Bare Knuckle Pickups Nailbomb

This is an HSS calibrated set of a Nailbomb humbucker at the bridge and Trilogy singles in the middle and neck. The Nailbomb in this set is rated at 15.7k ohms, while the Trilogies are up to 13k ohm.

Keep in mind that the original configuration for the HSS Nailbomb set is with the Irish Tours. But at Bare Knuckle they will calibrate whatever pickups you want in your set.

Installed in a Jackson SL-1. Was replacing the stock Duncan JB4 and classic stacks. The stacks were somewhat OK, I did not like the JB4 for my style. Stopped playing that guitar for a while just because of the JB4.

I am playing this through a VHT Sig:X and and Ear Candy Buzzbomb with Celestion G12K100s.

Talk about tone!!! These things are amazing!!! The Nailbomb is definitely very organic sounding as Tim had mentioned (he recommended this pup for this guitar), but definitely packs a punch. The lows are tight, the mids are definitely there, and the highs chime through beautifully. A very versatile pickup, excellent from some brutal metal and also some good 'ol rock and roll. I think also the combination of the amp with my cab and speakers makes this thing sound very, very brutal even in standard tuning. Furthermore, the dynamics and harmonics from this pickup are just ridiculous. Don't think I'll ever need another pickup

As for the Trilogies, also awesome pickups, maybe hotter than I originally wanted, but hey, just turn down the volume knob and they clean up quite nicely. As previously stated, Tim did recommend the Tours with this set. In the end though, I think these were the right choice for me because of the versatility and fullness of the tone. Yes, they are very, very, very full of tone and will drive your amp to its sweet spot. Just as the Nailbomb, very clear, articulate, and dynamic.

I mostly play metal (black, death, technical, etc) and also enjoy playing blues and jazz. I think these pickups are a great match, again, because they are very versatile.

If something happened to these pups they would definitely be replaced ASAP. I would probably also cry like a little kid ... well, not really, but you get the hint.

I've been playing for about 16 or 17 yrs. My other guitar is a Jackson Kelly Pro (1996). Yes, I love Jackson guitars. Have some Dimarzios in the Kelly (D-Activator and PAF Joe). These are much better than the Duncans in the SL1, but can't stand up to the Bare Knuckles (not hating on Dimarzios at all, they are still solid pickups). Until I put some Bare Knuckles in the Kelly I might be favoring the SL1.

Again, I think these pickups are perfect for this guitar and my style. They make me not want to stop playing. Soloing is just ridiculous, the harmonics are crazy. As many others have said, they are very detailed, and you will hear any mistakes even more so; they will force you to become a better player.

And yes, they are "expensive." But guess what? Once you stick some in you probably won't ever be buying another set of pickups again.

Tim was awesome when it came to answering all my questions. So if you are someone that takes customer service into account, not to fret (no pun intended), you'll want to buy the pups just based on the customer service. Thanks Tim!!!

Massive 7 String Humbucker

Installed in ibanez basswood rg1527 at the bridge.

i have tried a couple of dimarzios but the sound with them was more behind the amp,far away feeling.with bkp it's like a huge hummer in your face punch.Alot of Presense not like dimarzios i have tried.
from the first time when i first installed this beast i was blown away realy.
i have 2 of these pickups one with alnico 8 magnet in mahagony guitar ,and this one with a standart alnico 5 magnet. i like them both but alnico 5 i think sounds more like it.
Be sure you wire everything correctly if not you will not enjoy this pickup at all,as bkp have different colors of wires then seymour duncan or dimarzios.
The middrange of this pickup has this amazinglly belly type of sound,
very defiend very clear.

I like those pickups alot and defenetly recommend them.
they are not cheap, but if you a tone freak like me ,then you will defenetly dig them as i do.
i have never posted any reviews ever on anything i buy,but i think
that this pickup realy deserves it.
and btw Tim is great guy, very professional and responsible.
thanks for taking time to read my review.
Yuri
from Israel

Passive humbucker.
Technical Specifications
DC: 16k*
Magnet: Alnico V
Wiring: 4 conductor
Covers: Custom Camo cover or open coils
Options: Black or Zebra Coils, nickel, chrome, gold or black covers and as a fully calibrated set

I play a Caparison Dellinger 2.I had a warpig on the bridge and a stock shaller on the neck when i decided to buy a nailbomb calibrated set and keep the warpig for another axe in the future.Maybe something more thin sounding than the caparison mahogany,just to boost it up(and what a boost that'll be)

The bridge nailbomb has amazing clarity.Same gain(tons of it)as the warpig and same rich harmonics.Awesome pickup.I'd say tight low end,a bit worm mids and smooth highs.On the neck possition now.No fizz,nice clarity,worm tone,same rich harmonics.Very versatile with the split system too.I mean some other pickup companies should really go off the market with the stuff they're making.Even if you tap this thing to single coil,it sounds heavy as f***.

I've heard several othe pickups.The only one i can compare nailbombs to is EMG's, but only gain wise.Nailbombs are wormer and tonefull in my oppinion.Expencive?Nah!!!They worth every penny.They'll sure draw a big smille on your face once you hear them sing

This is a passive humbucking pickup. They have a great selection of different covers, ranging from open poles, to the most gnarly lookin haggered metal you've seen. I went with gold covers.

I installed this in a Fender Showmaster in the neck position. the guys at Bareknuckle also do a neck version. They also offer the choice of calibrating the pickup for said position.

I replaced the stock fender pickups, which were fairly good but didn't quite cut through with the bite I need.

I have two Irish Tour (also Bare Knuckle) single coils in the middle and neck position. These came as part of a HSS set with the Nailbomb offered by Bare Knuckle.

I know Matt Bellamy of Muse uses this pickup in some of his guitars, which is the sole reason I know of Bare Knuckle's existence in the first place.

As I mentioned earlier; this is a passive pickup, but it gets the kinda tone you'd expect from an active.

Fender Showmaster > Ernie Ball VPJR > Digitech WH-1 > Boss DD-5 > Morley Bad Horsie II > Boss CS3 (PedalDoc Mod) > Marshall AVT50

The tone is hard to pin down properly, it's very dependant on your playing dynamics. For those chugging riffs, it gets just enough bass response to kick your stomach out of your ass, but it doesn't muddy up and keeps it balanced with enough highs to remind you that this is still a guitar you're hearing.

