Bare Knuckle Pickups Crawler Set

Pickup features: Humbucking
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Gibson LP Standard 1987
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: Bridge and Neck
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Kinda Rocky Stuff
Reason for pickup change: Not happy with bland sound

Perceived output level: Noticeable increase in output
Tone: Balance
Sonic evaluation: Gibson '87 LP Standard, Roland vga7 combo

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Rockish , both positions

Comments: I have been in the same band for 11 years and have always been looking for "the sound", the Crawler pick ups are without doubt a vast improvement on the standards pick ups they give a big fat sound without the mush ,excellent sustain without uncontrolled feedback, also Bare Knuckles service has been professional, yet personal.

Pickup features: Passive Humbucker
Impedence or other specs: 15k impedance

Model of guitar or bass: Peavey Wolfgang EXP
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Stock pickups
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: Geoff Whitehorn
You musical style(s): 70's Rock - 80's Thrash
Reason for pickup change: I felt the guitar could easily handle better pickups than those that came as stock.

Perceived output level: These pickups are fairly hot, without being full-on-distortion pickups. If you want that, then go for Bare Knuckle's Nailbomb instead.
Tone: This is a pretty bright pickup which would certainly suit mahogany bodied guitars down to the ground. As far as I know, Geoff Whitehorn (who the pickups were designed for) uses Les Paul's. Even at high gain settings, the individual strings sound out really clearly. This is a very open and articulate pickup.
Sonic evaluation: I bought the 4 conductor versio of the pickup, and had a push-push volume pot installed on the guitar to switch between full humbucking and split-coil modes. In addition, I had a capacitor installed to give the coil split a slightly fuller voice. It sounds great, especially the neck and in-between positions. I play through a Vox Tonelab, which I much prefer to Line 6's products, but I can't help thinking these pickups will really come to life once I get to play them through a decent amp in anger. I also have a Fernandes Randy Rhoads copy, with a Seymour Duncan Invader in the bridge position. The bolt-on neck Peavey sounds less syrupy and rich than the through-neck Fernandes, but as I said before it is an extremely articulate tone. I think the ideal match would be the Crawler pickups on a through or set-neck guitar.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I e-mailed Tim Mills at Bare Knuckle to ask for his recommendation of pickup. I was after something that ranged from 70's ZZ Top, through the first three Metallica albums to Queens Of The Stone Age. His recommendation was the Crawler. It does give a good "ZZ Top On Steroids" tone, and as I play with it more, and edit the Tonelab patches to suit the pickup, I have a feeling I'm going to be very happy with my choice.

Comments: Tim Mills is a real customer service supremo. When I phoned him to order the pickups he immediately checked which model guitar I was planning on fitting them to. When I told him it would be a Wolfie, he explained the modifications that would need to be made to the pickups in order to fit in with the Peavey's routing, and then made all the modifications for free before sending the pickups out. They arrive with a pick and a spare set of 10 gauge strings. Tim answers every e-mail the same day. What more could you ask for? The fact that he makes exceptionally engineered pickups, often using high quality vintage components and techniques (but not if they don't make the pickups sound better) means that the ?10-?15 premium you pay over mass produced pick-ups is an absolute steal. My only dilemma now is which Bare Knuckle pickups the get fitted to my other guitars!

Pickup features: Humbucking
Impedence or other specs: 15.4

Model of guitar or bass: Epiphone LesPaul Heritage
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Gibson 500T and 496R
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: Geoff Whitehorn
You musical style(s): Hardrock, Rock, blues, shredding
Reason for pickup change: The guitar was first equiped with Shaller-pickups, they sounded great (like 57:ers?) but didn?t fit my style, I wanted a real fat LesPaul so I went for the original. Gibson 500T & 496R, Found out pretty soon that shure they were more "metal" but lack in tone compared to the Schallers.
The Gibsons were to hash-sounding, and didn?t have "tone", they cut through and had high output, but thats all.
I wanted singing lead tone and now I GOT IT!

Perceived output level: The Crawlers are perfekt, they are hot (15.4) but not TOO hot, you can still back off if you want to
Tone: Well... they have got tone! the lead tone is fat and singing i guess kind of middy but in the same time not too middy for rythm, there is still bite and attack.
Sonic evaluation: I?v go three setups:
* PodXT (use this nowdays, sometimes direkt to PA or in front of a poweramp)
* Laney VH 100 (modified by Tommy "This amp got a new heart" Folkesson. Sounds more like a Rectifier nowdays)
* Rocktron Chameleon / poweramp
* Carvin 412
* Laney 212 (vintage 30)
When I got the Gibsonpickups the guitar always sound worse than my Ibanez 770 in any combinations. Now it sounds great nomather what I plug it into.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: My style of playing is a kind of mix between: George Lynch, John Norum, fast runs with some touch of blues/rock

