Bare Knuckle Pickups Black Dog

Calibrated set of Black Dogs. Burnt Chrome covers.

2008 Gibson Les Paul Standard

We (myself and my wife) own several sets of Bareknuckles already, this guitar was going to be kitted out with them before we'd even decided which guitar to buy. It was just a question of which set.

These are from the Vintage Hot range. Vintage sound with a bit more muscle. Originally we were considering a set of Mules for the Les Paul, however once we had the guitar it became clear that it was quite bright for a Les Paul, and so a slightly hotter pup might be required. The Black Dogs were the answer.

All Bareknuckle pickups give you superb sound, they are clear, articulate, detailed and stunningly versatile. The Black Dogs are suitable for anything from clean to rock, they can do heavier styles as well but if that's your thing then Bareknuckle have other pups to suite your style.

Bareknuckles are very sensitive and it's always worth playing with the pickup height until you get the sound you want.

Every guitar we own has Bareknuckles in it now. Gibson stock pickups don't come close. DiMarzio's don't come close. Seymore Duncans are more expensive and still don't do it.

Always worth checking your choice with Tim before you purchase, he is Yoda.

DC: Bridge 9.5k / Neck 7.6k
Magnet: Alnico V
Wiring: Four Conductor
Covers: Solid *dulled* nickel
Size: 50mm

These pickups are wax potted as well.

I installed these pickups in an ESP Edwards E-LP-98LTS Les Paul copy, which is an amazing Japanese copy of a Gibson Les Paul 59 reissue complete with 1 piece mahogany body and long tenon neck. In my search for the ultimate (but reasonably priced Les Paul) I stumbled upon ESP's Edwards guitars which are made sold only in Japan. The guitar was perfect in every way (especially acoustically) but the stock Seymour Duncan JB/59 combo left a bit to be desired, especially considering the "classic" tone I was looking for.

I had used Bare Knuckle in the past for Strat pickups (Apaches) and metal (Ceramic Warpigs) and P-90's (Mississippi Queens) and was always blown away by Tim Mill's pickups. This time I wanted a vintage humbucker, something I had yet to try from Bare Knuckle. I emailed Tim and asked about Mules and he recommended Black Dogs instead, as Black Dogs still have that vintage vibe, but are hotter.

I also was shooting for the look that the pickup covers in the VOS Gibson re-issues had, and Tim recommended a solid nickel silver covers with a dull nickel plate. When I first got them I thought the shade of the covers was a tad too dark looking and that they looked to "perfect" to be aged. After one week of playing this guitar between 4 and hours a day in a humidified house they look killer!!! By killer, I mean "aged". The bridge on the guitar is dulling already so they are matching that quite nicely. As far as sounds goes, read on. :)

Output wise I would say they are lower output than the stock Duncans which is fine because the Duncans were oddly microphonic (despite the fact that they were supposed to be potted). These pickups (surprisingly) are MUCH quieter than the Duncans but with 10 times the tone. When SOME people claim that the Edwards Les Pauls don't sound like "the real thing", I'm convinced it has everything to do with the pickups. I adjusted the heights so that the bridge and neck are dead even in terms of output and just WOW...amazing detail, FULL bass and midrange and just gorgeous shimmering tones in ALL positions.

I'm playing through a Mesa/Boogie F-30 with a Maxon SD-9, FullTone FullDrive 2, and for practice I play through my Roland Cube. For a good idea of what this guitar and pickups sound like, listen to "All your loving" off of the John Mayall and the Blues Breakers album. TOTAL vintage Les Paul sound. I am sure it sounds like Jimmy Page as well, but I'm more blown away that I can nail Clapton's tone on that album with this guitar (and pickups) and my Maxon SD-9 (analogman modded). Also, I can nail the tone of Clutch on most of the songs on "Blast Tyrant". Also sounds great for Lenny Kravitz and I can pretty much nail Page's tone on "Moby Dick".

Last but not least, my cover band plays a few songs by Tool and they can get into that territory as well with a little help from the Fulltone Fulldrive 2 overdrive pedal. These pickups are versatile but definitely NOT a jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none.

