VHII vs Emerald vs Abraxas

[jnc11]

I'm looking for a low to medium output humbucker for the bridge position of an alder-bodied super strat.  I'm a high output pickup kind of guy but lately I've really wanted to switch to low gain pups for more dynamics and richness.  I want fantastic clean tones and low gain tones as well as the ability to play hard rock and 80s heavy metal/shred.  I don't need a modern tone, however.  I've narrowed down my choices to these three.  Whichever I pick will accompany a custom low output Bartolini neck pickup.  What are the differences between these pickups?  Even with good headphones on it's hard to tell from the clips. 

[DagleBee]

Well , the first thing you need to know is that the Emerald is very bright and you'll have problems taming the treble . I don't know much about the other two pups and I prefer to keep my mouth shut so that i won't confuse you  :)

[Telerocker]

- The Emerald is imo a no-go in an alder bodied strat.
- The VHII is the hottest BKP 42 AWG plain enamel wired magnet. Feels nearly as hot as my Crawler. You could describe it as a vintage Nailbomb. It's a very focussed, noncompressed and therefore dynamic/touchsensitive pickup. It provides a great rocksound and screams when you dig in. Has a good balance with strong, but not shrill topend. Quite some bass too. Not a friend with all amps imo, but doing a great job on my Rockerverb 50.
- Abraxas is a fatter, hotter Mule, and will beef up your strat without loosing too much vintageflavour.

Further, you might want to consider a Crawler, which imo is a fabulous pickup in bolt-on alder/ash guitars. It has the midrange and the power, with thick solonotes and roaring midlows, yet the PAF-pedigree still shines through. It will do hardrock and oldschool metal, but will clean up in a good way. The cleans are really nice, and this pickup provides one of the best splitted tones.

[jnc11]

Is the Crawler as touch sensitive/dynamic as the VHII?  What about the Riff Raff?

Here's a clip of the low gain tone I'm after:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nS9xsPVxJz0

And here are the clean leads, clean chording, and medium/high non-metal tones I'm after.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0AQho7_1cs

[Telerocker]

Those vids explain a lot. Best would be a Mule- or an Abraxas-bridge, a VHII would be too rocky. The Mule has those chimey cleans and is touchsensitive pickup. A RiffRaff in a strat would be a little bright. The Abraxas had more mids and a tad more compression than a Mule. If you're strat is quite bright, the Mule topend could be a little too much. If so, go for a lower valuepot (380k by example).

[jnc11]

Those vids explain a lot. Best would be a Mule- or an Abraxas-bridge, a VHII would be too rocky. The Mule has those chimey cleans and is touchsensitive pickup. A RiffRaff in a strat would be a little bright. The Abraxas had more mids and a tad more compression than a Mule. If you're strat is quite bright, the Mule topend could be a little too much. If so, go for a lower valuepot (380k by example).

Ok, awesome.  The guitar this is going into has a J-1000 preamp, and I'm plugging into a Boss OD-1 that goes into a 100w two channel JCM 900.  Basically I've got a ton of gain and distortion on tap.  How does The Mule and the Abraxas handle heavy distortion for 80s metal and shred?  Also, which of the two has a smoother top end, and how much more compressed is the Abraxas then the Mule?  If I'm correct, the tone in the clips I posted is very, very open, but it never gets shrill.

Edit*  How does The Mule compare to Lollar Imperials?

[darkbluemurder]

Those vids explain a lot. Best would be a Mule- or an Abraxas-bridge, a VHII would be too rocky. The Mule has those chimey cleans and is touchsensitive pickup. A RiffRaff in a strat would be a little bright. The Abraxas had more mids and a tad more compression than a Mule. If you're strat is quite bright, the Mule topend could be a little too much. If so, go for a lower valuepot (380k by example).

Ok, awesome.  The guitar this is going into has a J-1000 preamp, and I'm plugging into a Boss OD-1 that goes into a 100w two channel JCM 900.  Basically I've got a ton of gain and distortion on tap.  How does The Mule and the Abraxas handle heavy distortion for 80s metal and shred?  Also, which of the two has a smoother top end, and how much more compressed is the Abraxas then the Mule?  If I'm correct, the tone in the clips I posted is very, very open, but it never gets shrill.

Edit*  How does The Mule compare to Lollar Imperials?

I second Telerocker's suggestions. To your questions, as far as I am able to answer them (never played a Mule, only Abraxas):

1. The Abraxas can handle 80s metal and shred great, shred much better than I can :)
2. The Abraxas has a very smooth top end and has considerably more Output and compression compared to a PAF type pickup.
3. The Lollar Imperial (regular wind) has the same wire and similar DC resistance to the Mule but uses A2 magnets. I only know the low wind version.

Cheers Stephan

[jnc11]

The Lollar Imperial bridge is an Alnico V. 

[Troy Baer]

Well , the first thing you need to know is that the Emerald is very bright and you'll have problems taming the treble .

FWIW, that's not a universal experience.  For some reason, Emeralds have this reputation for piercing treble, but I just don't hear it. I have an Emerald-7 set in a PRS SE Cu24-7 (maple neck w/ rosewood board, maple top on mahogany body), and I find them to be fairly balanced, more so than the stock HFS/VB pickups.  And I tend to be kinda twitchy about super-bright pickups -- I can't stand Duncan JBs or Pearly Gates for that very reason.

[Telerocker]

Those vids explain a lot. Best would be a Mule- or an Abraxas-bridge, a VHII would be too rocky. The Mule has those chimey cleans and is touchsensitive pickup. A RiffRaff in a strat would be a little bright. The Abraxas had more mids and a tad more compression than a Mule. If you're strat is quite bright, the Mule topend could be a little too much. If so, go for a lower valuepot (380k by example).

Ok, awesome.  The guitar this is going into has a J-1000 preamp, and I'm plugging into a Boss OD-1 that goes into a 100w two channel JCM 900.  Basically I've got a ton of gain and distortion on tap.  How does The Mule and the Abraxas handle heavy distortion for 80s metal and shred?  Also, which of the two has a smoother top end, and how much more compressed is the Abraxas then the Mule?  If I'm correct, the tone in the clips I posted is very, very open, but it never gets shrill.

Edit*  How does The Mule compare to Lollar Imperials?

I second Telerocker's suggestions. To your questions, as far as I am able to answer them (never played a Mule, only Abraxas):

1. The Abraxas can handle 80s metal and shred great, shred much better than I can :)
2. The Abraxas has a very smooth top end and has considerably more Output and compression compared to a PAF type pickup.
3. The Lollar Imperial (regular wind) has the same wire and similar DC resistance to the Mule but uses A2 magnets. I only know the low wind version.

Cheers Stephan

In a strat the Abraxas is a safer bet. The Mule-bridge has a clear, but not shrill topend. It also sounds more open. The Abraxas is smoother in the higher register, and has a bit more mids, from which most strats benefit. But, if your strat is darktoned one, the Mule could be great in there. If it's natural timbre is medium to bright, go for the Abraxas.