Author Topic: Mule, Crawler or Black Dog??? (Read 7140 times)

stuckin93 · « **on:** December 02, 2006, 11:14:16 PM »

Musically I have a major leaning towards late 60's & 70's Bluesy Rock, bit of Glam Rock (UK & US), 90's Grunge (think Pearl Jam & Soundgarden) & some 80's hard rock GNR AC/DC etc.

I play a battered old Les Paul copy - plays mint but sounds really boomy & a bit muffled unless i am really winding the distortion up then it just feeds back(uncontrollably!!) into a single channel Marshall ('76 JMP 50 Watt)

I am not a big fan of treble & what i am after is something that plays mid / low mid biased distorted sound but a sweet clean sound with the volume rolled off. i dont know if i need a hotter pickup for the dirt as i have an old single channel amp and rightly or wrongly (i'm open to correction) i have it in my head that i could do with being able to put more signal into it to start the drive going.

having read all the posts & got confused i think i have narrowed it down to three. (again I am open to suggestion on alternatives)
the mule (if i dont need the extra bite)
the black dog (if its voiced after Jimmy Page's sound it has to be good)
the crawler (as per the description in the main site as i couldn't find much in the forums)

please pass on your colective words of wisdom, failing that random guess work is acceptable!

HTH AMPS · « **Reply #1 on:** December 03, 2006, 01:48:13 PM »

from your description of not liking alot of treble and wanting a lo-mid voiced pickup, the Black Dog should see you right.

:twisted:

PhilKing · « **Reply #2 on:** December 03, 2006, 02:40:04 PM »

+1 for Black Dogs.

The Crawler is a very nice pickup but has a more modern sound than I think you want. The other option to think about would be VHII's. These have a little more bass than the Black Dog, with a little less midrange, but are great sounding pickups too, if you want a little more drive.

stuckin93 · « **Reply #3 on:** December 03, 2006, 03:37:01 PM »

I have just been listening to Hunters Black Dog Samples - I think my mind is made up!!

Philly Q · « **Reply #4 on:** December 03, 2006, 03:48:11 PM »

Quote from: stuckin93

I have just been listening to Hunters Black Dog Samples - I think my mind is made up!!

By coincidence, I was listening to those clips last night, they're fantastic! :D

But I don't have a Les Paul, and I wonder if the BDs might be just a little bassy in my guitars. They sound just what you're looking for though!

stuckin93 · « **Reply #5 on:** December 03, 2006, 04:01:08 PM »

there were alot of clips done in different styles (which was nice!) but it was the clean clip that did it - just the basic sound of the pickup to listen to!

j_d_m_2006 · « **Reply #6 on:** December 03, 2006, 09:53:16 PM »

Quote from: stuckin93

I have just been listening to Hunters Black Dog Samples - I think my mind is made up!!

That's what I based my purchase of Black Dogs on - you will like them as they sound sweet.

:drink:

hunter · « **Reply #7 on:** December 03, 2006, 10:44:19 PM »

I'm feelin very flattered now :oops:

I meanwhile have calibrated sets of BlackDogs, RebelYells as well as BKP-91/92s, but it's the cheapo Epiphone with the BDs that definitely gets played most hours, this guitar is just pure rock now and it kicks my ass everytime I pick it up.

I hope you'll be as happy with them as I am !

hunter · « **Reply #8 on:** December 03, 2006, 10:51:32 PM »

Quote from: Philly Q

Quote from: stuckin93
But I don't have a Les Paul, and I wonder if the BDs might be just a little bassy in my guitars.

Don't think so, maybe the neck one ...

Are your guitars pure mahogany? I don't think that the alder cap on the Epi makes such a big difference to be honest.

The bridge Black Dog is very crisp with a tight, not at all boomy lowend. I was a bit unhappy with the neck, which is why I removed the tone pot from the neck circuit - now it's damn perfect ...

stuckin93 · « **Reply #9 on:** December 03, 2006, 11:15:19 PM »

Quote from: hunter

The bridge Black Dog is very crisp with a tight, not at all boomy lowend. I was a bit unhappy with the neck, which is why I removed the tone pot from the neck circuit - now it's damn perfect ...

what difference did removing the tone pot make?

HTH AMPS · « **Reply #10 on:** December 04, 2006, 12:08:15 AM »

Quote from: stuckin93

Quote from: hunter
The bridge Black Dog is very crisp with a tight, not at all boomy lowend. I was a bit unhappy with the neck, which is why I removed the tone pot from the neck circuit - now it's damn perfect ...

what difference did removing the tone pot make?

it should give you some top end back (loads down the pickup less)

you can also raise the value of the volume pot to get more treble on either pickups - I did this with a VERY bassy Wide Range humbucker in the neck position of my Tele. I went with a 1M pot which is apparently what Fender originally used with those pickups. it's now spot on.

:twisted:

Philly Q · « **Reply #11 on:** December 04, 2006, 12:46:13 AM »

Quote from: hunter

I'm feelin very flattered now :oops:

It's nice to see someone who's modest about their playing. I really liked your long version of the Stairway solo, that's rock guitar as it should be played, man, all tone and attitude and never mind a couple of mistakes!

Quote

Are your guitars pure mahogany? I don't think that the alder cap on the Epi makes such a big difference to be honest.
The bridge Black Dog is very crisp with a tight, not at all boomy lowend.

Yeah, nearly all mahogany - SGs, The Paul, Melody Maker, Firebird and a V on the way (hopefully). I like the Riff Raff a lot but it would be nice to have a little extra grunt sometimes. Maybe I could get away with a Black Dog bridge and a Mule or Stormy Monday in the neck?

_tom_ · « **Reply #12 on:** December 04, 2006, 03:48:40 PM »

Quote from: hunter

Quote from: Philly Q
Quote from: stuckin93
But I don't have a Les Paul, and I wonder if the BDs might be just a little bassy in my guitars.

Don't think so, maybe the neck one ...

Are your guitars pure mahogany? I don't think that the alder cap on the Epi makes such a big difference to be honest.

The bridge Black Dog is very crisp with a tight, not at all boomy lowend. I was a bit unhappy with the neck, which is why I removed the tone pot from the neck circuit - now it's damn perfect ...

I did the same for my neck Mule in my Epi. It must be that alder cap?

Philly Q · « **Reply #13 on:** December 04, 2006, 05:55:36 PM »

Quote from: _tom_

I did the same for my neck Mule in my Epi. It must be that alder cap?

I think the cap is intended to reduce the mahogany's bassiness, but because alder's nowhere near as hard and bright as maple it sounds like it's only partially effective. So it's almost like your guitars are all-mahogany.

So Tom, Hunter you don't have a tone control at all for the neck?

I'm more likely to do that with the bridge pickup TBH, I really like the soupy tone you get from a neck pickup with the tone rolled off. But what I don't like is for the low strings to sound boomy. I think an Alnico IV Stormy Monday neck may be the way to go.

This has been a very useful thread, sorry for hijacking it Stuckin93!

_tom_ · « **Reply #14 on:** December 04, 2006, 07:00:16 PM »

Yeah I disconnected my tone for the neck pickup, to be honest it still sounds a bit too smooth for my liking, I was contemplating getting a neck MQ for a more of a "raw" tone but I think I'll eventually get an LP with proper maple cap which they should sound perfect in.

Then again, I never use tone controls on any of my guitars, I always have it on 10 if its not allready disconnected.