The PAF Pro would be fine through a high gain amp. Joe plays through one at high gain levels and he has a really ballsy tone, not just because of the pickups, but also the way he chokes up on the pick and really digs in to get that "tubular" type tone. There is a misconception IMHO, that you need high output pickups for shred and metal, but what I've found through experience is that it has more to do with the wood the guitar is made of, and the string guage etc...Try out 10 or even 11 guage strings on it and you will have a pretty
fat tone, especially with the fixed bridge. Basswood is a very light wood though, so you might want to check out a JS Mahogany if you can find one, or something with a heavier, denser wood that might have better resonance, and a different voicing for high gain metal. I think the JS 2000 could do metal, but you should try out a bunch of different guitars first before you spend a big chunk of change on a guitar you might regret buying...I think you should hook up to a high gain amp with the JS to see if it meets your needs. Hook a bunch of guitars through the same amp so you have a frame of reference to compare with. Go in to GC when they first open, before all the hack players get in there so you can crank it up, at least enough to drive the tubes a bit.
