Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: mark simon hell on January 23, 2012, 06:28:16 PM
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I need a bridge pickup for my 2004 Standard Les Paul for rock'n'roll sound..
I dont want too dug in the midrange and not too dirty and muddy ..
I would like roars and clear harmonically rich ..
I use a Plexi modded as jcm800..
...now I have a Gibson BB PRO and I' torn between the various models...
- THE MULE
- RIFF RAFF
- BLACK DOG
- EMERALD (but maybe only because I love Thin Lizzy.. but 12.7k I think too much for me...)
thanx
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From my experience I can very much recommend the Mules for the application you describe - though I have to say that I didn't have a chance to try any of the other 3 PUs yet.
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I haven't tried the Mules, but they seem to be very versatile and I too think they'll fit the bill. If your Les Paul is dark sounding you could go for the Riff Raffs. I actually think BKP frontman Tim has a Les Paul with Riff Raff bridge and Mule neck. I still vote mules though.
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I haven't tried the Mules, but they seem to be very versatile and I too think they'll fit the bill. If your Les Paul is dark sounding you could go for the Riff Raffs. I actually think BKP frontman Tim has a Les Paul with Riff Raff bridge and Mule neck. I still vote mules though.
Tims main Les Paul that he was using for his Ozzy Tribute the last time I saw them had a pair of Mules in it :D
I'd go for Mules myself, they're very versatile.
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They all are great, just voiced different, pickups and will work in a Les Paul. Mules are great allrounders. I don't find them dark. They have some crispiness (not tinny or harsh treble) that I like a lot. They're clear, articulate, dynamic and tonally well balanced. The middleposition is stellar too.
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Abraxas (ftw), in fact Abraxas for everything, ha ha. They will do what you want, ignore the DC resistance - they are fat like the PAF you always wanted, but didn't get when you instead opted for vintage-correct PAFs.
Emeralds are cool too, but have a little more of a harder edge to them (imo) than the Abraxas.
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mule is less powerful, warmer and cleaner than the others
top is chimey, but soft and not as bright as the riff raff
not as fat as some might expect from a true PAF (common misconception... real PAFs aren't fat and compressed sounding, unless they're heavily overwound)
the midrange isn't strong, but it's not midscooped like other PAF copies
think early zz top, paul kossoff, gary moore, slash
riff raff is pretty grunty and the mids are very transparent and balanced, with quite sparkly top and punchy low end
stiffer and more raw sounding than the mule
tonal references could be from early ufo, early ac/dc, black crowes to recent iced earth, stone temple pilots, some foo fighters and queens of the stone age stuff
most of the old school classic rock played with 60's and 70's gibsons and some modern players with classic stock gibsons
from the options, that would be the closest to the BB Pro, but sounds much more alive and clear
black dog is middier, darker, thicker, a bit more compressed, with tamed top end, like a punchier mule on heavy steroids, but still around vintage output level
the heavy overwinding and poly wire seem to deliver a lot of growly low and center mids, but not that kind of aggressive in your face sound like the hotter models like the nailbomb or holy diver
still retains a lot of the PAF tonal characteristics and output
I usually relate that to soundgarden, satriani, paul gilbert, some led zeppelin (I say 'some', cause lots of other stuff sound more mulish or riff raffish)
never played the abraxas, so I can't comment
but there's something about the 42 awg wire that I've never heard on hotter pickups