Crawler Bridge + Mother's Milk Neck - 1st Impressions

[Alfi27]

I mixed em up by mistake. Fixed now.  The 63s def have a woodier and richer tone, so I'd lean that way. 

The MMs are the cleaner, more direct sounding of the two. I lowered it quite a bit from the strings and really enjoyed the tone, but by this time it didn't balance with the Crawler. I can see why the ITs are recommended in this instance.

I keep going back to the Abraxas/63. It's just the most perfect pair of pickups I've ever played. If I was still playing heavier music, I'd no doubt go Crawler/ITs, but for authentic blues - heavy rock, the Abraxas/63 combo is the dog's danglies. 

Edit:  I wouldn't be surprised if the Sultans crushed for JM's tones, as well.

Don't know if you tried the combo, but do you think the 63s will balance better with the Crawler? I do not want to get Irish Tours unless the vintage singlecoils sound very weak with the Crawler...

[fdesalvo]

The MM's technically balanced just fine with the Crawlers, so the 63s would, as well.  The main reason why I'm going back is because the in-between tones with the bridge split is remarkably better (perfect) with the Abraxas - at the height I found myself personally enjoying the MM, the Crawler was irreducibly louder.  Others may like the more strident tones of the MM closer to the strings - it is a good sound, but not what I was looking for. I was missing the split and full tones of the Abraxas and the way it played with the 63 in the neck.  I've not heard factory pickup configurations that are better balanced.

The Crawler is a powerhouse and I couldn't get it low enough to tame it.  I believe, as Telerocker suggested, that the ITs may be the perfect pairing for it.  It is just such a huge sound and you really need a stout single coil to keep up.  My words are failing me, but I'm trying to say that the MM will balance with it from a volume perspective.  I just found it too harsh in my particular guitar at that balance point's height. 

[Alfi27]

I see. The reason why I ask for that is that the guitar has the pickups mounted directly into the wood which means no height adjustments... The pickups are quite low, not right beneath the strings at least. Maybe I should go for the Irish Tours? It is also quite nice to have at least close to the same output of the singles and the 'bucker, because I adjust the input gain on my Axe FX for every guitar.

[fdesalvo]

I just augmented my last post, so there's new info.

I direct mounted mine, as well, but I used threaded inserts, so I could adjust height.  Still, you should be able to adjust yours by layering some dense foam (may take more than you'd expect) beneath the pickup and using longer screws.  If you have no intention of raising your pickups, I'd go with ITs and call it a day.  I've not played them, but Telerocker has been dead on in his descriptions in my experience.  What you will have is a very versatile guitar with a more modern and fat edge (with the ability to roll back the volume for less output).

In my opinion, the Crawler should be paired with hotter single coils, while humbuckers like the Abraxas and "below" should be paired with other low output models.  I think the root cause of the confusion is the earlier mislabeling or miscategorization of the Crawler as a Vintage Hot component, when it clearly belongs amongst its hotter, Contemporary brethren.

If you are looking for a guitar that can do dead-to-nuts vintage tones through modern rock, the Abraxas/63 or MM will take you there.  Along that spectrum, the Crawler/ITs will pick up somewhere right of center and take you beyond that.  That Crawler is a flamethrower lol - and one helluva fun ride.  I'm glad I've got it in another axe.  It will have it's time.  Coincidentally, there's a 63 in the neck of that one - just needs to be restrung, since I just swapped the Crawler into it.  I haven't installed the MM yet, so I'll restring her and see how it plays with the 63.  Could be magical, but I suspect my estimations are correct.