For those face melting solos, it nails (pardon the pun) the EQ smile you need to cut through the mix, and has gets enough sustain and harmonic overtones to really give you some wicked playing options.

When you roll off the gain, it cleans up really nicely, which seems rare; most pickups I've played are good at one thing or the other - The nailbomb has a very bright clean tone - Sounds good with a bit of wah chucked on for some early Incubus style funk.

I play Progressive/Alternative Rock, and this really is a good match for what I need - It wouldn't suit all types of music however as it is somewhat of a beast. Bare Knuckle have a wide range of different pickups to choose from, so I'm fairly sure you could find the tone you're after quite easily.

If it was destroyed or stolen I would definitely replace it, but only after the spell in prison I'd get for hunting down and killing whoever dared rob this beast from me!

I've been playing guitar for four years now.

I mainly compared it to other Bare Knuckle pickups, as after I bought my first set a few years ago, I've not needed to look anywhere else for what I need. This purchase was a toss up between a Nailbomb and a Warpig. I chose this set because I already own a Warpig humbucker in another guitar and wanted to vary my tone.

I am very satisfied with this pickup, but I wouldn't say I'm done searching for 'that' sound either - I like to experiment with what I can find.

DC: 16k
Magnet: Alnico V
Wiring: 4 conductor
Humbucker, passive. The description from the site is "Chaos in a Pickup". More on this later...

Guitar: Jackson SLATQH (mahogany body and neck, neck- and string-through, maple top, ebony fretboard, 22-frets).
Pickup Replaced: I was replacing the most awful (to my ears) pickup of all time, the Duncan JB.
Other pickups on the guitar: BKP Crawler in the neck position (will post a review soon).
Artists using the pickup: Geoff Whitehorn I hope!
Reasons for changing: The JB and the Jazz in the neck just killed the guitar...

Output level: The pickup is fairly hot. Not in EMG ballpark, but definitely more than your average pickup.
Amps+Effects: My main amp is an ENGL SE with EL34s. Setup is as follows: Morley Bad Horsie 2 Wah-> Keeley BD2 Phat Mod -> Keeley 4x2 Flexi Tubescreamer-> Keeley DS1 Ultra Mod-> BOSS NS2 Noise Suppressor-> ENGL SE input. FX-loop Send -> Keeley AD9 -> BOSS CH1 Chorus -> Boss Flanger -> FX-loop Return.

Tone: This is where it all comes together. This is by far the best bridge pickup I have heard, period! I cannot compare it with something else, other than, say, a blend of a very hot PAF with a bit of an Evolution. But that is not it exactly, as this pickup is so full and rich in all the right frequencies. Harmonics just jump out on every bloody fret, and my guitar has finally come alive, as I knew it would. It excels at high gains, where it just nails any Hard Rock sound. Every note, and I mean EVERY note is extremely clear, and it sounds exactly like nails going through you, but without any harshness, if that makes any sense! The perfect pickup for heavy riffing or that fluent, legato-tapping-shredfest!

I am not into Metal, so I cannot say for sure, but I am fairly certain it will do it for you. As I mostly play instrumental 80s stuff, this pickup is what I would call the perfect hot-rodded PUP out there. Vintage tones are in there, as I tried it with my brother's BAD CAT amp and my Tubescreamer and it blew us away again! We got some Billy Gibbons tones (with the volume slightly down) and a bit of early Jeff Beck (think Blow-By-Blow). It also coil-taps well, as it is powerful enough to sound like a full single-coil pickup when tapped, and still retains some aggressiveness and tone.

I have not heard it in the neck, and hence I cannot judge.

To understand how much I like the tonality of this PUP, I have now ordered another one for a completely different guitar, a Vigier Excalibur, to beef it up overall. The Vigier is very bright and lacking completely in soul, but it is still my main guitar because it plays so absolutely great. I am convinced the Nailbomb in the bridge will just make it scream and will make it sound bigger and fuller. I am looking also to install a 7-string version of this PUP into my JP7, as the stock pickup is a little dead to my ears.

I have been playing for about 11 years and between my brother and myself we have owned, bought and sold any brand of guitar imaginable, and I am here to tell you that the moment we heard the Nailbomb both he and myself ordered a few more for our other guitars. It is just an awesome pickup that will not let you down under any circumstances. If you are in the Hard Rock territory though, this pickup will put a smile on your face every time! I have found my sound, and I will stick to it religiously from now on.

Humbucking passive pickups, Calibrated open set. Zebra pickups. Spacing 50mm. Scatterwound by hand with 43 gauge plain enamel and using a vintage cut, unpolished Alnico V magnet for balanced bass, punchy mids and excellent top end articulation.Double wax potted to eliminate michrophony and fitted with 4 conductor wire as standard. DC 16k at Bridge 10.7 at neck

I installed these pickups as a direct replacement for the stock items in my PRS SE Custom fixed bridge. The stock pickups were quite good in the guitar but they never did clean very well. It all tended to get a bit mushy and woolly. And there was not enough distinction between the front and back pups. I also installed new 500k pots and Orange caps.

These pickups are the mutts nutts. Where before there were woolly sounds there are now crisp and clean. Where before there was no point changing pups during a solo, I now get hard as you like crunch from the bridge and beautiful flutey highs from the neck. They also clean up much better from the volume control. I play the guitar through a Mesa Boogie express and the bottom end on these pups just makes the burn channel come alive. Harmonics jump off at you all over the neck. But then go on the crunch channel and you can either AC/DC it or roll off the volume a little and you have some great blues sounds. Kick in the clean channel and on the front pup you get a fantastic jazzy clean sound or some really fantastic arpeggio's for you chord work.

