Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: Henk on November 14, 2007, 12:00:22 PM
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Hey!
Yesterday i got my Mules AIV in the mail from Tim. Im glad Tim is such a gentle person because it was the first time i ordered anything abroad and to be honest, im REALLY the kind of person who needs to pick up stuff and pay in cash, i know i have control issues but im working on that :lol:
Anyway, they came yesterday and when i got home i started soldering them in right away, played untill about 4 am, and from about 7am again. Now my fingers are numb and ill try and write some stuff down i noticed in the hours ive palyed the mules.
I have put them in my SG '73.
(http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb157/Boshond/DSC_2815.jpg)
(http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb157/Boshond/DSC_2820.jpg)
First thing i noticed is how heavy the Mules are and how well they are made, all very tightly assembled.
On closer inspection i noticed some small wax remnants around the polepieces, Tim puts wax under the raw nickel covers to prevent microphonics, ans yes the Mules are unpotted ones.
I was pretty much looking for a 'real' PAF replacement, and this certainly looks like a VERY well made pickup, also the braided wire used is the same wire i have in my ES125 and the late seventies LP aniversary. Its not the most easy wire to solder though, it takes alot of fumbling to uncover the core.
Tim also seems to have brushed the covers a bit which looks very tastefull.
Ive used my usual setup with my JCM800, Marshall cab with greenbacks and my Boss OD-1 stombox.
After hooking it up i was blown away by the HUGE open sound, the Mules do have an allmost acoustic response to chords too much gain did not work well, not so much because of the mud but more because it was just too much for my ears to handle just at once.
After a little time i found the high rolloff was just too much, overtones were just not what i was used to. As such is quite logical since i have put the mules in an old SG with the old electronics, so they have .022 caps and the dreaded 300k pots. With the usual PAF type pickups this works out nicely but not so much with the Mules.
This got me thinking about PAF's in general. Most pickup producers try to copy the original PAF, which as such is quite stupid since most pickups wont end up in real vintage guitars with ditto electronics. Voicing a PAF to be used in a modern guitar is just such a smart thing to do and im now really eager to try the Mules in my LP.
After this i replaced the OD-1 with my SD-1, cut back a little on the low end to compensate and boosted out the heavy mids..... DAYM! Immediately i was hurled back to a couple decades ago when i played in a crossover band (80's death metal hardcore kinda stuff). If i ONLY had these pups back then, really incrededable stuff. PAF with a kick in the rear huh? Make that a left hook straight on the yaw!
After a short break rethinking everything i set everything back to a more moderate setting and cranked the amp! It was allmost midnight but who cares right? Et voila.... there was my high end again, switched back to the OD-1 and did some speedmetal riffing, dissonance and (string) dynamic tests. I looked at the clock and i had been playing for 3 hours non stop, it just went by in a flash.
After another short break i started to noodle on the pickup hight and found out that the Mules are THAT sensitive that they allways seem to take alot of wood AND alot string dynamics, so after some time i found a sweet spot somewhere in the middle where the overtones were just cutting trough in the nicest way. If i put the bridge mule all the way down in the wood, the string dynamics still cut trough! Really amazing stuff since most gibson pickups are really bad in this respect.
By now i was getting really tired and my wife came down to ask if it wasnt a smart idea to get a few hours sleep.
I did however do a short test on the feedback and grounding noises before i went to bed and when compared to equal DC Gibson pickups these UNPOTTED Mules have less feedback especially when compared with the most recent ones(490R/498T) which i think are also unpotted (or really badly potted). Nor did i experience any grounding issues either, but i do have to say i have a very well ground electric cirquit in my old house, which does make a difference obviously. I was however quite statically charged, but that didnt have anything to do with the pickups :twisted:
After a couple of hours rest(couldnt sleep) i started playing again, kind of low gain acoustic stuff and later some blues jazz on my Bluesbreaker RI.
I found that the mules' tone colour is slightly changeing over time, maybe its because they are just hooked up and the current affects the magnet or something like that, it seems to smoothen a bit especially on the low end and heavy mids in a quite pleasing way.
A mayor downside to the Mules is that they sound so exeptionally good on a cranked amp, this is something i dont have as much with my gibson pickups. Actually this is a very hazardous aspect of the Mules i didnt anticipate, maybe i should send them back :roll: or maybe NOT!!!!!! :wink:
Many thanks for making these for me Tim and BKP, im a 100% sure these wont be my last BKP's.
Kindest regards and thank you for reading this lengthly tekst,
Henk
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Thanks for the very enjoyable and informative review!
Glad you like your new BKPs :) It must be nearly time for me to get another set, methinks!
Roo
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I'm going to be putting some Mules in my Epi Les Paul at some point, when money allows.
Really are amazing pickups, I love hearing clips of them.
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You're making me even more excited about having my new/old 7 string Mule installed. Thanks for the review! I'll post in here later with my Muling if it's ok with you.
