Bareknuckles: Why the high prices?

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Very interesting post 'the4thlast1'. :thumbsup:

the4thlast1":3s48gfh8 said:
In general some of the BK's have drastic EQ curves to balance out all types of wood tones.

I'm still a little at odds as to whether there are general rules to be applied to guitar/wood/wood type construction. I've played some guitars of very similar wood & construction that sounded very different. I think it's about finding a guitar or instrument that you gel with. Some guitars, even crap guitars, seem to resonate well between the neck & body.

I'd like to side-by-side a bunch of pickups in my guitar with the same amp settings. The BK website has a load of demos for each pup, but they should have made 5 or 6 genre demos of each pup in the same guitar, playing the same demo with the same amp settings.
 
JimmyBlind":2foj8dx8 said:
... but they should have made 5 or 6 genre demos of each pup in the same guitar, playing the same demo with the same amp settings.

THIS... Times eleventy billion. I don't know why folks don't do this. I saw exactly this sort of thing for Celestion GB flavors and it helped understand the differences. Still haven't bought and EVH one yet tho. Lol
 
I recently ordered a set of Rebel Yells for my PRS Custom 22. They sound great but $100 less I'd still put a set of Aldrich up to them any day.
 
Love my MCP pickups, many are keepers. Using hellbaby, blissbucker, and afwayu right now.

I have been equally satisfied by far less expensive pickups such as manlius and smits.

A friend of mine is super happy with his toneriders after some magnet swapping. I have to say they do sound pretty good.

I plan to try rose pickups soon. Their winding machine has me curious.

There are tons of options out there. warning this link is mind boggling.
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=124577
 
Well, since the thread got bumped... I've told Rayne at MHD pickups to wind up a set for me. He's offering ridiculous prices to win people back over after his personal life went haywire while his business took off too quickly. I'm not in a band at the moment, so I have time to wait. In the meantime, I've managed to score a ceramic BK Warpig. It's what I've wanted for my SG-X anyway. It's battle worn camo cover will look great in that black SG-X but should be quite the mismatch in my goldtop while I wait on the MHD set. :D
 
JimmyBlind":ihbh2swz said:
The BK website has a load of demos for each pup, but they should have made 5 or 6 genre demos of each pup in the same guitar, playing the same demo with the same amp settings.
Yeah, that's something every manufacturer should pursue, and ideally without a ton of effects and if there's a backing track it should be mixed low. Duncan have a decent take of it on their site though..
 
barnesjd":2n4u6czr said:
metalmaniac93":2n4u6czr said:
MCPs kick ass!!! :rock: :rock: :rock: Nothing like them. I moved from BKPs to MCPs a while ago.

Which ones have you used and in what guitar?


I have had Nailbomb A5 bridge/CS neck in ESP Horizon, Holy Diver in an alder bodied Carvin bolt+ and sounded to middy and bland, RY, and Miracle Man. Once I tried the Afwayu and then the Angel Dust, I never looked backed. Sold my Nailbomb A5 bridge/CS neck to my buddy right after!!! I even sold my Holy Divers to another friend in Minn who put them in a Jackson Rhoads and he hated them. Sold them my underwound Afwayus since I wanted a slightly lower output pickup and these slayed!!! He still likes his RY set that he has. The RY is a very good pickup, but I prefer MCP and Manlius.
 
thefyn":33zj2nn4 said:
metalmaniac93":33zj2nn4 said:
rbasaria":33zj2nn4 said:
Same price range as MCPs, which are superior to BKPs IMO.

I went with a few boutique pup builders for a while, and I just ended up going back to run of the mill stuff. Duncan and Dimarzio are just as good at half the cost or less. I paid 150 for my set of Dimarzio Dominions, and I find them to have just as much detail, clarity and dynamic range as BKP Painkillers, MCP Hellbaby, and BG hellabucker and hellarails. The BGs are about the same price as the big guys, though, and Bryan will custom wind things if you dont like the sound...there's a lot to be said about BG for the price you are paying, and I would highly recommend him if you want something more custom.

