Looking at Bare Knuckle pickups

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homespun
homespun
Well-known member
I’m looking to replace the pickups in my Ibanez RG655. Someone suggested Bare Knuckle pickups. Looking around their site the Holy Diver set sounded the best to me. Lots of mids and tight lows.

Does anyone have experience with Bare Knuckles?
 
After the first time I tried them I went with them almost all my guitars. There is just a magic to them I don't find in the usual suspects. (Seymours and Dimarzios)

The sensitivity to picking and the nuances with the volume knob you can get are the reason I love them. I have the Alnico Nailbomb bridge in 3 of 4 of my Warmoth builds and the other has the Juggernaut set. The neck pickups in the others are the Cold Sweat..Emerald and another Juggernaut.

The definition they give under gain is really cool too...doesn't smear like some of the others. The split clean sounds are amazing as well.

I do have a Solar that I swapped out with a Duncan PATB1 in the bridge and a PATB3 in the neck. That is the one non BKP pickup over the years I still can work with. You might try those as well if you don't take the BKP plunge.

I have a friend that has the Diver in an Ibanez RG...the Diver has a thick mid range and warm rich top end. The lows are decently tight as well...as pretty much in most BKPs.

Many people bag on BKP for the price, but I found my tone and the 130 or so bucks they cost will bring me a life time of enjoyment..so the cost to me is not even relevant.
 
I’ve used painkiller, Nailbomb, cold sweat, miracle man and aftermath.
Great pickups, one thing I’ve noticed with all these sets is how much clarity they have.
 
Have tried Cold Sweats in a LPC and have Alnico Nailbombs in an Ibanez ARZ6UC. Both sets have a unique textured tone, nice clarity, tight lows, and are fairly sensitive to height adjustments. However, I didn't end up liking them as much as I'd thought I would. To me, they don't seem to push the front of the amp as hard as SDs/Dimarzios/Gibsons/etc. I would crank the height up close to the strings (for the bridge pickup mostly) to compensate, and that would give me some more juice, but then lose too much definition. I end up valuing that front push just as much if not more than the positive traits for the pickups. Fwiw I liked the A-bombs in the ARZ more than the CS set in the LPC.

They do have lots of customization options, and I hear their customer service is great if you decide to try them out.
 
Holy divers are safest choice for baswood guitars, esp. Ibanez. Juggs are similar with slightly more output and clarity, still lot of mids.
 
i have a painkiller set in my PRS, and they're amazing in this guitar. i actually did a slight comparison around here somewhere between it and a nazgul and a sh4 jb. the THING i love about them is they are very clear under high gain. punchy, open and articulate. i usually play seymour duncan nazguls, and they have a little more push and compression, but also come with a little more blur. the bkp's are more like a microphone for your guitar IMO. if your guitar doesnt have much low end, they will show it. worth it in the end for me playing extreme metal, but if i was playing heavy rock i would just use a jb.....
 
I have VHii's and Mules in a couple of guitars. Fantastic pickups, no doubt. I've bought all mine second-hand off reverb just because new sets are ridiculously priced. However....

For the money? Check out ToneNerd pickups. He's a forumite here, and straight-up wizard from the clips I've seen and heard. Worth a look.
 
I've got a pile driver tele set, mules & aftermaths. I like them all quite a bit. I got the piledrivers & mules used, the aftermaths came with the guitar.

I don't know if I could justify the price point brand new, but then again I've always shopped for used pickups.
 
I don’t mind spending the money. I mean it’s either Bare Knuckle or Lollar dB.

I’ve never really got along with JBs.
 
Loved the VHII's I had, they were fantastic but relatively low output. I can almost guarantee the Holy Divers are great. You should also check out Motor City Pickups, the 2nd degree blackbelt is amazing. Higher output but still super clear and defined.
 
ewill52 said:
I have VHii's and Mules in a couple of guitars. Fantastic pickups, no doubt. I've bought all mine second-hand off reverb just because new sets are ridiculously priced. However....

For the money? Check out ToneNerd pickups. He's a forumite here, and straight-up wizard from the clips I've seen and heard. Worth a look.
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Thanks for the plug guys. I won’t be setup at my new location until February, so production is at a standstill during the move.
 
