Thenewexhibit
Experienced
Oh, cool! I actually have a set of Mules in a Les Paul Traditional (essentially a standard) and they are really great! It’s funny; at first, I thought they sounded bland, and in a matter of minutes, I went from “these sound a little bland—I don’t know if these have character—that sounded really complex and rich—that sounds very vocal—that sounded very musical—these sound great!” HahahaYour timing on this subject is perfect since I've been going pretty deep down the pickup rabbit hole lately. I recently got a 1990 Les Paul Standard that might be the best LP in my collection. I put a Thornbucker+ set in it and it sounded great. However, I've heard a lot about the Bare Knuckle Mule pickup and bought a set to try in that Les Paul... it was phenomenal! More clarity, liveliness, complexity, and punch. The Thornbucker+ was softer and smoother when A/B'ing both sets through my looper pedal. They both sounded great, but I kept going back to the Mule.
I reached out to BKP for some recommendations and bought three different sets that are arriving today that I'll put in two Les Pauls and an SG, so we'll see how that goes.
As far as the Thornbucker II, I still have them, but I swapped the A2 magnet for A4 and liked it much better.
You said you A/B’d the thornbucker plus to the Mules in the same guitar?
I find it interesting that you mention “punch” too. My strat build that has a Thornbucker +, in comparison to my Tele build which has a Friedman classic plus humbucker, sounds and feels like it has less punch than the Friedman (different magnets), so I’m gonna try an SSV in the bridge to see how that sounds. I have the feeling it will pair better with the V60LP single coils regarding punch and transient response.
Which other Bare Knuckle pickups are you trying out? Also, did the Mules that you got have covers, or were they uncovered?