But yeah, I'll stick with the easy to get mass produced stuff that I can order and have delivered in a couple of days.

MCPs kick ass!!! :rock: :rock: :rock: Nothing like them. I moved from BKPs to MCPs a while ago.

Yep. MCP are the best I have heard. I'm still confused my all of my guitars are not loaded with them.


Yep, all my guitars but two are loaded with MCPs. Of those one is loaded with Manlius Asphalts (bridge and neck) and my one with a Super Distortion.
 
barnesjd":57hkbgxo said:
Well, since the thread got bumped... I've told Rayne at MHD pickups to wind up a set for me. He's offering ridiculous prices to win people back over after his personal life went haywire while his business took off too quickly. I'm not in a band at the moment, so I have time to wait. In the meantime, I've managed to score a ceramic BK Warpig. It's what I've wanted for my SG-X anyway. It's battle worn camo cover will look great in that black SG-X but should be quite the mismatch in my goldtop while I wait on the MHD set. :D


How did you go about ordering them? Can't find the site right now.
 
metalmaniac93":1f29q825 said:
barnesjd":1f29q825 said:
metalmaniac93":1f29q825 said:
MCPs kick ass!!! :rock: :rock: :rock: Nothing like them. I moved from BKPs to MCPs a while ago.

Which ones have you used and in what guitar?


I have had Nailbomb A5 bridge/CS neck in ESP Horizon, Holy Diver in an alder bodied Carvin bolt+ and sounded to middy and bland, RY, and Miracle Man. Once I tried the Afwayu and then the Angel Dust, I never looked backed. Sold my Nailbomb A5 bridge/CS neck to my buddy right after!!! I even sold my Holy Divers to another friend in Minn who put them in a Jackson Rhoads and he hated them. Sold them my underwound Afwayus since I wanted a slightly lower output pickup and these slayed!!! He still likes his RY set that he has. The RY is a very good pickup, but I prefer MCP and Manlius.

I'm the exact opposite. Tried an Afwayu and hated it. Tried BKP Holy Diver and loved it. Got a set of Black Dogs in my other guitar and love 'em even more. Tried a Nailbomb set too, but haven't jived as much with it.
 
Congrats on your pups, sounds like a killer deal. To answer your original question though, I think his pups are unique, and if you like them, there is nothing really like them. I don't mind paying more for a scatterwound pup with a lifetime guarantee. I like all kinds of pickups, but Tim's are some of my favorites. I've owned a majority of the models he makes. Don't get me wrong, I dont think they are the holy grail for every guitar, sometimes I really like dims or sd, etc. in a specific guitar. However, Tim's pups have a clarity and definition that is addictive in the right guitar. Completely agree though, they have some radical eq curves that really have to suit the guitar you're using them in. The right match is killer however ime.

I haven't seen any of the quality issues in 10 years of dealing with him. If I did, he offers a lifetime warranty that he stands behind. He will even rewind something to your taste if you don't like it, you just have to pay shipping. He's been a stand up guy in the business since he started.
 
Most (American) boutique pickup companies tend to specialize in lower/medium output pickups or they half-ass update their site and only offer a few high output humbucker models with no audio samples. Or, in the case of WCR, they cost more.

I'm eyeing a BKP Black Hawk for my next guitar. I don't play stop-start or start-stop or Djinn or whatever, I'm just looking for a hot humbucker with a different flavor.
 
to add to......these pick ups by BK are very targeted in tone and the guitar specs (wood, body, bolt on or set, chambered or solid, neck) all need to be taken into consideration. the various magnets and wind, scatter, wire, etc. all have an impact. going through a bit of this now, with them and some SD's. this is where a catch all PU like a Super Distortion or JB comes in handy!
 
moltenmetalburn":3vtyppnx said:
barnesjd":3vtyppnx said:
Well, since the thread got bumped... I've told Rayne at MHD pickups to wind up a set for me. He's offering ridiculous prices to win people back over after his personal life went haywire while his business took off too quickly. I'm not in a band at the moment, so I have time to wait. In the meantime, I've managed to score a ceramic BK Warpig. It's what I've wanted for my SG-X anyway. It's battle worn camo cover will look great in that black SG-X but should be quite the mismatch in my goldtop while I wait on the MHD set. :D


How did you go about ordering them? Can't find the site right now.

