Bareknuckles Pickups...What's the Deal?

[ke2]

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.

Yea, only too bad you have to do some magic with a router to make them fit
There's always Blackouts, I've had one 7-string model before, and it was pretty nifty. I really just want to unsolder the JB, and solder in some other pickup that gives me the same type of clarity, brutality and tightness as the 81 in the ESP

 

[SuperFlyinMonke]

I took out my BK Painkiller in my SG and I prefer the GFS I currently have in it.

 

[DEWD]

I've spent a lot of money on boutique amps and pickups and I've learned that the majority of the mass produced stuff (Duncan/Dimarzio/Mesa/Marshall/etc.) sounds every bit as good as boutique gear. It's all about preference though. I think most guys just like the uniqueness (is that a word? ) of owning this gear. The extra money you're paying for boutique stuff certainly isn't because it sounds any better.

 

[Spaceboy]

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.

Yea, only too bad you have to do some magic with a router to make them fit

There's always Blackouts, I've had one 7-string model before, and it was pretty nifty. I really just want to unsolder the JB, and solder in some other pickup that gives me the same type of clarity, brutality and tightness as the 81 in the ESP

I had a friend who works a mill machine do it for me on the cheap, and it's only like a 3mm cutout on each side, I believe, nothing you couldn't figure out with some measuring and a steady hand. I thought about Blackouts but every review I read seemed to trash them when compared to EMGs, and I didn't want to spend anymore money. Also, EMG is supposed to be releasing a passive-sized 7-string pickup sometime this year, or so I've read.

 

[Digital Jams]

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.

Lugo's shootout did open up my eyes alot...............$$$$$$ made no difference from where I was sitting.

Nothing much to buy with recordings, guy went into the studio with SD pups and created history Now if we are talking turd sounding guitars you can throw anything you want at it....................therre are LOTS of lack luster guitars tone wise out there.

 

[JakeAC5253]

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.

Lugo's shootout did open up my eyes alot...............$$$$$$ made no difference from where I was sitting.

Nothing much to buy with recordings, guy went into the studio with SD pups and created history Now if we are talking turd sounding guitars you can throw anything you want at it....................therre are LOTS of lack luster guitars tone wise out there.

Which clips were these? Link?

 

[Digital Jams]

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.

Lugo's shootout did open up my eyes alot...............$$$$$$ made no difference from where I was sitting.

Nothing much to buy with recordings, guy went into the studio with SD pups and created history Now if we are talking turd sounding guitars you can throw anything you want at it....................therre are LOTS of lack luster guitars tone wise out there.

Which clips were these? Link?

Classic rock albums??

I really need to provide this??

 

[viking22]

Every month,i see the same kind of thread !And you wonder why people are talking about BKP?This one (OP) looks identical to the last one i saw here... Is it for marketing purposes or the opposite ?I don't know but the result is the sameeople are talking about BKP NB:there is a huge difference between a hand-wounded pup and an industrial pup.One is not necessarily "better" but the difference is there.For example,if you're looking for a vintage-kind PAF, as close to the original as possible,the hand-wounded one will win.But,these days,there is a huge choice out there (even PRS is now making good pups).BKP is expensive, in the US esp.,because it's hand made in the UK.

 

[JakeAC5253]

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.

Lugo's shootout did open up my eyes alot...............$$$$$$ made no difference from where I was sitting.

Nothing much to buy with recordings, guy went into the studio with SD pups and created history Now if we are talking turd sounding guitars you can throw anything you want at it....................therre are LOTS of lack luster guitars tone wise out there.

Which clips were these? Link?

Classic rock albums??

I really need to provide this??

James Lugo's shootout? Which one?

 

[glpg80]

the latest one, the one with about every "production" amplifier available to the public?

Jake, where you been man

 

[JakeAC5253]

the latest one, the one with about every "production" amplifier available to the public?

Jake, where you been man

How is that in any way implied? This conversation is about pickups, not production amps. I'm missing something. I'll go back into my hole.

 

[rupe]

the latest one, the one with about every "production" amplifier available to the public?

Jake, where you been man

How is that in any way implied? This conversation is about pickups, not production amps. I'm missing something. I'll go back into my hole.

Lugo did a pickup shootout a while back...you can probably find it with a search.

 

[ericsabbath]

I've never seen any Duncan comparison mentioned in their website

the only time I've seen Tim comparing his pickups to a Seymour Duncan was when he completely reworked the Holy Diver, which had 2 previous versions (first was ceramic, the other became the Rebel Yell), and compared the new version to a JB
and I do a lot of research on their forum since 2006

USERS compare them to duncan so the noobs can have an idea of how a pickup sounds compared to a well known model

most BKP models DO have some strong Seymour and Gibson influence, and Tim is a declared fan of those makers, but they're not improved clones
he does a lot of experimentation to find the perfect tones for his ears
sometimes I disagree with his recomendations, but surely knows his pickups better than anyone
Duncan and Gibson are classic parameters, just like Dimarzio, but BKP's just don't sound anything like Dimarzios at all
same goes for the dozens of "hot rodded Marshalls" people love here

tone is subjective, but BKPs sound noticeably clearer than their equivalent *insert famous brand here* models
some people may miss the extra grind and compression of a Duncan or whatever
but my priority is clarity, specially through high gain

but the price discussion is stupid, specially in this forum, where full grown men spend their days whining about pretty much everything, and buying $4500 camerons that don't sound 10% better than a $800 Marshall with a $30 booster
a custom shop Seymour pickup is machine wound and costs a lot more than a BKP
and I doubt that all the mexican employees at their factory are getting paid that well

 

[Shark Diver]

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.

