Bareknuckles: Why the high prices?

[Rock Bodom]

I think there's both hype and reality with them, some people really have an appreciation for BK's and know what they're doing with tone and that's great. But you have tons of kids out there who believe that they will get wicked cool palm muting and pinch harmonics and sonic blowjobs if they immediately replace those terrible compressed EMG's with BK's the first chance they get.

I personally haven't found the BK for me yet, my first boutique was a Lundgren M6 and that impressed me much more than any BK so far.

 

[Shawn Lutz]

They're good pickups. As always price is whatever its worth to the purchaser. Lets say I love a guitar's feel and sustain but hate the tone of a pickup even after I trying 5-6 different 60-150 dollar pickups. If a BK pickup gives the purchaser exactly what they are looking for and saves some trial and error expense then you can't really put a price on them.

 

[Steinmetzify]

Mostly because BKPs sound like this:

 

[NinjaRaf]

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.

 

[barnesjd]

Same price range as MCPs, which are superior to BKPs IMO.

First I've looked them up (I'm assuming this is Motor City). They look intriguing as well. Listing Jerry Cantrell on the artists page speaks to my heart. He has some of my favorite tones over all AiC's recordings.

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.

If I decide to likewise forget the boutique hype, I'll definitely grab the Suhr Aldrich set.

 

[JerEvil]

Same price range as MCPs, which are superior to BKPs IMO.

First I've looked them up (I'm assuming this is Motor City). They look intriguing as well. Listing Jerry Cantrell on the artists page speaks to my heart. He has some of my favorite tones over all AiC's recordings.

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.

If I decide to likewise forget the boutique hype, I'll definitely grab the Suhr Aldrich set.

Had the Aldrich set in my Carvin. Great sounding pickups for rock/metal.

 

[barnesjd]

Had the Aldrich set in my Carvin. Great sounding pickups for rock/metal.

Yeah, I probably should have pulled the trigger on the $84 covered one on eBay while I could. I'm leaning towards just trying one of these. If I don't like it, then worry about buying something more expensive.

 

[thefyn]

I do love bareknuckle pickups, but they are hella expensive.

I made the switch to iron Gear pickups. A FRACTION of the price, designed in England and sound amazing.

I did 3 different style clips with the blues engine:

Death metal style (This was a quick center mic clip of a new cab I got with JCM800
https://soundcloud.com/tock-1/messing-a ... th-vintage

This is with a Plexi style Blackstar and ratt pedal med gain:
https://soundcloud.com/tock-1/stringy-dings

This is rock/metal style with JCM800:
https://soundcloud.com/tock-1/new-picku ... lip-jcm800

The pickup was loaded in my Tokai VC75. It is clear as a bell. Perhaps too clear, and I will end up getting a 300k pot for it.

 

[metalmaniac93]

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!!! Nothing like them. I moved from BKPs to MCPs a while ago.

 

[barnesjd]

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

Which ones have you used and in what guitar?

 

[chunktone]

For my money I'll stick with Motor City pickups. I like them as much or better than anything else I've tried. I saw in your other post your into AIC. Iirc Cantrell uses Motor City 2nd degree blackbelts in his LP's. I have not tried those, but have a Detroiter and Afwayu set, and they are both great!

 

[animal]

well you only have to look at who the main market is for those pickups (djent/start-stop crowd) and listen to the tones to make an opinion

I mean I can think of enough classic albums that used SD, EMG or Dimarzio that blow away anything I've heard from the former

hell demanufacture was close to 20 years ago and that tone (EMG pickups) still destroys any modern metal band I've heard....

 

[barnesjd]

For my money I'll stick with Motor City pickups. I like them as much or better than anything else I've tried. I saw in your other post your into AIC. Iirc Cantrell uses Motor City 2nd degree blackbelts in his LP's. I have not tried those, but have a Detroiter and Afwayu set, and they are both great!

Evidently he also utilized the Afwayu:
http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/pickups ... is-lp.html

I'd say MCP is in the lead if I decide to go into the $300 per set range. If I decide to try staying thrifty, I'll go with the earlier recommendation of the BG Dark Bucker. You probably also read that I'm messing around with crap that's likely to make it a bright LP

 

[FourT6and2]

Prices are high because people will pay them. Period. Once people stop buying them, they will lower the price to the point where people will buy them again. That's how business works.

Besides that, I've had nothing but good experiences with BKP. The Black Dog and Holy Diver are the best I've ever used.

 

[thefyn]

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!!! 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.

 

[rupe]

Prices are high because the US Gov keeps printing phony money and devaluing our currency internationally.

 

[chunktone]

For my money I'll stick with Motor City pickups. I like them as much or better than anything else I've tried. I saw in your other post your into AIC. Iirc Cantrell uses Motor City 2nd degree blackbelts in his LP's. I have not tried those, but have a Detroiter and Afwayu set, and they are both great!

Evidently he also utilized the Afwayu:
http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/pickups ... is-lp.html

I'd say MCP is in the lead if I decide to go into the $300 per set range. If I decide to try staying thrifty, I'll go with the earlier recommendation of the BG Dark Bucker. You probably also read that I'm messing around with crap that's likely to make it a bright LP

Ya, I'd heard he uses the Afwayu's in his G&L's. The Afwayu is my personal favorite pickup I've tried. It's hot but the high end is not harsh or shrill like many high output pickups. Lots of lows and low mids.The Afwayu neck pickup is GREAT!!!!! They also split very well.

 

[barnesjd]

Ya, I'd heard he uses the Afwayu's in his G&L's. The Afwayu is my personal favorite pickup I've tried. It's hot but the high end is not harsh or shrill like many high output pickups. Lots of lows and low mids.The Afwayu neck pickup is GREAT!!!!! They also split very well.

Very cool. At some point in one of these two threads... now that they're running together in my head... I mentioned that I probably shouldn't say it must be hot. My amp's got plenty of gain to compensate accordingly. I believe it's more important for me to get the voicing and balance I can love.

 

[O'Rourke]

"Everything is worth what its purchaser will pay for it."

I haven't liked the MCP's I've tried, only had two though. I stick with Bryan at BG. I just tell him what I'm looking for tone wise and he nails it. Costs about the same as Duncans/dimarzios too.

 

[the4thlast1]

I think a lot of this comes down to matching the guitar with the right pickup. Ive had the chance to try most of the BK pickups, several MotorCity and most of the Duncans, I think all brands mentioned can be great. Im not much of a Dimarzio or EMG fan but those obviously can sound and work great for others as well.

In general some of the BK's have drastic EQ curves to balance out all types of wood tones. I had a nailbomb in one guitar that sounded and felt amazing...In another guitar it was not appealing to me at all and the nailbomb is one of there more balanced models. Models like the Painkiller, Miracle Man and Coldsweat have eq curves that will only work well if the natural sound of the guitar itself is a good match. When a good match is found BK's can be really awesome. I think some other brands might be a bit more forgiving than BK's.

In general BKs tend to be a bit "drier" than other bands , However most of them have better clarity and note separation compared to less expensive pickups. The fault in that to some is that they end up missing the gooey saturation found in other pickups. These are all preference issues though as far as price goes you are paying more because BKs are hand made with top quality materials, Euro exchange rate also brings up price for US customers.