A Mule with more bite?

[darkandrew]

A few years ago a had a set of Mules in one of my Eclipses. They sounded great but the bridge didn't quite have enough bite for me so in the end I let them go and bought a Rebel Yell set instead. Thinking back to the Mules, I really liked the neck pickup and I'm thinking that maybe I should revisit them but this time maybe go for a Mule neck / Riff Raff bridge on the assumption that the Riff Raff could be described as a Mule with more bite. What I'm after then, is confirmation (or otherwise) of this assumption, ie. Is a Riff Raff bridge similar to a Mule but with more bite?

[ericsabbath]

the riff raff is a little middier and definitely more articulate, spanky and a bit more aggressive, but not more compressed if that's what you're looking for
the vhII is punchier, bassier and more dry sounding in the top end
the black dog sounds so different that I would never recommend it as a "hotter mule"
if you really need more compression, then you have the abraxas

[darrenw5094]

What about the Emerald? Is it vintage like the Mule, but i am sure it has more bite.

[GuitarIv]

If it does help in any way, I asked for the option of getting an Alnico 5 Mule and Tim himself answered me that they don't do it cause the Riff Raff is supposed to be their Alnico 5 PAF style offering.

Here's the demo video he sent me:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W38IH_ujZUE

Gonna put the RR/ML combo into my LP Studio as soon as I have the cash.


Cheers!

[Telerocker]

I don't think Tim delivers Mules with a AV-magnet on request. Anyway, that would be very close to a RiffRaff.

[darkandrew]

the riff raff is a little middier and definitely more articulate, spanky and a bit more aggressive, but not more compressed if that's what you're looking for
the vhII is punchier, bassier and more dry sounding in the top end
the black dog sounds so different that I would never recommend it as a "hotter mule"
if you really need more compression, then you have the abraxas

I've tried the VH2 before in another guitar and didn't really like it much - too much bottom end. I've somehow managed to end up with a spare guitar - I've got a Crawler set in one guitar which does most of what need to do, a Rebel Yell / VH2 set in another if I want something a bit "sharper", an EMG 57/66 set in a third guitar if I want a bit more saturation / compression, and as a result, I'm not really using this Nailbomb equipped guitar and so I'm thinking of going lower output with it this time. My only concern with the Riff Raff is whether it's too light at the bottom end for this guitar - I don't want the full, big bottomed "brown" sound of the VH2 but I don't want something too bright and lightweight either. The Mules, from what I can remember, were almost there but just lacked that final bit of bite.

[darkandrew]

What about the Emerald? Is it vintage like the Mule, but i am sure it has more bite.

I've quite fancied the Emerald at various times but I've also read a number of posts warning of how bright it is and since this is a very neutral guitar, I'm not sure that it will have the warmth to tame it.

[darkandrew]

If it does help in any way, I asked for the option of getting an Alnico 5 Mule and Tim himself answered me that they don't do it cause the Riff Raff is supposed to be their Alnico 5 PAF style offering.

Here's the demo video he sent me:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W38IH_ujZUE

Gonna put the RR/ML combo into my LP Studio as soon as I have the cash.


Cheers!

I've seen that video and wasn't hugely impressed with it to be honest. It's hard to get a real feel of the Riff Raff's rhythm playing from that clip, which is what I'm really interested in but I get the impression (from what I can get from the video and also the AC/DC reference) that it's going to be quite scratchy and lacking in body - but I could be wrong of course!