Bare Knuckle definitive modern thread

[Exo-metal]

Of which out of their line has seen the most abuse for modern tones?

 

[stratjacket]

I’ve tried a bunch of them. My favorites are:
Warping - I threw some in a Caparison Horus that was a little bright. It gave it the bottom end and just slays, mean sounding. Big bottom end that you can roll in and out with pedal/amp settings as needed. Never shrill sounding.

Silo - I bought a PRS Custom 24 last year that had a set. I thought I’d change them out but fell in love with them. It’s my number 1 guitar for recording. Does everything well.

Painkiller - works great in darker sounding guitars. Just sizzles.

Ragnarok - I put a set in a PRS Standard. They deliver the goods too. Full sounding, sounds great for metal.

 

[Uzi Nein Millimetah]

I can only speak of the Nailbomb (ceramic) that I have, it's like the most perfect thrash/heavy metal pickup that never existed in the '80s, but it's here now. It has plenty of everything for me, but not too much. I have it in a Charvel superstrat. Splits very well also, especially with the Cold Sweat neck.

 

[PiggySmallz]

Had a painkiller in a custom 24 that replaced a 59/09, but it sounded worse. It accentuated the annoying highs of the guitar. It was an ice pick.

Have a set of polymaths in an ash duvell elite. Cool pickups, pretty transparent but that guitar is also very bright being a bolt on so I may swap them out for something a bit darker like silos or a dimarzio AT1.

My regius has a set of the BKP TKOs that are absolutely incredible. Arguably my favorite BKPs ive ever tried.

I had a set of ragnaroks in a baritone regius core as well that I really liked. That guitar had the goods but the 28" scale was a bit too much for me. I miss that one!

On the hunt to try some crawlers in a les paul standard but they dont come up for sale very often.

 

[itsgoodnow]

I’ve had good luck with ceramic warpigs. I also have a lot of polymath pickups but they can be a bit bright in the wrong guitar. Aftermaths are also ones I love.

 

[mnemonic]

I have an aftermath bridge in a Mayones Regius, works fantastic in that guitar but it’s a picky pickup. I have had it in various other guitars and its sounded ‘okay’ to ‘not good’ depending on the guitar. It’s got a strong midrange and upper midrange, sounds clanky in some guitars/amps. My Regius however is pretty balanced but with a dip in the mids/upper mids somewhere so the aftermath just sounds like a tight punchy crunchy metal pickup. It reminds me of a JB but if it was a tight and punchy modern metal pickup from the 2010’s instead of a rock pickup from the 70’s.

I also have an aftermath neck but I find it dark and boring and not really good at anything.

The black dog is also great for high gain despite its low output. Very bright top end, kinda PAF-ish but strong mids. I have also had the pickup in multiple guitars and have never been impressed with its cleans though. I have an alnico iv PAF-alike set in a Les Paul and a SD ‘59 I’ve had in a few guitars and both (bridge) pickups have much better cleans/low gain sounds than the black dog in my opinion.

 

[WizardAmpIphoneClip]

Had an alnico Warpig about 15 years ago in a flying V. Pretty dark but punchy

Bought an Ibanez rg with an Aftermath I think and it was pure ass. Super hollow. Might have been the guitar though

Went Emg 81 after that in every guitar and game over

 

[Exo-metal]

I want to try these in my Jackson King Vs. They aren't bright or dark so I hope not to spend good money on the wrong ones. The poplar and alder have a nice warm midrange. So far I want to try three, the Ragnarok, ceramic Nailbomb and possibly the Aftermath. The Painkiller sounds interesting. How is the wait time to the states if I order custom options?

 

[vultures]

I've owned a few. (I wish BKP would fucking sponsor me). Order time is pretty good. They usually get them done in a few days and it's to your door in less than 2 weeks, but I am East Coast.

Ragnaroks - Raw unrelenting power. It has all the aggression you need, all the tight chugs, all the searing notes. They are really microphonic, you will need to hard gate your stuff. I used a built in gate in my amp (Invective / ENGL) as well as a Zuul up front. In my Quad Cortex I have 2 gates set up as well. I can hear backing tracks thru my amp/cab when jamming on stuff at home. That being said I have Ragnarok/Cobras in 2 of my guitars. I had Ragnaroks in my PRS CU24 for years as well.

Polypaf - Boomer pickup. Not high gain. Wimpy.
Polymath - Rock pickup. Not high gain. Slightly less wimpy.
Stormy Monday - Honestly makes your guitar sound like an old LP with PAFs, really cool.
Black Dog - Boomer pickup, but not wimpy. Has some balls to it.
Black Hawk - Supposed to be the passive active pickup? Not enough output for my tastes, didn't have the compression that actives had.
Cold Sweat - Great set, great attack. Neck pickup is tight and clear. This was my go-to neck pickup before Ragnaroks/Cobras
Aftermath - Tighter than a Dolphin's blowhole. Almost too tight.
Nailbomb - I always confuse these with the Aftermath, same same, but different.
Miracle Man - I like everything about these pickups. I point people to these instead of Black Hawks. They nail that Miracle Man tone and more.

