Abraxas Review

[Fikealox]

I got my Abraxas set a week or so ago, and thew them into one of my M2s (an alder/maple bolt-on superstrat), replacing a set of A2 Stormy Mondays. I loved the SM set, and only had a few gripes with it: the bass was too flubby, and the bridge was too wimpy. I have to admit I had a bit of an "anti-honeymoon" at first, because I found  the bridge and neck sounded less similar than in the SM set, (not surprising considering the SMs are 7.2k/7.8k, and the ABs are 7.4k/14k). That was off-putting because I'm really fussy when it comes to neck/bridge balance. However, after playing around with pickup height, I managed to resolve the issue, and the pickups work beautifully together.

The Abraxas neck is sweet like the Stormy neck, but the bass isn't flubby like A2, and nor is it boomy like A5 can be. The treble is a touch less rounded than in the SM, but that actually increases articulation and makes the neck more usable.

The Abraxas bridge is less thin, more compressed, and beefier than the SM bridge. It has a slightly less PAF vibe, I guess thanks to the extra compression, which at first made it harder to balance with the neck, but now makes the set a whole lot more versatile. I don't find myself favouring the neck pickup nearly as much as I did with the SMs. The overall tone is articulate and balanced, and definitely more "smooth" than "dirty" to my ears. Where a Nailbomb roars, the Abraxas howls.

Now that the set is properly balanced, I can select the neck and have a sweet, round but articulate PAF tone, or I can flick to the bridge and have a brighter, equally fat but tighter, more modern sound. However, they don't sound worlds apart: the bass and mids on both pickups are literally perfectly balanced, and changing to the bridge sounds like you've just added a touch of treble and gain to the neck pickup.

All in all, it's a wonderful, versatile set, and ny best BKP purchase yet. I would probably even get another Abraxas set instead of a set of Mules if I got another LP (and i was in love with the Mules I had in my old LP). IMO, the Abraxas set is perfect for my style, which is mainly slow blues, ballads, atmospheric stuff, etc.

[99_not_out]

Hey, nice to see a review of one of the less talked about pickups. I had been thinking about SMs having overlooked the Abraxas ... you've got me hunting for Abraxas clips now :-)

[Buddha]

Thanks for the good review, sounds like you're really enjoying them. Just another excuse for me now to buy another guitar at somepoint, thanks  :lol:

[Fikealox]

Oh yeah, I'm absolutely loving the Abraxas. My superstrat finally sounds like an LP  8)

[Rock Pig]

In that case, imagine how gorgeously thick and smooth they'd sound in a real LP.

... :o

[Fikealox]

Haha, that's not hard to imagine, but it's harder to imagine enjoying playing an LP as much as I enjoy playing my superstrats ;) Still, I have been lusting for one regardless!

[Brow]

I have a set of Abraxas in a PRS CU22 and couldn't agree more with your description of them!

The PRS is 1 of my most used guitars in my covers band as it can pretty much cover everything we do, from general pop/rock covers upto the 'rockier' stuff.

All in all, a great set of pickups that are overlooked alot of the time.

[99_not_out]

I was considering AIV Stormies for my PRS SC, based on this review though it sounds like the Abraxas neck is very similar to a AIV SM neck ... and the bridge is twice as hot.

I assume the Bridge Abraxas responds as nicely to the volume control as the rest of the BKP range does ... so would it be fair to say you can get a AIV SM sound from it with the volume rolled back, with the added bonus of going hotter with the vol pot all the way up?

Listening to the clips I am suddenly very tempted ... want my guitar to be in the Malcom Y / Slash kind of range with a bit of versatility to boot.

[Fikealox]

I haven't used AIV SMs, but I've used Mules and A2 SMs, so I can make an educated guess. I would expect an AIV SM neck to be the same as the Abraxas neck (read: perfect).

Rolling off the bridge volume doesn't really get you the same tones as a bridge Mule or SM, though. I guess that's mainly because it's not a raucous monster that needs to "clean up" when you roll off the volume. With the volume rolled off it's still fatter, and less bright and chimey than the more vintage bridges.

That said, the middle position of the Abraxas set sounds quite like a Mule bridge did (better, IMO). Since the neck pickup has a DC resistance that's so much lower than the bridge, it contributes most of the tone when you're in the middle position (since you're connecting them in parallel), and the bridge just contributes a bit of top end.

To my ears, the Abraxas set does Slash easily. A4 SMs would be great too - IMO, better than A2 SMs... despite Slash using A2 magnets, because of the flubby bass of A2 - but I think the Abraxas set gives more versatility, and I much, much prefer the bridge pickup to the A4 Mules or A2 SMs that I've tried.

[Philly Q]

I haven't used AIV SMs, but I've used Mules and A2 SMs, so I can make an educated guess. I would expect an AIV SM neck to be the same as the Abraxas neck (read: perfect).

I've also only had the Abraxas neck and AII SMs, so don't know about an AIV SM, but I think the Abraxas neck is a bit hotter and more "singing" than the SM, even though there's not much difference in DC resistance.  The AIV SM would be in the same tonal ballpark though, I'd guess.

Rolling off the bridge volume doesn't really get you the same tones as a bridge Mule or SM, though. I guess that's mainly because it's not a raucous monster that needs to "clean up" when you roll off the volume. With the volume rolled off it's still fatter, and less bright and chimey than the more vintage bridges.

You (or rather 99_not_out) could try a treble bleed cap on the volume control.  That would retain the highs with the volume rolled down and might sound a bit more like a lower-output pickup.

[Fikealox]

Great suggestion, Mr Q 8) It's been ages since I've branched out with wiring mods.

[99_not_out]

Thanks for the help chaps!

The Abraxas is beginning to sound like a winner (I have been thinking about this for ages too ...). One of my issues is that lovely guitar that it is, my PRS SC sits in a bit of a no-mans-land at the moment with its stock pickups in. I have a Warpigged SG that is what I always reach for when playing hard rock / metal ( Grin Factor 9 :-) ), and a Baja Tele which admirably wraps up the cleaner / bluesey side of things. The PRS is kind of lacking identity in between those two right now, so I am keen to upgrade it with something very different from either to make it stand out. Right now I find myself playing the PRS for a bit, and then always reaching for one of the other two after a while. which is a shame as the PRS has by far the best playing action of the three!

So maybe the Abraxas set, with a coil split and treble bleed ... always of the opinion you should pimp the rest of the electrics whilst you have the soldering iron out :-)

[HTH AMPS]

an Abraxas bridge is on my list of pickups to try, but I'm just having too much fun swapping between my Mule and Cold Sweat at the minute.  maybe if I get another guitar down the road I'll put the Abraxas in there.

[Fikealox]

So I caved, and I'm buying a Tokai Les Paul which I'm going to get another set of Abraxas for when I can afford them :lol:

[99_not_out]

Sweet!