I don't recommend these for metal, but Bare Knuckle has other pickups for that. For classic rock and blues, these are tops.

Remember that these come four conductor wiring stock, so I had my guitar shop wire them with the "Jimmy Page wiring" (or so I am told) which gives me three push-pull pots and the ability to tap the neck and bridge (individually and together) as well as put the pickup switch in the middle and make the pickups out-of-phase with each other (think Peter Green) which sounds amazing! This out-of-phase setting works for both tapped and not.

If lost or stolen, I would definitely replace these in another Les Paul style guitar (Heritage, ESP Edwards or Navigator, etc.).

I have owned 3 Gibsons with "stock" pickups prior to discover ESP Edwards and Bare Knuckle pickups. I basically have the ultimate vintage sounding Les Paul in my hands with this guitar and pickup combination. Add the coil tapping and Jimmy Page wiring and I have everything I could ever need from an instrument.

No comparison to these pickups...the Seymour Duncans fall so far below this it's not evern funny. I've read peoples rave reviews about Duncans and I have to believe they have not heard Bare Knuckle.

Tim Mill's customer service is second to none...I was going to basically by the wrong pickups and Tim steered me in the correct direction, as well as making the pickups look EXACTLY like what I wanted.

A 15 on a scale of 1-10 for product quality, features and customer service. Stop spending money on crap and buy these.

matched/calibrated pair of bare knuckle black dog pick ups.
dc 9.75k
alnico v

i installed these pups in my gibson les paul special which has a very immediate and strident acoustic sound which i decided to compliment/exagerate.
they relaced a set of stock gibson pups which i thought were too muddy and cheap sounding.

i am using my guitar with a very clean boogie f100 amp head and cab and use various quality pedals for od /distortion.
output level is similar to the gibsons but there the comparisons end...the BK tone has a mid rich mahogany bark which is exactly what i was looking for,cleans are pure, and overdriven the pups sound even better.
i chose the wax potted option but what i didn't expect was the reduction in noise/hum/buzz and can now drive my amp and pedals a little harder.

installing these pups has raised the level of this guitar up a couple of classes...truly wonderful tone.everything you might have read or heard about these pups is true.
i have noticed that tim from BK has a fine reputation for customer service that is also very true...i have on a number of occasions emailed him to help me with some unrelated issues and have always received prompt and informative replies.class act.
if you have a guitar-no matter the price-and you are looking to upgrade, do yourself a favour and check out BK pups you wont regret it. 10s all the way.

Humbucking Alnico Magnets PAF style Pickups
Hand-wound 2 wire
Open (no cover)

The Mule - typical vintage PAF
Black Dog - hot PAF

Having bought a Les Paul standard with Burstbucker pickups I was in the market for upgrading to a more vintage sound. In particular I wanted to clean up the neck sound (the origanal Burstbucker sounded muddy to my ear - a question of taste I suppose)and have a fuller sweeter sustain at the bridge. Think Jimmy Page or an older Santana sound.

Cruising the web I found the Bare Knuckle site and read the rave reviews. Tim at Bare Knuckle recommended The Mule for the neck and the Black Dog for the bridge based on my requirements.

What can I say? Outrageous. These pickups gave me exactly the sound I was looking for - only better. They brought what was an already good guitar to life.

I installed the pickups myself (dead easy if yu take care with the soldering iron).

I play through a VOX valvestronix 120 head using the UK blues or the fender amp models.

At the neck I had a strong mellow tone with very clear articulation which was maintained through overdrive. Bags of sustain and VERY reactive to picking dynamics.

At the bridge a very hot but sweet sound. Again, very articulate, very responsive ( great pinch harmonics - dead easy). Sustains for a week if you want.

I play variety of music but with a strong bias towards 60/70 classic rock. The guitar matches this perfectly with these pickups. It also works surpringly well with the 80s/90s rock sound with hi-gain amp models and overdrive, the value of the articulation provided by the pickups helps a lot with this kind of sound.

One note - these pickups are hot. I found that I was getting the sound I wanted with a quite wide seperation from the strings and rolling off the volume pots. Adjust to your taste basically.

If ever I buy another Les Paul I would do this upgrade immediately. This was some of the best money I have spent on gear since I have been playing ((38 years!).

