I Don't Like My Rebel Yell's

[darrenw5094]

I have tried to like them, partially because they are so expensive, but the Greco LP with RY doesn't sound anything like my Gibson LP with the Abraxas.....obviously. They are very low gain pups, actually lower output than my Mule set in the Bacchus LP. They are very crunchy, but have the modern-ness in the upper digits, which is just not me. It's Vintage all the way for me from now on.

I haven't played with the pup height yet, but the low gain and RY voicing is just not for me.

[Dave Sloven]

Sounds like you have them too low.  RYs apparently like to be up very high

Also they like big amps.

[BigB]

They are very low gain pups

Just for the sake of correctness: pickups don't have gain, they have an output level.

 actually lower output than my Mule set in the Bacchus LP

They should have more output level than the Mules, definitly (assuming similar guitar setup - strings, action, pickup height...). Are you sure your wiring is ok ?

[darrenw5094]

They are very low gain pups

Just for the sake of correctness: pickups don't have gain, they have an output level.

 actually lower output than my Mule set in the Bacchus LP

They should have more output level than the Mules, definitly (assuming similar guitar setup - strings, action, pickup height...). Are you sure your wiring is ok ?

Hmmmm......maybe there is a problem there. I will higher the pup closer to the strings to see if that helps.

I did the wiring myself, i am almost sure they are 2 conductor wire and not the 4 standard. Long leg and gold covers, they were made for the Les Paul i think.

[Dave Sloven]

2 conductor wire has the central hot wire and the braided shield is the conductor to earth.

There is a chance that you have wired something wrong.  I would check the wiring diagram against your work very carefully.  I made a mistake wiring up a P-90 with two conductor cable once and it sounded weak and lacked top end. I think I soldered the hot lead to the wrong lug or something.  Anyway once I corrected it the pickup (a Stockholm) was fine and had heaps of output.

I would also try raising the height

A Rebel Yell should be quite a raucous pickup by comparison with a Mule.

[BigB]

When I say "the wiring", it includes of course the wiring scheme (are the right conductors / components wired to the right place), but also the soldering itself, and the components (pots and caps) - nominative values of course (BTW you really want 500K pots here, not the common Gibson 300k ones) but also real values (one can damage a pot or cap by overheating it).

Note that once you have this sorted out, you may find out you still don't like the RYs - tastes, colors etc 

[darkandrew]

I've had my Rebel Yells in two different ESP Eclipses and a Fender Showmaster at different times and they've sounded very different in all of them - even the two supposefly identical Eclipses. I've also found this with my Crawlers and A-Bombs, so I can only conclude from my experience that BKPs are very sensitive to the guitar that you put them in. Incidentally, the RY bridge / VHii neck combination is amazing in my basswood Fender Showmaster.

[Kiichi]

You should definetly play with the height before you do a final judgement. All BKPs are sensitive to changes there, but the RY is the most so. Half a screw turn can make quite the difference already. It really can change a lot of itīs character that way.

[fdesalvo]

Personally, I love low-med "output" pickups with med-high gain amps.  Abraxas has proven to be a winner in every guitar I've installed them in.  Hoping for more of the same with the Crawler. 

Hope your RY woes are solved by a height adjustment.

[Yellowjacket]

For the RY Bridge pickup, put the pole pieces down and adjust the height.  I find that the RY has some power / output going on, but it is a very mid / high mid focused pickup with a mountain of harmonics going on above that. 

[AnnunakiMassacr]

If you decide to sell them, I might buy them off you depending on colour :P

[fdesalvo]

^^ Still on your tone quest, I see.  Fare thee well, lad.  Fare thee well!

[AnnunakiMassacr]

^^ Still on your tone quest, I see.  Fare thee well, lad.  Fare thee well!

Was you on about me? lol

[fdesalvo]

Lol yup - we are all expecting in depth reviews, so be warned!

^^ Still on your tone quest, I see.  Fare thee well, lad.  Fare thee well!

Was you on about me? lol

[AnnunakiMassacr]

Lol yup - we are all expecting in depth reviews, so be warned!

^^ Still on your tone quest, I see.  Fare thee well, lad.  Fare thee well!

Was you on about me? lol

Ayegot the guitars back but the guy wired them the traditional way, which I hate. So just sent back to have modern wiring. But from what I gathered, the Black Hawks were really bass heavy in my guitar. And the Black Dog was really thick, but again really bass heavy, with not enough snarl. The Juggernauts I currently have installed in the JPXI which I'm now selling as need the money to fund a guitar I've wanted for ages. And the Holy Diver/Emerald combo I didn't get much time on, but I really liked it. I'm going to give all the guitars a proper play when I get them back though, just so I can play about with pickup height, etc. And give them a chance as it was a huge investment. But forsome reason, the Rebel Yells are the only pickups I've been blown away by as soon as I've picked up the guitar. So if the Black Dog/Mule refuses to warm itself to me, I'm considering replacing them with the Rebel Yells. And looking to buy another set purely to have should I end up using them pickups religiously ;) I'll post photos in the post in a sec though :)