Bare Knuckle Pickups Miracle Man

Humbucking Passive
Roughly 17.5K power

Guitar: 2004 Epiphone Les Paul Classic Goldtop
Bridge Position
Just replacing the stock pickup
Stock nickel covered neck pickup
Not sure of any artists using this same pickup
I put this pickup in because after e-mailing Tim I was looking for a pickup with about the same output and sound as an EMG 81 for my bridge position but I didn't want to put an 81 in my guitar because it would just look bad.

Really hot pickup
Just using a little MG series practice amp for the time being
Tone: The distorted tone is great such an awesome harmonic tone(If your into that zakk wylde style perfect pickup for you!). Really heavy sound that stays tight,responsive, and strong anywhere on the fretboard, distorted is where this baby really shines. Now the clean tone is really solid, its not outstanding but solid; although if you lower the pickup away from the strings you can get a really good sparkly tone. Good tone clean though not as impressive as its distorted tone but the still a good tone.

If it was destroyed or stolen I would definately get another one awesome pickup with superb tone.
I haven't been playing but a little over a year.
Well I definately love the tone of this pickup, but I think the biggest thing I liked is the excellent customer service you get from Tim and company at Bare Knuckle. You can't beat their customer service they will help you find exactly what you're looking for or give you an idea of what you want. Really there isn't anyting I hate about the pickup I wish that the clean tone was a little warmer but thats what my neck pickup is for. I am most definately satisfied and I recomend these pickups to anyone wanting a quality tone. My overall rating is definately a ten based on the pickup itself and the amazing customer service!

Passive Humbucking pickup

17.5 K output normally HOWEVER: mine was the bridge model, and on the card I was sent with the pickup, it said my specific pickup put out 18.2 K.

Guitar: American Deluxe Stratocaster (2006) (Alder Body, Bolt-on Maple neck w/Rosewood fretboard, Floyd Rose Orginal Bridge)

Position: Bridge

Pickup being replaced: Dimarzio Air Zone

Other pickups on my guitar: 2 SNC Single coils, but I only use my bridge pickup. (If you have to rely on 1 pickup on your instrument the Miracle Man definately delivers)

Artists using is: Not any i know of, there hopefully will be soon.

Reason for changing pickup: My Air Zone didn't have the power, punch, clarity, or tightness I needed for metal and other hard rock playing, especially for focused or fast riffs.

Output level: Hot, 17.5 K (Mine is 18.2 K)

Amp: Marshall JVM 410H with Marshall 1960 BV Cab

Tone: Extreme power in all departments, yet it is balanced. I put this thing in an alder strat with a floyd rose. That combination usually makes for the thinnest sound and least sustain. This pickup gives my strat absolutely DEVASTATING thickness, yet it is still VERY tight and focused. If you need to thrash or shred this pickup will make it sound amazing-never too thick, never too thin. If you need classic tones with an extra push, this does that amazingly too. There is so much clarity and power in this pickup. YES, strat and other thin bodied guitar owners-this will beef up your sound PERFECTLY. and, here's a WARNING: DO NOT buy the thickest sounding pickup just because you own a strat!!! Everyone on forums told me strats sound super thin, alder has no thickness, etc. So I bought the Air Zone, which has tons of mids and bass. It just sounded too fat and bassy. Too much thickness can make the guitar sound unfocused and muddy. You don't NEED the thickest sounding pickup. This pickup is brutal and thick, and you can dial in as much of anything as you want. It honestly lives up to its name FAR beyond what I expected. Before buying this, I was considering the Bare Knuckles War Pig. If you're worried this pickup isn't thick enough..IT IS. I was worried I'd need the War Pig because my strat would sound too thin, but it definately doesnt'. If you need immensely thick power that isn't muddy, crappy, overkill, get this.

STYLES OF MUSIC: Metal, Hard Rock, Classic Rock. This pickup sounds good for anything. I've heard people say ceramic magnets have a terrible clean sound..this pickup not only has the BEST distortion i have ever heard, it has the most beautiful ringing clean sound. Distorted or clean, this pickup has tons of depth.


