Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: Nephilim on April 02, 2015, 02:01:45 PM
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What would be my best bet in this situation? I have other guitars to do metal, but I want something slap bang in the middle. I know I'm not going to have a guitar that covers everything with perfect tone. There's going to be compromise if I play different genres. But I'm not really a "chase after this person's tone" kinda guy. I like to get the pickups that provide me with the feel, and then work on achieving the rest of the sound with amps and effect. So if it will play the styles I'm after I'm happy. I like to own my tone, rather than chase it. All I can say is I want a guitar to cover styles all the way up to 80s Rock. I have a guitar that can play 80s metal onwards.
Let us know your opinions and suggestions
Nephilim
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Abraxas bridge, although i bet most member here will advise the Crawler. Mothers Milk for the SC.
Funny enough, BKP don't have the Abraxas for sale in any of their HSS combinations.
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Am I wiring with 280k or 550k pots? On the site the diagrams have 500k. I hear a lot of people rave about the 63 Veneer Board. How does that stack up against the Mother's Milk?
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I have the Crawler/Irish Tours in a custom swampashstrat and with this combo you can cover nearly anything. I have 500k at the bridge and 250k for the single coils, following the Suhr-wiringdiagram (just Google a bit). The Irish Tours are more or less overwound Mother's Milk (which I have in a Fender Am. Series ash strat, paired with a VHII). They have more bass, more mids and a tad less highs than a Mother's Milk, which has a glassier, woodier tone. Turn down the volumeknob a bit and the IT gets into the Mother's Milk-terrority.
The Crawlers beefs up any alder/ash-strat. Solonotes are thick and creamy and keep weight above the 12th fret. This can growl really nice when pushed. Also, the Crawler splits very well and I have a nice F-quack on the fourth position. The Crawlers cleans up very well too. It's a fat allrounder with a round, but not dull topend. There is enough cut.
If you want a bit airier tone, less mids, a bit more chime, you could look at the Abraxas.
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What would be my best bet in this situation? I have other guitars to do metal, but I want something slap bang in the middle. I know I'm not going to have a guitar that covers everything with perfect tone. There's going to be compromise if I play different genres. But I'm not really a "chase after this person's tone" kinda guy. I like to get the pickups that provide me with the feel, and then work on achieving the rest of the sound with amps and effect. So if it will play the styles I'm after I'm happy. I like to own my tone, rather than chase it. All I can say is I want a guitar to cover styles all the way up to 80s Rock. I have a guitar that can play 80s metal onwards.
Let us know your opinions and suggestions
Nephilim
I'd go Slowhands for the SC's they're a little bit darker and rounder then the IT's and with more full mids then the MM's. I found the MM's a little thin and aenemic sounding.
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My only worry with the Crawler, is that it may be too fat when it comes to playing lighter gained stuff from the sixties. And the Slow Hands, I'm worried they'll be too warm for when I need to play extremely clean music. Funk for example requires a nice bright tone.
The Irish Tours do seem nice though. I'm again just scared they'll have too much output for the really clean styles.
I could be wrong about all the above, but better to ask than not!
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My only worry with the Crawler, is that it may be too fat when it comes to playing lighter gained stuff from the sixties. And the Slow Hands, I'm worried they'll be too warm for when I need to play extremely clean music. Funk for example requires a nice bright tone.
The Irish Tours do seem nice though. I'm again just scared they'll have too much output for the really clean styles.
I could be wrong about all the above, but better to ask than not!
First, the Crawler cleans up nice, it takes a bit of bass and lowmids away, secondly the Crawler splits are good, so splitted you got a tele-esque tone, and a good match with the middle singlecoil. Third: the IT's are very good clean, but if you want a glassier woody tone you can have a look at the MM's, Pat Pends, but also the Apache, which is a little fatter in the mids, but still very clean.
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Abraxas and 2 Pat Pending 63s. I have high def samples of what these can do in my siggy. Brutal to vintage sweetness in the studio. Live? Vintage up through Metal. In both scenarios, these pickups deliver with authority and there is no sense that they are faking it or are coping the best they can. They deliver the goods. Caveat - not a good choice for drop tuning, however, as the low E can get a bit soggy. Also, the Apache is a great pickup, but doesn't like OD the way the Pat Pend 63 Veneer does.
