Bareknuckles Pickups...What's the Deal?

  • Thread starter Thread starter rupe
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mhenson42":zk0uvqg8 said:
I think they compare them to SD pick-ups because SDs are common and people have played them. It's easier to put the tone in perspective when you have a base tone to reference.
Yeah, most likely. Just seemed odd that all the comparisons were to Duncans...no Gibson, Dimarzio, etc references when I spoke to them.
 
Tim is also a monster player. I know he was with Iced Earth for awhile and I believe some others.
 
bareknuckles in general seem to have a midrange cut and note/chord clarity in their contemporary pickups i'm yet to find in any other manufacturer. They just have this real clean, organic sound to them that I haven't gotten from any other manufacturer Nobody makes anything that does what the Ceramic warpig, painkiller or aftermath does in the slightest.
 
glip22":1jbt32i6 said:
Tim is also a monster player. I know he was with Iced Earth for awhile and I believe some others.

Hell yeah... Man, that cat sent me some clips of his 'casual shredding' and it was enough to put half of us here (easily) to shame. My jaw dropped, and he was doing the clips simply as an impromptu test for a few selections I was deciding on.

Hey, at the end of the day, it's all about preference, financial comfort zones, and getting the tone you want. I love BKP's because thus far, they've delivered - in spades - exactly what I wanted and asked for. The recommendations Tim sent in the mail arrived, they were installed, and it was "holy shit, this is exactly what I wanted to hear!!". Lifetime warranty, bomber build, quality control like none other, boutique production, and unique tones. That's why I've bought them, and that's why I'll continue to buy them.

There's no right or wrong, it's all just personal preference.

V.
 
Greazygeo":nm3doi66 said:
rupe":nm3doi66 said:
I see they get an awful lot of love here. At this point they seem like glorified Duncans to me...what am I missing?
The extra money in your pocket.

Yup.

Greatest tones recorded used Duncans and Dimarzios so who am I to say they were wrong.........................
 
Digital Jams":m4irhfoj said:
Greazygeo":m4irhfoj said:
rupe":m4irhfoj said:
I see they get an awful lot of love here. At this point they seem like glorified Duncans to me...what am I missing?
The extra money in your pocket.

Yup.

Greatest tones recorded used Duncans and Dimarzios so who am I to say they were wrong.........................

Comes down to the tone and look you're looking for in your pickups, bareknuckles are unique in this aspect.
Not to say duncan and dimarzio don't make fantastic pickups but personal application matters
 
noob_pwn":2ioq7gxw said:
Digital Jams":2ioq7gxw said:
Greazygeo":2ioq7gxw said:
rupe":2ioq7gxw said:
I see they get an awful lot of love here. At this point they seem like glorified Duncans to me...what am I missing?
The extra money in your pocket.

Yup.

Greatest tones recorded used Duncans and Dimarzios so who am I to say they were wrong.........................

Comes down to the tone and look you're looking for in your pickups, bareknuckles are unique in this aspect.
Not to say duncan and dimarzio don't make fantastic pickups but personal application matters

great points both of you.

i gave up on my painkiller for 80's thrash/speed tone and went back to my Duncan distortion's

keen to try another BKP though.
 
Capulin Overdrive":ita5it2z said:
i'm sick of hearing about them myself, and they can suck my balls! :gethim: :lol: :LOL:


if i can't get it from Anderson, Duncan, Suhr, or Dimarzio, i don't want it! :rock:

+10

although there are alot of choices from BKP's - not a single one of them stood out to solve any sonic solutions, or made me think it had a sonic purpose or really sounded like something that would sit with your rig well. they just make noise - different types of noise, and concentrate on a certain characteristics for inspiration. hence the painkiller based off of the song painkiller, a few ozzy song inspirations as well. nothing i heard sounded anywhere as good as a dimarzio or duncan pickup, nor had the same broad abilities as either of those much cheaper companies (yet great build quality) and with anderson and suhr making lines as well that sound great i see no reason to even think about using anything else.

same goes with motorcity AFAIC
 
I dont know about all the different models that he makes, but I do know that I put a set of the Nailbombs in my R9 and they KILL. I went through a few different brands and models of each and to my ear the BK sounded the best. Who knows maybe I just got lucky and they fit my guitar really well? None the less I am very happy I bought them and would not think twice about trying his other models out.
 
glpg80":3nelx6l4 said:
Capulin Overdrive":3nelx6l4 said:
i'm sick of hearing about them myself, and they can suck my balls! :gethim: :lol: :LOL:


if i can't get it from Anderson, Duncan, Suhr, or Dimarzio, i don't want it! :rock:

+10

although there are alot of choices from BKP's - not a single one of them stood out to solve any sonic solutions, or made me think it had a sonic purpose or really sounded like something that would sit with your rig well. they just make noise - different types of noise, and concentrate on a certain characteristics for inspiration. hence the painkiller based off of the song painkiller, a few ozzy song inspirations as well. nothing i heard sounded anywhere as good as a dimarzio or duncan pickup, nor had the same broad abilities as either of those much cheaper companies (yet great build quality) and with anderson and suhr making lines as well that sound great i see no reason to even think about using anything else.

same goes with motorcity AFAIC

depends, i can't get a ceramic warpig or aftermath from any other company, let alone something similar.
BKP's are fairly specialised but my honest opinion is they aren't for everyone and they do their own thing better than anyone else hence their huge success in such a short time period. Good luck emailing the CEO of dimarzio for advice and getting a personal response <5 mins later
 
I just picked up a 7 string RG with BKP Miracle Mans in it and that thing sounds fan-frickin-tastic. I also have a mahog bodied Charvel with a Holy Diver and it also sounds huge. Big fan here. YMMV.
 
Comparing PK to duncans is a better way of describing the pups than MCP's shit ass descriptions
 
Digital Jams":27ejaqau said:
Greazygeo":27ejaqau said:
rupe":27ejaqau said:
I see they get an awful lot of love here. At this point they seem like glorified Duncans to me...what am I missing?
The extra money in your pocket.

Yup.

Greatest tones recorded used Duncans and Dimarzios so who am I to say they were wrong.........................

I've noticed that recordings lose much of the magic of a live sound, and this includes the pickups... so I don't buy this statement at all. The difference between my handwounds and a duncan in the room is night and day for me and I'll never go back. Were I to record my sound then ya, the difference between a hand-wound and a duncan becomes very small. James Lugos pickup shootout proved this point to me... the recorded tones were soooo similar, but I'll bet that the differences in the room were huge.

But if a duncan makes you happy, hey man, thats great and you will have a few bucks in your pocket too.
 
BKs simply have more clarity and harmonic overtones then anything else I've tried. They have simply saved a few guitars for me. and amps. Not every BK works in every guitar, but I find them far better than any Duncans I've had. Dimarzios I've had are fine, but I still got more out of the BKs. And yes it's worth twice as much for me to not have a compressed, muddy tone.
 
Shark Diver":3k6gqsbd said:
And yes it's worth twice as much for me to not have a compressed, muddy tone.
Sounds like your pickup heights weren't right. I have Duncans in my old LP....compressed and muddy it's not. :confused:
 
thenine":dzvaw76r said:
I just picked up a 7 string RG with BKP Miracle Mans in it and that thing sounds fan-frickin-tastic. I also have a mahog bodied Charvel with a Holy Diver and it also sounds huge. Big fan here. YMMV.


Interested!
Have you played any EMG-equipped guitars?

I swapped speakers in my cab today, and thought I'd run the guitars through it, just for kicks.

My Schecter C7 Blackjack has a JB in the bridge, but when I played it kinda loud, it sounded like I was riffing on the neck pickup.

I then picked up my EMG-loaded ESP, and it sounded great! I think that JB has to go. The Schecter itself is a very nice sounding plank, it actually sounds a lot bigger acoustic than the ESP, but with heavy riffing, it left me wanting more.

Would you say that the MM is similar to EMGs?
 
ke2":1gkaj5jn said:
thenine":1gkaj5jn said:
I just picked up a 7 string RG with BKP Miracle Mans in it and that thing sounds fan-frickin-tastic. I also have a mahog bodied Charvel with a Holy Diver and it also sounds huge. Big fan here. YMMV.


Interested!
Have you played any EMG-equipped guitars?

I swapped speakers in my cab today, and thought I'd run the guitars through it, just for kicks.

My Schecter C7 Blackjack has a JB in the bridge, but when I played it kinda loud, it sounded like I was riffing on the neck pickup.

I then picked up my EMG-loaded ESP, and it sounded great! I think that JB has to go. The Schecter itself is a very nice sounding plank, it actually sounds a lot bigger acoustic than the ESP, but with heavy riffing, it left me wanting more.

Would you say that the MM is similar to EMGs?
I've had 8 sets of pickups in an RG 7-string in the last year and a half, including MM and Painkiller bridges, and in the end, I'm now playing EMGs, although for years I've hated them. I still don't like them for most applications on 6-string guitars, but EMGs have some magic in the lowend that seems to be working for me, finally.
 
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