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- What our Customers Have to Say
FAQ BKP
I GET A LOT OF QUESTIONS REGARDING PICKUPS AND OTHER THINGS AND I WILL START SHARING SOME OF THEME HERE.
ON POLE PIECE SPACING:
Gibson string spacing at the bridge is 3 1/16", E to E string. This is 52.3875 mm. So string spacing over the bridge pole piece is around 51/52 mm and at the neck it is around 49.5 mm. Gibson pickup pole piece spacing is 50 mm so to "split the difference" between the measurements and to allow the poles and strings to align.
Gibson Makes at least two pickups I now of with NON STANDARD 52 mm pole spacing and this has caused some confusion. These pickups are the Ceramic 500T and maybe the 496 Ceramic and 498 High Powered Alnico. These pickups are commonly found in the Les Paul Classic and the Les Paul Studios. The Strings do not align with the pickup pole pieces unless the bridge saddles are routed for the different spacing. Most Gibson I see with these pickups simply don't line up correctly. I don't know if it really effects the tone but given how bad these pickups sound to begin with, when compared to real PAFS, I don't think it matters much. Many customers with these guitars email me and ask what to do so their BKP pickups will properly align with the pole pieces. If your strings are not aligned perfectly with the stock pickups do nothing but order BKP humbuckers with 50 mm pole spacing. If your bridge saddles have been compensated for lining up with the non standard 52 mm pole piece spacing then you can order a 53 mm humbucker for the bridge and one 50 mm for the neck. Its going to be close enough for rock n roll and damn sure is going to sound much better than the stock pickups
TIM: If their Gibson pickups are 52mm or slightly over then our 53mm option is best (I'll be damned if anybody can see .5mm). Our neck spacing is always 50mm so if someone wants widespaced bridge standard neck the option to pick is 53mm.
QUESTION: Have you ever compared your pickups to a vintage PAF or strat single coil. One of the ones that are representative of the best of the best? Do you think your stuff matches, closely approximates, or is better than the originals? This may be blasphemy but I think it is possible to make pickups BETTER sounding than the originals. I mean, why not? If you got a handle on the materials, its all in the winding and expertise. Do you like the sound of your pickups better than some of the original hallmark pieces? I guess what I am asking is it just impossible to catch up with what the elders did? Everybody wants to retain or get as close to the vintage stuff as possible. Like a calculus curve that approaches zero but never crosses the line. I'm interested in transcendance. From what I have heard, BKP can do it. What do you think? (Submitted by Peerless Tone)
ANSWER: Yes I've compared our pickups to originals on many occasions(I had Jimmy Page's No.1 in the workshop a few weeks ago, the most well known and expensive LP in the world!)-basically Stormy Monday, Mule and Riff Raff are reproductions of '57/58, '59 and ' early '60 PAFs respectively-all our materials are vintage correct-we make our own solid nickel 21 gauge baseplates to the exact same spec as the first PAF, likewise our covers are complete replicas too made from solid nickel silver to the original pattern and we use our own celluloid butyrate bobbins, again complete clones of the original.
Based on that, all our contemporary models are built on that original foundation but we use modern winds, ie different wire gauges, magnets etc for modern tones however the building block of each pickup is still the same as the orginal.
We do exactly the same with our Teles and Strats-all the parts we make ourselves and we handwind with vintage wire just like the first Fender coils.
(Submitted by Tim Mills, BKP)
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QUESTION: I dont understand the massive gap in output in the Strat range ?.
Slow Hand= 7.6 / 6.5 / 6.5
Trilogy = 15.5 /11.2/11.2
ANSWER: For starters, DC Resistance is not an absolute measure of output - it's simply a measure of the amount of resistance from the winding. In other words, it's only a relative measure of output: for 2 pickups using the same magnet & the same wiring type/gauge the one with the higher DCR would have more power & top end, but as a figure on its own it doesn't take account of the different types/sizes etc of magnet & wire.
Secondly, the difference in output between an Irish Tour (which is more powerful than the Slowhand) & a Trilogy isn't huge. In fact, I estimate that the difference in power between the lower output Sultans' & the Irish Tour is probably greater.
As far as I can tell, BKP have the entire power spectrum pretty well covered...
Taken from the BKP Users Forum. Answer provided by Antag.
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QUESTION: Bare Knuckles verses Synthetic Aged Pickups
ANSWER: I would hate to have to explain to my kid one day when passing down my Les Paul, that the pickups are synthetically aged or made to sound old and therefore will never actually age or at the VERY LEAST will not age in the traditional way that made the old PAFs and single coils sound so better with age. By the time BKPs reach their prime most of the original examples, early PAFS and single coils, wont be around anymore. Then where would we be? Thank God for Tim and Bare Knuckle for carrying on the in the TRADITIONAL WAY rather than being just another SNAKE OIL AFTER MARKET PICKUP MANUFACTURE.
QUESTION: Another Boutique pickup manufacture claims that Tim copied his designs and also orders all his parts from asia.
ANSWER: This is pure rubbish. Actually, I know the dealer you are speaking of as we had the same conversation over what started out as pickup smalltalk but he spent more time on BKP than his own product. I wont say his name though it would serve him right if I did because lies of this magnitude really shows one character. Bare Knuckle makes everything in house or they source from original and authentic vendors. This is something I have first hand knowledge of. Simply inspect a BKP and compare it to any other aftermarket pickup and make your own conclusion. Many boutique pickup manufactures do get their parts from asia and this is more common than one would realize but BKP does not. Tim has invested a lot of time and research into manufacturing. Further proof of this can be found in several guitar magazines which toured the BKP workshop. This is really an easy myth to bust. However the guy who started these rumors has recruited nitwits to say nonsense like this on Harmony Central in the User Reviews. The claims were so outlandish and nothing like the other reviews so I do not think any rational person will take stock in this person attempt to slag BKP. The worst part about this scenario is that this pickup manufacture in question makes a very strong product and his tooling methods, are not old school as BKP, and are indeed very state of the art and he should be proud of what he has accomplished. Talent just doesn't equate character I guess. Whatever, I have heard his pickups in lots of guitars and they sound good but not s good as BKPs. I guess is the reason for his bitterness.