Black Dog Humbucker Pickup (and also a the mule)

I replaced the standard issue pickups on My les Paul with the above pickups. The reason to be quite honest is because i wanted my dad to buy me a standard (as i currently have a studio) and the idiot in the shop recommended just changing the pickups. Thanks to that guy i thought. I purchased the bare knuckle pickups, black dog on the neck and the mule on the bridge.

As i wanted a standard, i was a little upset i only came away with pickups for my guitar as i am an un-grateful shit, but having installed the pickups, got it home to my amp and played with it i was rather surprised at the extreme differnce made by these astounding pickups. I never thought it could happen, but i was happier having spent ??160 on these pickups then i would have been getting a ??1200 standard. Thay are that damn good. I recommend them to any guitarist out there, as they are simply the best. Superb tones, i describe them thus: They make your guitar sing like an angel or scream like a whore. Enough said really

I have already put the same pickup arrangement on my birthday list for my jackson sl2, and i will again do the same on my ibanez jem. Even though these are very expensive guitars and come with outstanding pickups, they just are not as good as bare knuckle. I compared these pickups to my seymour duncan humbuckers on my jackson which are alot pricier, and they simply didnt compare at all. Same with EMG's and di'marzios. Bare Knuckle are simply the best.

Humbucking pick-up fitted in bridge position. Zebra finish, passive.

I replaced the bridge pickup in my 2006 Gibson Les Paul Faded Standard guitar. The original was a Gibson Burstbucker which I was far from happy with. The pickup is uncovered to give a slightly more aggressive sound. I had heard rave reviews about Bare Knuckle Pickups and a friend of mine recently changed his and was amazed with the results.

I play through a Marshall DSL 100 amp and 2x12 cab. The Burstbucker that came fitted as standard just didn't quite do it for me, quite a nasaly sound rather than warm. The Black Dog is truly awesome. I can't explain just how much better it has made the guitar. Say 100% better and Im not exaggerating. I play modern and classic rock so I didn't want it too vintage but not too modern either. Its perfect. We play a few Led Zepp numbers, Close your eyes and it is the perfect Jimmy Page sound, perfect.

I love everything about it, honestly. If I had to buy another Les Paul I would change the pickup for a Bl;ack Dog again. The best ??90 I have ever spent !

Matched ,calibrated set of Black Dog Humbuckers.9.25 Bridge,8.0 neck output.

These are now in a handmade repo of a '59 Les Paul Standard/Flametop.I built the guitar in the fall of 1989 out of carefully hand selected woods including a top that would make a PRS # 10 green with envy.I outfitted it with Duncan Gates originally.It has had several different Duncan pups in it.I was looking for something different and had heard much about Bare Knuckles and wanted to give them a try.

The output level is not dramatically different from the Duncans.The tone is much different.These pups can go anyplace.I can obtain a beautiful jazz tone-early Pat Martino with Miles-on the neck pup through my 1964 Fender Princeton.Through my early '70's Hiwatt Custom Lead 100 I can get shimmering cleans and can repo any of the classic British stuff going on in the late '60's-late '70's.Using a variety of high end boxes(Fulltone,Prescription,Emma,Morley (Bad Horsie) and Thomas Organ (original Cry Baby)I can nail Jimmy Page to perfection,nail Jeff Beck from 'Truth" or "Wired" when he used his Black Beauty'59.I can obtain even a Satriani like tone (from 'Strange Beautiful Music) pushing the Fulltone Distortion Pro and get a very Vai-ish thing when running the Emma Reezafratzits box in class A and gain up.Through all of it,the pups never lose their incredible touch sensativity,a piano like bounce and clarity,especially on the wound strings,and the ability to go from clean to scream by manipulating the volume pot with no sacrificing the phenominal bandwidth of the pups.I am a now mostly ex-luthier who at one time worked in one of the largest custom shops on the West Coast and had many extraordinary guitars go through my hands.These pups in this Les Paul equal or better the sound of any,and I mean any,guitar that I have ever played.

