Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: itamar101 on May 31, 2012, 07:24:41 PM
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Hey. So... I've been GASsing a lot recently and looking at many guitars but they just come and go very quickly. I'm interested for about 2 weeks each time before I decide that I really don't need to spend my sparce money on it.
I've looked at so many guitars... the front runners being: Fender Classic Player Baja Telecaster, Fender Road Worn 60s Strat, Gibson Les Paul Jr (I had GAS for this long and hard before it went away).
But more recently I've decided that, with my musical tastes and song writing leaning toward Hard Rock and Hair Metal sorta stuff, I simply want another guitar with humbuckers and I already have a Gibson Les Paul (My only other guitar is Strat). The choice of a Flying V is really mostly inspired by Michael Schenker, Jimi Hendrix and Randy Rhoads and they really show that it's just as much of a rock machine as heavy metal.
I was never really a big fan of the shape until it started growing on me a while ago and in the past few months I've been GASsing A LOT for this but I haven't had the chance to try it. The only thing I had worse GAS for is my Orange TH30.
Anyway... I've had great experiences with gibson but the only guitar in their faded series that I've tried was the SG faded and it was badly set up with rusty strings and so I really didn't like it. That has left me thinking... is the Flying V Faded the same or is it better?
Do you guys have any experience with it? How did it play and how was the build quality? The sound doesn't really bother me because I plan on replacing all the electronics with BKPs in any case (we'll get to that later).
Also how much of a difference is their between the faded and the standard? I also really like the look of the Gloss White standard but I wanna know how much better it is in comparison to the Faded. I know that the SG standard that I played was much better than the SG faded.
TL;DR Have you ever tried a Gibson Flying V Faded? How was it playability and build quality-wise? How does it compare to the Flying V Standard?
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I used to have a faded v it was a nice guitar didnt have any issues.Gave it a good set up played really nice, I also added black pickup surrounds and it looked better. Only thing was it didnt take knocks too well you can get some major dings if not careful, that was the only thing really. Ive read that quite a few people moaned about the quality issues e.g. sharp frets and other stuff but I wouldnt take that as anything major what cant be rectified. On the whole nice guitar for the money only reason I sold it was I wanted something else..... i'm never satisfied hope that helps
cheers
Keith
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I think Gwem has or has had one as well? (In amongst his 1000 Vs :lol:, so I suspect he's an "expert" you'd like to hear from)
I really like the Faded series - I have the SG Special and its bass counterpart. But they definitely seem to be a "try them until you find one you like" range. The six string was about the 5th I'd tried, and I'd nearly given up on them. The bass was the 2nd I tried (or possibly the same one twice - it might have moved from one branch to another!).
On the SG, I think comparing it to an SG standard is possibly being a bit unfair to it :lol:. The Faded SG is an SG Special (no binding, screen-print logo, etc, etc), so it probably ought to be compared to the fully finished SG Special instead of the Standard.
One of the things about the Fadeds is the finish. That seems to be how they make them - take one of the cheaper models and don't bother with the heavy clear-coat finish (and the time required to put it on) to make it possible to sell even cheaper. I think they don't bother too much with grain filling that would need to be done for a proper gloss finish either (I get this from comparing my Fadeds to an Explorer I stripped - when the clear-coat came off, it was very much like a Faded but smoother).
So what this does is give you a new guitar that can feel a bit dry, rough, cold in the hands. Stick a bad set-up and rusty strings on one and it feels like a dog! :lol:
Get one set up, with decent strings on, and it plays nice. Play it for a few months and it soon starts to polish up and feels really warm and lived in. If you don't like the unfilled grain though (and they seem to be variable in this), then you might never bond with it.
