NPD - Abraxas bridge

[m t soule]

I took the plunge and my first impressions are....wow.
I never knew what to expect but i really didn't expect what i got.
Is it a match for the crawler in the neck? Yes!
Does it have a twang and articulation about it that make me think it would also sit with a Vhii neck? yes!
Punchier more than fat.
A smooth brighness.
Metallic sing.
Single coily
Vowely/necky voice
Took my blackstar and boss ds-1x like a champ.

I'm going to wait for the honeymoon to wear off then report back.
I'm very happy. In fact this is the best first impression from any humbucker so far.

T

[metale]

Congrats! Also, the guitar looks great!  I'm jellous

The Abraxas is SO versatile, isn't it? I've had the exact same bridge one on a semi-hollow tuned to standard and now on a dark and heavy solid-body tuned to drop C, it handles everything.

[richard]

I've had my Abraxas set in a Les Paul- alike (PRS Bernie) for a couple of months now and have gigged them 4/5 times. They sounded great but after a lot of careful listening I raised the treble side of the bridge pup a little. My sound went from amazing to AMAZING. At Saturday's gig I got the best live sound I've ever had with the guitar straight into my Cornford Roadhouse combo. There's such a wonderful presence to these pickups - it's hard to describe but it's got to the point that I don't think I can improve my tone any more. I'm not a metal guy but for the classic rock 60's to 80's guitar sounds I like the Abraxas delivers in spades.

[Telerocker]

Congrats! Good to see the vintage and vintagehot BKP's get some love.

[m t soule]

Here's a vid for you awesome folk.
Recorded on my phone edited on my phone and straight to your tubes.
Straight throught a boss ds -1x with distortion set to 10oclock everything else set to 12oclock into a blackstar ht studio20 clean channel with a vintage30 speaker.
I compare the Miracle man, Abraxas and Holy Diver.
I just play what comes into my head at that moment but i do try to keep it all the same.

Enjoy!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IEBGySN6IVE

[m t soule]

I think the Abraxas beasts the holy diver and definitely competes on every level with the Miracle man.
I found it richer than both in twinkly organic harmonics.
Its definitely louder than my hd and more articulate than both hd and mm
Its bass is less boomy than miracle man.
The clean sound is very pleasing to me.
The eq across the board is very paletable neither feeling too fat or upper or lower middy yet sounding big and powerful.
Brighter than the hd and about the same as mm.
The vowely voice is cool as but only pops up at certain intervals due to differences in pick  attack

Hope i made sense and helped!

T

[m t soule]

Yes you said it with "presence".
I agree its definitely more in the room with you than my other bridge humbuckers

I've had my Abraxas set in a Les Paul- alike (PRS Bernie) for a couple of months now and have gigged them 4/5 times. They sounded great but after a lot of careful listening I raised the treble side of the bridge pup a little. My sound went from amazing to AMAZING. At Saturday's gig I got the best live sound I've ever had with the guitar straight into my Cornford Roadhouse combo. There's such a wonderful presence to these pickups - it's hard to describe but it's got to the point that I don't think I can improve my tone any more. I'm not a metal guy but for the classic rock 60's to 80's guitar sounds I like the Abraxas delivers in spades.

[richard]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEBGySN6IVE&app=desktop

Great demo. None of the three sound a million miles from one another but there's an edge to the Abraxas that   neither of the other two have. The MM seems the closest but , for me, the Abraxas is a clear winner.

[HEadoftheAges]

Man. This thread has thrown me into a tizzy. I was dead-set on a set of Mules for my Heritage H555 (an ES-335 with a maple center block as opposed to mahogany), and now i am leaning back towards an Abraxas set.

- Alec

[Slartibartfarst42]

I've been on this forum for some time now and the Abraxas has always been a bit of an unsung hero. It's one of those pickups that I've always rather fancied (the Black Dog is another one) but always found myself going in a slightly different direction. I only ever use two electric guitars because I find that when I get a third, it's never really played all that much but it means there's only so much I can do with pickups. The PRS with its OFR always seems to demand something a bit more 'Rock/Metal' than the Abraxas and while I'm tempted to try it in my Les Paul, I like the slightly hairy upper mids on the stock 498T, which I guess are a bit lacking on the Abraxas so it might come across as a bit too tame. I want the Les Paul to ideally go from Blues Rock to 80s Metal and keep the slight upper mid aggression. The 498T does that really well so I'd be interested if anyone could give me a detailed comparison between the Abraxas and 498T. Either way, it's great to see the Abraxas finally getting some love.

[fdesalvo]

I have no reason bumping this thread, except to say I'm stoked that others are diggin this pickup.  It seems to excel at everything in every type of guitar I've placed it into - fixed bridge..trems..set neck..bolt-on..mahogany..alder..it just kills with a fat and rich organic tone.  Cuts through with the perfect amount of sparkle, too.

[m t soule]

Yeah man!
I was Megadething with it last night!
It's taken a guitar I rarely use to it being first on the rack