When the Abraxas is too dark and middy...

[Alfi27]

Hi fellas. Got a PRS Mira in the mail four days ago, and I quickly figured that the stock pickups are not quite the stuff. That said, the neck pickup is alright and I would leave it alone if I wanted the guitar to look stock, but I want covered pickups. Installed the Abraxas in the bridge a few moments ago, and it didn't take me long to figure that it is too dark and middy for this guitar. Very honky, and lack of cut. I thought it was the guitar's fault that the tone with the stock bridge pickup was thin, but it turns out that it was the pickup.

So, what would you recommend instead? I have my eyes and ears set on the Emerald to be honest, so if you guys think that it will work well I think I will just go for it. I'm not saying that you shouldn't suggest other pickups, especially if you happen to own or have experience with a Mira with BKPs, but advice like "you should consider x, y and z" without any elaboration is not wanted, because that will just bring me back to start...

The vintage hot category is where it's at, and I already have a strat with a VHII in the bridge so I don't want that. The Abraxas is also ruled out, so that leaves two: Black Dog and Emerald. The Rebel Yell might also be considered, but I'm afraid it will be too compressed for classic rock like AC/DC. If not, I may consider that one too but not in the neck because the guitar has 24 frets and need a slightly darker neck pickup. The Mule or Riff Raff could probably also work very well, if it wasn't for the mini switch that split the coils, and I really love the split tones; it's like going from a Les Paul/SG crossover to a Telecaster!

Thank you in advance!

[richard]

What amp are you playing through ? My Abraxas set is in a PRS Bernie and it has all the cut I could want when the amp's dialed in for it. I'm using a Yamaha THR100 and I do have the treble pushed up a bit but it works fine. I have the RYs in a Firebird Studio and they're not the right pups for an Angus sound.

[Dave Sloven]

Emerald will give you more of an Angus sound than the others you mention.

[Telerocker]

Ok, what are your potvalues? And how you set the pickup? Too low and it won't cut. Maybe you have to dial in your amp different too.

If that has all been tackled and you want more balls than a Mule/RR than look at Rebel Yells.

[darkandrew]

Here goes for a slightly left-field suggestion; have you thought about a Crawler? If you generally like the Abraxas but just find it to have a little bit of "honk" in the mid range then the Crawler might be worth considering; it straddles the border between Vintage Hot and Contemporary (and has been listed in both sections by BKP over the years) but although it's sometimes described as dark that's mainly due to its "thickness" of tone, yes it's got mids but they are lower down in the range than the Abraxas and although it's not got an excessive amount of high end, it's got probably the best string separation of any BKP I've tried which gives it a clarity without needing to over do the high frequencies. I probably wouldn't recommend it for a full thickness Les Paul but in my ESP Eclipse (which is about 80% the thickness of a Les Paul) it's great.

[Alfi27]

Ok, what are your potvalues? And how you set the pickup? Too low and it won't cut. Maybe you have to dial in your amp different too.

If that has all been tackled and you want more balls than a Mule/RR than look at Rebel Yells.

The pot values are stock, I'm 99% sure that they are 500k volume and tone. Initially I set it about 2mm from the strings, but it was way too dark and not clear enough. Backed off a little it sounded better and clearer, but still some weird stuff going on in the mid range. My rig is quite mid range heavy though, 4x12 with Greenback style speakers with a Suhr SL67 and of course the guitar is naturally mid range heavy being all mahogany. Is there a particular reason why the Emeralds almost never get recommended here? Got the Emerald set wired up yesterday, I'll tell you more about that in a dedicated topic.

Here goes for a slightly left-field suggestion; have you thought about a Crawler? If you generally like the Abraxas but just find it to have a little bit of "honk" in the mid range then the Crawler might be worth considering; it straddles the border between Vintage Hot and Contemporary (and has been listed in both sections by BKP over the years) but although it's sometimes described as dark that's mainly due to its "thickness" of tone, yes it's got mids but they are lower down in the range than the Abraxas and although it's not got an excessive amount of high end, it's got probably the best string separation of any BKP I've tried which gives it a clarity without needing to over do the high frequencies. I probably wouldn't recommend it for a full thickness Les Paul but in my ESP Eclipse (which is about 80% the thickness of a Les Paul) it's great.