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BKP's NEED! (i cannot stress this enough) to be played through an all valve amp. preferably cranked. THAT is where they shine and perform most excellent. if you're not playing them through a most heniously rightcheous setup, you're insulting Tim and his excellent line of pickups.
my opinion. i really really like my BKP's
(if you're asking yourself WTF is it with my adjectives.. i watched Bill and Teds Bogus journey last night)
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(http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb157/Boshond/DSC_2820.jpg)
That's the best looking SG I've seen in a long time.
Tissues please!
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its the early pickguard methinks, and the nice worn in colour.
these stories make me wish I had more money
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these stories make me wish I had more money
you'd just spend it faster :lol:
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(if you're asking yourself WTF is it with my adjectives.. i watched Bill and Teds Bogus journey last night)
That is the answer to everything.
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Good to read Henk-guitar looks great.
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Thanks for reading all,
The SG is a really nice player, these old ones pop up once in a wile. To me it seems so hard to find a decent SG, maybe i do compare them too much to the LP's though. This ones all fine and then the ebony fretboard and that very comfy old style bridge, really a joy to play.
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Anyway, they came yesterday and when i got home i started soldering them in right away, played untill about 4 am, and from about 7am again.
You must live in some kind of soundproof bunker, or have very tolerant neighbours (it sounds like your wife has got used to it)!
Great review, Henk. :D Now I want some Mules... but which guitar to put 'em in?
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Now I want some Mules... but which guitar to put 'em in?
surely you have some sort of les paul philly? ;)
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surely you have some sort of les paul philly? ;)
You know me too well! :lol: I do, but my The Paul SL already has a RY/Abraxas set and my Edwards LP is getting a set of Crawlers (which hopefully will get here eventually, as I live in the only part of the country where the strike seems to have totally destroyed the postal service).
I do have another LP-ish guitar on the, er, horizon though - so I may get Mules for that one. We'll see.
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Oh aye Phil - another guitar? What you got planned?
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I found exactly the same thing with my Mules in my LP - at low volume I couldnt really appreciate them but when you get the master up a bit you can really tell the difference :)
Also, that is one of the nicest SGs I've ever seen, maybe I should get one instead of a 2nd LP :P
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Oj, update.
Today i was resoldering my new LP Custom and thought i should try the Mules in it since i had a feeling they would be much better with 500k pots in an LP.
After soldering for hours i couldnt make the alternative 3 pickup/3 volume/1 master tone wiring work(the scematic was wrong i found out) and changed everything back to the normal 2/2/2 wiring.
My JCM800 was humming like a V8 before a stoplight and without putting the back covers on i plugged it in. OMG what a difference, the mules with 300k pots is a definate NONO IMHO. Also found out the SG is much more focussed soundwise then a LP which explaines why i find it so hard to find a decent one.
I just cant describe how stunned i was hearing all the different layers come together, and yes the mules pick it all up, the neck top body and string all are somehow layered and dynamics deliver to the tenth FORCE of what they are with the gibson pickups.
The neck 7.3 DC Mule neck is insane, it just loves those high pinched bends soooo much i cant believe it, the bridge 8.4 DC is a bit thin to my liking but i havent messed with it yet so probably ill remedy that.
Im just having the best day since years, you know when all somehow comes together, mules in the mail, new LP Custom which just happen to have new 500k pots and that ultimate maple neck. Makes one think there is a god after all.
Thanks for your interest,
Kindest regards, Henk
@Philking, i live in the country, far away from city folk, we party all week and make noise whenever we feel like it :wink:
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a tip: get some good caps and roll off some highs from the bridge unit. You can make it very meaty that way but you'll need some good capacitors lisk Jensens or Hovlands.
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Yeah got that, theres alot of maple coming trough from the wood so i gave it a bit more string to muscle it up a bit for now, it does have those wrapped butter caps now which turn everything mushy.
I just played some double stops country licks, allmost stratlike on that maple neck. And when rolling some high off the neck Mule you get that nice fuzzy '50s jazz sound so maybe ill keep the old cap for the bridge.
Its just so weird the mules sound totally different then when i put them in the SG. It pretty much pushes me to put 500k caps in my SG also.
Cheers, Henk
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Also, that is one of the nicest SGs I've ever seen, maybe I should get one instead of a 2nd LP :P
Thanks for the compliment, it was certainly a bargain compared to what the custom cost me, still like i said before, be sure to check it out before buying(or buy with a clear return policy), theres alot of firewood SG's around IMO.
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Small update, the Mules will stay in my LP custom, allthough the bridge mule is past being a bit thin, it still is very very tight. However in a recording sence it would be a very good choise in the custom. Its just so amazing to hear that even with a really thin sound the wood just fills it up with that wonderfull smooth sustain. Im really happy about this setup and play dayly untill i have to stop due to numbness of limbs :twisted:
I have put Gibson '57 classics with nickel covers in my SG, the hotter + version in the bridge. I had them in my beatup custom before but they are better in the SG, the '57's are very bright and better off paired in the SG with the 300k pots. Overdriven and boosted they really sound ballsy like nothing else, very open and chunky sounding powercords ala AC/DC.
Now i still need something for my beatup custom, it now has the T Buckers from my new custom but i dont like them very much, they sound dark and trebbly which is a wrong combo for me.
Big thanks for the interest and all the kind words,
Kindest regards,
Henk