Rebel Yell vs Crawler vs Black Dog

[discofudge]

Hi guys, haven't posted in a while, been on tour!

I'm thinking about upgrading the pups in my LP studio, looking for a hot classic rock sound for rhythm and lead. needs to sound great through a british style amp. Not too trebly, with solid mids and bass.

So the question is what are the tonal differences with Rebel Yell vs Crawler vs Black Dog?

In my mind they occupy the same tonal ballpark, but please correct me!

[gwEm]

they actually all sound very different. The Rebel Yell would be described as bright yet rich. The Crawler is meant to be a sort of PAF on steroids. The Black Dog is darker, good for a brighter Les Paul.

[Philly Q]

My impressions would be (based purely on home use, I'm afraid):

Rebel Yell - bright, upper-midrangey, not a lot of bass.  The most "modern" sounding of the three.
Crawler - very middy, quite dark, growly/snarly kind of tone. 
Black Dog - lower-midrangey but with some bite.  Maybe the most "vintage" of the three, but best at blues-rock to old school hard rock, rather than being a real all-rounder.

What about the Abraxas?  I haven't tried it, but it seems that it's somewhere between the Mule and Crawler, a nice warm beefed-up PAF sound.

[Vilches3]

theres also the VHII, big and open sounding. It all depends on the weight and tonal qualities of the woods. I'd also appreciate some more info on the pickups you brought up.

cheers

[Mr. Air]

This is just a thread for me. I've been eyeballing all the mentioned pickups and can't seem to settle for one. Drives me crazy  :P

[IntenseJim]

This is just a thread for me. I've been eyeballing all the mentioned pickups and can't seem to settle for one. Drives me crazy  :P

+ 1

I've had three different BK in Les Pauls: RY, BD, and VHII. They all sounded great but different. GREAT is the operative word; there was no mediocre or bad sound to be had.

[shaman]

i suggest asking the legend-Tim....I recently had a LP dilemma-I am a HUGE fan of the RY..but I wanted something a little different for a similar LP I came across..Tim suggested a Crawler because,tonally,it was in the same ballpark,but the highs were "sweeter" with a Crawler in a LP Standard-I was going for a Lukather/Schon tone-Crawler nails it...and yet it is RY like in open harmonic richness(no doubting the fact that EVERYWHERE I have played with other guitarists present,they never FAIL to ask me about my RY pups..."WHAT pups are those???"..hellyeah :D

[IntenseJim]

Bump on the Crawler vs RY.

I have Rebel Yells and loooooooove them in my LP Standard. I have a second LP RI68 Custom and it's either a second set of RYs or I try the Crawler.

[Alex]

The Black Dog is probaly the fullest of those. I love the great midrange detail it has, it sounds great for leads. I don't find it too dark in my SG, the treble is very much there and clear.

[Antag]

In my mind they occupy the same tonal ballpark, but please correct me!

Although I don't own any of these, I have tried them all in LP-style guitars.  In my mind the Rebel Yell is the odd one out as it's a lot brighter than the other two.  It's probably the most powerful of the three as well.

Crawler & BD were, to my ears, much more "rounded" with a full bass & mids.  The RY by contrast was a much harder "cutting" sound.

[IntenseJim]

I have the RY and looooooooove 'em. LOVE THEM!
I have the Black Dog and like it for a slightly hot dark vintage sound.
I returned my Cold Sweat and will give the Crawler a spin.

I told Tim I wouldn't mind (sic) getting a Steve Steven's tone and Dough Aldrich/recent Whitenake tone.
He said the Suhr Aldrich is like the BK Miracle Man but with an A5 magnet and he's had luck getting that tone with a Crawler.  So I'll give that a shot. It'll be a while before the pup makes it way back to Tahoe.

[BigB]

Crawler - very middy, quite dark, growly/snarly kind of tone. 

Well, I only have experience (home and rehearsal) with the Crawlers so far, but I dont find them _that_ dark. Granted, mines are on a going-thru neck all-maple - hence quite bright - guitar, but even then I usually have to tone down the trebles a bit on the bridge pup. 

Really love theses pups, BTW  8) 

[Philly Q]

Crawler - very middy, quite dark, growly/snarly kind of tone. 

Well, I only have experience (home and rehearsal) with the Crawlers so far, but I dont find them _that_ dark. Granted, mines are on a going-thru neck all-maple - hence quite bright - guitar, but even then I usually have to tone down the trebles a bit on the bridge pup. 

Yeah, I'm not going to argue, we've had differing opinions on the Crawlers before.  They seem to sound very different depending on the individual guitar.

(Mine were in an Edwards LP copy, BTW)

[Antag]

Crawler - very middy, quite dark, growly/snarly kind of tone. 

Well, I only have experience (home and rehearsal) with the Crawlers so far, but I dont find them _that_ dark. Granted, mines are on a going-thru neck all-maple - hence quite bright - guitar, but even then I usually have to tone down the trebles a bit on the bridge pup. 

Yeah, I'm not going to argue, we've had differing opinions on the Crawlers before.  They seem to sound very different depending on the individual guitar.

(Mine were in an Edwards LP copy, BTW)

My Crawler experience was on Tim's 70s LP Custom.  It was very rounded & warm - even warmer than a Holy Diver which is something I never thought possible.. :)

[Dr. Vic]

My Crawler experience was on Tim's 70s LP Custom. 

Waou! I guess you had a great time playing the LP of the man !  8) 8) 8)

anyway, back to topic ! 

It's interesting to see many people describing the RY with a bright / sharp / cutting sound so much so that this makes me think of an alnico version of the "djent" PK... 

As for me I played an SG loaded with RY's and the result was SO impressive. I couldn't say if it was too much bright. It was rather bright than dark, mainly because of a huge presence, but in a tasty modern way and with ALL the frequencies coming like a blast to your face, and not only mids or upper mids : It didn't lack any bass and it wasn't too trebbly : just what you need for a massive PURE ROCK TONE.

As PhillyQ said it's maybe the alchemy between that particular guitar and the RY, but that combo through a JCM800 just drove me crazy  :twisted: