Bare Knuckle Pickups Stormy Monday Humbucker

Pickup features: Humbucker, passive
Impedence or other specs: 7.2K, alnico 4 magnet

Model of guitar or bass: Yamaha SG500
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: Stock Yamaha neck humbucker
Other pickups on guitar: Seymor Duncan JB bridge humbucker
Artists using this pickup: Don't know of any.
You musical style(s): All kinds, mostly blues and rock.
Reason for pickup change: The stock pickup was muddy, virtually unusable.

Perceived output level: Slightly more than the stock pickup.
Tone: Beautifully balanced across all strings. Clear, even at high gain.
Sonic evaluation: Played through my Laney LC15R valve amp into a custom made 2 x 12 with Jensens. Also used a Big Muff and a Danelectro Black Paisley Liquid Metal, both excellent pedals with this amp. The pickup change has transformed this guitar. Before it was good only for rock/metal on the bridge pickup, now it's a great all-rounder. The Stormy Monday is the better of the two pups and I could see myself using this almost exclusively (not that there's anything wrong with the JB). These pickups make the SG500 comparable in tone to the SG1000 I also have (which have legendary tone), at half the price.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Good for all the standard PAF sounds, clean or dirty. Nails that Moore/Santana neck position tone.

Comments: I wanted a good PAF style pickup to open up the neck position on this guitar. Tim at Bare Knuckle was very helpfull and recommended the Stormy Monday. He said it would be 'sweet as a nut' and it is.
If lost or stolen I would buy it again in a flash.
I have been playing for 3 years. I'm not very good but I know when something sounds good, and these pickups sound great. I have 2 strats (Mexican 60s and American HSS) and 2 Yamaha SGs (a 500 and a 1000)
I will certainly buy Bare Knuckle pickups for all my guitars in future. Great service and great products. I cannot speak highly enough of them.

Pickup features: humbuckers
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Epiphone Les Paul
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: Standard Epiphone
Other pickups on guitar: Bridge/standard Epihone
Artists using this pickup: ?
You musical style(s): Blues/old fashioned R&B
Reason for pickup change: Dead sound, not enough power in sound

Perceived output level: Absolutely beatiful to play and to hear.
Tone: Exactly however you want it.
Sonic evaluation: Line 6 Spider 212 amp

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: 1. Blues wonderful match 2. Nothing unsuitable.

Comments: These pick ups-Stormy monday at the neck & Emerald at the bridge-deliver along with the line 6 amp every possible combination that I want. It would even be worth swapping the gibson standard issue for them. They are truly beautiful pickups and worth every penny.

Pickup features: Humbucker
Impedence or other specs: 8.K

Model of guitar or bass: Gibson Les Paul Standard
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: Gibson Burst Bucker Pro
Other pickups on guitar: Gibson Burst Bucker Pro Bridge
Artists using this pickup: Dont Know
You musical style(s): Blues Rock
Reason for pickup change: The Burst Bucker Pro lacked clarity at the bottom end.

Perceived output level: Lower than the Burst Bucker
Tone: Balanced and clear
Sonic evaluation: I play a Les Paul Standard Through a crowther hot cake Bluesberry into a Peavy classic 50 combo.My initial reaction was a happy one. The clarity and balance in comparison to my Burst Bucker were apparent and the pickup performed exactly as Tim (from Bare Knuckle) said it would. I now have a pickup which sounds smooth and open and affords me more versatility than I was usexd to with the Burst Bucker.The bottom line is that the Stormy Monday sounds exactly as a quality hand made pickup should. Amazing.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play Blues Rock and find the Stormy Monday is a perfect match for this style of music

Comments: Tim combines excellent custmer service with a quality product. I would urge anyone interested to speak to tim first. (I used E-mail)I am not that technical on pickups but with Tims sound advice, I managed to choose the right pick up for me. I now want to try more pickups and have already placed my order for a Mule Humbucker in the bridge position (Tims guide-line here again) and will post a review at a later date. I beleive that a hand made product with a hands on approach from the people in charge is going to give better results, more often than not, over the big companies such as Seymour Duncan, which is why I have taken the time to post this review. I used to have a Seymour Duncan 59 set in another guitar which worked well, but wouls fail to reach the same standard as the Stormy Monday.
I hope this dosen't sound too over the top, but based on my experience I cant falt this product.

Pickup features: Humbuckers,passive
Impedence or other specs: 7.4-7

Model of guitar or bass: Les Paul Supreme
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: 490R&498T
Other pickups on guitar: None
Artists using this pickup: Do not know
You musical style(s): Country&Jazz
Reason for pickup change: Great guitar no voice

Perceived output level: A tad more than stock pickups
Tone: Heavenly and haunting
Sonic evaluation: Recording,VS-2480DVD

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Country,Jazz.None

Comments: I have a Les Paul Supreme,it look's great but sounded like any other LP.After reading the review's of other player's,I decieded to try BAREKNUCKLES.The service and information was GREAT.Their Tech Tim speak's guitar better than I speak english.Now my LP has a set of Stormy Monday's and it sing's.I've been playing a lot of years and have tried a lot of pickups.These are the best.What can I say but KUDOS&THANK'S to Tim. JplaidninjaJ

Pickup features: passive h/b
Impedence or other specs: 7.5 alnico 3

Model of guitar or bass: homebuilt job-swamp ash body/graphite neck-tele style
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: 'super 70' initially, then a 'mule' which i put in my epi. les paul hollowbody.
Other pickups on guitar: none
Artists using this pickup: ?
You musical style(s): country/rock/blues
Reason for pickup change: i bought a gibson spaced pickup for a fender type guitar...duh!

