Bare Knuckle Pickups Apache Alnico III

Single coil, reverse wound middle pickup, vintage stagger, metal plate on the neck PU, fitted with Eric Johnson mod to tone pots - all wired up by BKP and delivered as a ready to go scratchplate.

Fitted to a '89 USA Fender Deluxe Plus. Replaced Lace sensors and an extra Seymour Duncan Hotrail, Tbx etc etc

I became frustrated with the muddy tone that the lace sensors had. The Hotrail was fun but ultimately not really what the Strat was about.. After listening to SRV, Knopfler and various other classic strat tones, I realised that I wanted to turn the guitar into what it should have been - a proper single coil strat.

I have not been disappointed.

These pickups are so good. Clean, they just make the guitar sound like a strat. It was isntant. As soon as I tried it, I realised what I was missing all these years. Low to mid gain, they sing and are great for blues rock which is my thing. The fact that they are not high output helps the tone. You have to work the guitar to get them to do their thing but all the classic strat sounds that I was missing are now there.

BKP are a great company to deal with - they spend time with you on the phone and help you choose what you want. I used to hanker after a vintage strat thinking that was the way to get that sound, but these have done it for me. I've owned and sold to custom shop strats (SRV and EC). I didn't mod them because that seemed to defeat the point of them, but I also didn't like them half as much as I like my Standard USA strat with these pickups.

Single coil passive set , standard wiring - 9

Japanese 86 strat, black/maple neck
All positions
Stock Jap pickups
Reason - more authentic vintage strat sound

Output, slightly hotter than standard pickups, but not a great deal more than standard.

Sound is sweet, these pickups make an ok guitar sound great !
Beautiful 'plummy' sound on the front pickup, with bite on the back pickup without being too harsh.

In between sounds are well balanced and very useable.

Using with Mesa Nomad 45 and Boss ME50 and Digitech studio quad.

Music played - Pink Floyd tribute / blues

These would probably not suit a heavy rock player, think sweet singing sounds

If destroyed or stolen, i would have no hesitation in ordering these again, they do exactly what it says on the tin as it were !

Been playing 30 years, and can't afford a 57 strat, but then who can !

Also have another strat with Kinmans fitted (AVN blues) which are hotter, but these are sweeter. can now switch from one strat to another without feeling dissapointed.

If you are thinking of changing pickups then check these out, these are the dogs nuts, and if all the other sets are as good as these, then you won't be dissapointed.

Only suggestin would be do your research regarding which set suits your style best.

Pickup features: Single Coil Passive
Impedence or other specs: DC Resistance Br 6.6K Mid 6.0K Neck 6.0K

Model of guitar or bass: 1979 Ash/Maple Fender Strat
Position: middle
Pickup being replaced: All three original fender pickups
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: Unknown
You musical style(s): Classical electric, clean and heavy blues, music with melody
Reason for pickup change: My Strat was made in the best year for the "Worst Strat in The World Award" most people that heard it wondered "Why it sounded funny?". The original pickups made you feel bad to play them.

Perceived output level: They compete well with humbuckers which are set flat to the pickup surrounds
Tone: 1950's original Strat tone, airy, edgy, bells, woody, spacey, spiteful, sweet and dangerous a right yob in a suit.
Sonic evaluation: First of all I played them through a Pignose 2W. Then a Laney 15W R but my normal rig is a Fender Twin Reverb with a Boogie V Twin an a Watkins Copycat.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I write and play Classical, Pop and Film music on an electric guitar , and widdle around for fun with clean and heavy blues. Apache pickups come as a set and are excellent in all 5 positions on a Srat

Comments: I have 3 Strats, a Hank Marvin Signature lace sensor TBX Boost, one of 20 made before they were withdrawn so quite rare, a 35th anniversary TBX Boost ebony neck and flame top, and a 1979 maple/ash. I just came onto this site to endorse the review in the Guitarist Magazine May 2005 as completely accurate, it made me buy a set! Bare Knuckle Apache Pickups make you smile to play them without the amp on. When you turn it on you've just got to laugh at how good they are.
It's there, the vintage tone every Strat player is looking for, these pickups carry a magical vibe that few of us have ever had a chance to experience at the time when Strats sounded like this off the shelf. There is no point in looking for the "Tone in your head" buy a set of Apaches and stop searching.
When you ring Tim Mills on 01598 763666 be careful to order the right stagger on the pole magnets. The low "B" high "G" can be frustrating if you like a balanced sound from all your strings. Hank Marvin didn't have a problem because he used heavy strings with probably with a wound "G" in the early days. Jimi Hendrix didn't need to think about it because he turned the guitar over. There are ways round this either custom manufacture or flat pole magnets.
It would be nice to see these pickups in a comparative sound test with the other big names. Let's hope Guitarist will do that without advertising revenue considerations interfering with the test results?
Get yourself a set baby and find out what a real rebel sound is all about. Oh! by the way, they make you feel good to play them and in my opinion have beneficial effects on the musicians state of health because they make you play better. There is a magical exchange of energies between the player and the pickups that sounds and feels like - freedom coming on!