Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: Cboysen on September 09, 2014, 11:53:15 PM
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So as of late, I've been leadplaying with a cover band, covering basically anything you hear in the radio, and even though bringing 4-5 guitars to every gig would be neat, neither my wallet nor my back think that's a swell idea.
My guitar is an ESP JH-600, neck-through maple with alder wings and ebony fretboard, EMG 81/85 equipped, back from when I played a lot of metal. I still do though, but just about anything else too.
I considered buying a strat, but opted for pickup change instead
I want a 2-humbucker system, possibly with single-coil splitting, to get a vintage Tone; amazing cleans, a lot of headroom, with the ability to play anything from funk, to jazz, from cleans to metal.
I guess its gonna be a jack of all trades, but listening to pickups like the Mule and Riff-Raff, really brings out some great cleans and nice vintage metal tones, but will they pair with guitar? I've also been looking at the hotter Holy Diver, since that was my initial thought, but i fear it wont do cleans very well, despite it being a very nice lead guitar-pickup.
So what bridge and neck-pickup combo will be best for this purpose, where main focus is on a sweat crunch, but cleans being ever so important too.
Kind regards, Christian
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The Mules really are extremely versatile. It's got great cleans (I especially love the neck pickup fot cleans) but the bridge pickup can also be driven hard to give some great hard rock / metal tones (I don't know if he had his Mules back then, or even if they had been made, but Steve Stevens' tone on White Wedding exemplifies the sort of sound you van expect from driving a mule hard).
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The Mules really are extremely versatile. It's got great cleans (I especially love the neck pickup fot cleans) but the bridge pickup can also be driven hard to give some great hard rock / metal tones (I don't know if he had his Mules back then, or even if they had been made, but Steve Stevens' tone on White Wedding exemplifies the sort of sound you van expect from driving a mule hard).
Hmm, sounds very nice indeed - Some say the Mules might not be 'beefy' enough for alder body - now this is mainly maple i'd assume, due to the neck-through construction, but otherwise, people seem to throw crawlers in most stratocasters and the likings. How would crawlers fair for this purpose and this guitar, compared to mules for example.
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I would recommend a Crawler-set or a Crawler/Abraxas-neck combo. Beefs up your in alder/maple, fat organic sound, very good cleans, medium output, enough topend, great solotones, growls like a bear when pushed, splits superb (you will get a nice stratty/tele-esque tone). The Crawler-neck is unsplitted quite warm. An Abraxas-neck could be a good alternative and keep the balance. It has a little more chime than the Crawler-neck.
Mules are great too, but I prefer them in mahogany for a good balance. Imo the Mule-bridge needs a warmer sounding guitar to shine. It has quite some highs (but not shrill treble) that could be too much in alder. The Mule-neck is my absolute fav neckhumbucker (in mahogany).
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Jack of all trades for rock, huh? Well, I think ESP would be off my radar for that sort of an application.
Guitarwise, Les Paul + Strat or Les Paul + Tele would get pretty close for more rock stuff. Both are really iconic so something that is more of a chameleon may be better.
For a lump of wood, I'd recommend a Godin LG if you can track one down. It's a mahogany neck / body bolt on instrument with a rosewood fingerboard. One with humbuckers is good enough.
With that, you can have the option to coil tap and you'll cover most sounds. I had a great result with a Rebel Yell bridge in that guitar but other pickups could work as well, provided they're bright with a tight and clear bottom. I'm about to try a VHII in the neck of that guitar and I can comment further.
The other trick for that sort of gig is having a suitably versatile amplifier. Something like a Mesa Boogie Roadster or an amp from an up and coming Canadian company 'Revv' would fit the bill for that. I think other companies like the Marshall JVM are also equally capable and qualified for this sort of application.
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I've played guitar in a covers band for quite a few years now and use one guitar for most of the night, only swapping for different tunings. What I've found works is a two humbucker guitar that cleans up well on the volume control and is generally bright sounding. You can darken things up with the tone control if required, and both pickups on together hollows out the tone for a more singlecoil sound, backing off the volume a touch cleans it up a bit more.