Perceived output level: i had a mule in there before, but i prefer this one for the type of stuff we're playing... country ballads, 'harder' country, some j.j.cale stuff......
Tone: sounds great...no mud. do they make a muddy sounding pickup? if so, why would you want one? each to their own, i suppose.
Sonic evaluation: i play through a yamaha dg stomp into either a marshall 15- watter, or into the mac. it sounds great, warmer, smoother than the mule did in the same guitar. still rings out though. it just sounds great! i don't know the words to describe it, sorry!

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: it does everything i want it to, and probably much more besides!

Comments: i had a good look around before choosing bareknuckles, i then phoned tim, who was great, really helpful explaining the different options.......i now have bare knuckles on all my guitars.
i would have to replace this pickup with the same. it's my main guitar, and i absolutely love it. one day i will get round to wiring it up for a coil-tap option, just because i can, but at the moment, i'm so happy with it, i just can't be arsed...anyway, i'm too busy playing!

Pickup features: Scatter-Wound Passive Humbucker (Nickel Covered) Calibrated Set
Impedence or other specs: 7.4K, Alnico 4 Magnets

Model of guitar or bass: Gibson 333 (2004)
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Gibson Stock PU's (490R/neck and 498T/bridge)
Other pickups on guitar: N/A
Artists using this pickup: N/A
You musical style(s): Although I play various musical styles I bought the 333 specifically to play Jazz / Blues / 60's etc.
Reason for pickup change: Stock units are far too harsh for a semi. I was looking for that sweet vintage 335 sound and had originally considered retro fitting Gibson Classic 57's before I heard of Bare Knuckle.

Perceived output level: Lower than stock units.
Tone: I'll start with the neck PU - Good bass response, warm, punchy, sweet sustain, very smooth. The bridge PU - Tight bottom end with good mid-range and a lot more treble than the neck unit but still very warm. Both PU's retain the instruments character well unlike the stock units.
Sonic evaluation: 333 ? Tech 21 TRIAC ? Tech 21 Power Engine 60.
The neck unit on a clean Amp setting sounds really warm and fat, which is great for clean melodic rhythms, back off the tone about half way though and you're in Jazz territory. Add a bit of drive and the Stormy Mondays dirty up surprisingly well delivering that whole BRMC wall of sound thing. The bridge unit on the other hand does that whole sixties jingle jangle thing really well when you put it through a clean Amp, but add a bit of drive and you get that Gritty ACDC tone. I've also had some great Cream sounding tones when in the mixed position.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play Grunge, Punk, Rock, Blues, Jazz, and Funk etc but as I said at the beginning of the review I use the 333 specifically for Jazz/Blues and clean melodic stuff. I think that the Stormy Mondays are best suited to these forms of music but with a Big Muff at the front end you could probably use them for Punk or Grunge.

Comments: The Stormy Mondays are exactly what I was looking for. I now have a 333 that sounds comparable to a vintage 335 but with a bit more poke. These are incredibly versatile PU's and they have made the 333 one of my favourite guitars. I definitely made the right choice fitting Stormy Mondays over Seymour's or Gibson Classic 57's!
Quality PU's scatter-wound by hand in the UK with an affordable price tag and excellent customer service. What are you waiting for? Don't take my word for it, go check them out at your nearest dealer and let your ears decide!

Pickup features: Humbucking
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Gibson Les Paul Classic
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Both
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Rock, jazz, blues
Reason for pickup change: Wasn't happy with the standard Gibson ceramic pickups.

Perceived output level: Normal
Tone: Balanced
Sonic evaluation: Pickups installed on a Les Paul classic played through a Line 6 Flextone. The pickups sound astoundingly good: like proper 1950s PAFs.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Pickups suitable for any musical style you might normally use a 1959 Les Paul Standard for!

Comments: I cannot recommend these pickups highly enough to truly do them justice. They have made what was a very good guitar sound like one that would cost five times as much, or more. If you are after that original Les Paul sound, seriously look no further. On top of that, the serice received from the company has been second to none, and the pickups come with a lifetime guarantee, as well as the option to tailor how they are made to your personal satisfaction. Could you ask for any more? I now intend to buy a set of bareknucles for my strat.

Pickup features: Passive humbuckers
Impedence or other specs: 7.3k (from memory)

Model of guitar or bass: Epiphone Les Paul
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Standard
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: Unknown
You musical style(s): Terrible bluesy
Reason for pickup change: I wanted something with a bit more depth than the original pickups, although the originals were fine.

