Bareknuckle Pickups: Who tried em but didn't like em?

[fuzzyguitars]

I see a ton of threads spreading the love for Bareknuckle pickups.

I have a set of seven string painkillers in my 7 string.

They are pretty good. But i am not blown away by em.



I am just curious and would like to hear from some of those folks that have tried em, but decided that it was not for them.

Please try to include your setups rigs and what kind of music that you play too.

What did you end up going with too?

Not trying to blast Bareknuckle, just trying to get a few more points of view!

thanks!

 

[Juggernaut]

tried the nailbomb, painkiller, and rebel yell, meh.... went back to my beloved EMG85.

Rig: Gutierrez Juggernaut, Mako Makoplex, VHT Deliverance cab.

I play thrash.

I just found them to not have enough push, and seemed kinda bland. I know alot of people will scoff at that, but that was my impression. I'm SUPER picky about my pick-ups, and have been playing EMGs forEVER, and I guess that I'm just used to them, and have made them part of my tone.

 

[Motorpud]

A ton of exaggeration and fanboyism goes on around here about mostly everything boutique. Its pretty hard to sort through the BS sometimes. I just picked a miracle man and a painkiller though and haven't gotten a chance to try them out yet, when I do I'll try to give an honest opinion

 

[Code001]

I thought the ones I tried had a unique voicing to them. That said, I didn't really dig that voicing. I was told by the dealer that BKPs have no special voicing, but in most of the BKP recordings I hear, it seems to be present.

 

[7 Stringer]

Tried the Warpig= Hated it.
Painkiller=Pretty good actually.
Miracle Man=Awesome crunch machine.
Nailbomb=Didn`t install it yet.

My favorite pickups of all time=Anderson, all of them.

I play thrash,hard rock, metal, blues.....The Anderson`s are it for me. I even spoke with Tom and he made me a custom set for my 7 String, wich are pretty rare. Super cool guy. Sold them to me for a lot less than retail, i was amazed.

Chris

 

[Shiny_Surface]

A ton of exaggeration and fanboyism goes on around here about mostly everything boutique. Its pretty hard to sort through the BS sometimes.

That's pretty much it imo. Everything boutique is embellished and until you get to experience it firsthand you finally learn the truth whether you like it or not. Kind of makes you wonder the value of forums these days.

 

[ke2]

Tried the Warpig= Hated it.
Painkiller=Pretty good actually.
Miracle Man=Awesome crunch machine.
Nailbomb=Didn`t install it yet.

My favorite pickups of all time=Anderson, all of them.

I play thrash,hard rock, metal, blues.....The Anderson`s are it for me. I even spoke with Tom and he made me a custom set for my 7 String, wich are pretty rare. Super cool guy. Sold them to me for a lot less than retail, i was amazed.

Chris

Were all those BKs 7-string models?

 

[ericsabbath]

well... I didn't like the nailbomb neck
miracle man neck was ok, but nothing special (although it sounded pretty good in the bridge position)

I liked the warpig, painkiller, nailbomb, but only was blown away by the holy diver bridge, riff raff bridge, cold sweat set and miracle man bridge
they are all pretty good at something

 

[7 Stringer]

Tried the Warpig= Hated it.
Painkiller=Pretty good actually.
Miracle Man=Awesome crunch machine.
Nailbomb=Didn`t install it yet.

My favorite pickups of all time=Anderson, all of them.

I play thrash,hard rock, metal, blues.....The Anderson`s are it for me. I even spoke with Tom and he made me a custom set for my 7 String, wich are pretty rare. Super cool guy. Sold them to me for a lot less than retail, i was amazed.

Chris

Were all those BKs 7-string models?

Nope, all 6 string. The 7 string Anderson`s are brand new from 3 days ago, didn`t play them with the band yet.

Chris

 

[viking22]

tried the nailbomb, painkiller, and rebel yell, meh.... went back to my beloved EMG85.

Juggernaut,i think you didn't try the right BKP if you like the EMG85 so much:MiracleMan would have been a better choice.

 

[ke2]

Tried the Warpig= Hated it.
Painkiller=Pretty good actually.
Miracle Man=Awesome crunch machine.
Nailbomb=Didn`t install it yet.

My favorite pickups of all time=Anderson, all of them.

I play thrash,hard rock, metal, blues.....The Anderson`s are it for me. I even spoke with Tom and he made me a custom set for my 7 String, wich are pretty rare. Super cool guy. Sold them to me for a lot less than retail, i was amazed.

Chris

Were all those BKs 7-string models?

Nope, all 6 string. The 7 string Anderson`s are brand new from 3 days ago, didn`t play them with the band yet.