I used to have a Crawler in a Suhr Rasmus S100 guitar, and it wasn't my cup of tea to be honest. Very thick sounding, yes, but it's not a bright pickup and it's almost "soggy" sounding. Did not work well for any even remotely fast rock or metal style, and lacks the "percussive" quality I need in a bridge pickup. It's also soft and loose in the bass, which is probably the biggest problem I had with it. Not meaning to bash on a pickup you clearly are happy with, this is obviously only my opinion. I'm glad you found the best match for your guitar 

[Telerocker]

Ok, what are your potvalues? And how you set the pickup? Too low and it won't cut. Maybe you have to dial in your amp different too.

If that has all been tackled and you want more balls than a Mule/RR than look at Rebel Yells.

The pot values are stock, I'm 99% sure that they are 500k volume and tone. Initially I set it about 2mm from the strings, but it was way too dark and not clear enough. Backed off a little it sounded better and clearer, but still some weird stuff going on in the mid range. My rig is quite mid range heavy though, 4x12 with Greenback style speakers with a Suhr SL67 and of course the guitar is naturally mid range heavy being all mahogany. Is there a particular reason why the Emeralds almost never get recommended here? Got the Emerald set wired up yesterday, I'll tell you more about that in a dedicated topic.

Here goes for a slightly left-field suggestion; have you thought about a Crawler? If you generally like the Abraxas but just find it to have a little bit of "honk" in the mid range then the Crawler might be worth considering; it straddles the border between Vintage Hot and Contemporary (and has been listed in both sections by BKP over the years) but although it's sometimes described as dark that's mainly due to its "thickness" of tone, yes it's got mids but they are lower down in the range than the Abraxas and although it's not got an excessive amount of high end, it's got probably the best string separation of any BKP I've tried which gives it a clarity without needing to over do the high frequencies. I probably wouldn't recommend it for a full thickness Les Paul but in my ESP Eclipse (which is about 80% the thickness of a Les Paul) it's great.

I used to have a Crawler in a Suhr Rasmus S100 guitar, and it wasn't my cup of tea to be honest. Very thick sounding, yes, but it's not a bright pickup and it's almost "soggy" sounding. Did not work well for any even remotely fast rock or metal style, and lacks the "percussive" quality I need in a bridge pickup. It's also soft and loose in the bass, which is probably the biggest problem I had with it. Not meaning to bash on a pickup you clearly are happy with, this is obviously only my opinion. I'm glad you found the best match for your guitar 

Yeah, the Crawler needs a bright guitar and a proper setup. I think this pickup works best in alder/ash bolt-on guitars.

Strange: 500k and no cut..  What's your amp? Some combi's aren't a happy marriage.

[Alfi27]

Well, not "no cut" but definitely not enough cut and too much mid range. I think I mentioned my rig in the previous post, 4x12" cab with M Greenback style speakers and a Suhr SL67, a quite middy setup. An interesting observation I noticed about the Abraxas, although a little bit backed off from the strings, was that it appeared tighter than the VHII in my Strat. Considering to try the Abraxas in the Strat again, the VHII sounds great but it does have a lot of bass that can become out of control sometimes with my SL67.

[Telerocker]

Well, not "no cut" but definitely not enough cut and too much mid range. I think I mentioned my rig in the previous post, 4x12" cab with M Greenback style speakers and a Suhr SL67, a quite middy setup. An interesting observation I noticed about the Abraxas, although a little bit backed off from the strings, was that it appeared tighter than the VHII in my Strat. Considering to try the Abraxas in the Strat again, the VHII sounds great but it does have a lot of bass that can become out of control sometimes with my SL67.

Sorry I did read your earlier post, went on holiday and forgot about that. Looks like you're looking for something like the Emerald or the Rebel Yell.

[djpatb]

The Mira usually gets compared to the SG, so you have those inherent mids to deal with from the mahogany body.
I'd go Riff Raff w/ 4 conductor wiring.

[darkbluemurder]

If the Abraxas is too middy for you forget about the Crawler - it is even more middier and warmer.

The Abraxas normally is not very picky about the guitar that is in, even though I replaced it in the first humbucker tele I put it in for something less middy (dare I say it ... a non BKP).

The Emerald is the only out of the vintage hot group that I did not try so I cannot comment. The Black Dog is a bit brighter than the Abraxas (not much though) but it is quite picky about the guitar it is in. I still love it in my PRS Single Cut but it did not stay long in any other guitar.

I know you said you did not want it but if you want a cutting tone then VH II would be it. Another picky pickup concerning host guitars - disliked it in one but love it in another. Another good option is the Rebel Yell - similar output to the Abraxas but more cut and edge.

Cheers Stephan

[Dave Sloven]

The Cold Sweat bridge could also work here