After several emails to Tim ( a real great guy and great service-had the pups within 10 days of ordering direct from the shop)I settled on the Black Dogs.I could not be happier with the decision.I have had these installed for two weeks and have been playing and recording like mad with them.I have been playing for just shy of 30 years and am into jazz,classical,and killer guitar from Hendrix to Holdsworth to Vai and many points in between.I own a half dozen guitars and a bunch of amps both vintage and hand made rack pre's and amps,from single channel to 3 channel high gain units,each with a different purpose for having.I would hope to never lose this Les Paul as I would have to build another and the new one just wouldn't be the same,however I would buy another set of anything that Tim Mills makes in a heartbeat

Pickup features: Passive Humbucker
Impedence or other specs: Matched set, 7.5 neck, 10 bridge

Model of guitar or bass: Ibanez SZ320mh
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: stock (duncan designed, distortion/'59)
Other pickups on guitar: matched set
Artists using this pickup: none
You musical style(s): rock, progressive, alternative
Reason for pickup change: got "cheap" guitar 'cos it plays/feels great. stock pickups sounded fine, just a bit too hot, wanted a bit moe range in the 'mid-gain' area.

Perceived output level: slightly hot PAF (10k bridge)
Tone: solid lows, powerful mids, very clear highs, harmonics everywhere.
Sonic evaluation: Pickups in a solid mahogany, set neck, rosewood f/b Ibanez. Into marshall or laney valve amps. The sound of these pickups is amazing, nailed the early Lifeson/Rush tone (ie. 'anthem'/'working man') Perfect Les Paul-Marshall tone

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play all types of rock/pop/metal. Pickup can go anywhere.

Comments: Would certainly buy these again, finally got the sound Im after, this guitar sounds better than the Gibson LP standard i sold recently, and is the best sounding guitar ive played.

Pickup features: passive Humbucker (chrome covered)
Impedence or other specs: 10.2K Alnico V

Model of guitar or bass: Epiphone G-310 SG
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: stock Epiphone humbucker
Other pickups on guitar: BK Mule
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): everything from the Cocteau Twins to Black Sabbath
Reason for pickup change: stock Epi pup was crap, basically. needed something less muddy low down, and with more clarity and definition for clean parts and leads. plus i prefer the look of covered humbuckers, which the Epis weren't.

Perceived output level: seems about the same volume as the stock Epi pups, but somehow seems to drive the amp more.
Tone: balanced, clear and well defined. plenty of mids, but not overly so.
Sonic evaluation: the Black Dog does sparkley clean sounds, great blues/rock tones with a bit of overdrive and a powerful metal tone as well. by adjusting the volume pot a bit you can really clean-up or distort the tone without touching the amp. it's far better than the SG's stock pickups. really usable tones.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: it does everything i ask of it: clean, mellow tones through classic rock right up to chunky metal riffs. even Melt-Banana.

Comments: if i lost the SG i'd replace it and i'd definately fit another a Mule and a Black Dog, but i plan on keeping this guitar until they screw down the lid of my coffin. my next guitar will probably be a Les Paul, and will get Bare Knuckle pups. to me, it looks much better than the stock Epi pups, and sounds a *lot* better. they may be pricey, but they're hand built to order, and you get what you pay for. extremely well made, great service. i can't fault them.

Pickup features: Calibrated Humbucker set
Impedence or other specs: .

Model of guitar or bass: Gibson Les Paul 2004
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Burstbuckers
Other pickups on guitar: .
Artists using this pickup: me and pagey
You musical style(s): rock rock rock
Reason for pickup change: The burstbuckers had no bollocks

Perceived output level: BLACK DOGS piss over the burstbuckers - more meat more bollocks more punch and clear tones
Tone: mid biased clean but punchy - if you like me, have found the gibson standard burstbuckers to be dissapointing, then look no further - BLACK DOG is yer man!
Sonic evaluation: Gibson Les Paul, Laney TT100 Head and cab, TC G Major, Dunlop Wah.
I can't wait to get my new PRS kitted out with some Bare Knuckles.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: rock

Comments: MAKE SURE YOU SPEAK TO TIM AT BARE KNUCKLE BEFORE YOU ORDER - HE WILL GIVE YOU EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT.