yet another "Suggestions for pickups please" post

[jimi hendrix]

Hi guys,

my son's after replacing the stock pickups in his Epi Les Paul Std, he plays mostly Joe Satriani, Muse and Metallica stuff, we were thinking Nailbomb bridge and possibly Mule neck, I've got a Mule in my neck ( btw that's not a euphemism!) on my Les Paul and I love it, but would it be overpowered by a Nailbomb?
suggestions please

[Dr. Vic]

Hi Jimi hendrix ! :D

Nailbomb / mule combo seems to be a very popular choice. I think (I might be mistaken though) that steve stevens used it before the RY combo was designed....

That said, when I asked Tim for a Mule neck to pair with a nailbomb bridge he advised me against it when I told him I was looking for a perfect match in both tone AND volume balance.

He said a mid/high output pickup in the bridge, like the NB, need something hotter in the neck to sit well against it. His recommendation was the crawler, to nail the pure vintage tone I was looking for, over both mule and abraxas.
He said the crawler was the closest to the mule.


here are his words found around here about how does the crawler compare to the abraxas :
"Abraxas and Crawlers are very similar : fat, warm and singing. The Abraxas neck is just a little sweeter, the Crawler neck sounded slightly tougher/more aggressive. the Crawler is a little hotter than Abraxas although both are AIV powered. The Crawler neck takes the neck Mule tone to a much hotter level-DC7.6K Alnico IV. " 8) 8)

........So I'd say : crawler, crawler, crawler !  :good:


 

[syr2012]

If your son plays Muse stuff, then I'd actually suggest the MQ neck. It's not a humbucker, but it pairs well with the nailbomb and offers a nice contrast.

[shagga]

Guided by Tim's recommendation, i now have the nailbomb in the bridge position and a custom Stormy Monday in the neck position. The SM is essentially a bridge spec model, but put into the neck position!

That way, it has enough power to keep up with the nailbomb, and i must say it's a great and very versatile combo! :)

Cheers!

[jimi hendrix]

I think from the clips I've heard on youtube and the like, the Crawler is sounding  the most promising

[Dr. Vic]

yeah the Crawler is an excellent pickup and also VERY versatile. If you like the mule you won't be disappointed : the crawler just push it to the next level !