[Alfi27]

I see. Yeah, I do not think I will go through the hazzle of raising the pickups... The guitar has a couple of Suhr MLs now, which are in the middle of vintage and vintage hot output wise it seems. 6k in the neck and middle. They are very bright, when I first got the guitar it was «instant ice pick» even in the neck position, but my ears kind of adapted to it. Still very bright though. Even though my first guitar was a shitety strat copy, I have become a humbucker guy by heart and soul. A couple of years ago I had a very nice Fender American Deluxe strat with a prewired set of 63' Veneer Boards from BKP. I sold the guitar short time after I got the BKPs, which I regret today... From what I remember the pickups felt weak, probably because I had played nothing but humbuckers for a couple of years and had recently gotten into SRV and more bluesy kind of music. Bottom line: I think the Irish Tours will suit me (and of course the guitar) very well, especially with the lack of height adjustment in the guitar. Thank you for your advice!

[fdesalvo]

My pleasure, my man.  I do hope my experience guides you in the right direction - I'd feel awful if it didn't!  Post back and let us know how it goes!

[fdesalvo]

Update

The MM sounds really good in my purple tele, Ms Nesbit.  Loves to play with the Abraxas, too. These are two outstanding pickups. No doubt in my mind. If you asked me which I prefer at the moment, I couldn't tell you. The neck composition in the tele really works well with these two. I might give the slight edge to the 63.

[Slartibartfarst42]

Very well written review. The Abraxas is one of those pickups I always fancy trying (a bit like the Black Dog) but never quite got around to buying as something else came up that I wanted. I have owned the Crawler however and for a versatile pickup that will take you from hot Blues to Metal, it's hard to beat. I had it in a PRS SE CU24 and it was incredible. Of all the Bare Knuckle pickups I've owned, it's the only one I could see myself buying again but perhaps the Holydiver neck would be another possibility.

[Telerocker]

I see. Yeah, I do not think I will go through the hazzle of raising the pickups... The guitar has a couple of Suhr MLs now, which are in the middle of vintage and vintage hot output wise it seems. 6k in the neck and middle. They are very bright, when I first got the guitar it was «instant ice pick» even in the neck position, but my ears kind of adapted to it. Still very bright though. Even though my first guitar was a shiteety strat copy, I have become a humbucker guy by heart and soul. A couple of years ago I had a very nice Fender American Deluxe strat with a prewired set of 63' Veneer Boards from BKP. I sold the guitar short time after I got the BKPs, which I regret today... From what I remember the pickups felt weak, probably because I had played nothing but humbuckers for a couple of years and had recently gotten into SRV and more bluesy kind of music. Bottom line: I think the Irish Tours will suit me (and of course the guitar) very well, especially with the lack of height adjustment in the guitar. Thank you for your advice!

The Suhr V60's are way more pleasant to my ears than the ML's. I hate icepick singlecoils.

[Alfi27]

I received my Suhr Classic S with V60LPs a couple of days ago, and I have to admit that they really blew me away! They sound like a good strat should when clean, and when distorted they lack the weakness of most «vintage» single coils. Before I got the guitar I thought about putting a set of Cobras in it, but honestly I am not sure anymore. One option might be to put the neck and middle V60LP in the Rasmus, and a set of Cobras in the Suhr, because the MLs gonna have to go anyway.
And by the way, the Crawler sounds absolutely fantastic! I now have a strat with a more ballsy, powerful and thick tone than my Les Paul (Rebel Yell) 
It was a real pain in the ass to get it installed though, no parts were the right size, the pickup legs should be triangled etc.. But after four hours I finally got it right, and it was worth it! I am afraid I messed with some resistors though, because the MLs sound even worse and more ice picky now... Really need to get them replaced soon 

[fdesalvo]

I sold my Suhr V60s within a week of having them.  I just didn't bond with them, but if you like 'em, rock 'em!  I gigged these MMs last weekend and really do enjoy them!  A bit of a cleaner version of the 63.

I'm glad you dig the Crawler.  It's a really great pickup!  I end up having to clip off the edges of the mounts to a triangular shape for fitting, too.  You should buy a $10 nibbler.  Will make your life easier haha.

[Telerocker]

The V60's are a little more modern than true vintages, but I must admit that I like them, especially for singlestring solo's. I have also a Suhr-teleset lying around that's not bad either. Just different, more twangy and snappier than the old BG50's (which are the BG52's in the current range) that are now my tele.