Bare Knuckle Pickups BKP-92

Single Coil, Overwound P-90, passive pickups, braided leads, neck pickup is Reverse Wound/Reverse Polarity (RWRP). I bought a matched pair because I wanted to replace a pair of Gibsons, originally I was a little concerned that maybe they were going to be too hot. But they aren't, they are about as hot as Lollars standard wind, and only a little hotter then the orginal Gibsons. I bought the set with the neck pickup RWRP so they are humcancelling when both are engaged.

I put these in a '56 Les Paul reissue. The main reason I bought these pickups was because the orginal Gibsons were microphonic and had an overbearing 60 cycle hum. These pickups are quiter to begin with and with the RWRP neck pick up, you can engage both pickups and have some degree of humcancelling. I selected the P-92's because I wanted to push the front amp a little harder.

These pickups sound great, they are fuller sounding then the orginals, more mids and lows, slightly less highs, but still have enough highs to be snarly, and are instantly recognizable as P-90's. I wired mine with a push/pull tone pot so I can change them to "out-of-phase". I never really like the "out-of-phase" tones, but with the P-90's and this guitar, it really works well. Using the pickups "out-of-phase" and playing around with the volume of both pickups, I can get pretty close to the orginal "Gibson P-90" sound, it doesn't get clicky and quacky like a lot of out-of-phase tones get.

I would highly recomend then to anyone who wants a little hotter P-90. I have no plans of swappping them out, and I've been using them constantly for over a year. Would I buy them again? I might, they sound great, but since I only have one P-90 guitar, I might be inclined to try something different if I had to. These are made in England, I ordered them direct, when I ordered them, the exchange rate was such that they were still priced competatively. Delivery was really fast, I think I had them within 2 weeks.

Pickup features: P90 Single Coils - Passive
Impedence or other specs: 8.6k (approximate) - 11,000 winds on the bridge, 8,500 winds on the neck.

Model of guitar or bass: Hamer Special
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: DiMarzio DP154
Other pickups on guitar: N/A
Artists using this pickup: -
You musical style(s): Rock, blues, country
Reason for pickup change: Humbucking tones of the DiMarzio's were a little too refined and out of character with the Hamer Special's styling. It's a feisty looking guitar and I wanted something that would sonically represent that attitude.

Perceived output level: Higher than the standard P90, with more bark to the attack.
Tone: Midrange bark and push, but with a glassy top end and strident bass response.
Sonic evaluation: The Hamer is run into a Fulltone Fulldrive II, then into a Trace Elliot Speed Twin C100 amp with Mesa Celestion speakers. A TC Electronics G Major is in the effects loop.
With no effects and the clean channel selected on the amp, the first thing you notice with the neck pickup engaged is the amount of detail in the sound. All the tones can be heard but there is no clutter. The neck has a warmth to it that invites clean arrpegiated passages or quick, sharp rhythm slashes. Add drive to create a crunch tone and you are greeted with a sound that is best described as fruity. The tone is such that it invites you to take some extended solos. You just want to explore the sonic possibilities. I even like its rhythm tone, which is something I have ever been able to say of an overdriven bass pickup.
The bridge in relation is the perfect counterpart. Clean it is obvious that it has stronger midrange bark, but again with that detailed top end and strident bottom end that gives the pickup plenty of 'brang'. Add drive and suddenly you have a little beast that can cover many musical bases. Punk, blues, rock, country. It's all here. The sound certainly has that spite that P90's are famous for, but it's never unpleasant or unruly, always musical.
The mixed positions on any two pickup guitar have always represented a problem for me. I often find that the sonic qualities and the strongest pickup tend to dominate proceedings. I'm pleased to say that it is not the case here. Again the sound remains articulate and detailed, but the characters of each pickup blend to give a sound that is sharp with midrange growl, yet glassy and warm at the same time.
These pickups can also handle gain. Normally P90's can start to get very noisy or overly flabby in certain frequencies but these retain their definition at all times. The string balance in all positions is perfect and even at higher gain settings noise is remarkably absent (you get some obviously, but nowhere near as much as I was expecting).
When I first installed the pickups and tested them I thought that the bridge pickup sounded woolly. But I soon discovered that packing the cavity with a little extra foam to add a extra height resolved this problem. The wooliness was gone and the detail I expected was evident.
It?s also worth noting that your tone and volume controls seem to take on an extra dimension. At even the highest of gain levels you can back off the volume and the sound will clean up. The tone control can be used to colour the sound more effectively than many pickups I have tried. These pickups keep a simple guitar simple, but also make it a surprisingly versatile package.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Country, blues, rock.

Comments: I would purchase these pickups again in a heartbeat. They are made to the highest standards using materials sourced that are equal to the classic versions which act as a basis for the existence of these pickups.
Add to that the fact that the company genuinely *listens* to you about your requirements, the styles you cover, what you do and do not like about other pickups you have tried and what equipment you are using.
I've been playing 16 years and I have rarely experienced this level of customer service. It's obvious reading other reviews of various Bare Knuckle products that this is a consistent company geared to delivering what the end user wants. You even get a set of strings to complete the installation. A simple gesture yet one that is common sense!
I have read on some forums some apathy towards Bare Knuckle products particularly from the US. This is not meant to be a swipe at those users that frequent those forums but just because a product is not from the US does not instantly mean it's inferior (for instance.... Marshall!). Quality is quality irrespective of place of manufacture. If you are not sure if Bare Knuckles are for you drop your preconceptions and listen with your ears. The results can be enlightening.
I'm a convert and I think a set of Crawler's for my PRS and an Emerald for the bridge of my Strat will be purchased in the very near future.