Bareknuckle pickups

mburekenge

'63 veneer board set on my '57 avri. Very nice and articulate.

Jonathanthomas83

mburekenge said:

'63 veneer board set on my '57 avri. Very nice and articulate.

+1 and agreed!

WezV

HAL9000 said:

Another recommendation for Oil City. I emailed Ash and explained what I was after. He made a couple of suggestions and described how they differed. I settled for a set of Oil City StoneTones and couldn't be happier. Excellent pickups at a very reasonable price.

This is quite important, and it's one of the reasons I now buy less BKP's.

 I used to tell Tim what I wanted and every time I went with his recommendation it worked brilliantly.  That got harder as they got busier, and proper fully custom options pretty much disappeared once the range got to a certain size.  Although they do offer a massive range of custom options for each model so it does make sense.

webrthomson

I've had BKP Miracle man and Aftermaths which I didn’t like, but I do still have a BKP92 (P90) in my LP junior and I love Mules in full blown LP's. Matt Kemp is putting Alnico Nailbombs in a guitar for me as anytime I've hear them I've liked them too.

I've got Oil City Blackbirds in my B6 and they are great too - I think it's horses for courses though - I do think the premium for BKP's is a bit cheeky!

andy1839

Had a Slowhand set in a USA hardtail RW necked strat. Sounded immense. 
would definitely get another set if they came up for a bargain. 

Also had an Emerald bridge, wouldn't sound good in anything, strats to les Paul's tried all sorts but was too bright and thin for me. 
Resistance read ok, so I guess it just wasn't for me. 

TTBZ

I loved the Mules, Pig 90, MQ and Black Dogs I've had but no longer have any. Surprisingly I actually prefer the Axesrus pickups I have, the Purist is like a Mule but with more output and character. Black Dogs were my next favourite though, sounded so good in my Pearl all mahogany LP.

DefaultM

WezV said:

HAL9000 said:

Another recommendation for Oil City. I emailed Ash and explained what I was after. He made a couple of suggestions and described how they differed. I settled for a set of Oil City StoneTones and couldn't be happier. Excellent pickups at a very reasonable price.

This is quite important, and it's one of the reasons I now buy less BKP's.

 I used to tell Tim what I wanted and every time I went with his recommendation it worked brilliantly.  That got harder as they got busier, and proper fully custom options pretty much disappeared once the range got to a certain size.  Although they do offer a massive range of custom options for each model so it does make sense.

See this is what put me off. I'd bought used before but decided I wanted a new set for my 7 string. 
Told them the guitar, the sound I wanted and a link to my band to show what I played. Got recommended a set of Cold Sweats (not by Tim) but they weren't what I wanted at all and I lost quite a bit of money selling them.

mudslide73

I currently have and use a Crawler bridge in my LP and a VHII in a 1 hum Floyd bitsa Strat. I like them both very much. I love the rounded top end of the SD Custom Custom so I might get a Nightfighter Custom Alnico II for the Strat to compare.

I've had some Apaches but they didn't do it for me like I'd hoped (oft described as BKs most versatile single coil but I didn't think they were). I put some Stone Tones in and they were exactly what I needed - more power and more open to my ears. Better quack in the oop positions also. 

Jeremiah

I tried the Mules - they were good but not a massive difference to other PAF types.

I currently have Apaches in a 12-string, but I'm thinking about replacing them as they are maybe a bit too bright.

PhilKing

I probably have more BK's than most people, having known Tim since 2004.  I still buy BK's and have them in lots of guitars.  I just got a set of pickups from them for my Squier Bass VI (basically a mixed Jaguar set (2 bridges and a neck).  Here goes with what I have and the guitars they are in:

Crawler/BKP91/BKP91 in a 1990 PRS EG IV
Black Dog set in a 1952 Les Paul converted to 58 spec
PG Blues in a 1986 Darkback LP Goldtop limited edition
Nantucket set in a 1972 55 LP Special
Emerald set in a custom Les Paul - 25.5" scale
Abraxas set in 1979 Hamer Sunburst and 2001 PRS Single Cut
VHII set in PRS ME II
Mule set in PRS Artist II, Feline Lion
Stormy Monday set in 1968 335
10th Anniversary set in a 1959 LP Clone
Nailbomb set (with Irish Tour) in an Ibanez RG
Riff Raff/Stormy Monday set in a Zemaitis pearl front clone 
Cold Sweat set in a 1979 BC Rich Mockingbird
Blackhawk alnico in a Teye Scallywag
Rebel Yell set in a 1990 PRS Standard
Crawler set in an Epiphone Korina V
Holydiver/Trilogy/Trilogy in a superstrat
Miracle Man set in a Warmoth PRS clone with rosewood neck
Warpig/Mississippi Queen set in a mahogany Explorer
Pig 90 in a double cut LP Junior
Holydiver set in a Mockingbird clone with Floyd
69 Strat set in a Partsocaster
Apache set in a 1958 Strat
Custom 66 set in a Bravewood 66 Strat
Veneer Board set in a Bravewood 58 hardtail strat
Slab Board set in a Partsocaster
Stormy Monday/Sultan/Sultan in a Partsocaster
VHII/Mothers Milk/Mothers Milk in a Bravewood 64 Strat
62 PBass in a 1966 Precision
62 Jazz Bass set in a Bravewood Stack pot Jazz
56 P-Bass in a Bravewood 56 Precision
62/64 Jaguars in a Squier Bass VI
Irish Tour set in a Hendrix Partsocaster (reverse magnet stagger)
MQ/Slowhand/Mini HB in a walnut custom guitar
Blackguard Flat 50 set in a MIJ 62 Tele
Blackguard Flat 52 set in a 1958 Tele
Brown Sugar/Sivertone Mini Humbucker in a 1959 Tele
Boss/Dan Armstrong Lipstick tube in a custom tele
Piledriver/Slowhand in a custom tele
Slowhands in a Squier Duo-Sonic