Perceived output level: Bit higher than the originals.
Tone: Much more definition in sound across the strings, well balanced.
Sonic evaluation: The pickups are in an Epiphone Les Paul played through a WEM Dominator bass Combo fitted with an enormous Tannoy speaker, a Fender 15w (Frontman?) and small Drive bass combo. They are not quite as warm as the 57 humbuckers in my ES-135.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I attempt to play in a traditional bluesy/rock non-screaming style and opted for these pickups because I thought they would fit the bill better than some of the more powerful ones.

Comments: Anyone looking at serious pickup replacements should consider Brass Knuckle. I would certainly look at buying more if these were lost. The beauty of brass Knuckle is that you can ring the man who makes them and sort out what you want to achieve. The service has been exemplary, especially after one pickup developed a fault.I like the idea of a good British product combined with personal service. EMG passives had been on the list, but went for the Brass Knuckles after talking to the staff on their stall at a guitar show in London. The pickups are impressing me more and more - I originally thought they were a touch on the bright side for what I wanted, but their character is continuing to grow the more I use them. I have been playing badly on and off for 30 odd years, but have taken it up more seriously over the last year, using the Epiphone, Gibson ES-135 (bought in preference to a proper Les Paul) and a cheap Crafter Tele-alike which works really well. They make an almost hi-fi like sound through the WEM.

Pickup features: Passive Humbucker
Impedence or other specs: Approx 7.4K (off spec, not measured when put in)

Model of guitar or bass: Gibson Les Paul Standard 2002
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Burstbucker Pros
Other pickups on guitar: none now!
Artists using this pickup: just wait and see - these are sleeping giants!
You musical style(s): Classic Rock/Blues - Stones, Skynnrd, Free, Allmans, Zep, Cream etc.
Reason for pickup change: No matter wat I did to the BBs - CTS pots, NOS caps, LW Tail Piece, they always sounded unbalanced and the neck lacked definition and the bridge was too harsh.

Perceived output level: Alnico 4 mags and a few extra winds courtesy of Tim makes these around the same as the BBs but more 'vintage'.
Tone: VERY balanced and quickly perceived an improvment to tone within 1 min of fitting
Sonic evaluation: Unsing a Cornford Harlequin, everything at 1pm.
These pickups are brilliant and brought the exact improvements I was expecting - warm and cleqar nexk and a bridge that still cutrs through but is not harsh or shrill.
Before these I could never settle on my pup height or amp tone settings, now I am one happy man.
Handwound pups for the price of some mass produced aternative - no choice.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Great match for my style and breaking out my best impression of duane, koss and keith.

Comments: I will problably repalce both my strat and my tele pups with some of Tim's creations - you can't really compare the tone from the BBs to the Stormys - the sound I was looking for is finally in my guitar.
I know many changes result in a perceived improvment, but these really are a lot more balanced and clearer than my BBs, clean up nice at 7 and give that 'over the hills and far away tone' form How the West Was Won!
Neck pickup is a lot more useable now, hell, I was even consdiering a new guitar at one point.
Hell, even got some free picks and 2 sets of strings thrown in - nice one Tim!

Pickup features: Humbucker
Impedence or other specs: 7.5k ish, special with an alnico IV magnet and asymmetrical coils.

Model of guitar or bass: PRS CE24
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: Vintage Bass
Other pickups on guitar: Bare Knuckle Black Dog
Artists using this pickup: ???
You musical style(s): Rock/blues/jazz...
Reason for pickup change: Vintage bass can be a bit muddy, the note attack used to get lost when playing at volume with a band.

Perceived output level: Typical vintage PAF output. Balances very well with the Black Dog in the bridge. Not noisy despite the asymmetrical coils.
Tone: Nice balance between lows and mids, very open treble. Not as much midrange as the Black Dog, but I wasn't looking for loads of midrange bite in the neck.
Sonic evaluation: PRS Maple Top CE24 from 1990 into usually a JCM800 and a Super Reverb through various Keeley, Fulltone and Analogman effects via Loooper and Lehle switching. The lowish output means your amp never gets mushy and effects like teh Fulltone Choral Flange stay nice and clean. I like hot bridge pickups but hot neck pickups all to often get mushy when gain is added. It's a great balance against the Black DOg. Coil splits sound more convincingly Strat and Tele like. It's increased the versatility of my guitar - great stuff!

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Great all rounder for anyone into the classic PAF sound. It never gets muddy, allways sings, is never peircing, just enough bite to cut through. Some great warm jazz tones are available, warm clean blues sounds - think Peter Green, through to Slash style lead riffing - it's all there!

Comments: This is where the TONE is!!
There must be something in this hand scatterwinding process. I've got at least one Bare Knuckle on each of my guitars now. Tim is allways very helpful and takes teh time to talk to you - try and get any other company owners to help like this!! Customer care is excellent! It's getting to the point that I need some more guitars to try out the rest of the range!! They really are the dogs...musch more open and tonefull than Lindy Fralins that I had on the PRS a while back, and completely destroy the tone from Duncans and Dimarzios...Cheaper than some of them to...Yep I'd buy it again!