Yours isn't the ideal guitar for this sort of stuff but I think it will work fine if you stick to vintage or vintage-hot style humbuckers. I like slightly hotter PAFs personally, so for me I'd go for VHIIs. Vintage enough for cleaner and classic rock tones, hot enough for slightly more modern tones.
Good luck!
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Yeah my guitar is definitely build around a heavily distorted tone, both with wood and pickups, and even though changing out the whole rig with a new guitar and what not would be best, I just don't have the amount of cash to support it, so a pickup for versatility seems to be the second best option, otherwise thanks Yellowjacket
I do see that mules are generally put in heavy Les Paul Guitars, which of course makes a lot of sense, so I suppose it's gonna be too bright for my guitar.
In fact, I'm getting more and more interested in the crawlers - would they be able to cover the whole field just like the mules, especially in the regards of cleans, now that it's a contemporary pickup? And how would a Crawler bridge / Mules neck go, or is the abraxas better for that?
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I think VH2s as well for what its worth. They have a Fendery treble characteristic. Although any humbucker bridge pickup can cover most humbucker bridge tones out there with the right amp/pedals, some songs just need a straty sound to work. You can't add treble, so I would agree with Twinfan that its good to have it a little too bright. Then if you want to do Hendrix or some funk for example, then you still can.
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I think VH2s as well for what its worth. They have a Fendery treble characteristic. Although any humbucker bridge pickup can cover most humbucker bridge tones out there with the right amp/pedals, some songs just need a straty sound to work. You can't add treble, so I would agree with Twinfan that its good to have it a little too bright. Then if you want to do Hendrix or some funk for example, then you still can.
Hmm, well, this certianly isn't getting easier ;)
I really don't want a too trebly guitar, even though you can turn it down, since my gutar is already fairly bright I guess.
I really wanna know if the mules are too soft, for when i wanna play metal or at least some old school hard rock,and if the crawlers are too hot for when I wanna do strumming warm cleans, for background fill of songs, say, a regular coldplay, Imagine dragons etc (yeah I know, but it's what they want to hear)
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Basically anything we've suggested will work, sometimes you've just got to buy something and try it :)
By the way, you know you need to replace the pots/tone cap as well when switching from EMGs to BKPs don't you?
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crawler + coil split
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Basically anything we've suggested will work, sometimes you've just got to buy something and try it :)
By the way, you know you need to replace the pots/tone cap as well when switching from EMGs to BKPs don't you?
Yeah, I do, but thanks for reminding me anyway - whole thing gotta go, I guess i need 4pins for coilsplit - I got it all written down somewhere.
My EMGs are going to my Hallow-Body ES335 Copy, sparkling some new life into that old cheap piece of wood. Probably going to equip it with some .15s and bring it down real low, just for fun and giggles;)
Whats the difference between Mules, VH11 and Crawlers? Other than one being hotter than the other, and the latter a bit more trebly?
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All the info is on the website, including sound clips :)
https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/main/pickups.php?cat=humbuckers&sub=vintage&pickup=the_mule
https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/main/pickups.php?cat=humbuckers&sub=vintage_hot&pickup=vh_ii
https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/main/pickups.php?cat=humbuckers&sub=contemporary&pickup=crawler
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VHII's do have a good rocksound, but I find them to be less versatile than other BKP's.
I'm stick to my own and Erics recommendation. This guitar in particular needs some extra mids for a balanced tonespectrum. VHII's have a serious present topend that might be too much in this axe. It's also not a very warmsounding pickup and doesn't split half as nice as a Crawler. In my experience (I have both in (swamp)ash HSS-strats)
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Whats the difference between Mules, VH11 and Crawlers? Other than one being hotter than the other, and the latter a bit more trebly?
Can't comment on the Mule but on the others:
1.) Crawler bridge vs. VHII bridge: Crawler has slightly higher output, is more compressed with more beef and warmth in the midrange. VHII bridge is more snarly and aggressive. Crawler splits well. Have not split the VHII.
