Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: indysmith on April 19, 2009, 12:43:13 PM
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I finally got some Mules for my Edwards ELP98LTS yesterday (Thanks Monkey!), and promptly wired them up. I'd never wired my own pickups before, and it was bloody fiddly; i guess if i wasn't so lazy i'd have taken the pots out of the guitar before working on them :lol:
Anyways: I'm back at uni now, so my first impressions are thru my uni amp; Blackstar HT-5C.
They are hugely open sounding and impossibly 'sweet', very clear and defined. The neck pickup is extremely warm but extremely clear and ridiculously articulate. Before i had a SD '59 in the neck position, which i suppose is supposed to be a very similar style of pickup to the mule and i actually quite liked it. However, the mule destroys this pickup, making it sound dull, empty and lifeless in comparison. It was a HUGE difference, which i really wasn't expecting. On the clean channel it is crystal clear and chimey, and this translates well on overdrive, giving a level of clarity i've never heard in a neck humbucker before. The neck mule is three dimensional sounding, hell, maybe even holographic!
The bridge pickup I imagine is a really similar wind to the neck, it exhibits all of the same qualities, however on first impression, and as somebody who appreciates a big thick sound from his bridge position (and has got used to the Nailbomb!), I am finding it a bit scooped. It has a very "hi-fi" quality, with a big bottom end, modestly balanced mids and sparkly highs, but not too much of a 'push' from it as I was expecting (don't ask me why, PAF style pups are renowned for being 'scoopy'!). Raising the pickup height helped a lot to providing a bit more of a kick behind the mule in the bridge, and I feel like i'm learning how to get the most from it already.
The place I've found myself most often though, is the middle position which I feel is an oft-neglected position on a LP style dual humbucker guitar. This position on the switch sounds HUGE, perfectly balanced, sparkly clean, it's hard to describe but it's just SO expressive. The pickups are also fantastically respondent to changes in volume and tone, and somehow do not 'thin out' or 'muddy up' the way than my SD pups did when i used the volume and tone pots.
I'm new to PAF style pickups, always having gone for something higher output in the past to drive my JCM800 a bit harder, but now I've got this Blackstar with me which is ridiculously high gain for the stuff I play (with the SD JB in the bridge i never got the gain past about 9o'clock - and that was metal territory, lol), now the controls on the amp seem to be far more usable and balanced, and the pickups respond VERY well to my boost and overdrive pedals.
Overall, I'm intrigued by these pickups, lol... They were not quite what I was expecting, but I played them for a good 4 hours straight after I got them, and picked the guitar up again first thing this morning when i woke up; they definitely inspire you to play, they are FULL of tone and expression.
I'll update this after a few days, when I should have tried it through an Orange Rockerverb 50, a Tiny Terror, and an Epi Valve Special.
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try an Axbraxas set for a hotter PAF set - they're residing in my Les Paul at the minute and I'm loving them after years of Mules in there.
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think you'll be quite pleased with the drive through your jcm800 too
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i got mine ready yesterday and couldn't yet test them extensively...
but my impression is quite similar to yours. i would have never expected the neck mule to be this clear and articulate - much more like a SD Jazz than a 59...
in bridge position i've got an Alnico V mule... maybe the A5 magnet gives it a bit of the mids you find lacking... maybe.
i expected them to be slightly hotter than this (the Gibson '57 plus i had in bridge was a bit more aggressive, maybe), but they sound VERY good, and i've got plenty of guitar loaded with high output pickups, so i went intentionally for vintage tones.
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I have a pair of Alnico IV Mules on order for my Gibson SG special, which I am looking forward to very much 8)
More often people put Stormy Mondays or Riff Raffs in an SG. However I am looking for more that sort of 57 Classic pickup type sound. In a direct comparison the Mule is in the same area as the 57 Classic but sonically far superior (in my humble opinion).
Anyway when they arrive I will post a report on the AIV mules in my SG.
Martin
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I have a pair of Alnico IV Mules on order for my Gibson SG special, which I am looking forward to very much 8)
More often people put Stormy Mondays or Riff Raffs in an SG. However I am looking for more that sort of 57 Classic pickup type sound. In a direct comparison the Mule is in the same area as the 57 Classic but far superior in my humble opinion.