Like Keith says, they are very sensitive to knocks - my wife was very upset when she dented one by just "touching it" (much more than I was, took ages to cheer her up). I saw her do it, and it was more than a touch, but most of my other guitars would have come away without a sign. Basically, they haven't got the clear-coats a fully finished guitar has, so you can't really expect any different I suppose (and I don't mind dings anyway :lol:)
I've not tried the V, but have gassed about one myself several times. I've seen one in the flesh, and this particular specimen looked a bit more orangy than my two, so that was a bit off-putting for me... (However, I know you can darken them, and speed up the polishing effect using Briwax - that's what I did to my six-string)
How it compares to a Standard, I've no idea, but I suspect that if I could lay my hands on enough of them to try then I could find one I'd be very happy to own.
I'll stop typing now, I'm starting to feel GAS twinges myself... :lol:
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Do it Andy you know you want to :) just make sure you buy the wife a new coat or something :)
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Thanks guys.
I guess I'll have to look around for a shop that has them in stock. Any more opinions/info is obviously welcome.
On the other hand...
What pickups should I get if I do go for it?
If been looking at all sorts of things...
Currently the combos at the top of my list are:
1) VHII neck and Black Dog bridge open coiled. How would it suit for an all mahogany guitar like a Flying V? I've wanted black dogs for a while now I assume it might be too dark in such woods.
2) VHII neck and Cold Sweat Bridge. I've also been looking at cold sweats a lot recently too but I don't know much about them. Do they retain an 80s sort of vibe or are they very modern sounding?
3) The Mule set w/ aged nickel covers for a more open, vintage sort of sound.
So... what do you think?
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look for a used Vee standard, I only paid £500 for mine at the back end of last year and it's the only guitar I've ever owned where I haven't felt the need to change anything about it - the guitar is just perfect stock, all the moons and stars must have aligned for this one.
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I think Gwem has or has had one as well? (In amongst his 1000 Vs :lol:, so I suspect he's an "expert" you'd like to hear from)
I've got two in fact :lol: I approve of the ironic quotes around the expert too ;)
Yeah, they're alright. Decent gigging instruments, fit and finish perfectly acceptable. The rosewood they use for the fretboards is pretty gash I'm afraid, but everything else is fine. The tone on both of them is a bit mid-scooped, but you can even it out with the right pickups.
The necks on them are quite modern (medium) in feel, not like a vintage V, and the neck joint is substantial, not like a late 70s one (thank goodness).
Not spectacular guitars, but they do the biz. The 'standards' are a cut above the faded for sure, but the fadeds are just as well made, just not as good materials and slightly unfinished feeling.
The one to get is the first edition, with the moon inlays - lovely ebony fretboards on those, not the dry old rosewood on all the other instruments. Apparently there are a limited number of dot marker guitars with ebony boards, but quite rare to get one of those I would have though.
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I bought a moon inlay faded V a few weeks ago for a friend
think he installed my '78 dimarzio paf in the bridge and some cheap duncan design in the neck
I didn't try it yet, but I will soon
bet it's a great guitar
I only played a 2000 gothic V, which has the same specs, but ring mounted pickups instead of the big pickguard (1958 V)
a previous owner also $%&#ed up the satin black finish by adding some glossy shiteeee (not sure if it was nitro lacquer or PU, but didn't look like a pro job)
it was one of the greatest guitars I ever played, along with a couple PRS mccarties, my '73 les paul custom and a 2005 les paul standard faded
neck played like butter and it was a quite resonant guitar
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The choice of a Flying V is really mostly inspired by Michael Schenker, Jimi Hendrix and Randy Rhoads
definitely riff raffs for those sounds
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This thread is giving me V GAS.
Damn you all! :evil:
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Well, my V GAS has subsided, thank goodness! :lol:
On pickups, I'm almost certain that Riff Raffs is what I'd put in one of these.
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The choice of a Flying V is really mostly inspired by Michael Schenker, Jimi Hendrix and Randy Rhoads
definitely riff raffs for those sounds
Well, Although Riff Raffs are great, they aren't excactly the sound that I'm looking for. The choice of a Flying V is inspired by these artists but I'm not seeking their tone. But thanks for the suggestion.