2. Crawler neck vs. VHII neck: Crawler is fatter in the midrange and has a smoother top end and a more vintage like tone. VHII is tighter and brighter in the top end and as the bridge pickup more aggressive. VHII splits well. Have not split the Crawler.
Comparisons of the above are from having tried both in the same guitar.
I use the Crawler bridge together with the VHII neck in my PRS Custom. They can be split through the rotary selector (inside coils parallel, outside coils parallel but no individual split of the pickups so I cannot comment on individual split sounds).
Cheers Stephan
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for a gigging guitar i would prefer parallel wiring to splits as it is hum cancelling. Gives you a similar sort of tone.
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for a gigging guitar i would prefer parallel wiring to splits as it is hum cancelling. Gives you a similar sort of tone.
Note taken.
How would the combo of a Crawler in the bridge and a Mule in the neck be - Will the Mule be too low output for the crawler? - Should I maybe go with the abraxas instead, since it's the same magnet, with higher output? Especially worried about the cleans-factor
Kind regards
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Will the Mule be too low output for the crawler? - Should I maybe go with the abraxas instead, since it's the same magnet, with higher output?
You don't really need as much output in the neck position since the string vibration is greater there. And the Crawler, while definitely hotter than a typical PAF is not a super high output pickup. A Mule neck should keep up fine with it.
I doubt that the Abraxas neck has higher output than the Mule - higher midrange is what I read.
Cheers Stephan
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Will the Mule be too low output for the crawler? - Should I maybe go with the abraxas instead, since it's the same magnet, with higher output?
You don't really need as much output in the neck position since the string vibration is greater there. And the Crawler, while definitely hotter than a typical PAF is not a super high output pickup. A Mule neck should keep up fine with it.
I doubt that the Abraxas neck has higher output than the Mule - higher midrange is what I read.
Cheers Stephan
+1. The Crawler doesn't feel very hot. I would say mediumhot, close to the output of a VHII, maybe a little more. Should keep up with the Mule-neck, which is fantastic in every respect.
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Will the Mule be too low output for the crawler? - Should I maybe go with the abraxas instead, since it's the same magnet, with higher output?
You don't really need as much output in the neck position since the string vibration is greater there. And the Crawler, while definitely hotter than a typical PAF is not a super high output pickup. A Mule neck should keep up fine with it.
I doubt that the Abraxas neck has higher output than the Mule - higher midrange is what I read.
Cheers Stephan
+1. The Crawler doesn't feel very hot. I would say mediumhot, close to the output of a VHII, maybe a little more. Should keep up with the Mule-neck, which is fantastic in every respect.
So, final words - Crawler Bridge, Mules neck, in a neck-through maple guitar with alder wings and ebony fretboard, to cover anything from coldplay to iron maiden and back again to Led zeppelin, keeping the vintage tone - is this what i should do?
Just making sure.
Thanks for all the great responses by the way, been very helpful!
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Where are you located? In Europe? In North America?
Over here, used Godins can be had on the cheap which is why I mentioned them. I picked up a Godin superstrat in almost mint condition for $380 CAD so the entire outfit was not prohibitively expensive.
But I understand, cash is tight. In the least, keep your current pickups that you have in your axe. Long term, you'll want a piece of wood more suited to what you want to do. Just saying.
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Where are you located? In Europe? In North America?
Over here, used Godins can be had on the cheap which is why I mentioned them. I picked up a Godin superstrat in almost mint condition for $380 CAD so the entire outfit was not prohibitively expensive.
But I understand, cash is tight. In the least, keep your current pickups that you have in your axe. Long term, you'll want a piece of wood more suited to what you want to do. Just saying.
Yeah living in Denmark (europe), but i'll look into it anyhow, thanks a lot!
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You could always just keep your guitar as it is and buy a Classic Vibe Tele, then you can cover everything with two guitars....
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I used to play in a cover band with just the one guitar - a les paul with Mules. Always sounded great but I could never be bothered getting specific sounds for each song. Just one clean-ish sound and one distorted sound with a wah and/or eq boost for leads. I dont think anyone either knows or cares if you dont use a singlecoil guitar if the original used it! Just have a few good sounds that arent offensive to the ears.