The reviews for Bare Knuckles pickups are the most accurate, they really are the best pickups in the world. This pickup is suitable for almost anything. You can dial in any sound you want. Scooped Mid intense modern metal sounds are done perfectly, yet turning up the mid can still bring in classic sounds with serious punch. Overall, this pickup is pure power and attitude.

If stolen: I would order another one asap. It's the PERFECT rock/metal pickup.

I've been playing for a few years, my Strat and my Marshall (and my crybaby wah pedal) are all I need! (for now)

I've ranted and ranted. Long story short: THIS IS THE PERFECT PICKUP. Talk to Tim, if he suggests it, GET IT! DO NOT DOUBT IT FOR A SECOND! and hell..if you do doubt it, research..because this pickup is unbeatable. I don't even hate the price, this pickup is worth more than the $180 ish I paid!

I compared this to Dimarzios, Seymour Duncans, EMGs, other Bare Knuckles. I did TONS of research and I found the perfect tone.

Talk to Tim, he runs the company, he's honestly the most helpful person I have ever come across in my search for tone! and obviously his helpfulness paid off now that I have the perfect sound!

This is a chrome covered calibrated set of MM's that you know all about if you're reading this.

Installed in a USA Gibson Les Paul Classic replacing the burstbuckers that it came with stock.

It's a calibrated set so of course I replaced the pups that were in there.

I also replaced the pots and caps and went with a pre-wired set I got from Jim Wagner over at WCR. I believe these also made a huge difference in the tone, depth and control.

I like burstbuckers but I wanted to try something that offered more dynamic range and tonal girth.

These fit the bill. It can play downright brutal metal or clean up rather well.

High output, nails the 80's ZW sound if you dig that and more. I use it with Marshall's primarily but this review is about the pickup(s) and for the sake of simplicity rather than trying to sound like someone trying to impress you with vocabulary rather than coming right down to the nitty gritty,let me just state that this was a sound investment in more ways than one.

It's right on the money for hard rock, old school metal as well as blues.

I would go right back to Tim and order me an identical set if someone was ambitious enough to try and separate the rig from me.

I already have a cold sweat and it is another high quality product from BK.

It's the sound I was looking for with what I use and the type of music I play.

17.5 output. Humbucker. High-output, etc.

Installed in the bridge position of a PRS SE Singlecut thus replacing the stock PU made by G & W (i think) for PRS. The neck PU is still stock and I rarely use it, not because it's a bad PU, I just play more on the bridge. I don't know of any artists using these only because they seem to be the best kept secret on the planet!

My stock Pu was good, but not great and did not handle bass to my liking. Also was a little thin and inarticulate with the highs.

I run it through a VOX valvetronix, because I can't afford a real AC30, but I have stopped using any effects including my RG250, Tube Screamer, Delay etc, because I get such a great organic sound from this thing and it's output will make any amp scream for mercy.

I mostly play classic rock, blues based rock and some nice pretty stuff. With a modeling amp, you can achieve almost any sound you want, not just contemporary metal, although the MM shines in this category. It has a hair trigger and it's sensitive to harmonics yet cleans up nicely. I guarantee this is no mudd-slinger. It makes ANY other PU (except other BN's) sound as if they're buried under a wet pillow. It certainly does this with my neck PU, which will soon be replaced with a BN Riff-Raff. The combination of the two is surreal. I've read a few reviews with this PU going in the neck position of a Tele and I can't imagine how great that must sound!

My PRS sounds like an SG on steroids more than a LP, probably due to similar amounts of lumber. Not to mention it makes a $500 guitar sound like a $3000 guitar. I didn't believe these reviews until I bought a Miracle Man and played it myself...holy s%$t, this thing is as nasty as they get, even through a cheap, crappy amp!

