Painkiller, Miracle Man bridge comparison (also Mule)

[Neil F]

I wanted to test whether I preferred the Painkiller or Miracle Man in the bridge position of my Ibanez SA1020FM so I set up three sounds on different channels of my amp, recorded the Painkiller through each, then loosened the strings, swapped the PK for a Miracle Man, tuned up again and recorded the same clips on the same channels.

I thought I'd post it in case others found the comparison useful. Just for fun I also recorded the Mule Bridge pickup of my Les Paul too, again through the same channels though the guitar is different in this case so it isn't quite such a straightforward comparison.

The amp is a Mesa Roadster, with a little of the amp reverb mixed in, and  miked using an SM57. I cut and pasted the clips so each pickup can be heard in turn on the same channel, so there is one clip for clean, one for overdriven and one for distortion. In each clip the PK is first, then the MM, then finally the Mule. I boosted the level of the Mule clean clip, hence the hiss.

Hope that's clear and apologies for the scruffy editing and the odd bum note, not to mention the recycled riffs. If anyone has any views on which out of the PK and MM sounds better I'd be interested.

[Antag]

Nice clips, well done - you've captured the contrast between PK & MM really well.

FWIW I like the Miracle Man for the distortion best, just seems a little more "intense" to my ears - which surprises me as in my own guitars I like the Painkiller slightly better...

[Lazy_McDoesnothing]

Out of the two I preferred the Miracle Man in every category(not counting the Mule).  But it's not a true comparison of the capabilities of each pickup.  You'd most likely have to dial in different tones for each pickup to let it's characteristics shine through.  Get the best sound out of each that you can and make a decision based on that instead.

[Neil F]

That's a good point - I'd dialled the amp in a couple of days before in when playing using the Painkiller so the comparison might be expected to flatter that pickup. Of course, that means dialled in to my own tastes and according to the "live" sound not the recorded sound so it's not the most scientific test!

I think I prefer the PK - but I'm not certain yet!

[Will]

The overdrive didn't have much drive, it felt like it was between crunch and overdrive. I expected distortion to be morel like hard and thin distorted ness
but any way, from thtat, I like MM out of the main two, but the mules had so much more openness

[il˙ti]

Out of the two, I prefer the Painkiller. But I must be crazy because I think the Mule sounded best in all 3 clips.

[JJretroTONEGOD]

I think the mule is the clear winner!

[keano]

Cleans I like PK but last 2 are Mule.

[gwEm]

i say painkiller actually (the first one)

[opprobrium_9]

1st - MM is the clear winner for sheer BOOTHALLZ

2nd - PK then Mule is a close second

3rd - Mule wins the cleanz

[il˙ti]

BOOTHALLZ

Close enough.

[Orpheo]

I wanted to test whether I preferred the Painkiller or Miracle Man in the bridge position of my Ibanez SA1020FM so I set up three sounds on different channels of my amp, recorded the Painkiller through each, then loosened the strings, swapped the PK for a Miracle Man, tuned up again and recorded the same clips on the same channels.

I thought I'd post it in case others found the comparison useful. Just for fun I also recorded the Mule Bridge pickup of my Les Paul too, again through the same channels though the guitar is different in this case so it isn't quite such a straightforward comparison.

The amp is a Mesa Roadster, with a little of the amp reverb mixed in, and  miked using an SM57. I cut and pasted the clips so each pickup can be heard in turn on the same channel, so there is one clip for clean, one for overdriven and one for distortion. In each clip the PK is first, then the MM, then finally the Mule. I boosted the level of the Mule clean clip, hence the hiss.

Hope that's clear and apologies for the scruffy editing and the odd bum note, not to mention the recycled riffs. If anyone has any views on which out of the PK and MM sounds better I'd be interested.

nice clips! the differences are indeed very good to hear!

what I think:

the painkiller is the brightest of the 3. the miracle man is the tightest with more low end-growl than the PK. the mule has the most lows and low-mids of these pickups. the MM is a bit warmer than the PK. it sits in the niche between the PK and the Mule. is that right?