The Mules are probably my favourite bkps I've tried and kept, had em since about 2005/2006! Really versatile, I've used mine for everything. Got em in my SG now and they sound great in that.
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I've come to this rather late but I play in a cover type band a lot and I have a choice of Strats, Gibson ES 339 & a Tele. The Tele is my weapon of choice as it covers so much ground- I thought I'd just throw that pebble into the pond.
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I've come to this rather late but I play in a cover type band a lot and I have a choice of Strats, Gibson ES 339 & a Tele. The Tele is my weapon of choice as it covers so much ground- I thought I'd just throw that pebble into the pond.
A tele or HSS-strat is the ideal guitar for a coverband that plays a lot of different styles. However my Mules-loaded Saint Blues is quite versatile too. The middle position can copy the Nile Rodgers-sound a bit.
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Getting a new guitar would probably be ideal, but at the moment, lets keep it to pickups.
I think I'm pretty set on a calibrated Crawler set, now that my guitar is fairly bright.
I was wondering though, some reviews claim the Crawler to be somewhat compressed, thus why Tim chose to put them as contemporary pickups.
Now I come from EMG81's, so nothing really gets more compressed than that, but will the crawlers still have plently of dynamics, or would it be better to just get a low-output mid-heavy pickup that would sit well in my maple-neckthrough / alder body guitar, and then boost it with a clean boost instead when needed?
An alternative, could be a mules set, with a lowered valueput, say 380k, to get a more open dynamic sound without getting too shrill. Or the inbetweener, the Abraxas?
Whats the difference really? Clean boost + Low output vs Medium output pickup? I'd suspect a heaver wound, higher output pickup will have a fatter, mid-heavy tone signature compared to a lowput pickup, that would be more natural and bright? Or am I completely wrong on the subject?
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OK, I need to clarify something for you and I must apologize for overlooking it sooner. My bad.
So, your guitar has EMGs in it. This means that you will have to do the following to convert to passives:
2) You will need to replace the tone and volume pots, the cap, and you will need to install a ground from the bridge to the back of the volume pot. There are schematics available to help with this. So, this will inflate the cost of your mods and you may need to modify the instrument.
I switched out EMGs from my Redline III and replaced them with a Juggernaut set. I ended up redoing the wiring, replacing the jack, the pickup selection (5 way super switch from a 3 way) and, of course, installing a ground wire.
You're looking at least $100 for this on top of the pickups.
Looking at the guitar you have, I'm half tempted to recommend a Holy Diver set. You can install a 5 say super switch for series / parallel wriring or for coil tapping. Either will give you those single coil sounds as well as the humbucking tones. Such a bright axe would do well with really phat pickups.
I think the Crawler set would work as well so you're on the right track with that. Either way, I think either series / parallel wiring or series / coil tap will really get you the tones you want.
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OK, I need to clarify something for you and I must apologize for overlooking it sooner. My bad.
So, your guitar has EMGs in it. This means that you will have to do the following to convert to passives:
2) You will need to replace the tone and volume pots, the cap, and you will need to install a ground from the bridge to the back of the volume pot. There are schematics available to help with this. So, this will inflate the cost of your mods and you may need to modify the instrument.
I switched out EMGs from my Redline III and replaced them with a Juggernaut set. I ended up redoing the wiring, replacing the jack, the pickup selection (5 way super switch from a 3 way) and, of course, installing a ground wire.
You're looking at least $100 for this on top of the pickups.
Looking at the guitar you have, I'm half tempted to recommend a Holy Diver set. You can install a 5 say super switch for series / parallel wriring or for coil tapping. Either will give you those single coil sounds as well as the humbucking tones. Such a bright axe would do well with really phat pickups.
I think the Crawler set would work as well so you're on the right track with that. Either way, I think either series / parallel wiring or series / coil tap will really get you the tones you want.
Thanks a lot! I do know that I need to change out most of the electrical components in the guitar, but thanks for clarifying.