Chris

I see, thanks

I`ve been toying with the idea of a BK Miracle man for my 7-string, because the general consensus seems to be that it is pretty close to the sound you get from an EMG. (Nevermore and Testament were mentioned in one of the threads I read in)

 

[droptrd]

Like said above, maybe I dodnt try the right ones. Theyre a quality pup for sure but the voice is not for me. Had the holydiver and nail bomb. While I like the cut and clarity of both pups, the feel was very dry. I really felt like I had to play harder to get the notes out. wasnt effortless like some of the other boutique pups ive had.

saying that, id still like to try the painkiller and miricleman out for myself

 

[TeleBlaster]

The older (2+ years) pickups I have are awesome. Nailbomb and Mississippi Queen.
Seriously, just jaw dropping-ly stunning when I first played them. Not hard to see where the fanboi-ism comes from.
So clear yet harmonic. They sound like very high output but they're not really.

However, the newer stuff I've gotten is just average. I don't know what has changed, but the same pickups model side by side are decidedly different.
Something has fallen off the tracks and it makes me very sad because now I have to try and find something else.

Guitar Fetish Fat Pat AlNiCo 5, just put a neck pup in and played one set, seems pretty good especially considering the price.
Just my luck it's out of phase so I don't know how it sits with the bridge pup, but I will rewire it this afternoon and give it another shot tonight.

 

[Mr. Willy]

My favorite pickups of all time=Anderson, all of them.

I play thrash,hard rock, metal, blues.....The Anderson`s are it for me. I even spoke with Tom and he made me a custom set for my 7 String, wich are pretty rare. Super cool guy. Sold them to me for a lot less than retail, i was amazed.

Chris

Me too. I've had/got an H1, HN3, HN3+, and I now have an H2+/H1 combo in my PRS24. Sounds absolutely killer. Perfect output level for me. I've got a Rio Grande BBQ in my LP Custom that's a different animal. It's more crunchy rock n' roll.

 

[duodecim]

I don't own nor have I every (knowingly) played a guitar with Bareknuckle pickups, but since they have a lot of choice, I would find it hard to believe that each and every pickup would be crap or unsuitable to whatever music you might be playing. If it doesn't work for you, try something else.

After all, it's just one factor in the long chain that determines your sound.

 

[Shark Diver]

I don't own nor have I every (knowingly) played a guitar with Bareknuckle pickups, but since they have a lot of choice, I would find it hard to believe that each and every pickup would be crap or unsuitable to whatever music you might be playing. If it doesn't work for you, try something else.

After all, it's just one factor in the long chain that determines your sound.

+1 I have tried several, but lower output ones. VHII was my favorite when I was playing PRS guitars and Diezel amps. Not so much anymore. I like the lower output Motor Cities with my Tyler and SLO. The rest of the gear means a lot. Style as well. BK didn't become a big pickup company by hype or sucking. But that doesn't mean they are for everyone.

 

[fuzzyguitars]

Right now I am looking to replace the bridge in my tremonti 2.

I have a spare Anderson h3.

I think I will five that a go.

If that doesn't pan out I also have a d activator that I can try too.

I guess that I'm just too lazy.

 

[Ventura]

Interesting thread...

I had to chime in. I ended up with a set of PK's (ceramic) in my ESP NT-II. At first I wasn't sure about them...in fact, it took a while of me thinking I was going to pull 'em and resell 'em. But once I figured out what they needed on the EQ of the amp, and the actual genre of music they best performed in, I couldn't be happier. They're fickle little pups - but since I've figured them out - I am soooooooo stoked with 'em.

I'm a lifer when it comes to BKP. So I can't say I can go along with the title of this thread. I guess what I'm trying to say is - these weren't instant love. It took time and patience. But then they got figured out and it's 100% stoke now.

Best,
V.

 

[ericsabbath]

However, the newer stuff I've gotten is just average. I don't know what has changed, but the same pickups model side by side are decidedly different.
Something has fallen off the tracks and it makes me very sad because now I have to try and find something else.

you could never say that without trying them in the same guitar

 

[Rogueleader]

I don't own nor have I every (knowingly) played a guitar with Bareknuckle pickups, but since they have a lot of choice, I would find it hard to believe that each and every pickup would be crap or unsuitable to whatever music you might be playing. If it doesn't work for you, try something else.

After all, it's just one factor in the long chain that determines your sound.

Alot of people (especially on SS.org) buy into the hype and they "try something else" 4 or 5 times. Great way to blow $5-600. I almost fell into that (I use the painkiller bridge/neck as well as the cold sweat neck, which I found far too compressed and am about to put up for sale). The Painkillers nice but its not 3x as nice as the Dimarzio Super Distortion it replaced, I'll be trying some suhr aldrich pickups or super 3s next. Both of my bridge painkillers have been obscenely noisy as well.

One thing I have noticed about them is they are really picky about height.