Bare Knuckle Pickups Crawler

Humbucker, bridge

70 reissue American Stratocaster.
Bridge position.
Replacing Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates.
Other pickups are stock singlecoil.
Geoff Whitehorn
I wanted a fatter sound, more like a Les Paul.

Medium output.
I??m using a Orange Rockerverb 50 top, with Marshall 4x12 Greenbacks.
The tone is very balanced, great bass and mids an a very nice smooth top.
I play 70??es and 80??es rock music. I can nail any sound i like,it??s a very versitale pickup!

This is the greatest pickup ewer, and I would buy it again!
I??ve been playing for 30 years, i have tried everything from Dimarzio, Seymour Duncan,Lundgren and they dont come close to Bare Knuckle.......it??s the best pickup EVER!
Tim at Bare Knuckle has the best customer service!

Passive - Humbuckers.
Neck = 7.8k (Alnico 4).
Bridge = 15.4k (Alnico 5).

The Crawler set was installed on my Gibson R7 Les Paul (both Neck & Bridge). I replaced the stock Burstbuckers 1 & 2. I wanted a real sweet, smooth neck pup and a higher output snarly/hot bridge pup & still retain that PAF type tone. The Bare Knuckle Crawler really accomplishs this hands down !!

Use a Marshall Vintage Modern 1/2 stack. Play old school hard rock. Aiming at the Whitesnake/Doug Aldrich sound.......and the crawlers really deliver.
The sound is huge but with full tone definition.

If stolen or destroyed I would rebuy them immediately. Bare Knuckle Pickups are Best of Class.....top of the game for sound and quality.
Tim Mills (the owner) is a true gentleman and professional. He was extremely helpful and patient in all my concerns. His recommendation for the Crawler set was dead on in obtaining the sound I was looking for. I will always use Bare Knuckle Pickups.......they Rule !!

Humbucker, Passive
DC Impedance: 15k
Magnet: Alnico V

Jacskon SLATQH, mahogany body and neck, quilt maple top, neck-thru and string-thru, 22-fret, ebony fretboard, set bridge, 2-hum guitar. Much like a Les Paul, only 20lb lighter and much better made :)

Position: Neck

Pickup Replaced: Seymour Duncan Jazz (stock)

Artists: Geoff Whitehorn, for one

Reasons for changing: The stock pickup was OK, but was lifeless and lacked clarity at high gain. Its clean were also a bit "empty" and lacking body.

Output Level: Medium to Hot

Amps + Effects: ENGL Special Edition Amp with EL34s, mostly Keeley effects (BD2, TS9 Flexi, DS1 Ultra) for distortion and a Keeley AD9 for delay. Also some BOSS digital modulating effects, but rarely.

Tone: Perfect. Well, there is no other word for it. Perfectly balanced. On a bluesy setup this pickup just shines, because it has the vintage tone and feel, but the higher output allows you to push the amp a little bit more for that extra raw sound. When heavily overdriven it screams without ever becoming muddy, even on the bass notes in a mahogany guitar! When clean it Jazzes with the best of them, and can even produce some convincing strat sounds (when coil-tapped). Hence, it is a good match for all kinds of music in my opinion, except maybe extreme Heavy Metal. I had only heard of pickups that allow you to hear the wood of the guitar, but with this pickup it is the first time I have experienced it. I have also heard the bridge version of this pickup and it is equally awesome, but I prefer to couple it with a BKP Nailbomb, as I always liked an extra hot pickup in the bridge. Read a separate review on the Nailbomb.

I am very careful with my stuff (this guitar in particular), but if it were lost or stolen, I would cry my eyes out and then try and put my life back together. I would definitely start by buying the Crawler though!

I have been playing for about 11 years and I own or have owned tons of gear. I believe I am as close to my perfect setup now as I will ever get. I am a Jackson lover (consistently the best playing guitars I have ever picked up, with craftsmanship second to none) but I always thought the stock SDs were lifeless. This has now changed! I have put BKPs in the past in other guitars of mine (MM JP6 etc) and was always blown away, but this is the first time I have taken time to write about a BKP pickup because it is just so damn good! I love everything about it and hate nothing. I have listened to so many pickups (from PRS to Gibson to SD to Dimarzio, you name it!) and this is the best pickup out there for this type of sound, period! I am totally satisfied with it!!! I am ordering another set of exactly the same pickups (Crawler Neck + Nailbomb Bridge) for a Vigier Excalibur, an ultra bright guitar, and I am totally convinced they will work a treat there!!! Just ask Tim at BKP, he will tell you!!!

