The Mule with alnico V vs Seymour 59 model?

[Knucklebone]

Hello,
this is my 1st post here, so please have mercy!

Has anyone compared The Mule with alnico V to the Seymour 59 model? Or both with
alnico IV`s?  I`m talking about the bridge pickups and looking for a bit more lows and open tone. 

The guitar is bright sounding LP Standard and now I use a SD`59 with alnico IV, which
sounds pretty good after magnet change, but could be better. So would unpotted Mule be the one?

Thanks in advance!   

[JEFF MAKOR]

Hello,
this is my 1st post here, so please have mercy!

Has anyone compared The Mule with alnico V to the Seymour 59 model? Or both with
alnico IV`s?  I`m talking about the bridge pickups and looking for a bit more lows and open tone. 

The guitar is bright sounding LP Standard and now I use a SD`59 with alnico IV, which
sounds pretty good after magnet change, but could be better. So would unpotted Mule be the one?

Thanks in advance!   

Hello and welcome to the forum.
I had SD 59s and Customs for my Washburn guitars since delivery but so many people were talking about Bareknuckles that I decided to phone Tim and ask a few questions.
Yor A5 SDs should sound healthy enough, but I'm telling you that if you ever do decide to plump for the Mules, you'll be in for a delightful shock.
The Mules (and indeed, any other BkPs will reward you with punch, clarity and a fat yet clear tonal spectrum that mass production pickups just cannot equal.
Ultimately, it's a 'suck it and see' scenario.
I went for the PG Blues and Abraxas and each offer the most outstanding tones from any pickups I've ever had.
In the past, I've had PRS, Gibbos, Fenders, Washburns, a Zemaitis and many other less favoured guitars of curiosity, but if I had had them all back and stashed away in a garage, I'd be down to the bank to pay for each and every one of them to be re-fitted with Bareknuckles!
Nuff said.
Good luck and happy playing.
Jeff Makor

[AndyR]

Hi and welcome :D

I second everything Jeff says.

I'm not familiar with SD 59s personally, but on what I've heard, if you've swapped the magnets to IV, then I'd say your reasoning about standard IV Mules is sound.

However, what I can add is that my Mules were originally in a bright sounding Epi LP and they weren't quite "doing it" for me - I'd been expecting a slightly "fatter" tone.

This might be because I hadn't mastered pickup height adjustment to get what I want, but I didn't leave them in there too long to find out because I had a few issues with the Epi anyway. I bought a Tokai Love Rock to put them in and everything turned out peachy :D

I've read since, that in a bright LP, maybe the Mules weren't the best for what I wanted. I understand that one of the options to tame some of the brightness, fatten it a bit, but retain the vintage vibe in a bright LP is to go for Black Dogs...

It all depends what you want, of course. I suspect your best bet is to call BKP/Tim and discuss your options. I've never done it myself (yet), but from reading on here, he is obviously the man to sort you out!

Here on the forums, we'll all sing the praises of BKPs in general, and help you as much as we can, but before long we'll have suggested every pickup they do as the best solution :lol:

[Knucklebone]

Thanks a lot for the replies!

Have to say that I have tried a lot of pickups, and for that guitar I need a 8-8.5K PAF type one. So my choice will be BK Mule or some other handmade PAF clone.

SD`59 with al IV is still the closest for what I want and is quite common, so that`s why I gave this as an example. Only a bit more low end please and more open tone. SD`59 is heavily wax-potted so I hope unpotted Mule will open the high end, but I`d like to know about the low end.

[dheim]

the mules have A LOT of high end!

[ericsabbath]

the '59 (w/ stock magnet) was the worst neck pickup I ever had (including stock korean pickups)  :x

[Knucklebone]

the mules have A LOT of high end!

This is nice to know!
Now what about the lows? I tried SD Antiquity, which has to be exact PAF copy and although it has nice highs and mids, lows are very weak. I adjusted screws and heights and swapped magnets, but it didn`t get better.   

[Knucklebone]

the '59 (w/ stock magnet) was the worst neck pickup I ever had (including stock korean pickups)  :x

Did you replace it with The Mule or some other BK pickup? Could you please describe the difference it made?

[dheim]

the mules have A LOT of high end!

