Frank, just to be clear - you were thinking of letting the Abraxas take a back seat in favour of the Crawler but you've changed your mind ? I can understand that. My Bernie with the Abraxas set has almost certainly taken over the number one spot but I still love the (very different) sound of my Firebird with RYs. At gigs I've never changed guitars unless I broke a string but now I'm thinking of them letting them have a set each. What is your number 1 guitar ?
Cheers, Richie.
Hey, Richie.
It wasn't about replacing, just having a different tone to work with. When I loaded the Crawler into my #1 (Mahogany/Maple HxS Tele), I found myself missing the less compressed (more expressive) tones of the Abraxas. Knowing it was in my other guitar, which wasn't as fun to play wore me down. I felt as though I was settling, which is a harsh way to phrase things, but I've come to accept that of all the BK HBs I've owned (Abraxas, Crawler, Holy Diver), the Abraxas just nails it every time. I can do everything from metal to country with this thing - and convincingly. It's a really special pickup in that way.
That said, the only other pickup that has be curious in the least is the VHII. I understand it's fairly uncompressed and splits into a bright, twangy tone. I've heard some say the Crawler splits beautifully, but in my experience the Abraxas is leaps and bounds above it for split tones. The Crawler doesn't lose any midrange when split. The Abraxas gains added sparkle, loses some mids, and picks up a nice twang when split. I really dig it.
If I really didn't enjoy using split tones, then I'd still love the Abraxas, but would have kept the Crawler in my #2. That pickup has some gorgeous lead tones under the hood. I'd love to play a RY, as well. BK just has an outstanding array of models.
I'm in the process of putting together another guitar, which will hopefully outshine my #1, which I just adore. It's already got an Abraxas and 2 63 Veneer waiting for her :).
Best -
f