Anyway when they arrive I will post a report on the AIV mules in an SG.
Martin
i had a 57 - 57 plus combo in my les paul, and thought that the mules would sound similar, just less muddy... but the tone has completely changed. in my opinion the neck mule has nothing to do with the neck 57!
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Probably a good thing - I have not heard a clip of a mule I have not liked so far :D
For that matter I have not played a Bareknuckle I have not liked
Martin
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The neck Mule I have splits really nicely too. Great pickup! :D
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Probably a good thing - I have not heard a clip of a mule I have not liked so far :D
For that matter I have not played a Bareknuckle I have not liked
Martin
yes, definitely a good thing!
i used to like the 57 plus, but the A5 mule is tighter and clearer at the expense of some warmth... i'm very happy with it, anyway!
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haha I'm feeling my mules to be too low gain and compressed feeling after using the pig 90 extensively :(
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mule is more compressed than a pig 90... WTF!?
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Thanks for this very informative review.
Pickup's height seems so important with BKP's...If after some settings the Mule doesn't give you enough push or edge, maybe the Emerald bridge would be an option....
As for the neck I think the Emerald neck also have an AIV magnet, like the Mule, for some top of the line 'holographic' tones !. :lol:
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mule is more compressed than a pig 90... WTF!?
Maybe compressed isnt the word.. the pig 90 feels nicer/looser like most singlecoils do.. The Mules feel "harder" and tighter and are def much lower gain.
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well, they have a DCR difference of 14k! so basically it's a whole cold sweat less in terms of crude power... ;)
i expected the mules to be a bit hotter than this, to be sincere, but they sound damn good and i've already got a lot of hi-gain pickups, so they're perfect for rock - and i bought them for this very reason.
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Yeah they are great for rock, just need a boost for anything high gain I think.
The Mules middle position through a "dirty-clean" amp is one of the nicest tones I've got though :)
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Nice review... now I'm wanting a set of Mules for my LP standard!
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Update on my feelings...
Mules RULE! My housemate Rob was playing them through the Orange Rockerverb 50 yesterday REALLY loud and I was just sat there grinning for about half an hour.
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haha. you just made ME grin. have a black dog bridge and unpotted mule neck on their way
rockerverb100 hehe. the feedback on the mule is gonna be amaaaaazing. cheers
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haha. you just made ME grin. have a black dog bridge and unpotted mule neck on their way
rockerverb100 hehe. the feedback on the mule is gonna be amaaaaazing. cheers
Congrats man! You're gonna love 'em.
I've just been jamming along to 'Blues on Later... with Jools Holland' on iPlayer. I don't even care if I wake up the neighbours - they'll just have to appreciate the TONE!
The mules really reflect the tone of the guitar a lot better than the SDs did, which is a really good thing, because this guitar has a great acoustic tone - really vibrant.
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So you joined Mule owners club.................enjoy
and nice demo clip as well
keith
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try an Axbraxas set for a hotter PAF set - they're residing in my Les Paul at the minute and I'm loving them after years of Mules in there.
I've played through the mules on several occasions and like everyone else, believe they're superb.
However, I tend to agree with HThell. The Abraxas can be used in much the same way as the Mules and cleans up brilliantly whilst preserving all the juice of a great PAF, but wound up, theres just more punch available.
The Abraxas is my favourite pickup for the the ages because its the best sound I've heard throughout the volume range.
Good luck and keep playing.
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I like these more and more every day - they simply make me want to play!
I think these are my favourite pickups so far! I don't know if I've ever enjoyed playing guitar so much!
They are so sweet sounding, so versatile, so organic, so perfectly balanced, so DAMN expressive. I can't recommend Mules enough to anybody with a LP styled guitar.
I've also dropped so Sprague Orange Drop capacitors into the guitar which have had a subtle but positive effect (definitely worth the £3). I'm basically 100% happy with my Edwards; it looks and sounds like the perfect LP guitar.
So...which guitar's up next?
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You have been around for a long time on this forum Indy! It is interesting to hear about the magic spell of a great tone. These BKPs still keep amazing us after all this time!! Cheers!!!