Abraxas and Gibson 500T

[DavidPRS]

I was told these are similar, any truth to this?

[itamar101]

Not in the slightest.
The Gibson 500T is a super high output pickup ceramic with a ceramic magnet whilst the Abraxas is only medium output, far clearer and more open sounding and has an Alnico IV magnet.
I'd compare the 500T to a Miracle Man or Painkiller to be honest.

[Telerocker]

Not in the slightest.
The Gibson 500T is a super high output pickup ceramic with a ceramic magnet whilst the Abraxas is only medium output, far clearer and more open sounding and has an Alnico IV magnet.
I'd compare the 500T to a Miracle Man or Painkiller to be honest.

+1.

[DavidPRS]

Thanks fellas. A good man once told me (last week actually-forum member Eric Hellstyle) the Abraxas is a Mule on steroids. So when I was told today to try the Abraxas if you want 500T tones. Glad I have you guys here for reference.

[FELINEGUITARS]

Whilst I would say try the Cold Sweat rather than the Miracle Man if you want a more open crunch , I would certainly agree that the 500T is NOT like an Abraxas

[ericsabbath]

spec-wise, the 500t is pretty close to the painkiller, but its voicing, output and compression are more like a ceramic warpig
the painkiller and ceramic nailbomb make good 500t upgrades, though
the miracle man has a similar amount of low end, but it's way more polished

[darkbluemurder]

Not in the slightest.
The Gibson 500T is a super high output pickup ceramic with a ceramic magnet whilst the Abraxas is only medium output, far clearer and more open sounding and has an Alnico IV magnet.

+1. The Abraxas has good output but is not even a high output model in the BKP range. On the other hand, the 500T is the highest output pickup Gibson makes.

Cheers Stephan

[darkbluemurder]

spec-wise, the 500t is pretty close to the painkiller, but its voicing, output and compression are more like a ceramic warpig
the painkiller and ceramic nailbomb make good 500t upgrades, though
the miracle man has a similar amount of low end, but it's way more polished

Off topic but are you saying that the C-Bomb and Painkiller are rawer sounding than the Miracle Man? I can indeed agree that the Miracle Man is quite polished and refined.

Cheers Stephan

[HTH AMPS]

The 498T is 'ballpark' for the Abraxas, but not the 500T.  I actually like the 498T in my Vee.

[ericsabbath]

spec-wise, the 500t is pretty close to the painkiller, but its voicing, output and compression are more like a ceramic warpig
the painkiller and ceramic nailbomb make good 500t upgrades, though
the miracle man has a similar amount of low end, but it's way more polished

Off topic but are you saying that the C-Bomb and Painkiller are rawer sounding than the Miracle Man? I can indeed agree that the Miracle Man is quite polished and refined.

Cheers Stephan

the painkiller is definitely rawer, more hairy and aggressive
didn't play the ceramic version of nailbomb, but that's what I'd expect from clips and reviews, specially being an even more aggressive nailbomb and an overwound cold sweat

[Alex]

I replaced a 500T directly with a Miracle Man. Soooo much more clarity and punch. I've since however gone for a Nailbomb in that guitar.

[braintheory]

I've since however gone for a Nailbomb in that guitar.

Why?  Also how does the nailbomb compare to the miracle man in that guitar?  Is it more aggressive, edgy, or rawer?

[darkbluemurder]

I've since however gone for a Nailbomb in that guitar.

Why?  Also how does the nailbomb compare to the miracle man in that guitar?  Is it more aggressive, edgy, or rawer?

I would also be interested in that comparison. I guess you are talking about the Alnico Nailbomb, right?

Cheers Stephan

[ericsabbath]

I've since however gone for a Nailbomb in that guitar.

Why?  Also how does the nailbomb compare to the miracle man in that guitar?  Is it more aggressive, edgy, or rawer?

I would also be interested in that comparison. I guess you are talking about the Alnico Nailbomb, right?

Cheers Stephan

https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=28004

partial quote:

With the Holydiver I found that the BKP description didn't do it enough justice as although it does all the things they claim, it's actually far more versatile than you'd think. In comparison, the A-Bomb is claimed to be extremely versatile yet I didn't find it so. Horses for courses I guess but the description of the Miracle Man is spot on. It is hotter than the Holydiver but not by a huge amount and I'd say the A-Bomb sat between the two in terms of power, though with my failing memory, it may even be a touch hotter than the Miracle Man. There's not much between those two anyway. When you play it you are instantly aware that it is a Metal pickup and it sounds far more saturated than the Holydiver and Nailbomb. I'm not at all convinced I'd describe it as having 'surgically tight bass' but it is extremely articulate and I have no doubt it would handle lower tunings easily, though I only play in Standard. So far, so good  :D If you like the description on the website, you're probably not going to be disappointed.

The Miracle Man is clearly a Metal pickup and I doubt that comes as a surprise to any of you. The cleans are OK but they are a bit sterile, though in fairness, if you play a lot of cleans, I'd be surprised if you'd be looking at a pickup like the Miracle Man anyway. The cleans on the A-Bomb are certainly better and the cleans on the Holydiver are vastly superior. I think the best thing I can say about the Miracle Man cleans is that they are very usable and certainly a lot better than you might imagine from a pickup like this. Put it this way; if every other guitar you had at a gig broke and you needed to play some cleans, the Miracle Man won't let you down and nobody will think you sound terrible but realistically, you should have a second guitar for really good cleans. That may sound a bit like I'm having a go at the Miracle Man and I'm not because in the context of a pickup like this, 'usable' cleans are actually pretty impressive.

In many ways I'd say the Miracle Man occupies the middle ground between the Holydiver and the A-Bomb and I know that sounds crazy because they're both alnico and this is ceramic but on this guitar at least, I swear it's true. The Miracle Man has the aggression and tightness I associate with the A-Bomb but it also has the smoothness and warmth I associate with the Holydiver. Although it lies between these two, in reality, it's a lot closer to the Holydiver than it is to the A-Bomb, as you might have already guessed as I've already mentioned the Holydiver quite a lot and described it in relation to 80's Metal. In comparison the A-Bomb has a very 90's Metal feel to it in that it's very aggressive, tight and edgy, while the Holydiver and Miracle Man are beautifully smooth in their delivery. Both the A-Bomb and Miracle Man are aggressive pickups, both are tight and both are aimed at Metal players but similarities after that are more limited. As you might expect with an alnico magnet instead of ceramic, the A-Bomb has much better cleans than the Miracle Man, even if they're not in the same league as the Holydiver but what is more surprising is that I found the A-Bomb to be far more aggressive than the Miracle Man and somewhat tighter too, which I wouldn't have expected from an alnico pickup at all.

[darkbluemurder]

Thanks, Eric. I forgot that Slartibartfast had the HD, MiM and A-bomb all in the same guitar.

Cheers Stephan