 

[Exo-metal]

I've owned a few. (I wish BKP would fucking sponsor me). Order time is pretty good. They usually get them done in a few days and it's to your door in less than 2 weeks, but I am East Coast.

Ragnaroks - Raw unrelenting power. It has all the aggression you need, all the tight chugs, all the searing notes. They are really microphonic, you will need to hard gate your stuff. I used a built in gate in my amp (Invective / ENGL) as well as a Zuul up front. In my Quad Cortex I have 2 gates set up as well. I can hear backing tracks thru my amp/cab when jamming on stuff at home. That being said I have Ragnarok/Cobras in 2 of my guitars. I had Ragnaroks in my PRS CU24 for years as well.

Polypaf - Boomer pickup. Not high gain. Wimpy.
Polymath - Rock pickup. Not high gain. Slightly less wimpy.
Stormy Monday - Honestly makes your guitar sound like an old LP with PAFs, really cool.
Black Dog - Boomer pickup, but not wimpy. Has some balls to it.
Black Hawk - Supposed to be the passive active pickup? Not enough output for my tastes, didn't have the compression that actives had.
Cold Sweat - Great set, great attack. Neck pickup is tight and clear. This was my go-to neck pickup before Ragnaroks/Cobras
Aftermath - Tighter than a Dolphin's blowhole. Almost too tight.
Nailbomb - I always confuse these with the Aftermath, same same, but different.
Miracle Man - I like everything about these pickups. I point people to these instead of Black Hawks. They nail that Miracle Man tone and more.

No Painkiller in the mix? I very much appreciate that breakdown btw.

 

[RedB4Black]

Ceramic Nailbomb is my favorite pickup.

Silos are great too

 

[shar-vell Dan]

I have a Painkiller & True Grit in my Warmoth. Very high quality.

 

[iff]

Had a painkiller in a custom 24 that replaced a 59/09, but it sounded worse. It accentuated the annoying highs of the guitar. It was an ice pick.

Same experience here with the Painkiller. I had it in a Soloist tuned to D and it was annoyingly bright. I generally like brighter tones but it was too much.

 

[Exo-metal]

Scottosan, have any experience with these? Share your take on them?

 

[the4thlast1]

For metal the Ceramic Nailbomb is the BK to go for. It’s not the only one that’s good but it works great in a lot of different guitars. Some of the others have a more drastic eq like the Aftermath which can sound amazing in the right guitar. The Alnico Black Hawk, Ceramic Warpig and Impulse are also very good.

 

[cobrahead1030]

I have an aftermath bridge in a Mayones Regius, works fantastic in that guitar but it’s a picky pickup. I have had it in various other guitars and its sounded ‘okay’ to ‘not good’ depending on the guitar. It’s got a strong midrange and upper midrange, sounds clanky in some guitars/amps. My Regius however is pretty balanced but with a dip in the mids/upper mids somewhere so the aftermath just sounds like a tight punchy crunchy metal pickup. It reminds me of a JB but if it was a tight and punchy modern metal pickup from the 2010’s instead of a rock pickup from the 70’s.

I also have an aftermath neck but I find it dark and boring and not really good at anything.

The black dog is also great for high gain despite its low output. Very bright top end, kinda PAF-ish but strong mids. I have also had the pickup in multiple guitars and have never been impressed with its cleans though. I have an alnico iv PAF-alike set in a Les Paul and a SD ‘59 I’ve had in a few guitars and both (bridge) pickups have much better cleans/low gain sounds than the black dog in my opinion.

I had a set of aftermaths in a maple/ash headless and couldn’t get along with them. They had this nasally upper mid spike that I couldn’t get along with. I loved their overall clarity & feel though.

 

[Warmart]

Seems I have tried pretty much the same as most in this thread, lmao.

I think the Ragnarok is the best "Modern" of BKP's lineup. I put mine in a Legator Ghost headless, replaced the shitty Fishman Moderns, they fuck severely for anything metal.

I have Silos in a PRS CU24, and they really fit that guitar. Was the 3rd set I tried and they saved it from being sold. Great for anything you throw at them.

Ceramic Nailbomb and VHII in a Mayones Regius, love the Nailbomb but rarely use the neck pickup lol.

Had Polymaths in a PRS 594 SC but traded it away. They were the 3rd pickup attempt in that one but I still didn't like the guitar, I would agree with the other dude that said, "rock pickups". Don't think they marketed that one properly.

Have Stormy Mondays in a Aristides headless, rock focused but can do decent for metal. Thinking of putting the Ragnaroks in this and then selling the Legator, but will lose my ass in any sale.