Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: Sheldon Cooper on October 22, 2014, 03:06:47 PM
-
Hi!! I'm sorry for my english in advance.
I would like to swap my bridge pickup (currently a dirty fingers) because i have a p90 in the neck and they are a too different, an unbalanced pair: the bridge is too much "gainy" and full of squeaky highs while the p90 is warmer and clearer.
I'm looking for something paf style, warm, full and rich, and without much gain, smoothed high end, something that is well balanced with a p90 in the neck.
Which bare knuckle pickup would you choose in my situation?
Thank you a lot! :wink:
-
It might depend on what kind of P-90 you have.
Can you tell us more about the specs? A2 magnet will probably be less hot than an A5, for example.
I'm tempted to say either Mule or Abraxas, depending on how hot the neck pickup is. You might also want to consider a Mississippi Queen humbucker sized P-90 for the bridge.
-
I'm afraid the neck-p90 will be overpowering a Mule-bridge. I would say: Abraxas-bridge or the Mississippi Queen humbucker sized P-90.
-
Thank you a lot for the answers, the p90 is a gibson, the specs say "two Alnico V bar magnets".
It is a lot less "gainy" than the bridge pickup, that's why i'm looking for something more paf style.
In the link below you can hear an example of what i'm talking about, the pickup in the video is a custom bucker
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAzR40U9SY0
Again, sorry for my english, thanks :smiley:
-
An MQ can produce that kind of tone too, but I think you will be happy with the Abraxas.
-
Seems like the abraxas is a common choice, i was leaning towards the mule, so glad i asked!
Just because i know very little about electronics, can i mount the one with 4 conductors in the bridge with a p90 in the neck? :undecided: Just wanna try to split a humbucker in a les paul (never tried).
-
Yes you should be able to do that.
An Abraxas should split pretty well.
-
Seems like the abraxas is a common choice, i was leaning towards the mule, so glad i asked!
Just because i know very little about electronics, can i mount the one with 4 conductors in the bridge with a p90 in the neck? :undecided: Just wanna try to split a humbucker in a les paul (never tried).
A Mule will do too, but I think the Abraxas balances better with the P90. Another advantage is a better splitted tone. Medium output pickups provide a better splitted tone than vintage ones imo.
-
Humbucker in the bridge and P90 in the neck is a great combination. More guitars should have it.
Which humbucker is really a matter of personal preference and what you want to achieve with the guitar. I support the Abraxas bridge recommendation. Ticks warm, full and rich as well as smooth highs. It will be a step down in output from the Dirty Fingers and a big step up in clarity. It is still higher output than a PAF style humbucker such as the Mule, Riff Raff, VHII or Black Dog but in my experience the slightly higher output in the bridge will balance well with a P90 in the neck.
I would get the 4 conductor version so the humbucker can be split or wired in parallel as a further tonal option. Even if you don't need the extra wires at the moment, there may come a day when you wish you have them.
Cheers Stephan
-
Humbucker in the bridge and P90 in the neck is a great combination. More guitars should have it.
Which humbucker is really a matter of personal preference and what you want to achieve with the guitar. I support the Abraxas bridge recommendation. Ticks warm, full and rich as well as smooth highs. It will be a step down in output from the Dirty Fingers and a big step up in clarity. It is still higher output than a PAF style humbucker such as the Mule, Riff Raff, VHII or Black Dog but in my experience the slightly higher output in the bridge will balance well with a P90 in the neck.
I think the same too about humbucker + p90 but in my case the dirty fingers is too hot, something like a distorted sound in the bridge and a light crunch when you switch to the p90 (and a little drop in volume), and it sounds great while the dirty fingers mmh...i really don't like it. I really like the black dog too but i will buy the abraxas because of all of your suggestions about the match with the p90.
Are there any pickup from other brands comparable in output to the abraxas? So i can image the kind of sound/output!
Thank you guys, as soon as possible i will buy it!