Neck humbucker

Custom guitar in the neck position. Had a warpig humbucker in the bridge position.Its sweet and warm tone really made a hell of a difference in the way i play now :)

Ouput level was strong and aggressive
Played thru a fender twin reverb amp with pod x3 effects
Tone is pretty balanced
Rock/pop/funk

Yes i would buy it again. In fact im gonna order the single coil set to hook up with my fender strat now. Mother's milk sounds good :)

Humbucker, mine is the Zebra bobbin finish in bridge position and coil tappable.

The guitar is a Patrick Eggle Berlin Pro, mahogany body,quilted maple cap with ebony board, spertzel tuners and a floating trem. Great guitar especially if you can get hold off the earlier Eggle`s own production runs. The seymour duncan Custom 5 was removed to give this Bareknuckle pick up a run out. It is matched up with a Kent Armstrong Vintage Paf copy (No HPAO-1) at the neck, also coil tapped.

In a word SUPERB, it has none of the brashness and harshness of high output brige pickups from other major pick up makers, the sound on driven distorted lead is toneful, sweet and rounded, not the fizzy, brittle bite that many pick ups produce. However the tone is still bell like bright and will cut through. Bass lines also remain toneful and clear, not muddy.I honestly thought that this pick up would not be the utopia that its adverts promise, but I have to admit that this pickup is something very special and IS worth its hefty price tag. Very few pickups especially at the bridge can say this at any price! The Kent Armstrong neck pick up compliments it beautifully and is terrific value, which brings overall cost down.

Having spent a load over the years trying to find a good bridge pick up, I had come to the conclusion to just buy Kent Armstrong, as they are well made and superb value for money pick ups. And that adverts are usually `bullshit` where pickups are concerned especially bridge pick ups and that price reflects the advertising budget and not the tone quality. I WAS WRONG!! THIS PICK UP IS THE BUSINESS FOR A TONEFUL BRIDGE LEAD SOUND. Metal players may probably want more harsh cut than this , but this pick up is just perfect for melodic rock/blues and was brilliantly designed. The Seymour Duncan was ok, but this is inspired!

7.6 neck, 15.4 bridge vintage cut Alnico magnets, #4 for the neck and #5 for the bridge. Humbuckers - passive.

I have what is called a 'Frankenstrat' that was routed for single coils, which I love - for a clean sound, but they didn't overdrive as well as I would have liked them to. I routed the body, neck and bridge position for Humbuckers. Then I called Tim at Bare Knuckle. I asked him to recommend a set of pickups that were versatile as I play many different styles, from Indian Raga music to Stevie Vai. (and whatever turns me on in between) Tim asked me what guitar I was planning to put them in; a one-piece Alder body with steel block Callaham soft-tail bridge (blocked with wood) Maple neck with a Brazilian board, no cover on the springs ('cause it looks so cool!) Tim suggested the calibrated Crawlers set. So, I ordered them. When they arrived I installed them myself, restrung the instrument and plugged it in.

I have read all of the descriptions about the Crawlers on the Harmony Central page and made a comparison with what I'm hearing with my set. All I can say is "I didn't know there were so many truthful people around!" They suit me down to the ground and they do everything Tim said they'd do; 'from South India to New York'. I recommend spending time tweaking the string height. You will know when you've got them at the right height, or when you've hit the 'sweet spot' as they will really start singing. I'm playing through a Mesa Boogie DC5 Combo that has JJ-KT66s' and Ruby pre-amp tubes in it. It's a perfect match.

I called Tim from Los Angeles and was quite surprised that he answered the phone himself...that alone is great customer service. I trusted his judgment and he proved to be right. I would recommend him and his company to anyone who is looking for hand-made Scatter Wound pickups. Tell me how many business people like Tim you'll meet on this planet in this day and age. As far as the price goes, it has been said many times, "You only get what you pay for"... Money well spent!

Pickup features: Humbucker (passive
Impedence or other specs: DC:15k Alnico V magnets

Model of guitar or bass: mongrel strat. (bitscaster, wd body, warmoth neck, usa standard trem
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: N/A
Other pickups on guitar: None
Artists using this pickup: Well...Geoff Whitehorn i Guess
You musical style(s): Pretty well everything, 'cept flamenco
Reason for pickup change: Wanted one guitar with a big fat humbucking sound.

