Bare Knuckle Pickups Nailbomb Custom 7-String

Alnico V magnet, Black bobbins with open poles, 5 wire harness so it can be wired many different ways.

I put the Nailbomb into my Schecter Gryphon 7 string, mahogany body, maple neck, tune-o-matic, string thru, 26.5" scale... This replaced a Lundgren M7, which was too brittle on the cleans, and way too scooped.

I really wanted a pickup that had balanced mids, that were present but not over powering, and I also wanted clarity under high gain situations. I also wanted the pickup to be really versatile. So I talked to Tim from Bareknuckle and he was extremely helpful in helping me find the right pickup for my needs and equipment. After a few e-mails back and forth, I went with the Nailbomb per his reccomendation. And a fine choice it was...

I wired the pickup so that it could be coil split via push-pull tone pot. I plugged it into my Peavey 5150 II after a fresh retube and bais, the amp is plugged into a Marshall cab with Celestion G12k 65's.

From the very first note I was blown away... My jaw hit the floor, I was unaware that tone this good existed! Hands down, this is the best pickup i've ever played. The lows are tight, and focused (even tuned to Bb with a mahogany body), and the highs were smooth and crystal clear. The Lundgren that was in it before wasn't a bad pickup by any means, but the Nailbomb slaughtered it.

The output was moderate, definitely not as high as the Lundgren, which is a good thing, it helped clear the notes up, and assured that the tone was NEVER muddy, and was under control at all times. It's very dynamic, and very rich.

The tone balanced for the most part, with a bit of mid poking through to make it more present. The bottom end is punchy, and the treble side never gets brittle.

I tested the clean tone, and was again, blown away. I had lots of headroom to work with, and depending on how I EQ'd it, it could be glassy, or dark and chimey. I pulled the splitter pot, and tried it out as a single coil, and boy was I in strat spank heaven! Then I mixed it with my '59 neck and was greeted by an acoustic-electric like tone.

Needless to say, I was impressed.

This is hands down the best pickup i've ever heard. No matter what you want to do with it, it can handle it. I backed the gain off and was jamming on some Iron Maiden, once it was split I could play some strat like funk, and crank 'er up and she screams bloody murder(especially with my Bodenhamer Bloody murder OD pedal!)

I plan on getting a Cold Sweat neck to compliment the Nailbomb, and I also plan on getting some more of these for my 6 strings as well. I don't think i'll ever use any other pickup ever again!

7 string bridge humbucker.
Passive

Installed this into a Carvin DC727.
all mahogany with a birdseye maple fret board and a
5A quilted maple top.
Stainless steel frets as well.
I wanted more balss out of this guitar. it sounded way too thin and bright
for an all mahogany guitar. the guys over on the Seven string forum have been raving about these for a while so I thought I'd give them a try.

the Stock Carvin 7 string pickups work ok for fusion or cleans,
but just don't cut it for rock or metal.
So first I tried a Duncan SH-5 custom in here and I liked it but the
guitar was still too bright.
so I emailed tim and told him what I play , what my rig is and what I was looking for. He suggested the Nailbomb for the bridge and the ColdSweat for the neck.
Well it took me a while to dial in the prefect height for this pickup
but once I did it instantly became one of my favorite bridge pickups. For playing lead this thing just sings, great sustain, very fluid tone, it's a shredders dream.
For rhythm it's very good but it's just a little loose sounding for stuff like Nevermore or Dream theater. It gives such an organic "woody" tone that I'd have to compare it more towards an Arch Enemy type of sound. I play thru a JSX 1/2 stack and it sounds great. the Low B string stays nice and clear and focused.
I've been very pleased with this (both of these) pickups.