-
Mule! :evil:
-
If you like the black dog bridge why not get that? It may sound pretty awesome next to a p90 neck.
-
If you like the black dog bridge why not get that? It may sound pretty awesome next to a p90 neck.
From samples on the web i also like abraxas, mule, riff raff, all the p90s ecc... :grin: i don't know how these pickups will match with the p90 neck so i prefer to listen to advices from people better educated about pickups than me, that's why i'm asking!
My real problem is how it sits next to a p90, speaking about output, if abraxas is a good choice i'm ok with it! :smiley:
-
For what it's worth, Steve Stevens has a Mule bridge and a P90 neck in his studio guitar.
-
For what it's worth, Steve Stevens has a Mule bridge and a P90 neck in his studio guitar.
Just curious, can you send me the link to the video? (If there is any...)
-
I have a Warpig & MQ combo in an Explorer and really like the sounds I can get from it. I also have a Crawler with 2 p90's in a PRS EG HSS set up. THey work together really well
-
There is a video of a BKP P-90 (Mississippi Queen) neck and Riff Raff bridge in an SG. Not exactly the same thing, but you can see that the Riff Raff keeps up with that. I doubt your P-90 is hotter than an MQ.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeTZ4v7CaKk
-
There is a video of a BKP P-90 (Mississippi Queen) neck and Riff Raff bridge in an SG. Not exactly the same thing, but you can see that the Riff Raff keeps up with that. I doubt your P-90 is hotter than an MQ.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeTZ4v7CaKk
Thank you.
My p90 is not hot to my ears, it's pretty smooth! That's why i'm concerned about the abraxas, i'm thinking if it's too hot for my p90 and if the mule is a better match!
I know DC isn't all but the mule is 8.4KΩ while the abraxas is 14KΩ, which one would you choose? :smiley: (My p90 should be around 7.8KΩ).
I'm also looking for something with smoothed high-end...because of this the abraxas seems a better choice compared to the mule...ok, definetely confused!
-
I would still go with the Abraxas
The Mississippi Queen has been successfully paired with the Warpig in the past. P-90s are in a league of their own, really.
The Abraxas will give you all the qualities you want and you can split the coils successfully if you want to.
If in some applications you find it to be slightly too hot you can always roll the volume off to 9 or 8 on the dial.
-
If in some applications you find it to be slightly too hot you can always roll the volume off to 9 or 8 on the dial.
Actually the bridge volume is always 2 or 3 steps down, i just don't like to do that.
Anyway as soon as possible i will order one and give it a try!
-
The Abraxas is not very hot. Even my Crawler is not much hotter than say a VHII. If you want a smoother topend, go Abraxas. If you want a genuine 59 open PAF-sound, then the Mule it is. The Mule-bridge has clear highs. Not shrill, but more present than in the Abraxas.
-
I know DC isn't all but the mule is 8.4KΩ while the abraxas is 14KΩ
That number comparison is misleading as the Mule is wound with 42 awg wire whereas the Abraxas is wound with 43 awg wire, which has a higher resistance. The Abraxas is hotter than a PAF type pickup but not like almost twice as hot as the DC resistance seems to indicate.
Cheers Stephan
-
I know DC isn't all but the mule is 8.4KΩ while the abraxas is 14KΩ
That number comparison is misleading as the Mule is wound with 42 awg wire whereas the Abraxas is wound with 43 awg wire, which has a higher resistance. The Abraxas is hotter than a PAF type pickup but not like almost twice as hot as the DC resistance seems to indicate.
Cheers Stephan
+1. Well explained.
-
For what it's worth, Steve Stevens has a Mule bridge and a P90 neck in his studio guitar.
Just curious, can you send me the link to the video? (If there is any...)
Apparently it's a Lollar Single Coil Humbucker that he's paired with the Mule bridge (from about 12 minutes on)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfbSyG05fHw (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfbSyG05fHw)
It's also got to be said, that's a rather tasty amp he's put his name to.