I've been playing 20+ years and love to rock out more than anything. I play 10's (string) in a very lightweight guitar (PRS SE Singlecut) and I can't describe the enormous sound I get. If your in to anything heavy, you will love this PU. Since my guitar is somewhat different sounding than a true Gibson or Fender in the first place, (somewhere in between as intended) I now have a unique tone of my own, which I have been searching for my entire life! It is very Zack Wylde-like (if you want it to be), but with out having a heavy LP with .14 gauge strings. This is a must have for any Jackson, Ibanez, Kramer, Schecter or any other light guitars.
The service is superb and Tim knows exactly what to recommend, which is what he did when I e-mailed him . His response was prompt and advice spot on.
In closing, I'm definitely on a budget, but if you really want the best metal/rock PU out there, this is it. Spend the extra money and buy the Miracle Man. Or buy an EMG-81 or Dimebucker and hold on to your receipt, because you will return it after hearing the MM.

A hot 17.5K output, scatter wound humbucker with tone as well! Clearly is a Miracle of a pickup for Metal Musicians!

BC Rich Virgo SE ( http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/B.C.-Rich-SE-Virgo-Electric-Guitar?sku=512281&src=3SOSWXXA )

I have in in the bridge position and was a breeze to put in.

I changed the pickup because BC Rich's pickups are garbage. They cheat in making a high output pickup by using a normal strength magnet and use thinner wire to wind so the tone is VERY thin. I mean BC Rich doesn't even use their own pickups in their higher end guitars.

The output is hot but it still has tone. I e-mailed many different companies and told them basically that I am in a metal band right now and need basically an EMG 81 but with some warmth to it because as we all know EMG 81s give you a **** ton of gain and no tone. They told me that I was describing this pickup exactly and they were right! This thing sounds MAGICAL! First off it replaced the ***** stock pickup that BC Rich makes. I am used to good quality pickups because my guitar that does not sit at my bands practice house is a Gibson Les Paul Gothic with a Bill Lawrence L-500XL pickup in the bridge (the pickup Dimebag used before he sold his name and the Dimebucker is a rip off of the Bill Lawrence model).

I play it through a Peavey XXX head and XXX 412 Cab and recently retubed it with Eurotubes High Gain replacement kit (highly recommended)

This is a great pickup if you are specifically playing metal in whatever guitar you put it in, it is not real versatile although I have heard Bare Knuckle does have more versatile pickups that are still good for rock and metal, I think their Holy Diver pickup is good for that I have heard.

I give it an overall of 9 because of the amazing output it has and still retaining tone. The company was easy and friendly to work with as well.

The only reasons it did not get a ten is because of its price. In American it will cost you about $180 bucks which is expensive as hell for a pickup. With that said, nowadays the pickup is one of if not the most important things to creating the sound you want. If it were stolen I would most definatly cry myself to sleep until the new one came in the mail. I would also like to try their other pickups sometime but I just don't see it happening right now. I'm a broke *** college student with no money to buy another guitar and I love my Bill Lawrence and Miracle Man to much to switch them out.

Humbucker
Passive
17.5 K
Hand scatter wound

Installed in the bridge position of an Epiphone Les Paul , replacing an EMG 81, no artists I know use this pickup. Wanted a new pickup to add warmth to my sound but retain high output.

Freakin ridiculous output , but not so much that it drowns out the sound. I use this with a Mesa Trident Stiletto And mesa 2x12 closed back cabinet. I use a wah and digitech whammy , sometimes a modified tube screamer sometimes a chorus but mainly just amp and wah. I play a lot of differbly ent styles as I play in cover band so I have to go from Meatallica , to Van MOrrison and this does it very well. Probably not suitable for a neck position.

I only buy really good gear , bad gear just is a waste of money , his is the best pickup I hav hear dfr bridge position , if yuo own an EMG and are sick of the lifeless tone checkout Bare Knuckles , if it was lost or stolen I would buy another asap. One thing make sure you follow the instructions for the pot sizing on this pickup night and day difference between 250k and 500k

This pickup is a high output, passive, humbucker.