I have been playing properly (not the crapola I was playing when I was at school and in my teens) for the past 8 years. I have been in a band that plays all its own material for the past 2 years. I have a Ibanez RG570, the PRS, a Yamaha acoustic and a lovely cheap Mex strat for recording. I have the Mesa Boogie Express that I use for live work and recording. I then have a Boss Micro cube for practice and headphone stuff. I also own a Boss BR900 for all my song idea's and to jam along with our bands recordings. If I had these stolen I would find the mother who did it and make them eat the pups before making them buy me some more. I think these pups are the best I have heard for this type of guitar. My drummer has a Gibson LP standard, and my guitar sounds better on the bridge pup and equal on the neck. It fits my sound perfectly because we have so many styles of songs in our setlist. From Heavy rock, to classic rock to jazzy stuff to a bit of grungy rock to indie rock to love songs to de bluez and all points between. I now have the guitar to cover all these genre's. And I do have to say that Tim at Bare Knuckle is a real gentleman and a pleasure to do business with. He was the one that recommended I get a calibrated set of NB and he was 100% correct. I was thinking of putting a Mule in the neck and I so glad I did not. Just send him a mail tell him your type of guitar, the type of music you want to play and he will come up with the right combo for you.

Calibrated set of humbuckers

Installed into a home made fender double fat strat which i employed my dad to build! it has an ultra light ash body, birdseye maple neck and fender locking machine heads and american series bridge. I used a set of them to try and get a beefy, thick humbucking tone with the extreme playability of a strat.

These pickups are just awesome to listen to! on clean they have insane clarity and a smooth, lively sound. They work extremely well for clean work, and playing lots of jazz and blues this is a feature i needed from them.

Their sheer versatility is also amazing. They work in almost any situation, particularly at home under heavy gain. Unlike cheaper pickups, the highs are not tinny but full and thick and brimmig with life. They are the best set of pickups i own, and i also own gibson, seymour duncan and fender SCN pickups - so that is a big statement!

If these pickups were blown up in a freak guitar pickup blowing ing upping accident i would certainly get another set. I cant see my strat with any other pickups in it! Having played 5 years and reached grade seven, i've owned lots of other guitars and pickups and these are by far the most versatile, best sounding ones i can think of. They simply are the bees knees!

I would also like to mention BKP's great support. Tim helped me choose the right pickups, and as one arrived damaged they asked me to send it back in. They refunded my postage fee, fixed and re wax potted the pickup and had it back to me in 3 days. Absolutely great service!

High output (14.6k ohm impedance) passive bridge humbucker.
Alnico V magnets, 'burnt' effect chrome cover (awesome looking!) 4 conductor wiring

Installed into late 90's or early 2000's Epiphone Les Paul Standard (Sparkly metalic blue Limited Edition top) in bridge replacing stock epi pup, cause it was a bit weak sounding, and lacked character, was painful to hear clean.
The Mule in neck position (i've reviewed that too) both only wired in series humbucker style so far, not coil tapped. Used by Matt Bellamy of Muse (i must confess this did persuade me to read up on this pup, like its persuaded thousands to buy it to fit in their home made 'matt-o-casters', along with zvex fuzz factories and P90s!)

Output is immense. not just volume but the sheer sonic range, full of harmonic richness and sounds so punishing with thick distortion! very versatile too when cleaning up with the volume pot, can do bluesy crunch very nicely too. clean its quite harsh, wouldn't play chords with it unless slightly driven, or vol rolled off a bit, but thats because i have a mule in the neck, which sounds amazing clean!
Using it through a ProCo Deucetone Rat distortion into a Fender Stage 100 (clean channel only). Also played it through multiple Marshalls, including tube combos, and it makes them sound how they should, so raunchy! I also have a Korina flying V fitted with another high output pickup - Lace Sensor Dually Red humbucker - sounds differ, the lace sensor is more tight & punch in the V, palm muting sounds crisper, Nailbomb has more ring & sustain, throbs a bit more in palm muting, much thicker sound (stupendously heavy les paul might contribute to that too though), more trebbly harmonics in strummed chords, lots of harmonic undertones, a harmonic assault is a very good way to describe it under heavy gain, but can behave itself too! Power chords are thick and interesting on the ear, bring it up to full barre chords and it doesn't lose clarity, but can sometimes be a bit much if you want a tighter rhythm sound.
Sounds great with fuzz (Dirty Rat), lots of character, and can do a very good Supermassive Black Hole impression (the lace sensor does a more Smashing Pumpkins sort of thick fuzz). Solo's sear and sustain for days, feeds back wonderfully, in key with what you've been playing if u stick it infront of ur speaker cone!
i play a wide range of genres, v eclectic, from punk to pop, ska to bordering on metal (or just heavy rock) indie, bluesy stuff, brit-pop, acoustic stuff (not with this though :P ) litteraly everything. I play a mix of all these genres in my main band's original material, as well as being in a ska punk band, writing alot of songs and playing covers for my own & others amusement. This pickup is very versatile, and combined with the mule in the neck position of the LP makes an incredibly versatile guitar. could even coil tap it do get single coil sounds too, but it can pretty much handle any genre and playing style! I almost dont need the V, my Dot Studio and a Fender Telecaster i've got my eye on at the moment (watching about 8 on ebay :-S ) but wheres the fun in that!?

Would definitely consider getting another Nailbomb if i needed to replace a bridge humbucker, and may well get another Bare Knuckle for the neck of my V (Mississippi Queen maybe) or and other pickup they make. If these two i own are anything to go by, they'll rock!
I'm a 21 yr old student and have been playing 7 or 8 years, and am a bit of a humbucker & Gibson/Epiphone nut. The Nailbomb sounds so much fuller and more interesting than my friends Gibson SG's 490T, and i feel sorry for him that my old Epiphone LP now blows his Gibson out of the water in tone!
The burnt chrome cover looks ace, and matches my sparkly blue finish & zebra coil neck pup to make the LP look much more interesting too! It's my favourite bridge pickup sound, everything it should be - beefy, harmonically rich and well balanced between bass beef, mid punch and treble & harmonic ring & cut!
Tim mills was a great help too, v prompt email replies (sometimes within the hour) and wasn't patronising when i was asking more basic pickup tone questions (covered/uncovered, PAF v modern). Expensive pup, but sounds (and looks) worth it, I'm only typing now instead of playing it because its 4:15am and i dont think my housemates would approve, no matter how good it sounds!

Two calibrated humbucker, including 4 way hookup for multiple wiring configurations.

Calibrated set installed into a Charvel ST Custom.

The guitar was completely reworked, including a new pickguard to house a twin humbucker configuration, two new CTS pots (volume and tone) and a Schaller Megaswitch.