I'd really like to know whether the black dogs would work nicely in the bridge position with 550k pots along with a VHII neck pickup.
How is the cold sweat bridge?
I know that there are a lot of questions but I'd like as many answers as possible!
Is there any other set that you guys would recommend?
Back onto the original topic:
So I guess I'll have to travel around looking for one that I like or just get a standard model (which I have no problem with :) ).
And gWem, thanks for the advice on the older moon inlay models. I'll look into it but where I am Flying Vs aren't the most popular guitar around and used ones are gonna be sparce.
Thanks so much guys... And keep it coming!
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I've played a few, really didn't wow me at all. Like everyone else said, the standard would probably be better for you. What about the RR aren't you digging?
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I've played a few, really didn't wow me at all. Like everyone else said, the standard would probably be better for you. What about the RR aren't you digging?
Well... I totally dig the Riff Raffs... I just don't really want a Flying V to be the guitar that I put a set in.
I'm not to keen on that "almost single coil edge" that they have. I like my humbuckers to really sound like humbuckers and the Riff Raffs just don't seem fat enough.
So... any opinions on the pickups that I listed going into a Flying V? I really need some opinions.
I know that it's a bit early seeing as I haven't even bought it yet but I ALWAYS plan buying my gear in advance so any help possible would be nice.
Thanks again for you help so far.
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I woulda said HD's but seeing you already have some.... VHII's would probably work pretty well in there
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I woulda said HD's but seeing you already have some.... VHII's would probably work pretty well in there
Thanks.
Any other opinions?
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Go either vintage output, or something with a ceramic bridge.
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Go either vintage output, or something with a ceramic bridge.
Hmm... so nothing from the vintage hot section? I was quite liking the idea of VHIIs or Black Dogs. Why shouldn't I go for those?
I might have to take a look at the Cold Sweat set or the Mules set...
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Go either vintage output, or something with a ceramic bridge.
+1, though the CS have the reputation to work too in all mahagony/setneck guitars.
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Go either vintage output, or something with a ceramic bridge.
+1, though the CS have the reputation to work too in all mahagony/setneck guitars.
The Cold Sweat bridge is ceramic...
So... If I were to get a cold sweat bridge what neck would you match it up with? And I still really want to know why the VHII neck and black dog bridge wouldn't work out.
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It might work, it's just my preference. Some all mahogany guitars can get a bit woofy in the low end.
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Go either vintage output, or something with a ceramic bridge.
+1, though the CS have the reputation to work too in all mahagony/setneck guitars.
The Cold Sweat bridge is ceramic...
So... If I were to get a cold sweat bridge what neck would you match it up with? And I still really want to know why the VHII neck and black dog bridge wouldn't work out.
Yes, the CS is ceramic, but sounds way more refined then ceramics from other brands. CS-neck is alnico, why not a calibrated set.
I'm with gwEm about the BD, which is already relatively soft in the bass. In a big lump of mahogany that could smother the lows.
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Go either vintage output, or something with a ceramic bridge.
+1, though the CS have the reputation to work too in all mahagony/setneck guitars.
The Cold Sweat bridge is ceramic...
So... If I were to get a cold sweat bridge what neck would you match it up with? And I still really want to know why the VHII neck and black dog bridge wouldn't work out.
Yes, the CS is ceramic, but sounds way more refined then ceramics from other brands. CS-neck is alnico, why not a calibrated set.
I'm with gwEm about the BD, which is already relatively soft in the bass. In a big lump of mahogany that could smother the lows.
Ok... So the BD is out of the question.
How would a calibrated VHII set work out? Or maybe the VHII neck and Cold Sweat Bridge.
I'm certainly not ruling out a calibrated cold sweat set. I just wanna check out the options.
And what about a Mule set for some crispy rock n roll tones?