I installed this in the neck position into a Fender Telecaster Deluxe built from all custom parts. It is paired with a Bareknuckle Piledriver pickup.

The output is quite high. It is extremely sensitive to harmonics. It has a very smooth and clear sound; in general, it has a modern, and aggressive character and personality, but it is not obnoxiously harsh. I used this to build a Telecaster made for playing metal and hard rock. It is a perfect match for that, but it would probably also work well for less aggressive styles as well. It does clean up nicely.

I wrote a more lengthy description for my piledriver review. Briefly, I have used pickups by Seymour Duncan, EMG, DiMarzio, as well as stock pickups from PRS, Gibson, and Fender. I have also done extensive research on pickups and their manufacturers. Among high end pickup manufacturers, you can probably get a good product, and ultimately a lot of it will boil down to personal preference. For me, Bareknuckle pickups have proven to have the highest quality and best sound, and the customer service is also unparallelled. Despite the significant price difference, I prefer Bareknuckle pickups because the pickups have more character and personality than a lot of the others, and with a lot of the others, mass production breeds a very "common" sound. This was my first experience with Bareknuckle pickups, and despite the definite price disadvantage, I have continued to buy Bareknuckle pickups. They are simply that good.

Passive Humbucker.One coil with screws ,one with slugs.
about 18k impedance.
Hot ,but not very high output.
Mine is the 7 string version without a cap.Color Black.

I installed it to my Ibanez RG 1527.The Guitar has a full bodied acoustic sound.
The MM 7 si for the Bridge position.I don't care for the Neck Pus ,so the stock Ibanez V7 stays in it's place.

The stock V8 Bridge PU lacks sustain ,clarity and tightness.

The output is hot enough to drive any amp.But it's not overpowering ,so getting nice cleans even with volume knob on 10 is not a problem.
I use it mainly ona Vox AD50 ,WD7 Wah ,Digitech Whammy ,MXR 10 band EQ ,and a Rocktron Rampage Distortion.
The Tone is well balanced.The bass frequesces are low ,deep but tight.The Midds are strong but not dominant.The higher midds are well presented.The highs are present as well but not ice-picky
I play Metal in many ways.And some experimental?? clean stuff.This PU does it all well without any problem.The Balanced tonal range gives the possibility to tailor the sound as wished

I definetly get the same one if it's stolen or destroyed..
It's a perfect product ,and it's worth it's price.
I am never %100 satisfied ,and i love to experiment.So this is not the Final installation..But who knows if it's a keeper in long term or not!
Bare Knuckle PUs are a great Company.They do the job well ,fast ,and they inform really well.
It's the company for demanding musicians.And the Product Line is satisfying for many different demands.Just E-mail Tim.

Humbucking Pickup
Passive

Spec:
DC: 17.5k
Magnet: Ceramic
Wiring: Four Conductor

I installed this in a 2004 Gibson Les Paul Standard in the bridge position. It was to replace the stock Gibson Burstbucker Pro as I felt that for my prefered music (heavy rock - all out metal) it was not ideally suited. I felt they were more for classic styles of rock or blues etc. The neck pickup remains to be a Burstbucker pro as I mainly use my neck pickup for Santana style leads (nice, warm sound).
No artists I know of use this particular model although I'm sure quite a few do without me knowing about it.