I did look into the Holy Diver, but for my purpose, playing mostly clean pop-rock/souly/jazzy tones with the band, I think the crawler will be a better choice - Mostly due to how well the Crawler splits and does cleans
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If you are ever in the market for a Phat Strat, you can regift a crawler set to it and try a Juggerset in the ESP. They're awesome pickups but unfortunately, much too modern for what you are doing.
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FWIW, I play an all mahogany 7-string in a rock/pop covers band and I have a Holy Diver set in it. I think you'll be really happy with a Crawler set too (I've had a Crawler bridge before but not tried a neck crawler), but I do love the HD set. The bridge is hot when you want it to be, but has plenty of dynamics and warmth, and the neck is actually quite vintage sounding (to me, anyway), but the two pickups together is a beautiful mix - ballsy and fat but not bloated, almost a combination of a humbucker/single coil sound. That's with a fairly low gain sound that I use for stuff like Sheryl Crow, etc, and for cleans. It really is extremely versatile. I found the Crawler to be a good sound too, but to my ears it lacked a bit of character somehow. I think the HD is probably fairly similar in terms of frequencies and output, but I find it has a more unique character to the sound, which I prefer. Having said that, the crawler might be nicer when split - I don't tend to use the split sound on this guitar much, because the full humbucker sound is so good and the split sound is quite a bit quieter.
Just my thoughts....... :smiley:
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FWIW, I play an all mahogany 7-string in a rock/pop covers band and I have a Holy Diver set in it. I think you'll be really happy with a Crawler set too (I've had a Crawler bridge before but not tried a neck crawler), but I do love the HD set. The bridge is hot when you want it to be, but has plenty of dynamics and warmth, and the neck is actually quite vintage sounding (to me, anyway), but the two pickups together is a beautiful mix - ballsy and fat but not bloated, almost a combination of a humbucker/single coil sound. That's with a fairly low gain sound that I use for stuff like Sheryl Crow, etc, and for cleans. It really is extremely versatile. I found the Crawler to be a good sound too, but to my ears it lacked a bit of character somehow. I think the HD is probably fairly similar in terms of frequencies and output, but I find it has a more unique character to the sound, which I prefer. Having said that, the crawler might be nicer when split - I don't tend to use the split sound on this guitar much, because the full humbucker sound is so good and the split sound is quite a bit quieter.
Just my thoughts....... :smiley:
Thank you so much for your input, it means a lot. My initial idea for this guitar was definitely also the holy diver, but for what I remember, it's a little more suited for heavy metal and rock purposes, lead playing, which for sure it does well for what all the reviews are saying. What you must not forget, is that my guitar is a maple neckthrough with alder wings, and ebony neck, a fairly bright superstrat, compared to an all-mahogany, that carries a much warmer and meater tone. Thus will the meaty crawly in already meaty guitar like mahogany, might come off as a little dull in your case, whereas the Holy Diver will be a much better match for that kinda guitar.
Of course I have not owned any of the two, and only retelling the same stories of what I hear on the internet, so don't take my word for it completely.
I still think, that for my guitar, the Crawler is a really good bet, for making a good all-around guitar.
Cheers, Christian
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I bet the Crawler set will be awesome! I wonder how a Holy Diver B / VHII neck would work?
I have a Rebel Yell / VHII set in a lump of mahogany and it's really quite wicked but the VHII is warm enough that it should be at home in a super strat.
At any rate, it sounds like you've made your decision and I bet you won't be disappointed. Crawlers!!!
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I bet the Crawler set will be awesome! I wonder how a Holy Diver B / VHII neck would work?
I have a Rebel Yell / VHII set in a lump of mahogany and it's really quite wicked but the VHII is warm enough that it should be at home in a super strat.
At any rate, it sounds like you've made your decision and I bet you won't be disappointed. Crawlers!!!
So, just before clicking 'purchase' on the crawler set from BKP, I wanted to be completely sure that these pickups were right for me. But then I just so happen to stumble upon these two kids:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvsTCDeaj8U
Now I don't know if the guitar is maple or mahogany, but either way, I pretty much revisited most BKP posts about crawlers and abraxas, and even VHII, and I gotta admit - Those abraxas sound amazing. Listening to a lot of clips, it appears that the crawlers are indeed extremely fat and rounded, even too rounded for my taste, you know, something was just not 'right' when listening. The tone on that Jackson cover video, is just what I'm looking for, very open and with a good amount of top end, not as rounded as the Crawlers - In fact, it's one of the covers we are playing in the band as of late.