Sensitivity, clarity & detail have been hallmarks of the BKP line for me.
Very responsive to nuance, and they resist mush and smearing.
Really excellent string-to-string definition across chords, even at high gain.

I agree with the opinions shared above - there's a little something special about the BKs.
The ones I've got all share a certain extra dimensionality that most machine wound pickups don't have.
I've often found this sort of 3D quality in handwound ones, but very few mass-market ones achieve it.

Yes, they're expensive in the States. But they stand a cut above.
And in recent years they're becoming more readily available used.

I think the Holy Divers are a great choice here. IMO the Diver bridge is far superior to the JB.
Tighter lows, fuller mids, less nasal, and it sings as well or better, even up high the neck.
It also cleans up nicely using the volume knob, something a JB doesn't do very well.
The Diver neck is a gem too: definition galore, and a great voice for neck leads.

I very much like all of the BKs I've got - two other sets besides the HolyDivers.
Bought Rebel Yells years ago for one of my Explorers, and got the Polymaths this year for a PRS.
I sometimes think about getting a set of Mules for one of the Les Pauls, too.
 
scottosan said:
Thanks for the plug guys. I won’t be setup at my new location until February, so production is at a standstill during the move.
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My first thought in reference to this topic, was Tone Nerd, as well.

I have played, or owned most of the BK lineup, and while they are great pickups, they do not compare to Scott's offerings. Your mileage may vary, but I am glad that I got my small stash before he started preparing for his move overseas.

And I will order more when he sets up shop again.

I would get a used Duncan for the time being, and then get on Scott's list for early next year........WELL WORTH THE WAIT ! (y)
 
OUTLAW1969 said:
My first thought in reference to this topic, was Tone Nerd, as well.

I have played, or owned most of the BK lineup, and while they are great pickups, they do not compare to Scott's offerings. Your mileage may vary, but I am glad that I got my small stash before he started preparing for his move overseas.

And I will order more when he sets up shop again.

I would get a used Duncan for the time being, and then get on Scott's list for early next year........WELL WORTH THE WAIT ! (y)
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While overseas, I can still technically claim American made, just not made in America :D
 
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eclecticsynergy said:
… I think the Holy Divers are a great choice here. IMO the Diver bridge is far superior to the JB.
Tighter lows, fuller mids, less nasal, and it sings as well or better, even up high the neck.
It also cleans up nicely using the volume knob, something a JB doesn't do very well.
The Diver neck is a gem too: definition galore, and a great voice for neck leads. …
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Thanks for the review. I like how the neck pickup is wound to about half the resistance on the Holy Diver set. I’ve always had to lower the neck pickup too much on closer matched DC resistance sets. I’d like the neck pickup to be closer to the strings so that it is not “moofy”.
 
homespun said:
I don’t mind spending the money. I mean it’s either Bare Knuckle or Lollar dB.

I’ve never really got along with JBs.
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If you don't get along with a JB in the bridge, I would look at another BKP. The holy diver is based on a JB, I had one in a seven string, and it reminded me of a JB. However, the holy diver neck pickup is good!
 
MetalThrasher said:
If you don't get along with a JB in the bridge, I would look at another BKP. The holy diver is based on a JB, I had one in a seven string, and it reminded me of a JB. However, the holy diver neck pickup is good!
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The demos sound like the mid range bump is shifted to a higher resister. Less of that heel-down cocked wah and more like a TS808. I could be hearing it wrong though.
 
homespun said:
The demos sound like the mid range bump is shifted to a higher resister. Less of that heel-down cocked wah and more like a TS808. I could be hearing it wrong though.
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To me, it still has those annoying high end mids if I could put it that way.
 
I’ve got a mahogany guitar with a ceramic warpig. It was a stupid thing to do, super dark guitar with a dark pickup - I have to dime the hell out of the treble to compensate.

The pickup does sound good though, really high output and punchy. Would’ve been smarter in a brighter guitar, I should’ve done a nailbomb or holy diver or something else a little brighter.
 
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