9/10

The output of this pickup is quite high. I would place it inbetween a medium output pickup such as my Burstbucker Pro and something very high output.
At the moment I am just plugging the guitar straight into the amp without effects other than slight reverb.
The tone of this pickup is balanced across the bass, mids and highs. Notably It has very tight lows. I use a Marshall TSL60 which is, to be fair, a very muddy amp (I plan to get it modified by Voodoo amps soon). When I had my Burstbucker in the bridge, This combination of the pickup, guitar and amp meant that as soon as I turned the bass up it got very muddy and didn't give the nice tight sound I required. When I changed to this pickup I found I could turn the bass right up to 10 and still get a nice tight sound. I am looking forward to Modding the amp so I can hear the full cababilities of the Miracle Man with the tone I desire. Pinched Harmonics sound good with this pickup, kind of Zakk Wyldish but obviously he uses active pickups to achieve his tone. It Has a nice top end as well - very clear.
I think for anything from pretty Hard Rock to Thrash Metal is this pickups favourite activity. It can do other stuff too but maybe one of the other pickups that Bare Knuckle do may be more suited to harder/softer styles. This is pretty much ideal for me as I don't want something extremely high output as I don't really want to be a one trick pony so to speak.

10/10

If something was to happen to this pickup I would be very dissapointed. I would maybe try out another Bare Knuckel pickup as I haven't had a chance to try the other models out. However, judging by my ears and what the company suggest this pickup is good for, I'm pretty sure I would end up coming back to the Miracle Man.
The only pickup I have to compare to this really is the Burstbucker. I haven't used other pickups extensively enough to comment really.
The thing I love about this pickup is the tight lows. This has really got me closer to the sound I am searching for. As I said earlier I will get my TSL60 modified and after this I am extremely confident that I will get the right tone finally. If the pickup already boasts pleanty of clarity with the stock TSL60 then once it has been modified it will sound perfect.
If I were to criticise this pickup I would say for a start I didn't get the right finish on the cover. I ordered this pickup through a local music shop without talking to Tim from Bare Knuckle himself. I saw the picture of the 'aged nickel' cover (according to the picture title) on the website and when I got it it didn't look anything like the picture. This was because the one I was looking at is apparently an 'aged RAW nickel' cover which is different. My pickup looks like a naturally aged cover rather than the rugged, rusty, unfinished nickel cover I was expecting. If I had rang Tim up and ordered directly from him I would have got exactly what I wanted. For this reason I would seriously advise you to ring up Bare Knuckle and order DIRECT rather than through a second party.
I am very satisfied with this pickup, but i'm still looking for my desired sound which will probably be rectified by the amplifier mod. Apart from that, this pickup has definately shoved me in the right direction for what I am looking for.

High output passive Humbucker
18.3K resistance
4 conductor
Open poled

* What model guitar or bass did you install this in?
I installed it in my PRS Standard 24.

* What position is it in?
Bridge position

* What pickup are you replacing?
Stock PRS HFS

* Other pickups installed on the instrument?
Stock PRS Vintage Bass neck pickup

* Any artists using this pickup?
None famous that I know of

* Reason for changing the pickup?
The stock pickup didn't cut it for me. I needed something with a tighter bottom end and a bit more output but with plenty of clarity and can be used for other styles of music.

* What's the output level like?
Pretty high but not super high like most high output pickups.

* What amps and effects are you using it with?
Laney VH100R with Tc Electronic G Major

* Tone - Bassy, middy, muddy, trebly, balanced?
Tone is very balanced. Tight lows, smooth mids and biting trebles but not harsh.

* What style of music do you play? Is this a good match?
Metal, Blues rock, a little bit of Jazz. It's an amazing pickup for Metal, like an EMG but not sterile and fizzy. For blues rock stuff like Eric Johnson and Gary Moore, it works great. Adds loads of sustain and again the clarity is ideal for this stuff. Good cleans too, would probably be great for Jazz if I put it in the Neck position.

* If it was destroyed or stolen, would you buy it again or get something else?
I would deffinatly buy it again, without a doubt

* How long have you been playing? What other gear do you own?
I've been playing for 9 years, I own a Laney VH100R, Cornford Harlequin, 2 strats, Warmoth Mockingbird, 7 string and Ibanez RG.


* Did you compare it to other products? Which ones? Why did you choose this one?
I compared it to the Dimarzio X2N and the Stock PRS pickup. The Miracle Man beats them hands down. I love the sound of it because it's everything I want in a pickup for this guitar.