So not saying we're back to square one, I just want to get your thoughts on the abraxas, in my maple neck-through / alder wings guitar.
Sorry for dragging this out. Cheers Christian
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If you like the Crawler and you like the Holy Diver then I think you will like the Abraxas. They are on the same spectrum, as is the alnico Warpig in many ways (although that is too powerful for what you want). Warm thick mids seem to be what you want/need in that guitar
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I have an abraxas bridge too (as well as the HD and Crawler that I mentioned earlier) that I used for a year or so in my main guitar in a covers band. I prefer the abraxas to the crawler. As I said about the HD, I find more character to the abraxas than the crawler. It's like a hot thicker PAF.
Abraxas - lowest output of the three, nice open sound, lots of character while still being nicely balanced.
Crawler - Medium/hot output, very balanced through all frequencies (which to my taste made it a little bland compared to the others, although very smooth).
Holy Diver - Medium/hot output, slightly less open than the Abraxas with more low mids, very thick when you want it to be. Again, lots of character.
Obviously these are only my experiences and all three were in different guitars which will affect it, but hopefully gives you a bit more help in making your decision :)
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I have an abraxas bridge too (as well as the HD and Crawler that I mentioned earlier) that I used for a year or so in my main guitar in a covers band. I prefer the abraxas to the crawler. As I said about the HD, I find more character to the abraxas than the crawler. It's like a hot thicker PAF.
Abraxas - lowest output of the three, nice open sound, lots of character while still being nicely balanced.
Crawler - Medium/hot output, very balanced through all frequencies (which to my taste made it a little bland compared to the others, although very smooth).
Holy Diver - Medium/hot output, slightly less open than the Abraxas with more low mids, very thick when you want it to be. Again, lots of character.
Obviously these are only my experiences and all three were in different guitars which will affect it, but hopefully gives you a bit more help in making your decision :)
Specifically comparing the HD and the Abraxas for my purposes, mostly clean coverband, slight gain, and occasional metal for when I'm jamming alone - How does the HD perform on cleans, crunch, volume-roll off, splits etc, compared to the abraxas?
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My guitar is an esp m1000 similar specs to yours and has vhii's in. I feel it can cover just about any thing and can even get into thrash territory. VHii's are made for super strats!
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My guitar is an esp m1000 similar specs to yours and has vhii's in. I feel it can cover just about any thing and can even get into thrash territory. VHii's are made for super strats!
Interesting, I just fear that the vhII will be too bright in an alder, maple-neckthrough, since thats quite a bright guitar already. And that VHII will be too thin?
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My guitar is an esp m1000 similar specs to yours and has vhii's in. I feel it can cover just about any thing and can even get into thrash territory. VHii's are made for super strats!
Interesting, I just fear that the vhII will be too bright in an alder, maple-neckthrough, since thats quite a bright guitar already. And that VHII will be too thin?
I suppose it depends on the amp. Put it this way since I put the set in I prefer it to my strat in every way. It sounds ace for classic rock and classic metal and it 'could do thrash' if you were desperate.
If youre in any doubt listen to the first couple of van halen albums. If you like that tone thats essentially what the pickup does....if you dont like it...dont get it! Its not a thick pickup but its clystal clear, crunchy and the harmonics are insane.
I suppose it all depends on your covers band too. As a guitar teacher I think my esp with vhii's in is my most versatile guitar.
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A Crawler has more weight in strats than a VHII, which needs imo an amp with solid mids and lowmids. I have both in (swamp)ash strats.
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VHII lacks lows / low mids? HA! I guess it's all the guitar I have that VHII neck in that makes it so warm, huge, and beefy.
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VHII lacks lows / low mids? HA! I guess it's all the guitar I have that VHII neck in that makes it so warm, huge, and beefy.
So, the safe choice is the abraxas?
