Hello again!
Received The Mule set for my SG 61 RI today! First of all, I want to thank BKP for their extraordinary service and kindness! Their turnaround time is about 2 weeks at the time, but I said that I needed the pickups as soon as possible because I will be moving away in one week and I'm bringing the guitar with me. They promised that they would be finished and shipped by 11th of August, but guess what? That's the date I received them, and it usually takes about a week from UK to Norway! Thank you so much!
The guitar turned 20 years old about a month ago, and I was a little bit on the fence about which covers I should get. I ordered aged nickel at first, but I figured that raw nickel would be closer even though there is some aging on the screws and along the edges on the original pickups. Raw nickel will age rather quickly so no issues there, and they look great on the guitar!
Initially I considered going with a higher output pickup like a VHII or maybe even Abraxas, and when I first turned on the Kemper and striked a few chords, I knew that something
darker would not work well here. Actually, the tone was slightly too rounded. The profile I was using is the one I prefer for my P90 guitar, so no surprise there really. Moving on to a brighter profile I just closed my eyes and thought "that's the stuff!". But it was not before I played some slow legato single note stuff I realised just
how good this stuff was: The harmonics are simply insane! I don't need much gain nor volume to get that singing, but totally controlled feedback. This actually applies to both positions, but I enjoyed it a bit more in the bridge position. And the really funny thing is that raising the pickup slightly almost completely killed that sweet feedback. Luckily I had a reference point (the pickup ring is quite tall) so I backed it right off, got to harmonic feedback heaven again and never touched the adjustment screws again!
Focusing on the bridge pickup: For rhythm stuff the low end is tight (although not surgically tight like a ceramic), but certainly enough for any metal scene in the 1980s. I have to say that it excels for classic rock like AC/DC, but with a boost or heavy amp it can do everything you want it to. Some people claim that the neck Mule is slightly "better" than the bridge Mule (whatever that means), and even though they are apples and oranges I beg to differ. I wouldn't go quite as far as saying that the bridge Mule is underrated, but I feel like it has lost some recommendations on this forum to the very popular Riff Raff/Mule combo. Not sure how this hype started, but I have to say that I was a bit disappointed by that set. The Riff Raff is a great pickup even though it does not quite suit me and my playing style, but in my opinion, hands and ears The Mule is simply better in every way.
Loading a profile of a Tim Caswell modded Marshall (made famous by a certain top hat wearing fellow on his first record) through a pair of Creamback 65Ms, the tone was instant 80's hard rock! Cleaning up very well (not quite as good as the Nantuckets, but what does?), I could easily dial the guitar in for my usual «internal two channel setup» with volume at about two on the neck and bridge at ten. Loading a profile I made myself of a Fargen Mighty Plex MKII the tone was definitely a tone Angus would enjoy on stage! Turning on the boost the tone was equally amazing, staying tight and nice but of course still very musical.
On to the neck pickup: instant beautiful vintage tones, but very capable of more modern, fluid and articulate shred stuff as well. A very good match for the bridge pickup, better match than with the Riff Raff imo. I hardly play any pristine clean stuff anymore, but turning down the volume on the guitar with some slightly hairy cleans it sounds just like a good neck pickup should in my head. It can do Slash lead stuff very well, but certainly not limited to that and equally versatile as the bridge model.
I'm not an expert on every technical aspect of pickups and what not, but I'm pretty sure that I could not do better than this set for my SG! That sick harmonic feedback I got when I first plugged was simply a sign that the guitar and pickups are meant to be, at least in my head
This set is so versatile that I'd recommend them to almost anyone! They won't drive your amp like its hotter sibling; the Abraxas set, but if you use pedals or a high gain amp that won't be an issue anyway.
I am planning on doing a comparison of the Mules, Rebel Yells and Nantuckets but I have not quite decided how to do it. The guitars are not too different so I think (and hope) the comparison might help someone as well. Stay tuned anyway!
