pits!