Evh Frankenstein Humbucker

"What makes you happy as a guitar player?"
The answer to that question is the sum of a lot of aspects. Some are small, some are significant.
Some are relevant for ALL guitar players, while other seem to bother only you.
Most of these aspects are highly subjective; still I'll try to describe my findings in an objective way ... about this particular guitar pickup. The EVH Frankenstein.

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Musical style?

OK, I play down-tuned Metal on a baritone guitar (Solar 29 inch). But I'm also raised with (and a huge fan of) Stevie-Ray Vaughan & Eddie van Halen. So I guess I want a combination of an smooth, earthly, organic, growling 80's rock sound, together with huge amounts of gain & tight palm muting.

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Specs?

There aren't any. Unofficial statements mention an "aged Alnico 2 magnet" with an "overwound (14.4K) 42AWG coil". OK, at least that something.

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What are my references?

The Solar guitar comes with "Duncan Solar Alnico 5" pickups; they sound pretty darn good.
I tried Bare Knuckle Aftermaths; perfect for Metal, very precise and aggressive.
I bought and tried Seymour Duncan APH-1; the other side of the spectrum. A weak Alnico-2 magnet, very soft and clear, almost a single coil. Not particularly suitable for high gain. But what I DID like about these pickups, is the "feel". Ooops! Sorry! Way too subjective. Let my try to explain that.

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Why does the APH-1 make me happy?

1) I like it when the sound changes when I "dig in in the strings". In other words: hit the strings different or harder.
It only has to do something with dynamics on the input side (being: me). The output of the Aftermath for example, has more dynamic range than the APH-1. It's just that the tone changes when I change my way of playing; and I like that.

2) I like it when I hear a clear attack, in all of those high-gain walls of guitar. Both for soloing and riffing.

3) I like a nice "Hooomph" when palm muting. Who doesn't? ;-)

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OK, is there anything else to wish for?

Yes, there is. Because the APH-1 is so bright, the overdriven sound is too gnarly.
What makes an high gain amp roar? Mid-range.
And that's where the EVH Frankenstein comes in.
It has what I love about the APH-1, but then with a clear mid-range focus. The frequency response is what you need for hard rock or metal. The overdrive now roars like a lion.

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Is this a pickup for everyone?

Probably not. If you want ultimate Metal precision, go for something Ceramic like the Aftermath.
If you're a blues player, this pickup is too mid-focused. Pick something more open and clean like a APH-1.
If you're like me, that likes the best of both worlds (old-school brown sound & modern metal) ... this EVH might become your "go to" pickup.
And if you're after the Eddie sound (either the old-school brown sound or the newer 5150 sound) ... you just found your Holy Grail.
You can't go wrong with this pickup. I absolutely love it.

This pickup is by far, the best sounding pickup I've had in any guitar. It has plenty of output, but can be adjusted easily just by lowering the pickup. It has very well rounded mids and never sound nasal, it has the right amount of treble and enough punch in the low end, without becoming muddy. It cleans up nicely, when turning the volume knob and has plenty of oomph for chucking. I'm very pleased with this pickup, which I've paired with neck and mid stacked Seymour Duncan Yngwie Malmsteen pickups in my Strandberg Boden. They balance and work nicely together and I'm very happy with the sounds I can get from them.