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I think he was being sarcastic and saying the vhii can sound big and it can ive heard some awesome thrash clips.
The crawler sound awesome from clips ive head but i have no direct experience. It will sound fuller than the vhii but the vhii has its own thing going on.
Its all just opinions its like asking which is better a hammer or a spanner?
The vhii bridge covers van halen tones and thrash at a push. The neck is an underwound version of the bridge. Sounds a little single coilish but thick and full like a humbucker too its awesome in a super strat.
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I think he was being sarcastic and saying the vhii can sound big and it can ive heard some awesome thrash clips.
The crawler sound awesome from clips ive head but i have no direct experience. It will sound fuller than the vhii but the vhii has its own thing going on.
Its all just opinions its like asking which is better a hammer or a spanner?
The vhii bridge covers van halen tones and thrash at a push. The neck is an underwound version of the bridge. Sounds a little single coilish but thick and full like a humbucker too its awesome in a super strat.
Well yeah, I get that - Thing is though, I don't really play that much thrash compared to blues, poprock, fusion, jazz etc - Thus, I think the VH2 might not be suited for that kind of music?
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I think he was being sarcastic and saying the vhii can sound big and it can ive heard some awesome thrash clips.
The crawler sound awesome from clips ive head but i have no direct experience. It will sound fuller than the vhii but the vhii has its own thing going on.
Its all just opinions its like asking which is better a hammer or a spanner?
The vhii bridge covers van halen tones and thrash at a push. The neck is an underwound version of the bridge. Sounds a little single coilish but thick and full like a humbucker too its awesome in a super strat.
VHII neck sounds huge, thick, phat, and warm in my mahogany axe. The cut in the top end really keeps it lively but it just roars, greases, and grimes all over the place in that guitar. Even the split neck sounds warm in that guitar.
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I was talking about how the VHII- and Crawler-bridgepickups compare. Not about neckpickups. And yes, a mahogany based guitar will give different results than alder/ash bolt-ons.
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I have an abraxas bridge too (as well as the HD and Crawler that I mentioned earlier) that I used for a year or so in my main guitar in a covers band. I prefer the abraxas to the crawler. As I said about the HD, I find more character to the abraxas than the crawler. It's like a hot thicker PAF.
Abraxas - lowest output of the three, nice open sound, lots of character while still being nicely balanced.
Crawler - Medium/hot output, very balanced through all frequencies (which to my taste made it a little bland compared to the others, although very smooth).
Holy Diver - Medium/hot output, slightly less open than the Abraxas with more low mids, very thick when you want it to be. Again, lots of character.
Obviously these are only my experiences and all three were in different guitars which will affect it, but hopefully gives you a bit more help in making your decision :)
Specifically comparing the HD and the Abraxas for my purposes, mostly clean coverband, slight gain, and occasional metal for when I'm jamming alone - How does the HD perform on cleans, crunch, volume-roll off, splits etc, compared to the abraxas?
In my opinion if you're more clean than dirty then probably the Abraxas would be a better choice. It'll still do dirty if you want but I would think that with the more open mids it would probably clean up and split 'better' than the HD.
With all the talk about VHII's - I like that too, but I found it quite an acquired taste because it's quite single-coil-like in character, for a humbucker.
Bear in mind that they all sound great, and all do clean and dirty well, and split well (imho) so it's just finding the one that's the most likely to suit you and your guitar :)
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Ah, I think I get what you mean about 'single coil-ish'. That's the same thing I'm discussing when I talk about the wide pick attack and the noise component in general. It's not as 'smooth' as the Rebel Yell is but I find the 'single coil-esque' artifacts in the tone to be one of the most attractive aspects of the pickup.
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Ah, I think I get what you mean about 'single coil-ish'. That's the same thing I'm discussing when I talk about the wide pick attack and the noise component in general. It's not as 'smooth' as the Rebel Yell is but I find the 'single coil-esque' artifacts in the tone to be one of the most attractive aspects of the pickup.