Output was much greater than the stock Charvel pickups.

I put this guitar through a Digitech GNX3, into an Orange GRO100, and through a Marshall 4x12 bottom cab.

My style is kinds rock/blues. Gary Moore is a huge influence, but I'm also into Reeves Gabrels, Allan Holdsworth, Yngwie (in moderation!). I also like guys like Van Halen, Satriani and Vai, anyone with something interesting to say. I've done thrash in the past, and like to play with a variety of tones.

The sound has MUCH more bottom and mid than the stock pickups. The Orange is a pretty bassy amp, and my whole setup had to be adjusted to accommodate the new setup. However, plugging the guitar straight into the front of the Orange gave me some unbelievably vintage sounds - turning up the volume gave me incredible Peter Green/early Fleetwood Mac tone. The break up of the signal was perfect - for "hot" pickups they give a suprisingly vintage, organic tone. And, whereas I used the volume attached to my last set of pickups as an on/off switch, with the Nailbombs both the volume and tone controls have added a whole NEW set of sounds to play with.

Plugging into the GNX3 made me completely rethink my sound. I had previously used the FX box to drive my tone. However, the Nailbombs have so much more character, I needed to reduce all of my gain, amp/speaker simulation and EQ. Using an overdrive setting, the pickups sound beautifully warm. Again, "organic" is the way I'd describe them, they seem to breathe through the amp. Through a hotter overdrive/distortion setting, I managed to get a range of very modern tones, thrash, nu-metal etc. Not my thing, but great to play with for a while, particularly through the Orange. Ditching the OD, and adding a hint of chorus, the clean sound is amazing. Straight away I was getting John Sykes from Whitesnake "1987"

Employing the Megaswitch, I was able to dial in seperate coils in humbucking mode. I'd given up a very generic SuperStrat to add in the Nailbombs, so it was nice to hear some almost-Strat tones. I might actually add a proper coil split at a later date as I do miss the single coil neck and bridge tones a little. Once I've made this mod, my Charvel will be absolutely perfect.

I love my Charvel. It's a beautiful and very, VERY playable guitar. It always sounded OK, a very versitile little guitar.

However, adding these pickups have turned it into a monster. It doesn't sound like anything else - or rather it sounds similar to those magical tones that you hear sometimes, but BETTER and coming through your own fingers!

If the guitar was stolen, I'd grieve. Then I'd go and buy myself a custom Gordon Smith with the insurance money, and ask Mr Smith to load it with Nailbombs.

Actually, I'd fiddle the insurance, get a couple of Gordon Smiths, and load the second with Warpigs. Then I'd join a Black Sabbath tribute band!

You've probably read about Tim from BKP on this forum, so I'll only reiterate what's been said. I don't do much in the way of guitar maintenance. But Tim was there to advise me technically, point me towards the right choice and make the pain of parting with ??200 slightly more tolerable!

What I DID love was the set of RotoSound gauge 10 strings that he included with the pickups. I'd had my Charvel strung with 9s before, the 10s really compliament the pickups (and the whole guitar, in fact), and have gone some way towards rejuvinating my playing.

Passive Humbucker pickup, dc:16k, with alnico5 magnet, 4 conductor (splittable to single coil),
you get custom camo covers options to..fully calibrated! : black, zebra, nickel, chrome, gold or black covers.

Installed in bridge position on an Ibanez Sabre S-540 (mahogany body, maple neck, flod tremolo type) and Rg-550 (bass wood body, maple neck floyd tremolo type)

The pickup being replaced is a Dimarzio Fred wich I chose after trying all of these:
SeymourDuncan Jb, Dimarzio Evolution, ToneZone, Paf pro, air Norton, Super distortion, Ibanez/dimarzio stock pickup F2, Dimarzio.

All these pickups are great but for my ears in the bridge position all of them where to bright sounding, sometimes harsh.
The tremolo and thin body and neck of my Ibanez S540 makes it a bright guitar on high strings (thow the mahogany body helps a bit)
The Dimarzio Fred is great at getting artificial harmonics, is precise and tight in tube amp but still sometimes ear piercing bright and in amp modelisation in direct such as vox tonelab, guitar rig, boss vf1, gt5, the distortions get to brittle and harsh even when tweeked.

The output is powerfull enough for any situation making a versatile pickup.
I use a Soldano HotRod Hr-50xl+ and various gear played directly in the mixer, a Boss Vf1, Vox tonelab and Guitar rig.

this pickup is absolutly fantastique.. what punch! its fat it sings, it whispers, and all of that enen with
harmonics drifting incredibly..
artificial harmonics literaly sings.. i'v got pickups that make it easy for the artificial
harmonics to come out but never as much and they usually are arsh..
Thank you very much BKP.....

I get a fat sounding bridge pickup with warm lows and fat highs with no harhness making it a very well balanced pickup for the Ibanez.
No mud, nor harshness and the pickup is still precise! I agree with one comment saying that its precision wont be as forgiving as a mudy pickup with sloppy playing.
What amazes me is it how it can sing artificial harmonics, they come out so easy you can just play the harmonic itself. Pikups that are good at that such as dimarzio fred and seymour duncan pearly gates are often to bright sounding for my ears.

I would certainly buy it again!
I wish it would be a little less expensive but hey, there hand made!
I've been playing for 18years and own/and have owned a lot of gear..
I love this pickup because its versatile, I get good clean tones and a suprising split single coil texture. I'v rediscovered all my overdrive and distortion sounds with it, they are all more musical now. I like its warm fat singing tone wich is pretty medium sounding on my Ibanez with plenty of bass and most important to me: fat highs.
It's a precise pickup, I'm not a shredder thow I like to speed up things every now and then.

I find a lot of the pickups i'v tryed are sometimes very specialised at one trick, most of them seem to have a precise sound to get every note sounding in a fat tube amp but be carfule, they can be overly bright,
I find it hard to get the clean to dirty souds with those pickups using the volume on my guitar especialy in a precise modern amp!
Thanks to Tim at bare knuckle for his advice,patience and kindness..
The site is fantastic with hundreds of demos mp3..

Passive Humbucker pickup, dc:16k, with alnico5 magnet, 4 conductor (splittable to single coil),
you get custom camo covers options to..fully calibrated! : black, zebra, nickel, chrome, gold or black covers.