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And what about a Mule set for some crispy rock n roll tones?
This is exactly what I'm wondering. But I haven't tried my Mules in either of my all mahogany Gibsons, so I can't say for certain whether it's a good idea... I'd be tempted though! :lol:
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And what about a Mule set for some crispy rock n roll tones?
This is exactly what I'm wondering. But I haven't tried my Mules in either of my all mahogany Gibsons, so I can't say for certain whether it's a good idea... I'd be tempted though! :lol:
Well maybe another user has tried it out and can give some advice...
What about the other pickups that I've mention? How would they suit?
I'm sort of hoping that Jonathan (FelineGuitars) takes a look at this thread and gives some advice. I'm sure that he's tried every BKP in 100 different guitars each.
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I have a set of A5 mules in one of the V fadeds that I think works great. Now, Tim himself has stated that he finds the mids on the A5 mule too hard, but I don't find it so.
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I have a set of A5 mules in one of the V fadeds that I think works great. Now, Tim himself has stated that he finds the mids on the A5 mule too hard, but I don't find it so.
Are A5 mules still available? They are listed on the website as alnico IV only.
If they are it could be very appealing.
I'm still very interested in a calibrated VHII set, though. Any experience with them?
But so far it looks like The Mules or Cold Sweats.
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I use cold sweats in my mahogany Vs - utterly superb , although tempted to try the new Blackhawks
Miracle Man can sound good too - although I would put a Cold Sweat neck in with it.
If you buy one I would suggest changing out the 300k pots to 550s and adding an oil and paper cap 0.022uF (jensen if it will fit)
My formula for all mahogany guitars is lower output alnico and higher output ceramic
I feel like Gwem that a A5 mule would be lovely, but you can't get them (pout) so try a Black Dog or a VH2
The Emerald works well too- surprisingly so!
My own V obsession (pun intended) is Schenker related - both Michael and Rudolph , as well as Wolf Hoffman (Accept), Randy Rhoads , KK Downing and Kiss's Paul Stanley
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I use cold sweats in my mahogany Vs - utterly superb , although tempted to try the new Blackhawks
Miracle Man can sound good too - although I would put a Cold Sweat neck in with it.
If you buy one I would suggest changing out the 300k pots to 550s and adding an oil and paper cap 0.022uF (jensen if it will fit)
My formula for all mahogany guitars is lower output alnico and higher output ceramic
I feel like Gwem that a A5 mule would be lovely, but you can't get them (pout) so try a Black Dog or a VH2
The Emerald works well too- surprisingly so!
My own V obsession (pun intended) is Schenker related - both Michael and Rudolph , as well as Wolf Hoffman (Accept), Randy Rhoads , KK Downing and Kiss's Paul Stanley
Thanks do much for the info... But unfortunately it's just left me in the same position that I was in before the post.
I was already gonna swap out the pots and caps (I've already done so with my les Paul and Strat and have been very pleased with the results).
So now in confused... Would the Black Dogs and VHII work nicely or not? I'm currently leaning towards a Cold Sweat set because I'm not really interested in anything near as high ouput as the miracle man and I don't really have any info in the Black Dogs and VHII... Yet.
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Philly Q tried the Black Dog bridge in an Edwards V and thought it was a bit meh. I have a Riff Radd in the bridge of a similar V and it work excellently for an open Schenker-y sort of tone. Maybe ask Philly Q for more details of his Black Dog'd V.
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Philly Q tried the Black Dog bridge in an Edwards V and thought it was a bit meh. I have a Riff Radd in the bridge of a similar V and it work excellently for an open Schenker-y sort of tone. Maybe ask Philly Q for more details of his Black Dog'd V.
Yeah, I wasn't crazy about the Black Dog in the Edwards. It was a little on the dark side, although I don't think it was muddy. But a big part of the "problem" was that I combined it with a Stormy Monday neck, so I had a dark-ish bridge pickup with a bright-ish low output neck pickup, there just wasn't enough of a contrast for my liking (I've said that many times, apologies for boring everyone).
I should add that it was a very lightweight V - I have a feeling that the BD might work better in a heavier, less resonant lump of wood, but I could be totally wrong about that.
If I remember right, the guy who bought the V from me (Marauder on this forum) really liked the BD, but I don't know if he still has the guitar or the pickup.
I agree with Jonathan that Cold Sweats are excellent in mahogany guitars like Vs or SGs - and I would stick with the CS neck pickup, I can't imagine anything else being a better match with the bridge model. If I was going for something lower-output, I'd probably pick a Riff Raff bridge with a Mule neck, or maybe a set of Mules. I don't know about the VHII, I think of it more as a Strat pickup (can't really explain that, it's just how I think of it) but I expect it would be fine in a Gibson.
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Doesn't Kravitz has Mules in his V? I don't know if they are AV or AIV.
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Doesn't Kravitz has Mules in his V? I don't know if they are AV or AIV.
Ah. Thats interesting. Im a big fan of lenny kravitz.
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I have a Riff Raff/Mississippi Queen pair in my Faded Flying V and it makes for an extremely versatile guitar.
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I have a Riff Raff/Mississippi Queen pair in my Faded Flying V and it makes for an extremely versatile guitar.
I think I'd like to stick with humbuckers at the moment but thank for the suggestion.
I just had Hum sized P90s in my les Paul before and I really missed the humbuckers regardless of how bad they were because I wanted the characteristics of a humbucker back... Which is why I bought my Emerald Holy Dover set :)
I just feel like guitars meant for humbuckers are better of with humbuckers and same goes with and other type of pickup.
But I'm currently really liking the idea of either a clan rated mule set of a calibrated Cold Sweat set.
Still wondering about the VHIIs but they've sorta drifted of into the back of my mind now.
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the vhII set should work well
I might be wrong, but aren't they overwound A5 mules by specs?
long magnet, asymmetrical coils, 42 awg plain enamel wire, only 5-10% hotter wound
the black dog is the last model I'd try in a gibson V, though
I can hear the nosey mids in my head just by thinking of the idea :lol:
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the vhII set should work well
I might be wrong, but aren't they overwound A5 mules by specs?
long magnet, asymmetrical coils, 42 awg plain enamel wire, only 5-10% hotter wound
I remember someone on here once saying that technically the VHII is the hottest "true vintage" PAF-type you could get, as it's wound with as much 42 AWG wire as will fit on the bobbins (or one of the bobbins, at least).
I guess the difference from an overwound AV Mule is in how much "offset" there is between the coils? I think the VHII is a bit more asymmetrical the the Mule, but that could be wrong.
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some of Tim's answers when I asked for an overwound riff raff or vhII (I told him that would into a maple neck '81 gibson les paul standard or a '96 PRS mccarty custom):
"To be honest the Riff Raff has the best bite of the 42 AWG PE wound h/buckers so maybe an idea would be to use a larger magnet so you get the same tone but more power - how does that sound."
"the VHII has a softer mid with more bass than the Riff Raff and I'm not sure I would recommend that for a maple neck LP plus I physically can't overwind a VHII as there's simply not enough room on the bobbins.
I still think the best idea is to go with a Riff Raff but with a larger magnet, that way you'll retain the bright edge and bite you want plus the vintage voice but get more output to push the amp along."
"I couldn't get the RR up to the VHII DC as the VHII has heavily asymmetrical coils to achieve that and simply replicating that would just produce a VHII*, the asymmetry gives it the softer mid range.However I can wind the RR up to @ DC8.3 - 8.4K before the highs roll back too heavily - the only way to go hotter is to move away from plain enamel and go to polysol like your McCarty pickups but then the voicing changes which spoils the point of the exercise."