This is nice to know!
Now what about the lows? I tried SD Antiquity, which has to be exact PAF copy and although it has nice highs and mids, lows are very weak. I adjusted screws and heights and swapped magnets, but it didn`t get better.   

they're very balanced, there's no part in their EQ that's really dominant... i've got them in a chambered les paul, so they've got a sort of snapping attack that tightens a bit the bass... they're not so warm as the stock alnico II classic '57s, but have the right amount of warmth and clarity and are no way muddy like the stock pickups!
you could try an AII mule in the neck, to increase warmth.

[Dr. Vic]

I would not say that the '59 is such a bad pickup. It's still a reference and still one of the best choice in the Duncan range. I played it for years.

The Mule has (of course) some "improved" duncan'59 in it, but I think that the most similar duncan to the Mule would be, for me, the Pearly Gates, (even if the Mule neck is an AIV).

[dheim]

I would not say that the '59 is such a bad pickup. It's still a reference and still one of the best choice in the Duncan range. I played it for years.

The Mule has (of course) some "improved" duncan'59 in it, but I think that the most similar duncan to the Mule would be, for me, the Pearly Gates, (even if the Mule neck is an AIV).

it could depend on the different tone of the guitars i hve/had them in, but the Mule neck seems me much more articulate and bright than the PG. that's a very nice pickup, by the way.

[gwEm]

I have an A5/4 mule set and have used a duncan 59s in the past. The 59 neck, in particular, feels like a bit of a joke compared to the Mule neck. The 59 bridge model is a decent pickup, but it doesn't have the clarity or kick of either an A4 or 5 Mule. In a Paul or '58 style V I think the default A4 is the way to go. There's a case for A5s in an SG or other style V I think - that's where my A5 set is fitted.

[Rock Pig]

Hello,
this is my 1st post here, so please have mercy!

Has anyone compared The Mule with alnico V to the Seymour 59 model? Or both with
alnico IV`s?  I`m talking about the bridge pickups and looking for a bit more lows and open tone. 

The guitar is bright sounding LP Standard and now I use a SD`59 with alnico IV, which
sounds pretty good after magnet change, but could be better. So would unpotted Mule be the one?

Thanks in advance!   

Hello and welcome to the forum.
I had SD 59s and Customs for my Washburn guitars since delivery but so many people were talking about Bareknuckles that I decided to phone Tim and ask a few questions.
Yor A5 SDs should sound healthy enough, but I'm telling you that if you ever do decide to plump for the Mules, you'll be in for a delightful shock.
The Mules (and indeed, any other BkPs will reward you with punch, clarity and a fat yet clear tonal spectrum that mass production pickups just cannot equal.
Ultimately, it's a 'suck it and see' scenario.
I went for the PG Blues and Abraxas and each offer the most outstanding tones from any pickups I've ever had.
In the past, I've had PRS, Gibbos, Fenders, Washburns, a Zemaitis and many other less favoured guitars of curiosity, but if I had had them all back and stashed away in a garage, I'd be down to the bank to pay for each and every one of them to be re-fitted with Bareknuckles!
Nuff said.
Good luck and happy playing.
Jeff Makor

Jeff, you sound like an advert :P
And I've got a '59 neck in my Charvel and I must say that it's rubbish. Can't speak for the Mule properly but I assure you and BKP will be an improvement.

[Knucklebone]

Nice to read all those opinions!

Actually I ordered a Mule with A IV yesterday. Hope it will be OK. I will try to post some clips when I`ll get it.

How long it will take to get shipped, has anyone ordered any BK stuff recently?

Talking about neck pickups  I`m happy with the stock Gibson 490R. Have tried some other PUs, but this one is still the best. Surprisingly the 490R didn`t work at all with my R9 Historic. Seems like there is no universally good pickup or guitar, more important is the combination of them.   

[Dr. Vic]

Off Topic......but quite funny to see how many people here have a dislike on the '59 Neck..
As for me I liked the '59 far more better than the Jazz, which was my worst experience with Duncan. :snipe: (but it still was better than my previous experiences with DiMarzio's..... :lol:)


Back to topic...now for that good Mule pickup maybe average delivery time will be 15 days, more or less... :gif: