help about choosing P\U

[HangoMer]

first of all, i'm sorry about my english, im 14 years old from israel.. (if anyone has problem with that - keep it to youself).

i'm probably going to build my custom les paul but from korina (then it will be lighter from ordinary les paul) with floyd rose and jimmy page electronics.
and i want a Pair of humbuckers (and maybe a single between them).
i tought about VHII because a demo i heared, but then i understood that that not how they will sound so i started to read about pickups and now i'm thinking about a set of Abraxas or set of The Mule.
right now im thinkin more about the Abraxas because their higher output and midrange (i like my EQ to be like that/\ and the trble litte bit highr then the bass).
thank for the helpers! :P

and just one last question - i heard RIFFRAFF on a guitar and i noticed that unlike most of the pickups, in acord in distortion the highs aren;t swallows in the bass notes and i very liked that its that clear, the abraxes or the mules do the same?

[Prawnik]

What kind of sounds are you looking for?

[HangoMer]

i think i explained myself in my previous messege.
if you ment what i'm playing so i play everithing from blues to heavy rock\heavy metal.
esspecially prog rock, heavy rock like led zep and alternative rock.

i think that for me the abraxes is perfect (i love lot of mids in my amp, medium output, fat and warm sound. how would i explain this? like slash, but less sharp and fatter.)

it kind hard to me eplain this not in my language..

[Fourth Feline]

Hello, and welcome to the forum !  :)

I am a 'Mule' user ( in my '97 Les Paul Standard ) myself, but reading your apparent tonal / E.Q. preferences, I tend to think of 'Crawlers' .

I have not used them myself, but from sound clips and written descriptions on this forum - I would be wanting to try those in your situation - or at least seriously research them. Words like "Thick" and "Hot" come to mind. Forum member 'Twinfan' once recommended 'Black Dogs' to me also as a thicker sounding, yet still 'vintage' sounding pickup.

Good luck with your 'home build' it sounds quite special !  :)

[AndyR]

Hi, welcome from me too :D

I'm mainly a single coil user myself, but I do have Riff Raffs and Mules as well. Both have that top end cutting through the bottom end on distorted sounds - I haven't tried any others but I'm guessing all BKP humbuckers have that "open" sound in comparison to other pickups, it's one of the reasons we all like them! :D

I love both Mules and Riff Raffs, but out of the two I find the Riff Raffs easier to play with - they're kind of "tighter" sounding.

Like Fourth Feline I was also wondering Crawlers from what I've read on the forum. However, there have been some recent threads about Abraxas that seriously made me want to go out and get another guitar to put them in. I imagine, with careful use of volume and tone and so on, that Abraxas would do the jobs I use Mules for, and the jobs that I use Riff Raffs for...

I suspect that Abraxax might well suit you very well - but I'm just guessing at the moment :D

Hope that helps.

[HangoMer]

thanks!
what the differences between abraxes and the crawlers? i ithink i would like the abraxes more than the crawlers because it's A4 and it's cheaper.

so you say that top end cutting through the bottom end is in all of thieir pickups.

[AndyR]

I can't actually help you on differences between the Abraxas and Crawlers, I've not tried them myself - maybe someone else can?

On the "top end cutting through the bottom end", I think we're talking about the "clarity" or "openess" of pickups - always difficult to describe in words.

Across all BKPs, some will be darker and thicker, some brighter, etc. - they're designed for different jobs.

But in general, all BKPs seem to be more organic and open sounding than their non-BKP equivalents. In practice, this means that they respond really well tonally to your playing style - you can hear more of what you put in with your fingers - and you can hear all the frequencies they are designed to produce - you get the top end and the bottom end, etc.

I haven't seen this written for a while - the way that some people describe it is: "when you put BKPs in, you suddenly discover you can actually use the tone controls on your guitar" :D

[HangoMer]

I can't actually help you on differences between the Abraxas and Crawlers, I've not tried them myself - maybe someone else can?

On the "top end cutting through the bottom end", I think we're talking about the "clarity" or "openess" of pickups - always difficult to describe in words.

Across all BKPs, some will be darker and thicker, some brighter, etc. - they're designed for different jobs.

But in general, all BKPs seem to be more organic and open sounding than their non-BKP equivalents. In practice, this means that they respond really well tonally to your playing style - you can hear more of what you put in with your fingers - and you can hear all the frequencies they are designed to produce - you get the top end and the bottom end, etc.

I haven't seen this written for a while - the way that some people describe it is: "when you put BKPs in, you suddenly discover you can actually use the tone controls on your guitar" :D

thank uou.
is  there a someone who can wxplain the differences beatween the crawlers the the abraxes? or maybe have a demo of one of them/ both?
maybe tim could explain it to me ;]

[99_not_out]

Welcome :)
I can't really help pickup wise other than to say to your last comment - mail Tim! He's always very helpful to any request, don't be nervous about the fact that he owns the company &c., he has always responded to my (sometimes stupid) questions promptly, imformatively and politely. And he knows best too :)
The contact email address is on the main site.

[yellowv]

Tim is an awesome dude. He has responded to me promptly EVERY time I have sent him an e-mail. He is polite, knowledgable and just a good guy. Makes it pretty easy to be a loyal customer when the owner of the company is so helpful to his customers.