Well I have some pretty pro guys doing my setups, but anything is possible...

Or the BKs are so good that anything else sounds muddy to me...

 

[luxxtone]

I've never seen any Duncan comparison mentioned in their website

the only time I've seen Tim comparing his pickups to a Seymour Duncan was when he completely reworked the Holy Diver, which had 2 previous versions (first was ceramic, the other became the Rebel Yell), and compared the new version to a JB
and I do a lot of research on their forum since 2006

USERS compare them to duncan so the noobs can have an idea of how a pickup sounds compared to a well known model

most BKP models DO have some strong Seymour and Gibson influence, and Tim is a declared fan of those makers, but they're not improved clones
he does a lot of experimentation to find the perfect tones for his ears
sometimes I disagree with his recomendations, but surely knows his pickups better than anyone
Duncan and Gibson are classic parameters, just like Dimarzio, but BKP's just don't sound anything like Dimarzios at all
same goes for the dozens of "hot rodded Marshalls" people love here

tone is subjective, but BKPs sound noticeably clearer than their equivalent *insert famous brand here* models
some people may miss the extra grind and compression of a Duncan or whatever
but my priority is clarity, specially through high gain

but the price discussion is stupid, specially in this forum, where full grown men spend their days whining about pretty much everything, and buying $4500 camerons that don't sound 10% better than a $800 Marshall with a $30 booster
a custom shop Seymour pickup is machine wound and costs a lot more than a BKP
and I doubt that all the mexican employees at their factory are getting paid that well

Agreed on all points, couldn't have said it any better myself!

 

[luxxtone]

Well I have some pretty pro guys doing my setups, but anything is possible...

I think I forgot to set the pickup heights on your old guitars that had Duncans, that's probably why you didn't like them.

 

[sinfish]

Copper wire wrapped around magnets. Pay what you want but I' stay with the original instead of the "sounds like" for twice the money.

 

[ericsabbath]

Copper wire wrapped around magnets. Pay what you want but I' stay with the original instead of the "sounds like" for twice the money.

that's the greatest aspect of capitalism
it's not like the government is forcing you to buy the expensive option
but you get what you pay for

 

[Ventura]

I've never seen any Duncan comparison mentioned in their website

the only time I've seen Tim comparing his pickups to a Seymour Duncan was when he completely reworked the Holy Diver, which had 2 previous versions (first was ceramic, the other became the Rebel Yell), and compared the new version to a JB
and I do a lot of research on their forum since 2006

USERS compare them to duncan so the noobs can have an idea of how a pickup sounds compared to a well known model

most BKP models DO have some strong Seymour and Gibson influence, and Tim is a declared fan of those makers, but they're not improved clones
he does a lot of experimentation to find the perfect tones for his ears
sometimes I disagree with his recomendations, but surely knows his pickups better than anyone
Duncan and Gibson are classic parameters, just like Dimarzio, but BKP's just don't sound anything like Dimarzios at all
same goes for the dozens of "hot rodded Marshalls" people love here

tone is subjective, but BKPs sound noticeably clearer than their equivalent *insert famous brand here* models
some people may miss the extra grind and compression of a Duncan or whatever
but my priority is clarity, specially through high gain

but the price discussion is stupid, specially in this forum, where full grown men spend their days whining about pretty much everything, and buying $4500 camerons that don't sound 10% better than a $800 Marshall with a $30 booster
a custom shop Seymour pickup is machine wound and costs a lot more than a BKP
and I doubt that all the mexican employees at their factory are getting paid that well

Ya, I have to agree too, mondo +1

V.

 

[Digital Jams]

I've never seen any Duncan comparison mentioned in their website

the only time I've seen Tim comparing his pickups to a Seymour Duncan was when he completely reworked the Holy Diver, which had 2 previous versions (first was ceramic, the other became the Rebel Yell), and compared the new version to a JB
and I do a lot of research on their forum since 2006

USERS compare them to duncan so the noobs can have an idea of how a pickup sounds compared to a well known model

most BKP models DO have some strong Seymour and Gibson influence, and Tim is a declared fan of those makers, but they're not improved clones
he does a lot of experimentation to find the perfect tones for his ears
sometimes I disagree with his recomendations, but surely knows his pickups better than anyone
Duncan and Gibson are classic parameters, just like Dimarzio, but BKP's just don't sound anything like Dimarzios at all
same goes for the dozens of "hot rodded Marshalls" people love here

tone is subjective, but BKPs sound noticeably clearer than their equivalent *insert famous brand here* models
some people may miss the extra grind and compression of a Duncan or whatever
but my priority is clarity, specially through high gain

but the price discussion is stupid, specially in this forum, where full grown men spend their days whining about pretty much everything, and buying $4500 camerons that don't sound 10% better than a $800 Marshall with a $30 booster
a custom shop Seymour pickup is machine wound and costs a lot more than a BKP
and I doubt that all the mexican employees at their factory are getting paid that well

Are we speaking just camerons or all amps that hit the $4000 ceiling? I don't really consider cameron when thinking marshall tone anyways............has it's own thing going.


Let's drag this fanboi mosh in to full blown hyperdrive!!!!!!!!