Yesterday, the Bare Knuckle Abraxas arrived on my doorstep. Since I was special-ordering it, I asked that it be 53mm rather than 49.2mm spacing, double cream bobbins and short feet. In this guitar, I now have a VHII (also wide) in the neck and an Abraxas in the bridge.
As I mentioned before, I love the VHII neck... just blew me away. I was not as thrilled with the bridge - not because it was a bad-sounding pickup, but because I wanted a bit more push and something I could only describe as "character," whatever the fuck that means. So, I checked in with the BKP forum and everyone came back with "Abraxas." I'd not even heard of that pickup.
I played a few riffs, set the height of the two pups to match in volume and started playing. This bridge now has hair on its balls, I'll tell you that. I'm very happy with the tone, the output, and yes, it seems to have the character I was looking for. The mids are quite present without being overbearing, it has a deep voice without being muddy, and it responds to the volume pot quite well.
In swapping back and forth between neck and bridge, I think this is a perfect combination for me.
As I mentioned before, I love the VHII neck... just blew me away. I was not as thrilled with the bridge - not because it was a bad-sounding pickup, but because I wanted a bit more push and something I could only describe as "character," whatever the fuck that means. So, I checked in with the BKP forum and everyone came back with "Abraxas." I'd not even heard of that pickup.
I played a few riffs, set the height of the two pups to match in volume and started playing. This bridge now has hair on its balls, I'll tell you that. I'm very happy with the tone, the output, and yes, it seems to have the character I was looking for. The mids are quite present without being overbearing, it has a deep voice without being muddy, and it responds to the volume pot quite well.
In swapping back and forth between neck and bridge, I think this is a perfect combination for me.