Perceived output level: powerful, but in a singing way, rather than just "grunt"
Tone: very well balanced. Loads of cut, and a nice warmth
Sonic evaluation: been using this all weekend in my studio, and using a pod, a johnson millenium amp, and a marshall valve combo. sounds really lovely through each. For one pickup, it gives loads of tones as the volume is brought up from a clean whisper, to a real driving lead. It really makes the marshall setting on the pod sound very good.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I'm already considering putting another bare knuckles p'up on to this guitar in the neck position.

Comments: I've used most replacement pickups, (been playing since 1971, and always loved playing with pickups.) so am comparing this to all the classics, including some recent ones like fralins.
What impresses me most is the clarity this has. it really pushes the amp hard, but has real detail to the sound, just like playing through a really good boutique amp. that expensive sound to it. I'm using it with just a volume control, and no treble bleed. when it's turned down, it keeps that detail, rather than getting muddy. I generally hate the whole "name" thing with guitars, etc. I'd quite like to sound like me, not use a signature issue. Geoff whitehorn has such a classic sound and this give you that. the actual tone from a pickup is then down to all the rest of the chain, including your fingers.

Pickup features: Crawler humbuckers
Impedence or other specs: 15k

Model of guitar or bass: Jay Turser Serpent
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: Both pups replaced
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: Geoff Whitehorn
You musical style(s): Blues/Rock
Reason for pickup change: more powerfull

Perceived output level: bright and also mellow
Tone: Bassy neck, Bright punchy bridge
Sonic evaluation: Jay Turser into BB2 into TS9 into Marshal vs232r

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: use mainly for Blues clean and rock distortion

Comments: I Got home at 6pm had dinner till 6.30, then got the guitar down and ...off wiv the strings- then started getting the old pickups out and labeled, worked it all out and wiv a handy help and extra pair of hands from my dad (electrical engineer ? ) soldered in the new pickups, great ... now its 8.30 - 2hours it took including new strings on, not bad for a first go!!
they sound great too... ? a lot of control on the volume pot at 10 medium distorted setting then cleaning up around 8 then pretty clean on 5 and cleaner on 3-4 just what I was after, and the bridge pickups got some bite and the neck nice and bassy, wicked stuff
thanks very much for making those pickups and making my Les Paul sound a million dollars,
no..... make that sound a million pounds!

Pickup features: gold 4 conductor humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: PRS Custom 22
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Harmonic design humbucker
Other pickups on guitar: Harmonic design neck humbucker
Artists using this pickup: Geoff Whitehorn
You musical style(s): Rock / Pop...general pub stuff
Reason for pickup change: Due to the varied styles of music I'm required to cover, I found the Harmonic design just too beefy overbearing, I hated the original PRS pickups for being too middly and wanted something more transparent.

Perceived output level: hot
Tone: Beautifully balanced, stunning when coil tapped too !!
Sonic evaluation: I play through a POD XT PRO live and use a Cornford Harlequin for home recording/practicing, and the Crawler has excelled itself in all situations so far. Highly recommended for the PRS.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: so far, so good for all.

Comments: I was in a hurry to replace the pickup for un upcoming gig, so Charlie arranged for Tim at Bareknuckle to deliver it direct to me ( Great guys to deal with..BOTH ). It duly arrived and included a new set of strings ( what a great idea, not sure if all Bareknuckle include this but everyone should ). I gigged it the same night and I'm relieved to say that my PRS is finally PERFECT. Would I but another one ? ABSOLUTELY

Pickup features: humbuckers - passive
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Lefty vintage Westone Rainbow II (1984)
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: super twin II
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: Geoff Whitehorn
You musical style(s): rock / blues
Reason for pickup change: research

Perceived output level: very powerful output, but rich through all volume levels, with and without gain
Tone: balanced tone
Sonic evaluation: I use peavey classics (I have a 50 and 30) plus I use a UE300 vintage Ibanez multi-effects pegal (compressor, tube screamer, chorus. The Westone Rainbow II has an ebony neck (unusual for a supposedly humble 335 copy) and richness of that wood is fully exploited by these pups.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: the pcik ups, in both neck and bridge positions, responds superbly. The pick ups are inspriational. Not cheap but it has transformed a good 80'2 Japanese guitar into a versatile, great-sounding, mean machine. I have also 2 vintage lefty Gibsons (335 and Byrdland)

Comments: Overall a great purchase. The pickups are probably worth more than the guitar I have put them in, but I don't regret the expense as I know have a special axe.