Comments: I was recomended on a swedish guitarforum to get in contact with mr Tim Mills at Bare Knuckles Pickups. And so I did.
Told him my ideas and my "problem" and he recomended me the Crawlers. (I was heading for The Mule, but I trusted Tim?s good reputation and went for a set of Crawlers on his advise)
I?ve allways been a searcher for THE sound, been playin for about 20 years and went through Dimarzio, Seymour Duncan etc. I?m not a pickup "pro" but I know when it does sound right or don?t. This time it all sounded soooo right! Tone, bite, string separation, sweetness of the Alnico magnet but still wery powerfull. Perfekt! I?ve never so far had better pickups than those Crawlers (the neck and bridge are perfect calibrated).
I was a little nervous that they should sound a little too middy, but they didn?t.
Yes I would buy them again if they where stolen. And I shure can rekomend Tim and Bare Knuckles Pickups. By the way the pickups are handmade and specially made for you!
(apologize for the bad english, I?m from Sweden :-)

Pickup features: Passive Humbuckers
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: 70s Aria 'Les Paul'
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Generic Aria humbuckers
Other pickups on guitar: None
Artists using this pickup: Geoff Whitehorn
You musical style(s): Classic rock, blues,
Reason for pickup change: Aria pickups losing tone after 30 years!

Perceived output level: Higher output than other humbuckers I have used; drives valve amp more smoothly into overdrive without muddy distortion; allows gain to be turned down, giving sweeter tones without loss of power when needed.
Tone: Well-balanced, sweet, harmonically rich. Great string separation for chord work
Sonic evaluation: Playing through an Ashdown Peacemaker 60w valve 2x12 combo - awesome valve tones, from clean to nice overdrive to full-on drive for heavier work. Excellent sustain from these pickups, very natural open sound. Fantastic.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Zeppelin, Free, Humble Pie, through to Green Day, Foo Fighters etc. These pickups (with careful use of guitar volume/tone - plus I have them wired for coil-splitting which gives incredible versatility) allows all the tones needed for quite a range of sounds. I would say Crawlers have it all.

Comments: Beem playing for 30 years. These are the best pickups I have ever played, bar none. I opted for an open-coiled black set, which looks extremely cool (unlike me) against the tobacco sunburst guitar. The coil taps I had incorporated expand the sounds available even more, but even as they are these pickups would provide a huge range of rock tones for guitarists who know how to use their volume/tone knobs on the guitar and amp. Nothing else needed! I cannot recommend them highly enough, and will definitely be fitting Bare Knuckles poickups to other guitars in the future.

Pickup features: Humbucking Passive
Impedence or other specs: see spec

Model of guitar or bass: Gibson 1978 Les Paul Standard
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: Seymour Duncan SH5 custom
Other pickups on guitar: Stock Neck
Artists using this pickup: Geoff Whitehorn
You musical style(s): Classic Rock
Reason for pickup change: Been looking for that 'TONE' for 20 years. I think I may have found it.

Perceived output level: Lot more punch than the Duncan.
Tone: Thick and creamy with clarity of note. Awesome when amp is in meltdown !!
Sonic evaluation: Les Paul through Cornford Mk50 and Marshall TSLC212 ext cab. Also Marshall TSL602

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Mainly Classic Rock, Lizzy, W.Ash, Skynyrd, Bad Co. etc

Comments: Been playing 20 years. I think I may have actually found that 'TONE'. It really is Glorious ! May I also say a BIG THANKS to Tim at Bareknuckle, who really is an extremely helpful and patient guy. Customer service is exceptional.

Pickup features: Humbucking
Impedence or other specs: 16.06

Model of guitar or bass: USA Customs Super Strat
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Rio Grande Bar-B-Quebucker
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Rock
Reason for pickup change: I love the Rio Grande but I needed a pickup with a little more bottom end or a little tighter bottom end.

Perceived output level:
Tone: This is a very balanced pickup tight bottom end ,good mids, highs with bite
Sonic evaluation: I use an Engl Savage 120 or Splawn Quick Rod with 4x12 cabs. This pickup does Classic Rock to more modern drop D Rock with ease.

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

Comments: I will be talking to Tim about another pick-up very soon.

Pickup features: Humbucker
Impedence or other specs: 15K Alnico V

Model of guitar or bass: PRS EG IV (91 US model)
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: PRS Standard Treble
Other pickups on guitar: Bare Knuckle P-90's
Artists using this pickup: Geoff Whitehorn
You musical style(s): Rock, Blues, 60's & 70's pop
Reason for pickup change: wanted different sound out of the PRS. This is not my main guitar so I was willing to experiment a bit with it.