I don't think the Crawler will struggle with lighter - med gain tones, BTW. I hear classic rock played through Gibson 498Ts all day long around here and they do a respectable job. From what I've come to learn by hearing and reading, the Crawler will pull these tones with authenticity, as well as produce stellar saturated tones.
Coincidentally, I have a HS build that I'm working on and am finally straying from the above referenced pickups for some slightly different juju. I'm going with Crawler and Mother's Milk, but I know I'd be perfectly satisfied with the Abraxas and Pat Pend, Apache, or even the MM single coils. My pref would be with the Pat Pend 63 Veneers having experienced them, with the MM right behind based off of what I've read. The reality of the MM may well exceed my expectations.
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My only worry with the Crawler, is that it may be too fat when it comes to playing lighter gained stuff from the sixties. And the Slow Hands, I'm worried they'll be too warm for when I need to play extremely clean music. Funk for example requires a nice bright tone.
The Irish Tours do seem nice though. I'm again just scared they'll have too much output for the really clean styles.
I could be wrong about all the above, but better to ask than not!
I had a crawler / Slowhand combo in an HSH alder bolt on Pacer and it had both feet firmly in Nile Rogers territory in position 2.
For me the Crawler does 2 things fantastically: it gives your bolt-on 'strat' a Joe Bonamassa fatness for a lead tone and it splits with a single coil better then any other pickup I've tried for a clean tone.
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I'd go with a Crawler/Slowhand set.
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I'd go with a Crawler/Slowhand set.
That's also a good combination if you want the singlecoils to be bold and middy, but not as vintage (woody, a little scooped) as the Pat Pend's, Mother's Milk and Irish Tour.
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I like mids :smiley:
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I like mids :smiley:
Why did I guess so?
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My only worry with the Crawler, is that it may be too fat when it comes to playing lighter gained stuff from the sixties. And the Slow Hands, I'm worried they'll be too warm for when I need to play extremely clean music. Funk for example requires a nice bright tone.
The Irish Tours do seem nice though. I'm again just scared they'll have too much output for the really clean styles.
I could be wrong about all the above, but better to ask than not!
I had a crawler / Slowhand combo in an HSH alder bolt on Pacer and it had both feet firmly in Nile Rogers territory in position 2.
For me the Crawler does 2 things fantastically: it gives your bolt-on 'strat' a Joe Bonamassa fatness for a lead tone and it splits with a single coil better then any other pickup I've tried for a clean tone.
I do really like Joe Bonamassa's tone. Is that Crawler then? Or can the Abraxas do that? It's the single coils that now have me wondering. I play mostly on the bridge. I tend to keep the neck for cleans. I rarely use the neck to let rip. It is very laid back styles
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If you are tasking your neck primarily with cleans, then I'd skip the Slowhand and go for the MM, Pat Pend, or Apache - all of which will balance with both Abraxas and Crawler.
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My only worry with the Crawler, is that it may be too fat when it comes to playing lighter gained stuff from the sixties. And the Slow Hands, I'm worried they'll be too warm for when I need to play extremely clean music. Funk for example requires a nice bright tone.
The Irish Tours do seem nice though. I'm again just scared they'll have too much output for the really clean styles.
I could be wrong about all the above, but better to ask than not!
I had a crawler / Slowhand combo in an HSH alder bolt on Pacer and it had both feet firmly in Nile Rogers territory in position 2.
For me the Crawler does 2 things fantastically: it gives your bolt-on 'strat' a Joe Bonamassa fatness for a lead tone and it splits with a single coil better then any other pickup I've tried for a clean tone.
I do really like Joe Bonamassa's tone. Is that Crawler then? Or can the Abraxas do that? It's the single coils that now have me wondering. I play mostly on the bridge. I tend to keep the neck for cleans. I rarely use the neck to let rip. It is very laid back styles
Actually both Crawler and Abraxas can do that. Generally speaking they're just hotter, middier versions of the Mule, which would be closer to Bonamassa's Les Paul-tone. But don't forget Bonamassa uses a lot of different amps on stage. If you want that singing PAF-ish tone, you won't regret either Abraxas nor Crawler.
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I think this option should be thrown out there: VHII + ITs. I have it in an H/S alder strat. The VHII has a wonderful dynamic range which can go from clean to metal with the right amp and technique. It really is a great crunchy uncompressed pickup with PAF roots. If you are going for less gain, more cleans and more rocks, then I also can't recommend the IT neck enough. You mentioned you don't go for 'that sound', but rather go for a good pickup that helps you play, and the IT can provide the middle of the gain road single coil for that. If you are used to higher gain pickups, then the jump down to the uncompressed VHII+IT will be great. As mentioned earlier, if you want more glassy single coil tones go for the Mothers Milk, but the IT can handle gain really really well as well as do wonderful 3D cleans. At mid gain they do the air moving SRV/Gallagher style of blues rock (as the name implies), since they have a great healthy amount of bass added to the sparkly single coil sound. Sped up blues licks of that era just make you grin, but cleans, slower blues, and less distorted sounds will also have that nice pretty and gutsy tone to it. In terms of pots, I have tried the Suhr style, 250k single volume, and 500k single volume, and all three of them had their ups and downs. I preferred the 500k pot for all pickups (single volume) from personal experience as it gave me an easier to overdrive sound on all positions. The Suhr wiring would probably be best for versatility.
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Wellbeing a Strat, I could always have pickguards made to experiment. So to start off with, I think I'll try and aim for one certain thing.
For the bridge I want something Uber versatile, which leads me to either the Crawler or Abraxas. I'm thinking the Abraxas might be a good bet as it seems right in the middle.
For the single coil, I'm wanting something primarily for cleans, but extra versatile to play country, jazz, blues, etc, etc, etc... So I'm thinking possibly the Mother's Milk or PAT Pend 63. Can anyone explain the difference in these?
With the Suhr Wiring, can someone link me to the exact diagram I'm supposed to be following. And kind of explain it to me incase there's anything I should know?
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Wellbeing a Strat, I could always have pickguards made to experiment. So to start off with, I think I'll try and aim for one certain thing.
For the bridge I want something Uber versatile, which leads me to either the Crawler or Abraxas. I'm thinking the Abraxas might be a good bet as it seems right in the middle.
For the single coil, I'm wanting something primarily for cleans, but extra versatile to play country, jazz, blues, etc, etc, etc... So I'm thinking possibly the Mother's Milk or PAT Pend 63. Can anyone explain the difference in these?
With the Suhr Wiring, can someone link me to the exact diagram I'm supposed to be following. And kind of explain it to me incase there's anything I should know?
They are very close, maybe the Mother's Milk is a tad hotter and grittier. I don't think you can here the differences blindfolded.
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I don't think the Crawler will struggle with lighter - med gain tones, BTW. I hear classic rock played through Gibson 498Ts all day long around here and they do a respectable job. From what I've come to learn by hearing and reading, the Crawler will pull these tones with authenticity, as well as produce stellar saturated tones.
Do the Crawler and the 498T have similar characteristics ?
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I don't think the Crawler will struggle with lighter - med gain tones, BTW. I hear classic rock played through Gibson 498Ts all day long around here and they do a respectable job. From what I've come to learn by hearing and reading, the Crawler will pull these tones with authenticity, as well as produce stellar saturated tones.
Do the Crawler and the 498T have similar characteristics ?
They're both middy, but the Crawler stays clear with a lot of gain, the 498T is muddier.
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I have a 498T in my Les Paul and I don't find it muddy in the slightest. I loved the Crawler in my PRS and I can see some similarities with the 498T but there are also key differences. The Crawler is fatter, warmer and more organic than the 498T. I find the 498T to be tighter, less saturated and more modern than the Crawler. I love them both but I think the key thing is that I just love middy pickups :grin: