First gig last night. These pickups are AMAZING. I know it's early days but I think my judgement is pretty sound. I left my amp settings the same as I use for my Firebird with Rebel Yells. I had concerns about whether I would find the bridge too smooth in the top end or too loose in the low end compared to the tight punch of the RY. I needn't have worried. I used the bridge all night completely forgetting I had another pickup on the guitar.
What floored me was that they seem to have a lot of EVERYTHING. A lovely raspy bite in the top end, great mids and a nice chunk in the lows. It's fairly close to the RY in the mids but the lows and highs are quite different. With a hefty dose of gain the RY top end smooths out into a fluid, singing more modern voice. The Abraxas retains it's bite and aggression. The low end works better for me through my Cornford than the RY. I have to turn my amp up louder for the RYs low end to get where I like it. The RY low end is much happier going through a 4 x 12 but the Abraxas low end through my 1 x 12 open backed combo is just perfect. The Abraxas sounds so FULL - I felt like I was going though a Marshall stack.
I've played the neck pup a lot at home through my Blackstar and it is very different to the RY neck. Like the Abraxas bridge it is a lot more vintage in tone. I'm going to make sure I give the neck pup a work out at tonight's gig. I haven't been able to stop smiling today and I'm really looking forward to tonight - it's a much bigger room with a large stage so I'll be able to get a lot further away from my amp. Absolutely chuffed to bits.
Craig, you MUST give them a try in your SG. These pups feel like they're made for Gibsons.
Cheers, Richie.
