Metropoulos Forum

I have been looking at these for a while and saw Bainzys post and reveiw.
I currently use a JB and Jazz duncan setup past 12 months , I took the burstbucker 2&3 out because of microphonic issues.The JB is not my cup of tea the jazz is OK.I 'm looking for an open sound that can get me in the ballpark of Thin Lizzy tones mixed with some pre 81' Van Halen.Some where in between would be fine , I think I'm looking at a pickup between 9- 11 dc resistance?

Bareknuckle, VHII , Blackdog , emerald.?

Does anyone have any suggestions.

Bare Knuckles are highly touted by Geoff Whitehorn,blues,and Steve Stevens,sonic cowboy.
Steve developed his own Rebel Yell pickups with optional rayguns etched into the covers.Steve is notoriously finicky about his sound,and he is using them in new Les Pauls,so I have heard great things about them.
I have read many reviews of BN pickups and their VH1 and Emerald caught my eye,as opposed to something called the nailbomb,or warpig.
The names are anachronisms for the tone or artist the are representing,so warpig would be Tony Iommi,Emerald,Gary Moore,Thin Lizzy,VH1.you guessed it,no not the video channel!!
They are scatterwound in the finest tradition and they seem to make good pickups in England,afterKent Armstrong,ect.
What is the deal with Burstbuckers?
Alot of vintage types remove them from their 59RI's and 58RI's,even Gary Moore,whose signature Les Paul comes with BB2 and BB3's,changes them for Tom Holmes!
People say they prefer the '57 Classics over them,when originally they didn't like the Classics,and the BB's were much heralded!
Pickups are a matter of personal choice anyway.
z900 what guitar are you using your JB in? I love my JB's in my Steve Stevens WashburnSS80 Original Floyd Rose guitar,of course they are mounted directly,via wooden dowels to the body.
Regards
Yngwie'Emerald Mean Street'308

z900 wrote:I have been looking at these for a while and saw Bainzys post and reveiw.
I currently use a JB and Jazz duncan setup past 12 months , I took the burstbucker 2&3 out because of microphonic issues.The JB is not my cup of tea the jazz is OK.I 'm looking for an open sound that can get me in the ballpark of Thin Lizzy tones mixed with some pre 81' Van Halen.Some where in between would be fine , I think I'm looking at a pickup between 9- 11 dc resistance?

Bareknuckle, VHII , Blackdog , emerald.?

Does anyone have any suggestions.

I just replaced a JB/'59 setup in my Schecter with HighOrders myself.

Seems like the JB was all lower-mid bark and slicing/cutting highs (w/500k vol. pot. BTW)....definitely not an open sound to my ears at all.......

Great for a newer metal sound...but also very limited in scope when used with overdrive (sounds great clean though IMHO).....

I hope your quest is a short and fruitful one.

I cannot even come close to affording sets of WCRs, BareKnuckles and the like.

But I am ultimately satisfied that Jeff's HighOrder pups would give anything a good run for their money, and they won't break the bank (always a good thing)........

Trampy (TubeTramp) could give you a much better rundown on Jeff's stuff than I ever possibly could if you're interested.....

But then I have heard nothing BUT good things about the BareKnuckles, so I imagine they would sound fantastic as well.........

yngwie308,
I have the jb and jazz in a class 5 les paul I put them in after the BB , I did like the BB2 but the BB3 just had to much feed back and microphonics at such a low overdrive setting , I was really dissapointed.I Also own a Les paul costom SG and I do Like the the creamy 57 classics for that guitar its suites it and it smells like vanilla .The JB is to middy for me , I am looking for a classic PAF with a bit of bit and originally thought the BB2 and BB3 would be great.
I have just ordered a set of Bare Knuckle Mules about 8.4 dc I hope I will get in the ballpark of the sound from the Les Paul.I have have plenty of gain after it Maxon 820 and waiting on a Ananlogueman Bad Bob for boost.

Tonejones,
Hey I dont splash the cash much but like everyone I hope it is a final purchase I have already wasted cash , but not entirely the JB and Jazz do have there place , maybe in my (get this vintage jackson dinky reverse 94 model) .

I dont have a family yet ........so I am getting what I can
Just dont tell my missus , imagine telling her about the bareknuckle's .......I think I would be wearing hers.

Assuming recording my share of the clips for the Metro Jam goes well, both tonejones and I will be giving you a dose of HighOrder pickups. I think he uses some ballsier ones, my sets are the 8.3K AlNiCo2 bridge unit and a 7.6K AlNiCo3 in the neck slot...........

Good stuff boys.

z900 wrote:Tonejones,
Hey I dont splash the cash much but like everyone I hope it is a final purchase I have already wasted cash , but not entirely the JB and Jazz do have there place , maybe in my (get this vintage jackson dinky reverse 94 model) .

I dont have a family yet ........so I am getting what I can
Just dont tell my missus , imagine telling her about the bareknuckle's .......I think I would be wearing hers.

I can most definitely commisserate z900...........

Imagine getting alot of parts for a 1959 SLP mailed to you part-by-part over several months under the missus' radar

She knows I have it, but can't really understand the whys and such.

Her and my father-in-law's response for me getting my second electric a few months back (yep, only two total) is

"Why??? You can only play one at a time".........

Well a carpenter uses only one hammer at a time, but any nimrod knows he's not gonna use a sledge to trim out a house interior or a trim hammer to drive 16 penny nails while framing!!!

Sorry for the rant............

Boys I got my pickups today and put them.

I really like compared to the JB and Jazz I cant beleive how open and airy these things are.My poor 57 classics sound restricted compared to these.
I asked the owner tim for some sugestions and he said VHII (BAINZY) and I went for em I wanted early ThinLizzy and VH (burnt chrome covers).
8.4k neck and 9.4k bridge and dont they blend together nicely in my les paul
it did live'n that guitar up ..took it out of the mud.They do have pronounced mids but not overboard , they have this vintage openess with hot rod appeal.
So far I like em alot.

p.s I am not trying to sell em , I just like em.

sorry "put them in"

I just went over my thread......."I cant spell for shit and sound like a deadshit"
Hopefully you guys get the jist of what I am saying

Glad your digging them man......

Is a miracle what a good set of pups can do!!!!

I just put my Bareknuckles VHII in last nite and I'm pretty excited about it - so, I had to post a little mini-review here...

I've been using an SD Pearly Gates for a while now and my ears have gotten accustomed to it's sound - so that's my frame of reference. Since I just put the PUP in last nite, I only had the chance to play it through the SansAmp plug-in in ProTools but... it has a really cool sounding middle to it - it grinds a little bit harder than the PG - feels dirtier which makes you think it's gonna be muddy and have defintion problems but it doesn't - it's the opposite - it responds to slightly palm muted low stuff in a way that i have never had the pleasure to experience before - i hear sounds in it that I have been trying to get by tweaking my amp - a character and detail when you "chug out" a riff that is slightly muted by yer palm - it responds in a very EVH sounding fashion to that. it makes the PG (which i really really like) sound a bit clinical and sterile - the VHII has a roughness to it - it's 8.7K but it sounds more powerful than my PG which is 9.7K i think - maybe that's the A5 magnet doing that - i don't know - too sum up the difference between the 2, i would say that the Bareknuckles is like rougher and more organic - it ends up having a more detailed character to it than the PG - i can't wait to hear it through my amp.