I will be getting more BareKnuckle pickups down the road, I just picked up an Ibanez 7620 and I will be puttin something
into it from BareKnuckle I just don't know which ones yet.
The Nailbomb for me is a great,great lead guitar pickup and a great
rhythm pickup, as long as you're not looking for that scooped very tight sound. This pickup has a lot of mids to it which is what makes it sound so good for playing lead. It stays clear and focused no matter how much gain you throw at it, but I've found myself using this guitar more and more for stuff like Planet X, Tony McAlpine , greg Howe etc , because at lower gain it sounds just as good.
I'd like to hear it thru a mark IV or a Dual Recto, it may be the JSX that's just not tight enough for the Nevermore type of sound I was trying to get out of it.
(I have a Schecter Jeff Loomis sig and that gets me much closer to that sound) but I like playing the Carvin more.

Humbucker , passive, 7 string 16.2 k dc

It was put in an RG7620 bk
in the bridge
stock IBY pups
i put this in as i was looking for a better sound

kinda high output. very balanced straight into a marshall 2553 and into guitar rig2
its a very balanced pickup and all of the notes and harmonics ring out .
i play straight up rock and experimental music ..this pickup is my dream of tone..it almost makes me seem like i play better

if it was stolen or destroyed i would get one again i got 5 other guitars that will be getting em soon.
i have been playing about 20 years.. i have some ibanez's a few gibsons Marshall's and soldano's
i love this pickup cause of its tone and clarity , also in split mode its magic
this pickup works perfect for me

the customer service was incredible!

Pickup features: Calibrated Humbucking set, passive pickups.
Impedence or other specs: Bridge : Hot,great crunch (20K?) Neck: Smooth,even Jazzy (7K?)

Model of guitar or bass: Schecter C-7 Seven String
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Dimarzio Blazes...
Other pickups on guitar: Bareknuckle full set now.
Artists using this pickup: Not Sure.
You musical style(s): Stoner - Down, Black Sabbath.
Reason for pickup change: Blazes were killing my tone with an Orange Rockerverb 100 Head. Just getting a `squashed sound` too much highs and not enough clarity...needed an organic smooth sound.

Perceived output level: Bridge is nice and hot for clairity, cleans up well and sounds good on the clean channel. Both pickups toghether have a clear, almost bell like quality to them. Neck position allows a warm, jazzy sound with bags of middle,bass and clarity even under heavy distortion.
Tone: Very well balanced, works amazingly well with amp EQ to shape the sound YOU want.
Sonic evaluation: Running the Bareknuckles with a Schecter & String, through a 2004 Orange Rockerverb 100 Head and 4x12 Vintage 30`s cab. The pickups allow the character of the guitar to come through loud and clear. I lowered the pickup height as I attack my strings with a 3mm pick to give more clarity, and force me to work harder on my attack and pinch harmonics.
The Bridge is wonderfully clear and articulate, high gain heaven! Pefect for great rhythm work and solo`s. Palm Mutes are clear and percussive, pinch harmonics ring out and each string retains its clarity, the perfect balance of distortion and tone to my ears.
Both pickups yeild a fat, warm sound (which when coil-tapped) give a strat a run for it`s money! Just warm and sweet with enough high end without becoming too brittle.
The neck was wound by MD Tim @ Bareknuckle to have `The Mules` characterists after tone and artists discussions...the man listens to your comments and comes up with the goods! A fat,warm pickup with clarity and a throaty bite under distortion. All in all, a perfect package to my ears.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play stoner rock/Metal in the vein of BLS, Corrosion Of Conformity, Black Sabbath, Bongzilla, Place of Skulls etc. I`m also into SRV and Miles Davis, this PU combo gives me comeplete control of all styles I need. Bareknuckle listen to their customers and deliver then tone, good service and friendly. Happy to put up with my random wafflings. The Nailbomb pickup can handle most styles, and is a pretty hot PU. The next one up would be their `Warpig` model.

Comments: These pickups give me everything I need for my sound, I have NO excuse now but to go out and share my music with those willing to listen!!! I have been playing for almost 10 years and had both Dimarzio and Seymour Duncan pickups before. The ceramic magnets were just too harsh for my ears so the Alnico`s in the Nailbombs give me a perfect warm sound.
If my guitar was stolen, I`d make sure to kit another one out the the same whilst also making sure I got my orginal axe back, I would not allow anyone to get away with stealing something I have poured `myself` into. A great, great product....just go listen and enjoy!!