Installed in bridge position on an Ibanez Sabre S-540 (mahogany body, maple neck, flod tremolo type) and Rg-550 (bass wood body, maple neck floyd tremolo type)

The pickup being replaced is a Dimarzio Fred wich I chose after trying all of these:
SeymourDuncan Jb, Dimarzio Evolution, ToneZone, Paf pro, air Norton, Super distortion, Ibanez/dimarzio stock pickup F2, Dimarzio.

All these pickups are great but for my ears in the bridge position all of them where to bright sounding, sometimes harsh.
The tremolo and thin body and neck of my Ibanez S540 makes it a bright guitar on high strings (thow the mahogany body helps a bit)
The Dimarzio Fred is great at getting artificial harmonics, is precise and tight in tube amp but still sometimes ear piercing bright and in amp modelisation in direct such as vox tonelab, guitar rig, boss vf1, gt5, the distortions get to brittle and harsh even when tweeked.

The output is powerfull enough for any situation making a versatile pickup.
I use a Soldano HotRod Hr-50xl+ and various gear played directly in the mixer, a Boss Vf1, Vox tonelab and Guitar rig.

I get a fat sounding bridge pickup with warm lows and fat highs with no harhness making it a very well balanced pickup for the Ibanez.
No mud, nor harshness and the pickup is still precise! I agree with one comment saying that its precision wont be as forgiving as a mudy pickup with sloppy playing.
What amazes me is it how it can sing artificial harmonics, they come out so easy you can just play the harmonic itself. Pikups that are good at that such as dimarzio fred and seymour duncan pearly gates are often to bright sounding for my ears.

I would certainly buy it again thow it's expensive!
I've been playing for 18years and own/and have owned a lot of gear..
I love this pickup because its versatile, I get good clean tones and a suprising split single coil texture. I'v rediscovered all my overdrive and distortion sounds with it, they are all more musical now. I like its warm fat singing tone wich is pretty medium sounding with plenty of bass and most important to me: fat highs.
It's a precise pickup, I'm not a shredder thow I like to speed up things every now and then.

I find a lot of the pickups i'v tryed are sometimes very specialised at one trick, most of them seem to have a precise sound to get every note sounding in a fat tube amp but be carfule. I find it hard to get the clean to dirty souds with thows pickups with the volume on my guitar especialy in a precise modern amp!
Thanks to Tim at barknuckel for his patience and kindness..
The site is fantastic with plenty of demos mp3..

Passive, humbucking pickups. Calibrated set with distressed camo covers, bridge unit has a ceramic magnet instead of Alnico V. 2-conductor wiring.

Bridge unit: 15.9K
Neck unit: 10.3K

These beasts have gone into my Ibanez PGM301, replacing the stock DiMarzio PAF Pros. I've taken the middle pickup out entirely as I never really use it.

I believe Pin from SikTh uses this exact configuration. After playing his guitar, I had to get some for myself!

The stock DiMarzios were great for rock and blues, but they couldn't handle the high-gain stuff very well at all.

High-output, but very versatile, and never harsh sounding.

My current amp (Peavey 5150II) blew up a few days ago, but the plan is to get either a Framus Cobra or Engl Powerball head. My setup is simple: I use a Keeley modded tubescreamer to get a solo boost, and a Boss DD-6 delay pedal and ISP Decimator noise gate in the FX loop, but that's it. The amp runs into a Laney 4x12 cabinet fitted with Celestion Vintage 30s.

The bridge unit is wonderfully articulate and defined. The ceramic magnet provides very tight bass and pronounced (not harsh!) highs. Under high gain, it sounds impossibly chunky and every note has an incredible clarity. Pinch harmonics leap out all over the place. I was riffing away with a ridiculous grin the whole time I was playing! Rolling back the guitar volume got some amazing crunch tones, and even cleans sounded great.

The neck unit is a really juicy affair. It has a beautiful organic woodiness to it, plus an almost single-coil clarity. Bell-like jazz and gritty blues tones were a doddle, and it stays super-defined under high gain. Shredding sounded incredible, fast sweep picking especially, smooth and articulate yet with absolutely no muddiness at all. It all cleans up beautifully when the guitar volume is reduced as well.

If it were lost or stolen, I'd definitely get another set (after extending my overdraft!). They may be expensive, but the quality is just astounding, and you can't even compare the experience to buying any mass-produced pickup.

I've been playing for nearly 7 years, and have been teaching for 3 1/2. I mainly play technical metal and hardcore, but dabble with pretty much every genre from country to neo-classical shred. The Nailbombs are absolutely perfect for my needs.

My other main guitar is a Kramer superstrat that I use as a baritone (tuned to Bb standard). It currently has Joe Barden Two-Tone humbuckers in it, which are amazing, but are struggling with the massive downtuning. I'm definitely going to get some Bareknuckles for that as well! Possibly Painkillers or Holy Divers, I haven't decided yet.

I'd also like to say that I have never experienced customer service as good as the service that Tim at Bareknuckle provides. He truly is a consumate professional and thoroughly nice guy. He spoke with me for a full half-hour about exactly what I wanted, going into every little detail about my pickups. Not only that, but when Royal Mail managed to royally screw up their delivery, Tim dealt with all of the paperwork was genuinely concerned that I got them as soon as possible.

bridge and neck

i put a calibrated set into a gibson explorer. replaced the stock pups.

the output of these are awsome very high output and tight.im playing through a framus cobra full stack.for a while i was tweaking my amp alot to get the sound i wanted untill i put the nailbombs in and now i have it. these pups are amazing. a nice low end no mud crisp mids and highs. very brutal sounding. metal all the way. i also have a miricle man in my les paul. bare knuckles are truley worth every penny.

i would by another if it was stolen i cant play without them now. i have my tone finally

Calibrated set of scatter-wound passive humbuckers, 16 and 10.5 kOhms

Installed in a Music Man Axis to replace the stock DiMarzio custom.
I found the stock pickups too harsh and sterile sounding and emailed BKP for a recommendation. BKP boss Tim Mills himself answered my emails, carefully responding to my questions. Unreal service. After two times back and forth I ordered the 'Bombs. Mr. Mills modded the mounting legs to meet the special bolted-to-body installation requirements of my guitar. You get to choose all kinds of options (open or covered, a variety of colors). Mine are reverse zebras and look just beautiful.

