Got my BK Pickups installed in my 1976 Explorer LE!

[Dashface]

I recently found an original 1976 Explorer on ebay, but it was missing a lot of parts...  Which, of course, seemed like the perfect time to buy some more BK Pickups!  I've had the single coils before, and swear by 'em, but never the humbuckers until now.

Tim suggested a Mule in the neck and Riff Raff in the bridge, and that's what I went with.

Here we are:




It sounds pretty goddamned amazing.  I'm totally sold on the Mule - what a sound!  It actually kind of reminds me of the neck pickup I had on an old 70s Hagstrom once, with that round, clean, giant piano sort of sound.  Really great.

The Riff Raff, on the other hand, isn't my favourite.  Let me qualify that, though, by saying that it is still head and shoulders above any stock humbucker I've ever played...  But, compared to the Mule it's just a bit too thin and weak, no matter how I set the heights etc.  I think it's just because the Mule sounds so big.  We'll see what happens - I may well get something different for the Explorer and move the Riff Raff over to a Les Paul or something.

All that being said, it still rocks out like nobody's business :D

[FernandoDuarte]

Looking very cool!

[ericsabbath]

The Riff Raff, on the other hand, isn't my favourite.  Let me qualify that, though, by saying that it is still head and shoulders above any stock humbucker I've ever played...  But, compared to the Mule it's just a bit too thin and weak, no matter how I set the heights etc.  I think it's just because the Mule sounds so big.  We'll see what happens - I may well get something different for the Explorer and move the Riff Raff over to a Les Paul or something.

hey, brother!
saw your post on harmony central a couple weeks ago

I was afraid that the Raff could sound a bit weak or thin as I'm used to high output in the bridge
so I ordered a custom Riff Raff, about 5% overwound and Tim also suggested a thicker alnico 5 magnet (4 mm thick)
I bought it for the wine red les paul I posted in your thread, but I ended up installing it in a PRS McCarty just for testing/comparison purposes
and I gotta say this thing is anything but thin or weak
I'm really impressed with this pickup, and I'm mostly a metal guy
my PRS already was great sounding with the stock McCarty treble pickup, but now it sounds GODLY  :D :D :D :D

did you really play with the height in every possible way?
mine is VERY punchy when set close to the strings (actually, a bit too punchy)
you could send it back to have a thicker magnet installed (Tim said that would increase output and bass response)

maybe a black dog would solve your problem, but I have no idea if that's a good match for an explorer

[Keven]

I think a BD could be a little too warm for an Explorer. but keep on tweaking your height. my first BKP was hard love but when i got it working it was great. and now i'm alot more counscious about little adjustments like pickup height. don't lose hope!

or get it rewound as a mule :D

[Ratrod]

I'm insanely jealous.

[Philly Q]

That's a very cool looking guitar!  :D

I like the Riff Raff a lot, but mine is in a one-pickup SG - I can imagine it might seem a little thin compared with a warm-sounding neck pickup.

You might consider the Emerald bridge - Phil King said in a recent thread that it works well in an all-mahogany guitar.  It's more powerful but still has brightness.

[AndyR]

CUTE looking guitar!! :D

I'd be insanely jealous if I hadn't recently stripped mine (it was an extremely sticky Dark Cherry) and come up with a very similar looking item :lol:

I've tried my Riff Raffs in mine and "liked" but wasn't too sure. Then I tried my Mississippi Queens - that bowled me away, they've been in there for must be a couple of years now. Yes the MQ bridge made the Riff Raff bridge seem a bit thinner to me in this guitar. It's almost like the Riff Raff got lost in all that wood...

However, I am considering swapping pickups around again and putting the Riff Raffs back in - I'm not convinced I gave them a fair crack of the whip... and I've learnt a lot more about pickup height fiddling since.

I also have Mules, and that's another option I've been considering. Any reason why no-one's wondering Mule for the bridge as well? I find it slightly "hairier" than the Riff Raff, a little more "chunky" - so I've been getting tempted to give the Mules a go. Only problem is I quite like them in the guitar they're in!!

[ericsabbath]

you guys really should try the magnet upgrade for the Riff Raff
this thing sounds CHUNKY :twisted:

[gwEm]

A5 mule is another variation to think about. extra dollop of thickness compared to a riff raff.

[BigB]

Can't help wrt/ the bridge pup, but if you're not satisfied with the guitar just send it to me :mrgreen:

(I am NOT jealous. I am NOT jealous. I am NOT jealous. No, I'm not. NOT AT ALL).

[Dashface]

Haha - yeah, it is kind of a jealosy-inducing guitar.  I've wanted one since I started playing, so it's pretty cool.  You should see the size of the neck.  Biggest one Gibson ever made, apparently!

It's not that I'm "unsatisfied" with the pickup - as usual, Tim's stuff here is top-notch and amazing.  But, it's true, the Riff Raff and this guitar aren't exactly perfect together.  I probably should've gone with my original gut feeling and stuck with the Mule for both.  The only things stopping me from changing it are A) I don't have any money, and B) the middle-position is absolutely magic.

Here it is lined up with the rest of my modest little collection, for your viewing pleasure  8)

[FernandoDuarte]

Lovely guitars! The pickguard of the P90 loaded LP is made of what?

[Keven]

that green strat looks great. i always thought green with white PG and a maple neck looked very business like

[Dashface]

Lovely guitars! The pickguard of the P90 loaded LP is made of what?

Oh, it's just regular pickguard stuff.  A trick of the light is all!

that green strat looks great. i always thought green with white PG and a maple neck looked very business like

Why thank you!  That's an '89 Clapton strat in 7-up Green...  It was my first guitar, years ago :)

[Keven]

that said, you also own my second favorite strat style. all black with white pups and maple neck. very tasty collection!