whats the best all-rounder???

[the wee man]

hey there pickup know-it-alls!

ive recently 'pimped' my main giging guitar (a rather inexpencive godin sd) and im looking for a new bridge humbucker to finish it off.

me and the other guitarist share both rythm and lead and we play a mixture of pretty much everything (mainly progressive punk jazz metal) so i need a pick up thats gonna deliver both yummy warm zingy clean and rawkuss overdriven punchyness.

amp wise i use an american 1989 mesa/boogie mk III

i checked out the sound clips on here but they really only show off the overdriven sounds each pickup can deliver, and though these are important, i need a good clean sound aswell.

please help.

iain



oh yeh... my bro has a mule but he thinks it might be too clean orientated for me... if that helps.

check out my band's site for mp3's... t'rah!

[carlaz]

The Mule is widely regarded as a plausible all-rounder. If you wanted to go hotter, the Abraxas is sometimes touted as being like a "Mule+", and the Crawlers might be not a million miles away from that vibe, too.  The Abraxas is pretty new and doesn't have lots of players' clips, but there are good "official" clean examples of the Crawlers on their product page: http://www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk/ZH-crawler.html

[willo]

If you need something slightly more than the Mule, there is always the VHII - I think its pretty rawkus! I'm not a metal player but Twilight Odyssey is - he has one, he might be able to chime in. In any case, the cleans are very very good, especially with a coil-tap on the neck, and the overdriven lead sounds are great for that hard-rock sound. It's quite a bright, raw, pickup when overdriven, but hey, I like that! I suppose it just depends how much gain you need!

And, welcome to the forums!

edit: I just listened to your song 'The Toilet', I don't really think the VHII could do that kind of chugging thing too well...

[the wee man]

well i use over drive more than clean as a rule of thumb... but when i do use clean it needs to still sound nice.

i also use an ibanez RG with a seymore duncan invader in the bridge... (i mainly use it at home and in the studio for solo's/really heavy bits) but i find that the clean is really sacrificed for the overdrive sound.

as for the vhII... my guitar is quite bright as it is... so i may be TOO bright when overdriven.

whats the Abraxas??? i cant find it on the site (it sounds spot on)

[willo]

the Abraxas is a new(ish) pickup, its not on the site yet as the site is being updated soon. Anyway, you can buy the pickup now. I don't know a great deal about it, but just search the forum for 'Abraxas' - loads will turn up! Check the player's room too - there are some clips in there, I also put some in of my VHII clean and with a load of gain too.

[carlaz]

whats the Abraxas??? i cant find it on the site (it sounds spot on)

It's sort of new, in that it's being sold but is not actually listed on the web site.  There are some clips in the Players section.
The tonal inspiration is (obviously) Santana-ish, and if the Mule is an interpretation of the classic PAF thing, the Abraxas seems to be intended to take that into hotter territory.  Amongst my pickup notes, I have a quote from Tim that says: "balanced mids and sweet highs--not syrupy though! The overall tone is pure vintage but with some extra power for those singing latin leads".

(The VHII is described as being "hot yet vintagey", as well.  TwilightOdyssey is a great VHII fan, plays them in some kinda strat-ish axe I believe, and would be able to tell you all about them.)

[the wee man]

so what 's the nailbomb like when used clean?... the overdriven sounds ive heard are ace!

also... this is gonna sound REALLY ignorant... but are covered and open poled pickups interchangeable?
i currently have an open poled humbucker, attached to the scratch plate (strat style)... im just interested in what my aesthetic options are.

[the wee man]

did i make the mistake of not knowing something really obvious?...







do you all hate me now?  

[Steve-Mr Pig 2U]

Yes, they are interchangeable, it may be a tight fit in a scratch plate, it depends on how generous they have been with the route.

[carlaz]

so what 's the nailbomb like when used clean?... the overdriven sounds ive heard are ace!

There's a nice clip in the Player's section of a clean Nailbomb.  It comes off surprisingly delicate!  

Perhaps though the NB is more of a "high gain all-rounder" or "versatile high gainer" than an "all rounder" per se, if you see what I mean ....

[_tom_]

I'd go for a Mule or VHII. I love my Mules in my LP for a wide range of music. VHII are a bit brighter/tighter and have a bit more output I think.

[turnip bag]

.......its not that the mule is too clean a pick up, dont misqoute me on that big tom lover,   i just think youd go for something else  if you  had them all lined up and tested.  .theres lots to choose from and youre probably got  it down to two or three choices but what i can say is that you wont be dissapointed with any knuckle pup as regards cleans,dirtys  :oops:  or nout in between.. im an old man and these pick ups are top top class. ring them, if you havent already  and that will sort you out . ......

[the wee man]

why thank thank you turnip bag... sorry about the miss quote   :?  t'wont happen again!


anyway im pretty much set on the abraxus... now i gotta decide on the aesthetics... chrome covered or white open poled...

and as for cash monies... i'll think ill wait till me b-day... doubt my sodding refinish will be sorted until then anyway!  :x



i know they've gone out of business... but they might surface again... never use GSR Guitars!!! they suck bum!

that is all