If I had a thick mahogany guitar like an old LP, I'd definitely throw a rebel yell or a VHII in it, or maybe a mule - But none of them would fair well in a bright guitar like mine I think, not for these purposes at least :) The Holy diver though would definitely sound amazing, and it'd probably be my number one choice if 80ies metal was the kind of music my band played, that or a miracle man - But that openness of both the mule and abraxas, is what really attracts my attention, and ultimately making the better choice for a more all-around guitar. At least that's what I've concluded :)
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I keep my suggestion standing: Abraxas or Crawler for this guitar/these purposes. You even be amazed how good the Crawler sounds clean.
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Crawler set!!! :grin:
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Ah, I think I get what you mean about 'single coil-ish'. That's the same thing I'm discussing when I talk about the wide pick attack and the noise component in general. It's not as 'smooth' as the Rebel Yell is but I find the 'single coil-esque' artifacts in the tone to be one of the most attractive aspects of the pickup.
If I had a thick mahogany guitar like an old LP, I'd definitely throw a rebel yell or a VHII in it, or maybe a mule - But none of them would fair well in a bright guitar like mine I think, not for these purposes at least :) The Holy diver though would definitely sound amazing, and it'd probably be my number one choice if 80ies metal was the kind of music my band played, that or a miracle man - But that openness of both the mule and abraxas, is what really attracts my attention, and ultimately making the better choice for a more all-around guitar. At least that's what I've concluded :)
I've primarily use alder/trem guitars and have tried Holydivers (hated them) and Crawlers. I loved the Crawlers and had them in a couple of guitars but find them too hot and chunky to be truly versatile. They work really well for rock blues but struggled when asked to play funk or motown and I wasn't hugely impressed with their saturated lead tone either.
The Holy Divers mojo is their liquid lead tone. If I could just use 'em for that I'd be happy but just didn't get on with them for dirty rhythm stuff.
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Split the Crawler and combine it with a middle-singlecoil or a splitted neck and you're in funktown. I do a lot of modern dancestuff like Beyoncé, Rihanna etc and also a lot of old disco and funk. The Crawler/IT's in my strat can cover nearly everything. I have no problem getting great rhythm- and leadtones. For solo's - Crawler full mode - you have to dial in your drivechannel properly, at least coming from another thinner sounding guitar. A little less mids, a bit more treble and a touch extra presence is what I do on my amps, since the Crawler has these thick mids. Talking my amps, cause some others amps might need extra mids to shine in the uppermids.
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Split the Crawler and combine it with a middle-singlecoil or a splitted neck and you're in funktown. I do a lot of modern dancestuff like Beyoncé, Rihanna etc and also a lot of old disco and funk. The Crawler/IT's in my strat can cover nearly everything. I have no problem getting great rhythm- and leadtones. For solo's - Crawler full mode - you have to dial in your drivechannel properly, at least coming from another thinner sounding guitar. A little less mids, a bit more treble and a touch extra presence is what I do on my amps, since the Crawler has these thick mids. Talking my amps, cause some others amps might need extra mids to shine in the uppermids.
I did, the guitar is HSH. It was split with a slowhand.
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The Mules really are extremely versatile. It's got great cleans (I especially love the neck pickup fot cleans) but the bridge pickup can also be driven hard to give some great hard rock / metal tones (I don't know if he had his Mules back then, or even if they had been made, but Steve Stevens' tone on White Wedding exemplifies the sort of sound you van expect from driving a mule hard).
Hmm, sounds very nice indeed - Some say the Mules might not be 'beefy' enough for alder body - now this is mainly maple i'd assume, due to the neck-through construction, but otherwise, people seem to throw crawlers in most stratocasters and the likings. How would crawlers fair for this purpose and this guitar, compared to mules for example.
Mules will do great and will be beefy. I love the mules and I mostly play lead, metal and hard rock. Clear, musical, harmonically rich and can be naughty or nice. It really depends on your amp and speakers though. The crawlers are also very nice and versatile but in bolt on guitars more so. Personally, I feel the mules will give you a wider range of tones and the versatility will be there. :evil:
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How much I like (my) Mules, they are not really the first choice for the guitar of the OP. The Mule-bridge needs mahogany, not a neck-thru maple/alder wings.