Very, very good. Neck is warmer and less powerful, bridge is huge. I had them wired out-of-phase in the middle position, which is absolutely great for rhythm work.

The Axis has a powerful, punchy sound by itself (somewhere in between an SG and a Tele, I'd say), and these PUs open it up wide. Very well-defined even on rather heavily distorted chords. Bitey, present, but way more soulful than the stock DiMarzios. Not a lot of oooomph on muted power chords, which is a big plus in my book. Highly sensitive to everything you do with your hands and pick - you need some chops or these pus will make you look very bad. The output levels are calibrated in a way that makes the neck unit stand out nicely, while the neck PU is still clear enough for low chords on an overdriven tube amp.

I have absolutely no regrets about this purchase.

Passive humbucker with coil split. Around 16.9kohms

I put my nailbomb in the bridge position of my HSS Yamaha Pacifica, which replaced the generic stock pickup, which was VERY uninspiring. I also put in 2 Bare Knuckle Trilogy single coils.

The output is high, but definately not annoying like a seymour duncan dimebucker. I run it straight through a Roland Cube.

The tone is absolutely perfect. solid bass, crunchy mids and powerful highs.

I play hard rock/blues/metal/fusion and my nailbomb can do it all, and brilliantly too. For this kind of output, it's surprisingly warm & dynamic and can do everything from light overdrive to grinding, chunky metal sounds.

Look nowhere else for that Iron Maiden, Steve Morse, Randy Rhoads, John Petrucci (etc) tone, it's all here.

There is a bit of a hum, a bit more than you'd expect from a humbucker... But who cares! You wouldn't hear it over a band anyway.

I love this pickup, it's really brought a pretty entry-level axe back to life. i'm still looking for THAT sound, but that's because i'm playing through a cheap-ish amp. Even still, having better tone now than most people will ever have is inspiring enough! I'll try a BKP Miracle Man next.
Oh, and the customer service is amazing - i wrote a number of emails to the guys at BKP, and they were all replied to in a couple of hours. Also, it's all customisable. If you want a pickup overwound, different magnets, or even gold pole pieces to match your guitar, you can just ask and they do it for no extra charge.

They're not the cheapest pickups on the market, but they're worth every cent. Oh, and i must warn you - once you try them, you'll never be satisfied with any other pickup ever again

Passive alnico V, 16k humbucker, optimised at my request for bridge position, open coils.

This pickup went in the bridge position of my Ibanez IC400HRG (that's the Iceman with the "Alien" graphics, done by H.R. Giger, to you and me!), because the stock unit was shite. I didn't bother changing the neck unit as I so rarely use it. I don't care who else uses this pickup - that wasn't on my agenda when buying it. All I wanted was the tone to go with the guitar. Awesome playing guitar, shit tone, how's that going to work?

Output is high, but not stupidly so, which I expect from BKP at all times as tone seems to be their goal rather than volume. I use the guitar mainly with a Boss DS-1 into a 1979 Marshall MkII 100w head and a MArshall 1960 AV cab fitted with Celestion Vintage 30 speakers. This gives an already ballsy set-up a huge tone, with loads of top-end bite, an aggressive midrange and a really solid bottom, which was where the stock unit suffered most. The tone is consistently good, whether on single note runs, powerchords, riffs or what have you. I use this guitar mainly for filthy dirty rock n roll, with a bit of metal thrown in for good measure, but what did suprise me was the quality of the clean tones also available from the Nailbomb, which proved that tone is the aim of the game, not just output at all costs, which some pickup manufacturers are guilty of.

I would replace this pickup with an identical unit if for some reason it went walkabout. How the walkaboutee would go about replacing his kneecaps would be up to him. Bareknuckle have consistently delivered the tones that I have asked for when ordering their products. I don't know why people still use other manufacturers, as Bareknuckle are miles ahead of the pack as far as tone, price and build quality are concerned. Their customer service is also second to none - you can talk to the person who'll be making your pickup, ask advice on materials, tones etc, ask for adjustments to the stock models to be made for you etc. Nothing is too much for this small company - I will use them for all my retrofits.

Pickup features: Passive Humbucker
Impedence or other specs: 16k, Alnico V magnet

Model of guitar or bass: Hamer Centaura US '87
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: DiMarzio Evolution
Other pickups on guitar: Van Zandt single coils
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): prog
Reason for pickup change: It was time for change, I didn't really like my bridge pickup I just got on with it. And one fine day I thought there was no good reason for indifference so I'd give something else a go, but something a lot different

Perceived output level: more powerful than a DiMarzio Evolution, uncomparable on all accounts
Tone: Tight, balanced and rich
Sonic evaluation: Steavens "Brick" preamp -> VHT 2/50/2 -> 2 Marshall 1912 cabinets
I'll spare you the numerous pedals but some of them like a hot signal to do their stuff, and this is perfect for me.
Sounds vicious and refreshing.
Ahhh... change is good... but sometimes it's... excellent.
I fancied something different, and that's exactly what I got.
Sometimes I'm unsure what I think at all when trying pickups but not on this occasion, I like this, a lot, and it was instant.
Certainly heavy enough, plenty heavy but that's not all there is to it it...
- Roll off the volume cleans it up superbly, still retaining it's character (as they say).
- Played crunchy it's big attitude and still plenty of power.
- Played clean, shockingly plenty of scope for such a fierce pickup, again volume rolled off and it's a lovely clean bridge sound.
- String separation is great.
- Great tone balance.
Very very nice.
Versatile yet uncompromising, deadly and controllable is what I'd say. An absolute treat to drive. That's all I care about actually.
I don't pay much attention to the technical stuff and all the science behind pickups in general, I can't say I understand it all but I can tell we have something very serious here and I suspect there is magic at work. I have to admit I have considerably more interest in the subject after exploring Bare Knuckle Pickups though.
The Nailbomb is awesome for me. Works a treat with my setup.
Briefly... my sound is geared towards modern prog-rock, something like that, with offshoots into more experimental territories (not
necessarily good). I like recording and it is now a pleasure to change strings in the view of playing this guitar. Sounds
great on recordings, played heavy or not.
On the chugging side, you'd have to be a robot not to be rock pouting yourself into a cramp. Utterly great.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Prog, experimental and noisy rock, this pickup is clear and great

Comments: The Nailbomb is awesome for me, I actually got a second one for another guitar, superb sounding too. A very worthwhile double experiment it turned out to be.
I don't even like admitting to playing guitar at the best of times, I feel awkward contacting companies or shops when I need something, and I never review anything. I am the grumpy kind.
But contacting Bare Knuckle happened to be most enlightening in the gentlest possible way. I felt comfortable and the advice was nothing short of spot-on. I trust them.
I've been playing for about 20 years but it feels I'm starting all over again, that's the current level of excitement (so yes good value).

