Bare Knuckle Crawler

[the4thlast1]

Just wanted to sing praises for the BK Crawler bridge pickup a little since we don't normally hear a lot about that pickup. Usually the nailbomb, holydiver, aftermath and a couple others are talked about when threads about BK pickups pop up.

Anyway I've been fortunate enough to try all of the contemporary and some of the vintage hot pickups that BK makes. I'm a big fan of there pickups in general and find the clarity and openness overall to be unmatched.

Ok so the Crawler bridge pickup was a surprise for me the first time I tried one. It was an instant favorote for me. Since then I've had a couple of them in different style guitars. In my experience it works best in guitars that are on the brighter / thinner side of things. A middle ground guitar will also work very well but my point is it will not sound its best in a Fat / Dark sounding guitar.

The Crawler is most similar to the Holy Diver but the Crawler has more bite. I find it to be a little tighter on the lowend , the eq curve seems to be a bit more balanced. It is a dark and thick sounding pickup that is on the moderately hot side. I like the Holy Diver also I just use it as a reference here since its the closest related.

The Crawler would be on the opposite side of things compared to pickups like Cold Sweat, Rebel Yell, Emerald. Those pickups would work better in a thick/dark sounding guitar.

I was wondering if anyone else on here has had similar experiences with the Crawler. I highly recommend trying one.

 

[Mr. Willy]

I've been eye-balling the Crawler. I love my VHII, but I think I'd prefer it in a Super Strat style guitar (it's in a PRS 24). Your description makes me want to try one even more.

 

[metalmaniac93]

One of my good friends bought a set and loves them!!

 

[the4thlast1]

Yeah its a really good bridge pickup. I think in the right guitar the Crawler is awesome. Its thick yet tight on the bass, it has growl to the mids but a pleasant and smooth high end. Just an all around good pickup. Its a bit less open and raw than most other BK pickups so guys who are used to Duncan and Dimarzio might prefer the Crawler over some other BK models.

A little off topic but as a polar opposite comparison In a Thick/ Dark sounding guitar I love the Ceramic Nailbomb , that pickup also kicks ass. I own two guitars that sound killer with the C-bomb and Two guitars that sound sick with the Crawler. I have swapped and tried them opposite ways as well as other models and those two pickups are probably my favorites out of all the models BK offers.

The Crawler has worked for me in a lot of different wood combinations so I dont want to pigeon whole it in that respect. Once again the key to the crawler is that the guitar naturally needs to have a little bit of a lean lowend ,maybe a bit bright. The Crawler could def fatten up a guitar that is a bit thin. Ive had success in Swamp ash, Alder, Mahogany , etc so it doesnt discriminate. Once again for example the Ceramic Nailbomb as much as I love that pickup it has only worked well for me in Mahogany , especially a thick sounding piece of Mahogany. Ive tried the C-bomb in several Alder bodied guitars and it never sounds good to me in that application.