Pups for Gordon Smith G-60 Slimline

[simong]

Hi Guys,

Just dropped on a Gordon Smith G-60 with twin Humbuckers, i'm not too chuffed with the pups.... bit of a clicky compressed attack that gets on my nerves and they're not that open sounding either (bit wooly?)  .... resistance is ok for me at about 9K, dont like really hot pups.

I have a pair of crawlers in my prs, and they were a revelation :)

Any suggestions for good open cleans and classic rock / early metal distortion with good string separation.

Set neck mahogany with rosewood board if it helps.

Cheers

[gwEm]

Mules I reckon!

Or maybe a riff raff bridge with a mule neck.

It depends how bright you feel this example is.

[darrenw5094]

Yeh, Mule or Riff Raff would be the obvious. Abraxas if you want a pinch hotter and smoother in the highs.
Or Stormy Monday if you want less gain, which was mentioned here a couple of weeks ago, since it always gets overlooked.

[Telerocker]

I love my Mules in an all mahogany rosewood-fretboard Saint Blues Bluesmaster. I you want a tad extra mids and compression, you could consider an Abraxas-bridge with Mule-neck. They pair well.

[Slartibartfarst42]

Classic PAF = Mules
Hotter PAF with more mids = Abraxas
Bit more aggressive PAF with mids = Black Dog

I think for me it would be either the Abraxas or Black Dog in the bridge and a Mule in the neck but that reflects my personal preferences, which may not be yours.

[simong]

Thanks guys,
I seem to be thinking along the same lines as you..... its looking like Abraxas bridge but the jurys still out on Abraxas or Mule in the neck atm.... i need to do more research.

I wouldnt say the guitar is bright, but it is VERY resonant, lively and rings like a bell, its quite heavy but not as much as my custom 24.

Cheers

[Slartibartfarst42]

I think the Mule and Abraxas neck are virtually the same anyway, or at least, any differences are marginal.

[simong]

Cheers  thats made that decision easier then!

[darrenw5094]

Abraxas neck might be slightly hotter than the Mule neck, but they are close.

[Brow]

I have Black Dog bridge and Riff Raff neck in my G60.

Good pair and the Black Dog feels hotter than it is due to the big slab of mids.

[BigB]

Mules or AB would very probably do the job, but in an all mahogany guitar for classic rock / early metal I'd probably go for a Riff Raff set, or possibly MQs.

[simong]

Oh god, please dont give me any more options...... i'm still on abraxis bridge and mule (or abraxis) neck...

[BigB]

Oh god, please dont give me any more options...... i'm still on abraxis bridge and mule (or abraxis) neck...

Really, the RR has a more punchy / focused character that really rocks (specially in full mahogany guitars) while still keeping the clarity and vintage vibe. Mules are great pups indeed but a bit softer (not to say they turn to mud with gain - they don't, really - but they are not as punchy) and the neck works better in brighter guitars (think maple cap...), and the ABs being mostly overwound Mules might just be too mid-heavy for a full mahogany guitar.

Caveat: I never played ABs (and I'd like to) but based on experience with a Mule neck on a SG, a Mules set on a LP and a Crawler neck (which is quite close to a AB neck) on a full maple (hence quite bright and snappy) guitar,  I really wouldn't expect the best from ABs on a full mahogany guitar. Not to say they would sound _bad_, but unless your G-60 is naturally on the bright side, chances are you'll get better results with a RR set for the styles you mentionned (if you were asking for clean / jazzy / bluesy tones I might not have said the same - but even then the RR can be great IMHO).

My 2 cents...

[simong]

I'll investigate the RR too! cheers

[Slartibartfarst42]

You like the Crawler a lot, which has a chunk of mids but you want something more open so the more I think about it, the more it sounds like you'd really like the Black Dog.