* not exactly, cause the riff raff has a short magnet, while the vhII has a long magnet like the mule and nailbomb
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some of Tim's answers when I asked for an overwound riff raff or vhII (I told him that would into a maple neck '81 gibson les paul standard or a '96 PRS mccarty custom):
"To be honest the Riff Raff has the best bite of the 42 AWG PE wound h/buckers so maybe an idea would be to use a larger magnet so you get the same tone but more power - how does that sound."
"the VHII has a softer mid with more bass than the Riff Raff and I'm not sure I would recommend that for a maple neck LP plus I physically can't overwind a VHII as there's simply not enough room on the bobbins.
I still think the best idea is to go with a Riff Raff but with a larger magnet, that way you'll retain the bright edge and bite you want plus the vintage voice but get more output to push the amp along."
"I couldn't get the RR up to the VHII DC as the VHII has heavily asymmetrical coils to achieve that and simply replicating that would just produce a VHII*, the asymmetry gives it the softer mid range.However I can wind the RR up to @ DC8.3 - 8.4K before the highs roll back too heavily - the only way to go hotter is to move away from plain enamel and go to polysol like your McCarty pickups but then the voicing changes which spoils the point of the exercise."
* not exactly, cause the riff raff has a short magnet, while the vhII has a long magnet like the mule and nailbomb
I'm actually really liking the idea of an overwound riff raff now... And even more so a VHII set.
Well... I guess I've got all the info I need...
I'll just have to make a desicion in the end (when, and IF I get the flying v).
Thanks guys.
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I have a Riff Raff/Mississippi Queen pair in my Faded Flying V and it makes for an extremely versatile guitar.
I think I'd like to stick with humbuckers at the moment but thank for the suggestion.
I just had Hum sized P90s in my les Paul before and I really missed the humbuckers regardless of how bad they were because I wanted the characteristics of a humbucker back... Which is why I bought my Emerald Holy Dover set :)
I just feel like guitars meant for humbuckers are better of with humbuckers and same goes with and other type of pickup.
But I'm currently really liking the idea of either a clan rated mule set of a calibrated Cold Sweat set.
Still wondering about the VHIIs but they've sorta drifted of into the back of my mind now.
I wasn't offering it up as 100% what you're looking for, just that it works for me in that particular guitar :lol:
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the vhII set should work well
I might be wrong, but aren't they overwound A5 mules by specs?
long magnet, asymmetrical coils, 42 awg plain enamel wire, only 5-10% hotter wound
I remember someone on here once saying that technically the VHII is the hottest "true vintage" PAF-type you could get, as it's wound with as much 42 AWG wire as will fit on the bobbins (or one of the bobbins, at least).
I guess the difference from an overwound AV Mule is in how much "offset" there is between the coils? I think the VHII is a bit more asymmetrical the the Mule, but that could be wrong.
I was talking about what I wanted from my particular set of A5 Mules and he mentioned he was going to wind them with less offset than normal as a result. I realise that A5 Mules are a full custom non-endorsed option, however I also tried a guitar Philking has with A5 Mules (perhaps with 'normal' offset - though no such thing since as I say its a full custom option) and I also liked the tone alot.
As I say, Tim talks about the hard mids of the A5 Mule, and he might be right - but I do like my tone pokey in the mids and bright, to cut through the electronics in the music I make.
I've put my A5 mules in three different Vs and they've sounded different each time, but always great. The neck pickup has remained an A4. At the time I preferred a softer neck tone. In my red faded V, the A5 Mule has been by far and away the best pickup set that have been in there - for my tastes YMMV.
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a more symmetrical A5 mule should more be like a long magnet riff raff, then
I wonder how does the magnet length affect the results
apparently, my riff raff has a short A5 magnet, but 4mm thick (like the ceramic models), instead os the regular 3mm short magnet
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I don't know anything about pickup design, but I can tell you my A5 Mule has a lot more mids than the Riff Raff and it sounds less dry.