I also have Sheptone. Mojo, Mojotone, Lollar, McNeely, Zhangbucker, Seymour Duncan, TV Jones, Gibson & Fender pickups in guitars too.  However, I still like the BK sound.  I have a few custom sets which I've got over the years when I have spoken with Tim on some guitars or projects that I wanted a certain sound from.  When I first met him there were 3 guys making them and now I think there are 16, so things have changed, but Tim is still very committed to the sound he gets from his pickups and I understand that as he has grown bigger, he's had to stop the custom building.  I still have one gripe, which I've had from day 1, and that is the he doesn't label the pickups.  I have several sets of Strat pickups and have to check DC resistance to figure out what they are, same with Humbuckers.  It would make life so much easier if they had the model on them.

Sorry this is a long post.  I just wanted people to know that I have been using BK's for the last 13 years, and still love their sound.

A5D5E5

Holy divers are my absolute favourite pickup ever - super distortions on steroids.

I've tried several others and never been disappointed, but nothing quite wows me like HDs.

Jonathanthomas83

Similar story with me and Cold Sweats, I love them to bits.

gordiji

Initially i loved both the Irish tour & Flat 52's especially for the bottom end clarity / twang but sold them on as the trade off was excessive brightness in the top end which i had difficulty dialling out. Both were in maple boarded guitars. I now know i prefer the Alnico III magnet in single coils having replaced the tele set with a fender broadcaster AIII set which are v.good and the strat set with mojo 50's AIII's which too are ace.
The BKP neck Bluenote P90  i have in a tokai 54 lp copy and it is sublime.
Abraxas set in PRS cu22 , wonderful set, Alnico 4, neck is basically a paf , bridge hot paf, my favourite humbuckers.
Stormy Neck in LP . Great.
VHII Bridge. Great clarity equally happy clean or saturated.

With such a wide range on offer you need to know what your after which sometimes is a trial & error thing.  BKP will swap your set if u no likey after installation.
Summing up they're v. good although pricey  especially as pickup winders seem to be like monsoon frogs thesedays.

FelineGuitars

I think it is often a question of marrying the right pickup to the right guitar with the right timbers.
I have once or twice had a set of pickups BKPs or OCPs in a certain guitar and not liked the result, but later tried them in another axe and been bowled over by them.
Also, it also comes down to what you like in a tone ...I think a set of Nailbombs in a mahogany guitar is a bloated mess, while I rather like them in Ash, but the next player may feel differently.

Much like Phil King I've been around and stocking BKPs since very early on and seen the line grow. 

I've also championed Oil City and been somewhat instrumental in the development of the Master wound range in as much as requesting certain sounds or models from Ash or supplying some classic pickups to repair and decode for later replicas.
I enjoy carrying a few brands of cool pickups and having choices that fill gaps in each manufacturer's ranges.

Deijavoo

Piledriver bridge pickup in a Tele is without any doubt in my mind, what a Tele should sound like. (To my ears at least) 

fretmeister

I've had Miracle Man and Crawler sets.

Neither lasted long. Went back to my favourite Seymours.

zepp76

I have a set of their Supermassive 90 P90's in my 50's Tribute Les Paul, they are great pickups I can't fault them.

imalrightjack

I liked the humbucker-sized P90 Mississippi Queens. Smooth and clear. 

+1 for Oil City and @TheGuitarWeasel ;

Elwood

Has anyone tried the Trilogy single coils in an HSS configuration?

PhilKing

Elwood said:

Has anyone tried the Trilogy single coils in an HSS configuration?

I have them in a Swamp Ash strat with a maple/ebony neck and a Holy Diver bridge.  It's my go to 80's superstrat sounds and they are much less manic than you would think.  You can still play blues on them if you want.