Perceived output level: Hot but has a great tone when the volume is taken down
Tone: Like all bare Knuckle pickups, the tone is balanced with a nice top/mid push
Sonic evaluation: Marshall Silver Jubilee 25/50 combo, Fender Princeton II, Blackstone overdrive, Boss DF-2, MXR Phase 90

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: This is a great pickup for rock and blues

Comments: I love Geoff Whitehorn's work with Paul Rodgers (listen to 'Now & Live'), and so when I saw Tim was making a pickup that had been voiced for Geoff I wanted to try it. The PRS is a HSS combo guitar and I saw that this pickup was also voiced to be used in this combination (though probably not with P-90's in mind!). I have a 4-pole 5-way switch which I have set to give me Bridge HB/Bridge Screw coil+ Middle P-90/Middle P90/Bridge Screw coil + neck P-90/neck P-90 (Bare Knuckle can supply this, or Stew Mac in the US).
With this guitar I can get almost any sound I can think of. The Crawler works really well with the P-90's and on its own it is exactly what I wanted. I am also using the Live Wire ST Tone set (gives almost active tone control, but is passive). I really don't need to use the overdrive or feedback pedals with this.
I have friends who have been playing as long as I have (over 30 years), and when they pick this up they can't believe the sound. No one wants to put the guitar down (until they hear my Les Paul with Bare Knuckles! - see Emerald & Mule reviews).

Pickup features: Passive HB
Impedence or other specs: 15k DC Scatterwound Zebras

Model of guitar or bass: Parker Fly Deluxe
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Standard Dimarzios
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: Geoff Whitehorn
You musical style(s): Rock , Blues , Jazz
Reason for pickup change: Pickups fitted as standard seemed thin sounding, with no particular character of their own. Spoke to Tim Mills and specified that I wanted sustain of Les Paul combined with Strat tone. Tim recommended Crawlers.

Perceived output level:
Tone: Very well balanced / Bassy full sound from neck pickup and clear well defined distortion from bridge - When used together for clean sound , superb harmonics/inter-action between the pair
Sonic evaluation:
For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Great for wide range of genres

Comments: Tim Mills will go out of his way to help you to get up and running so you're happy 110% - superb aftersales and backup - e:mails / calls answered quickly . Pickups Delivered next day following order. Fantastic considering these were bespoke prototypes for this particular early model of Parker.Lifetime warranty. They look classy and well made / finished.

Pickup features: Passive Hambucking
Impedence or other specs: 15 ko

Model of guitar or bass: Gibson Les Paul Standard Historic Collection 2003
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Di Marzio Tone Zone
Other pickups on guitar: Gibson Burstbucker 1
Artists using this pickup: Geoff Whitehorn
You musical style(s): Hard Rock-Heavy Metal
Reason for pickup change: je recherchais un micro avec un meilleur ?quilibre que le Tone Zone de Di Marzio, plus de d?li?, proche d'un vieux PAF, mais avec plus de Boost!!

Perceived output level: Tr?s bon niveau de sortie, mais pas trop non plus, juste ce qu'il faut!!!
Tone: Tout y est, ?quilibre parfait!!!!
Sonic evaluation: J'utilise une Gibson Les Paul Standard Historic Collection de 2003 sur un ampli Peavey 5150 mod?le II avec une wha-wha Vox et un vieux Digitech RP7

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: je joue dans un groupe de Heavy-Metal avec influences 70's et 80's

Comments: je joue depuis 32 ans, j'ai d'autres Les Paul que je vais sans doute ?quiper de micros bare Knuckle d?s que je pourrais!! je cherchais depuis longtemps un micro qui me procure les sensations d'un vieux paf original avec plus de niveau, je ne suis pas d??u, vraiment excellent, le Crawler "chante" comme on peut le r?ver!!!!
Bravo Tim!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pickup features: Passive Humbucker
Impedence or other specs: DC:15K for other specs check out www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk

Model of guitar or bass: Gibson Les Paul Standard
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Standard Les Paul Bridge (year 2000)
Other pickups on guitar: standard Gibson Neck Pickup
Artists using this pickup: Geoff Whitehorn
You musical style(s): rock/blues
Reason for pickup change: Wanted more tone!

Perceived output level:
Tone: Warmer and more like the sound you hear in your head than the standard gibson one! it sings!
Sonic evaluation: Marshall JCM2000 DSL100.
It really smoothed out the sound....hasnt lost any treble but is now much warmer and fuller and less harsh. its the perfect pickup for rock players that want to be able to change to a great blues sound without compromising the best bits of each style of the music.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Rock/Blues/Metal---great for all!

Comments: iv been playing for most of my life.(although i am only 16 lol). i'd deffinatly get another if it was stolen. after i'v beatin the thief to deaf with tone. (ha...deaf get it!?) seriously tho, its great. really happy with it. i wanted a warmer sound and this really came through for me. makes the band sound better because of it! i'm much more confident about putting on more cutting eq settings on my amp, it never gets feeble sounding!!!!