Ran into him at MyLesPaul.com. I can get you in touch if you like.
 
O.K. I have the ABRAXAS set in a Mahogany Tele body with quartersawn maple neck?ebony fretboard for about a year now so I feel comfortable giving my two cents on my one set of BK's that I have tried.

1. ABRAXAS neck and bridge humbuckers....thought the interesting Bareknuckle A4 magnet theory about alot of Gibsons old school magnet humbuckers = A4 magnet yada yada yada b.s. ment i would be playing Santanaish old school humbuckers that sounded ahhhh....Santanaish old school humbuckerish...

what I know now, b.s., and I now know that I dont like A4 or as (Seymour Duncan comments go), there is no A4 magnets,...that refleccts my feelings a little better in a nice way, not to mention when interviewed Tim of BK said we have a really good marketing campaign.....nugh said.

2. build quality looked premium to me, so dont know where the build quality ever came in as an issue, I've never heard anyone say they were anything but rock solid.

3. after trying the ABRAXAS and knowing the Sacred MULE's are also A4 whatever that means, tells me I wont be buying them even though I love Warren Haynes.

4. the Stormy Monday clips or the PG models seem more to my liking looking back introspectively, but unfortuanantly my only comparisons were a few you tube clips and BK sound clips, and after a long time finally settled on the ABRAXAS set, note my ears were taxed to non descript by the time I finally decided on a selection, .....taught me that clips are a bogus way to buy a pickup and that I would be better off going with a long time maker that had longevity and mass reviews to stear me more accurately toward a pickup I would probably like more so due to mass appeal based on (hey I love classic rock and this is the best SD's reported to be used for that type of sound theory).

5. Do I hold fault with BK or anybody for that matter ? heck no, why? I bought a pickup set in hopes of getting a certain sound, didn't work out, welcome to the world of gear heads.

6. the Bridge is very articulate, something I have heard said alot about BK pickups in general, and at first that sounds like a good thing, the arguments being it made me a better player or it really showed my weakness etc. etc. this taught me that a really good pickup, isnt necessarily really articulate, especially if classic rock or blues is your bag...ie. Mine.

7. the neck almost seems like a good classic rock humbucker, but lacks the dirty shine and forgivness that are the true hallmarks of a really good classic humbucker, thus it falls flat there and that would be a very accurate description of the ABRAXAS set, its an almost but no cigar type of sound, you almost like it, but its lacking in character and far from unique so it dosn't even stand on its own as being different, which is all thats left after the dosn't sound like Santana or classic rock, for my needs book.

8. all in all I would call the ABRAXAS set a datsun pickup or maybe an El comino in the hands of a very accomplished player, but more so not quite a real truck but not just a car either, but your sure not going to pull your buddies junker out of the dicth with it, and your sure not gonna put this set in your go to guitar.

9. lots of power in the bridge but thin and punny would be accurate descriptions compared to an old school PAF. unless of course your ripping on some hardcore power chords/ rhythm's or some super effect heavy leads where guitar tone comes second to processing ability.

Will some guys swear its the shit, sure they will when you spend $400 on a set of pickups your destined to believe anything to convince yourself you didnt just get sacked with a set of humbuckers you know damn well you won't be keeping...how do I know, because I almost convinced myself of the same thing, until I became honest and said to myself, if these are so damn good, then why do I keep thinking I dont like them every time I play....duh....subconscious knowledge.

Just bought a set of Seymour Duncan Antiquity Humbuckers and it feels so right.....Im so glad to be back in America.
 
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