Never tried SHs, but I only heard good things about them.

EMGs aren't that generic. Just go with 18v mod and they do sound pretty good.

You mean Seymour Duncans? They sound incredible compared to EMG's. I have Emg 81/85 in one of my guitars, and duncan jb/59 in another and the duncans blow the EMG's out of the water for everything, including metal, which is what the EMG's are pretty much designed for. EMG sounds thin and scratchy unless you use an EQ, and then it just sounds so generic it's completely uninspiring to play with.

After some research I think I like passives better.

Sorry I was distracted and had something else in mind haha.. Yeah SDs.

If you wanted to go ESP/LTD you could get a used ESP Eclipesn(Not LTD) which is made in Japan for around the same price as a brand new LTD EC-1000. I personally don't like active pickups and find them a bit to sterile. I think for punk/metal you could go with something that has PAF styled pickups (maybe slightly overwound for the higher gain stuff). Also in sticking with the ESP brand you should check out Edwards which is made and marketed by ESP in Japan and is not allowed to be sold in the United States due to copyright laws (although they pop up on eebay quite often). They make dead on copies of Les Pauls, Strats, Tele's, plus some of their own styles and are on par, if not better than the American made counterparts. If you know anything about guitar quality you know that Japanese made guitars are right up there with American. Also look around on the used market because some quality guitars can be had for great prices. I'd say most importantly is to try as many guitars as you can until you find one that just feels right.

Same goes for amps. Definitely get something with tubes and try out as many as you can. Also don't trust the guys at guitar center with helping you make a decision, chances are they'll point you towards the Marshall MG series which are not very good IMHO.

Good luck on your search and let us if you find anything your interested in.

Thanks for the post. I had no idea about "Edwards", thanks for the heads up.

I love EMG's because Pinch Harmonics sound awesome through them, and I havn't found a better pinch-pickup than EMG.

Guitar wise - you have a massive door open because you can even go for a hollow body gretch, standard fender strat/tele, gibson SG, Epipoo, Ibanez, Jackson, ESP/LTD and then you have makes like above, Reverend and others that are not as well known, but very well built instruments.

Amp wise - just make a stack. All you gotta do is get 1 cab, $250<< and 1 head (this is where most of the money should be invested)

Marshall do everything absolutely fine. There's nothing mind blowing for under £700, but the one I got for £100 is great - nice and loud, has built in reverb and my favourite - CHORUS DELAY