Pickup features: Humbucking, Chrome Cover
Impedence or other specs: 16k output

Model of guitar or bass: Epihone Les Paul
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Kent Armstrong ceramic humbucker
Other pickups on guitar: Kent Armstrong Alnico Hot Vintage humbucker
Artists using this pickup: Unknown - not really an issue anyway
You musical style(s): Hard rock, metal, blues
Reason for pickup change: The Kent Armstrong bridge pickup had a very sterile, characterless sound,particularly when running clean. It also lacked punch, and frequently got overpowered by the neck pickup (which is a great sounding pickup)

Perceived output level: Hotter than the pickup it replaced, but not overpowering. Back off the volume a little and it can do whatever you need - clean rhythym, slight dirty etc.
Tone: The tone is very crisp and clearly defined. Plenty of bass without being muddy, decent midrange and good treble, but no one facet overpowers another, they all balance very nicely.
Sonic evaluation: The guitar is runniing through a Boss GT6 floorboard into a Laney Tube Fuison 120 combo with a 12" speaker. Gives a great performance in pretty much any style i have asked of it so far. Also coil-taps down very well to give an interesting Tele-ish sound. Sounds far clearer and way more characterful than either the pickup it replaced or the EMGs in my ESP guitar.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I'm using this pickup to play hard rock (think Nickelback, Alter Bridge, Iron Maiden), metal (Trivium, Metallica, Opeth) and blues. It copes with all of these styles very well, although for a really good blusey sound it is best to roll off the volume control a little. This pickup is calibrated for the bridge position, but the company makes neck models as well, which i may well try out at some point!

Comments: If it (or more acurrately the guitar it is in) were lost/stolen, i would definitely buy the same pickup again, it does everything that Bare Knuckle promise and more. When i was searching for a new pickup i consider a few Seymour Duncan models, including the Full Shred, as Mikael Akerfelt from Opeth uses it, but the sound clips i heard didn't impress me that much,and when no-one from the compant bthered to reply to my query, i gave up and looked a bit closer to home. The level of customer service Bare Knuckle provide is almost unheard of these days - emailsare answered quickly, and the advice is always helpful and sensible.
I've been playing for 11 years, and have owned this Les Paul for six. Until now,i have neverbeen totally satisfied wih the sound from the bridge position, but now it is as i want it. The search, at least as far as this guitar is concerned, is over.
I am really pleased with this pickup, and will certainly be retrofitting more Bare Knuckle pickups to other guitars, the first target being the lifeless EMGs on my ESP M302.

Pickup features: Passive bridge humbucker
Impedence or other specs: 16

Model of guitar or bass: Gibson SG Standard
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Seymour Duncan
Other pickups on guitar: Original Gibson neck pick up
Artists using this pickup: ?
You musical style(s): Punk/Rock n Roll
Reason for pickup change: Needed a higher output pickup and had heard lots of good things about BKP? so I had to get one!

Perceived output level: High, but with no lack of tone or texture.
Tone: Full, organic & responsive! This pickup has great bass response and perfect, clear highs. There are no muddy areas at all and the over all balance is perfect!
Sonic evaluation: Orange Amplifiers and Gibson Guitars.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: This is THE ultimate Punk/Rock/Hardcore pickup! High output and loads of tone. High output pickups are often not very suitable for cleaner sounds but this does not loose any quality across the board whether its blues, indie or punk!

Comments: I ordered directly from Bare Knuckle and the service was outstanding. It?s always a good sign when the person selling you their product wants to know the purpose of purchase, you?re setup and playing style to ensure that you get the right product. Tim and his team get top marks across the board. I will certainly be back for further purchases in the near future!

Pickup features:
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass:
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced:
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s):
Reason for pickup change:

Perceived output level:
Tone:
Sonic evaluation:
For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable:

Comments: this is just a customer surport review as i have already submitted a full review, i had a problem with the pickup last week but had no idea what was wrong with it. i emailed tim and he told me to send to him within a week (would have been quicker if the post was faster it took 5 days to get to him...) he fixed the prob it was a loose wire he said he had never came across this before, so i was prob sum fluke meh. but he fixed it and replaced the pole pieces with nice new ones, re-wax potted it, gave me some new strings and and 3-way switch so i can have lots of different sounds from the pickup now. cheers tim highly recommend buy this pickup, when it was gone i went to my back up guitar and it was ok but then the nailbomb was put through the door and it made the backup sound like a childs toy!!! 10/10 for customer support thanks tim :D

Pickup features: humbucking, passive
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Chandler Strat
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: about every other pickup you can possibly name (just ask me!)
Other pickups on guitar: Seymour Duncan Custom minihumbuckers in neck/middle positions
Artists using this pickup: who cares?
You musical style(s): Rock, funk, punk
Reason for pickup change: Nothing too unique here, but just really couldn't find the right tone to counterbalance the other two pickups.

Perceived output level: Hot but not obnoxiously so
Tone: Punchy but soulful as hell and with beautiful articulation.
Sonic evaluation: I use this into a modified Marshall, all tube head into 2 4x12 cabs.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Can be used for what I play, though I would imagine for much more. Could you use it for death metal or straight blues? Yep, probably that, too

Comments: Entirely superb pickup, start to finish. Just flushes the rest right down the crapper, and god knows, I've tried many. If you care to contact me to talk about all the others, be my guest.

