Mule or Abraxas?

[AnnunakiMassacr]

After being really impressed by a recent Mule clip, I'm dying to try them. The guitar I'm wanting to put them in is an Ibanez S which is very resonant and bright, despite the mahogany body and rosewood fingerboard. I was thinking maybe a Mule may be a bit bright? How does the Abraxas compare to the Mule? Is it a slightly more modern, rounded topped Mule?

[BigB]

Disclaimer : I never played the Abraxas and from the Mule I only know the neck pup (and the Crawler neck which is supposed to be based on the Abraxas). Now the usual answer here is that the Abraxas is mostly a Mule on steroids. Given the specs it should have a quite close voicing, with indeed a more rounded top-end, more mids and possibly a bit more compression.

Now wheither the Mule would (or not) be "too bright" for your Ibby, only you can say for sure, but if your guitar is all mahogany (no maple cap) it shouldn't be much of a problem - a LP is not supposed to be specially dark. So if what you really want is The Mule, then you should probably first give it a try.

My 2 cents...

[Brow]

I have guitars with both Mules and Abraxas, and also have an Ibanez 'S' series guitar too (I have a pair of Nailbombs in mine and it's tuned to Eb).

I have Mules in a Les Paul and Abraxas in a PRS Custom 22. They are both quite similar voice wise, the main difference being that the Mules are very open sounding and neutral in all frequencies whereas the Abraxas have a bit more compression and are a tad smoother in the top end. Both make for very versatile pickup sets imo.

The neck pickups are very similar indeed, and there's word that they may both even be the same pickup.

Does your S have the ZR Trem? What sort of music and amp do you play? I ask because neither of those 2 pickups would be my 1st choice for that guitar going by my experience.

[darrenw5094]

I have a set of Mules and a set of Abraxas in a pair of LP's. The Mule can be a bit bright, so i would say it would be bright in the Ibanez. The Abraxas seems more balanced and more gainy with the overdrive. The Abraxas would be my choice in this case.

[Philly Q]

The neck pickups are very similar indeed, and there's word that they may both even be the same pickup.

I remember a lot of discussion about this ages ago! 

The main theory was that the Abraxas and Crawler neck models were the same, but eventually it was confirmed that the Mule, Abraxas and Crawler neck models are all different pickups, even though they have very similar specs.

I don't really know about the best pickup for the Ibanez S model, but for what it's worth I don't think vintage-output (bridge) pickups work particularly well in that type of guitar, so given a choice between Mule and Abraxas I'd go for the latter.

[Telerocker]

I have Mules in a bolt-on all mahogany Saint Blues Mississippi Bluesmaster, which is a kind of LP/tele-hybrid and brighter with more attack then a LP. I find the bridge great with some drive (Orange Rockerverb 50 head/cab). Very open, vocal and balanced. I play with the toneknob to get darker sounds. The inbetween sounds and the neckpickup are stellar. Deep, fat, balanced, yet crispy (the neck a bit less). I play jazz, soul. funk, rock and hardrock with them and they deliver the goodies.
They will fit your Ibbie, depending on the amp you use. If you are looking for maximum articulation, open vocal and deep tones and great cleanup potential, look no further. If you want a slightly rounder topend and more output, but the balance of the AIV, go Abraxas. 

[AnnunakiMassacr]

Sorry, I forgot to mention that the guitar in question is a HSS guitar.

The music I play on this guitar is basically everything. It's my pick-up-and-go guitar. Not for live, or recording; just a guitar that I pick up after a few drinks, and start playing with, emotionally :) Just a plug-and-play guitar.

I currently have a Blackstar HT-5, but that's on eBay at the moment as I'm really wanting a JVM Satriani.

Thanks to all for the advice.

[HTH AMPS]

The neck pickups are very similar indeed, and there's word that they may both even be the same pickup.

I remember a lot of discussion about this ages ago! 

The main theory was that the Abraxas and Crawler neck models were the same, but eventually it was confirmed that the Mule, Abraxas and Crawler neck models are all different pickups, even though they have very similar specs.

I don't really know about the best pickup for the Ibanez S model, but for what it's worth I don't think vintage-output (bridge) pickups work particularly well in that type of guitar, so given a choice between Mule and Abraxas I'd go for the latter.

I've had the Mule, Crawler and Abraxas sets - the neck pickups are indeed similar spec'd, but DO sound different. 

Mule neck - fat, warm classic PAF tone, perfect Kossoff vibe
Crawler neck - very similar to Mule, but a fanny's hair hotter, made it a tad muddy for my liking
Abraxas neck - bright, clear, on the lower side of vintage output

Its no secret that the Abraxas bridge is my fave BKP, it does everything from blues, classic rock, doom - probably not quite fast enough attack for fast metal styles.

 

[Philly Q]

^

Agreed.  I've never tried the Mule neck (or bridge, embarrassingly) but I have owned both the Abraxas and Crawler neck models.  The Abraxas was definitely brighter, a little more sizzle to it.  May have been partly down to the respective guitars, of course.

[AnnunakiMassacr]

Do you think I'd probably benefit from trying the Mule or Abraxas in a LP/PRS style guitar first? One with good wood that is? I've been contemplating a custom PRS/LP build for a while (actually messaged Feline specs for a Tiger, but still waiting to hear), so maybe try it in that? I'd really prefer to hear the great hype with first hand experience, in a great guitar, as to just putting it straight into my Ibanez.

also what's the hype with the MQ neck, lately? I see it recommended more and more these days.

[Brow]

Do you think I'd probably benefit from trying the Mule or Abraxas in a LP/PRS style guitar first? One with good wood that is? I've been contemplating a custom PRS/LP build for a while (actually messaged Feline specs for a Tiger, but still waiting to hear), so maybe try it in that? I'd really prefer to hear the great hype with first hand experience, in a great guitar, as to just putting it straight into my Ibanez.

also what's the hype with the MQ neck, lately? I see it recommended more and more these days.

That's not a bad idea; especially if you were planning on getting the guitar anyway!  :D

Personally I'd say the Mule, and the Abraxas to an extent, are more at home in PRS/LP style guitars and wouldn't be my 1st choice for an Ibanez style guitar. Not saying it wouldn't work, it just wouldn't be the 1st pup to spring to mind for that style of guitar.

As for the MQ neck: I have 1 in a Vee paired with a Riff Raff bridge and it's a good fit for me. I haven't seen it be hyped up too much lately but maybe I've just missed those threads  :lol:

[darkbluemurder]

I've had the Mule, Crawler and Abraxas sets - the neck pickups are indeed similar spec'd, but DO sound different. 

Mule neck - fat, warm classic PAF tone, perfect Kossoff vibe
Crawler neck - very similar to Mule, but a fanny's hair hotter, made it a tad muddy for my liking
Abraxas neck - bright, clear, on the lower side of vintage output

Its no secret that the Abraxas bridge is my fave BKP, it does everything from blues, classic rock, doom - probably not quite fast enough attack for fast metal styles.

I never played a Mule but the descriptions of the Crawler and Abraxas neck are spot on. They are quite different from each other.

+1 on the Abraxas bridge - cannot go wrong with that one.

Cheers Stephan

[djl]

Hiya

I've never played the Abraxas,  so can't comment on the differences. I can vouch for the mules being very touch sensitive, great if you want a clean sound that retains the dynamics brilliantly even when gain added in. They are bright, compared to more modern voiced humbuckers, but the brightness rolls off with the tone control and I find that it is really useful to have the brightness there if you want it. They do work fantastically well in PRS/LP guitars ! Definitely try them out if you can