I have yet to find a high output pickup I have been able to gel with, but I wanted to try one in my Les Paul to differentiate it a bit more from my ES-335, to justify keeping both guitars - because I truly enjoy both, but they’re not that different in actual core tone. And I kept seeing the Aldrich described as "more of a hot PAF" and "not as hot as the DC resistance would suggest", so I took the plunge. After spending a lot of time experimenting with pickup height, even recording short clips with my amp for every adjustment to make sure I wasn't getting tricked by any other factor - I have no other choice than to throw in the towel and take it out again.
I believe I’m able to distinguish between "bad" and "not to my preference", and it’s certainly not the former. I also agree with the statement that it doesn't feel quite as hot as the 17.5k measurement would suggest, but in terms of tonal quality/timbre it really has nothing to do with a PAF. It’s got way more compression, mids and is missing the open clear top end of a good PAF. Maybe it’s my particular guitar, but I doubt it because it sounds great with lower output pickups - a tad on the scooped side even, so the excessive mids can’t come from the guitar.
Not saying this is the way to go for everyone, after all there is a reason why there are so many positive reviews of this pickup, but personally I much prefer to start with a lower output pickup and then add gain/output/compression in other ways if needed. As I’ve read on a lot of forums, "high output pickups is a solution to a problem that no longer exists", and I’m inclined to agree with that. But they do have a certain sound and feel, and if you dig that there’s nothing wrong with that of course. If you really want to slam the front end of your amp hard without using pedals, it might just be the ticket!