Pickup features: Passive Humbuckers
Impedence or other specs: 16k Bridge & 10k Neck

Model of guitar or bass: Fender Stratocaster
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: DiMarazzio P90 Neck & FRED Bridge
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: Satan and Myself!
You musical style(s): Atmospere to Hardcore
Reason for pickup change: Stock worked ok but lacked in the tone color deparment. I wanted something with more balls and a different sound than what are found here state side i.e Seymour, DiMarzzio,& ect... . I run my Strat through all Monster cables to a Boss Compressor and noise gate, Bad Horsie Wah, Whirlwind amp switcher to a Mesa Nomad 100 half stack and a Mesa Tremoverb Dual Recto which are run in tandem. In addition I run Lexicon effects and a Avalon Design U5 for additional tone control and increased power in the frequence bands.

Perceived output level: Neck Hot/Warm output; smooth highs and contoled mids with a round bass respones. I think of recorded David Gilmour sounds and very organic with a vowal like presence in the harmonics which are popping out of my speakers. The bridge is much hotter, but balanced with the neck 100%. The bridge offers more of a cut through the mix highs that do not come off shrill. The mid and bass both have exellent response with the tone controls that curve the tone into wonderful new timbers. A 500k pot on the tone contols will give you a wealth sonic fluid to play with.
Tone: It's hard to beleive that pickups can change a guitar so much and so much for the better. I feel I have not just a new guitar but new amps as well!
Sonic evaluation: Tim Mills makes the best pickups I have ever listened to in my life with Evans being a close second but not the same in the personality department. The pickups are hand scatter wound with 43 guage vintage cut wire with Alinco V magnets and covered with a crome top and are perfect on my guitar.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Use these on any guitar that needs a good kick in the rear and a player that wants to put that perfect pickup in their guitar. If you want fat clean to a nasty mid crunch to pure gain that will scare Kerry King than tis is the pickup for you, if not try another Bare Knucke's pickup then, because Tim makes a wonderful selection to choose from. Go to the website and read and email him with what your set up is and then what you want and he will guide you in the right direction.

Comments: I love them! There appears not to be to many bad respones to Bare Knuckle pickups, most likely because they are quality all the way around. Thanks Tim for building me such an incredible pickup!

Pickup features:
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass:
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced:
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s):
Reason for pickup change:

Perceived output level:
Tone:
Sonic evaluation:
For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable:

Comments: I accidentally hit enter before I was finished with the review. My review was for the Nailbomb set in the ESP Viper 1000. If you want to contact me with any questions about the pickups feel free to send me an email. These pickups are the sound that I have been looking for since I started (and I have been playing for about 12 years now).

Pickup features: passive humbuckers
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: ESP Viper Ltd 1000
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: EMG 85 and EMG 81 (active humbuckers)
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): metal, rock, hardcore, emo, math rock
Reason for pickup change: didn't like the sterile sound of the EMG's, totally lifeless.

Perceived output level: Not as "hot" as the EMG 81 but "hotter" than just about any passive stock humbucker
Tone: Absolutely perfect!!! These pickups are "pure tone" period. The neck pickup has a really HUGE warm ballsy sound (fairly well balanced perhaps a wee little bassy but the mids and highs really cut through) and the bridge pickup has that classic crispy "skanky" sound that I just love (well balanced, very clear, mids really come through)
Sonic evaluation: For starters here is my setup: An ESP Viper 1000 (mahogany neck and body, basically an SG) played through a 100 watt Fender stage amp pushing a Carvin 2x12 cab. The only effect I use is a Rat distortion pedal, but I also use the amp distortion as well.
I originally thought that the EMG's were just going to be the shit since everyone seems to love them so much, but upon hearing them I just felt they were missing something. Don't get me wrong they are good pickups especially if you are into seething Nu-metal distortion a la a Metal Zone pedal, but other than that I think they are pretty much a one trick pony. What I am trying to say is that the sound from the EMGs has absolutely no soul, no warmth, no feeling, completely sterile and lifeless, especially when played clean. So I took a chance and bought the Nailbomb set from the guys at Bare Knuckle Pickups based mainly on the reviews on this site and it is one of the best decisions I have ever made. These Nailbombs produce the best sound I have ever heard come from a guitar. Pure, warm, beautiful TONE, and lots of it! It's hard to explain but its almost as if my guitar really came alive after putting in the Nailbomb set. It's like it was dead before and I never knew it. Don't be fooled by the name though, these things aren't just distortion pickups they sound just as good clean, probably the best clean humbucker sound I have ever heard. I don't know if I can really describe how these things sound with words, you just have to hear them. Trust me you won't be disappointed.
I just got a Gison SG Gothic an was comparing the tone of the Nailbombs to the stock Gibson and the Nailbombs sounded soooo much sweeter. I can't wait to put a set of Naibombs in the SG! All I can say is BUY THESE PICKUPS NOW!!!! You won't regret it!
By the way the customer service is great. Just send an email to Tim and he'll help you out with deciding which pickups would suit you best for the particular sound you are looking for.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play heavier rock/metal (Melvins type stuff), hardcore, thrash, emo, math rock.

Comments:

Pickup features: Passive Humbucker set
Impedence or other specs: bridge - 16 ohm and neck - 10 ohm (aproximate)

Model of guitar or bass: JacksonCustom Dinkey
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Stock
Other pickups on guitar: both nailbomb calibrated set
Artists using this pickup: ME, chris george
You musical style(s): folk to thrash and anything in between
Reason for pickup change: the original lack clarity and power.
bare knuckle are hand made in the UK and scatter wound making hte guitar sound bigger :D

Perceived output level: Hot - but not overpowered hot so that you cant hear anything but fuzz, its a nice clear full sounding pickup.
Tone: Balanced with a slight mid scoop i feel
Sonic evaluation: My extreamly complex setup:
Jackson custom dinky -> vox Wah -> Marshall MG30 DFX (yes i know shit amp but gunna get a Marshall full valve DSL)
it sound amazing with this set up and can play anything, i have taken it to the local guitar shop and play with these huge stacks, in a word WOW. you need to buy this pickup even if you have a crap amp this will make you get a better one.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: rock, clean, heavy you name it does it

Comments: If it were stolen i would congratulate the theaf for having good taste in guitar stuff then kill him, if i didnt find him id buy 10 more so i wouldnt have to worry in future