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Shame we can't buy an A5 Mule any more, but I guess between the Riff Raff, VHII and regular A4 Mule we can get close enough for most purposes!
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Shame we can't buy an A5 Mule any more, but I guess between the Riff Raff, VHII and regular A4 Mule we can get close enough for most purposes!
Why is that? Will Tim not do a special if you call and ask him?
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Shame we can't buy an A5 Mule any more, but I guess between the Riff Raff, VHII and regular A4 Mule we can get close enough for most purposes!
Why is that? Will Tim not do a special if you call and ask him?
From what I've heard BKP are now just getting way too big/too many orders to do custom orders any more. :/
Good for them... unfortunate for us. :D
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Shame we can't buy an A5 Mule any more, but I guess between the Riff Raff, VHII and regular A4 Mule we can get close enough for most purposes!
Why is that? Will Tim not do a special if you call and ask him?
From what I've heard BKP are now just getting way too big/too many orders to do custom orders any more. :/
Good for them... unfortunate for us. :D
Yeah, I think that's about right. BKP is still a highly customer-friendly business, but it's not quite "whatever you want" like it was a few years ago.
The range of pickups and options is pretty comprehensive now, each pickup has been designed/voiced a certain way, and as I understand it they don't want to deviate from that in terms of different magnets, over- or under-winding etc.
I know Jonathan wasn't able to order AV Mules for his planned run of 20th Anniversary Lions, for example.
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Yeah, I wasn't originally too worried by the change to custom orders personally. But reading gwEm's description of his A5 Mule earlier did get me thinking "pity you can't get one of these anymore".
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Yeah, the AV/AIV Mule set appealed to me because I've always had a slight suspicion that the standard AIV Mule set will be a bit too subtle for me (i.e. not enough difference between neck and bridge!)
Oh well, should've struck while the iron was hot.
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Yeah, the AV/AIV Mule set appealed to me because I've always had a slight suspicion that the standard AIV Mule set will be a bit too subtle for me (i.e. not enough difference between neck and bridge!)
I love the calibrated set and for me (but that's my taste) the bridge and neck differ enough, but the advantage of the calibrated set is the immaculate in between position, which I use a lot.
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Again, the in-between position is a bit subtle for me....
I'm more from the Ritchie Blackmore "one-extreme-or-the-other" school - bridge (tone on 10) or neck (tone on 0), never mind the bits in the middle! :lol:
I will get a set of Mules at some point, though - maybe for that old Hamer Special. Wired out of phase, so the middle position sounds sufficiently different from neck and bridge.
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you can always take the long A5 magnet out of your vhII or nailbomb and stick it into a mule :D
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Shame we can't buy an A5 Mule any more, but I guess between the Riff Raff, VHII and regular A4 Mule we can get close enough for most purposes!
Why is that? Will Tim not do a special if you call and ask him?
From what I've heard BKP are now just getting way too big/too many orders to do custom orders any more. :/
Good for them... unfortunate for us. :D
Yeah, I think that's about right. BKP is still a highly customer-friendly business, but it's not quite "whatever you want" like it was a few years ago.
The range of pickups and options is pretty comprehensive now, each pickup has been designed/voiced a certain way, and as I understand it they don't want to deviate from that in terms of different magnets, over- or under-winding etc.
I know Jonathan wasn't able to order AV Mules for his planned run of 20th Anniversary Lions, for example.
I wasn't aware that was now the case.
Real pity!
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Again, the in-between position is a bit subtle for me....
I'm more from the Ritchie Blackmore "one-extreme-or-the-other" school - bridge (tone on 10) or neck (tone on 0), never mind the bits in the middle! :lol:
I will get a set of Mules at some point, though - maybe for that old Hamer Special. Wired out of phase, so the middle position sounds sufficiently different from neck and bridge.
Yeah, it's a matter of preferences and taste. That's good, otherwise BKP would just be selling calibrated Mules-set.