BKP Options

Options Help
If there's anything not answered here or in the FAQ or you'd like to know about Bare Knuckle or pickups in general, email tech@bareknucklepickups.co.uk and we'll endeavour to add it to the FAQs as well as give a personal reply.

What does "calibrated set" mean?
What is the difference between braided two conductor and four conductor?
What is four conductor wiring?
What spacing is right for my bridge humbucker?

What is the difference between vintage long leg and short leg baseplates?
Stock vs. RWRP middle single coils
Flat magnet profile or vintage stagger?
What does RW/RP mean?
What is polarity?
What is the difference between a humbucker and a single coil pickup?
How long is the warranty and is it transferable?
What are zinc plate steel baseplates

What does "calibrated set" mean? A calibrated set of humbuckers(or single coils for that matter) are pickups wound to optimise tone and output for their respective position, ie bridge and neck humbuckers are wound differently and often feature different magnets too. The strings move alot more over the neck pickup and generate more current so neck pickups are often wound to have a lower output in comparison to a bridge in order to achieve better clarity and balance between the pair. The best way to think of a calibrated set is as a matched pair.

What is the difference between braided two conductor and four conductor? Braided two conductor hook up allows series operation only(humbucking!) whereas four conductor hook up allows advanced wiring options such as series/parallel, in/out of phase and coil splitting.

What is four conductor wiring? Individual termination of the start and finish leads from each coil of a humbucking pickup to a cable with four separate conductors plus a shield. This allows extremely versatile switching arrangments such as series/parallel, coil split, in/out of phase and so on.

What spacing is right for my bridge humbucker?
Spacing refers to the distance from E pole to E pole on the bridge pickup of a humbucker equipped guitar. Standard spacing, usual with fixed Gibson style bridges is 50mm(it's actually 49.4mm on BKPs as per the original Gibson PAF but is rounded up to 50mm in the industry). Wide or F(Fender) spacing is typical of trem equipped guitars and is 53mm as per original Fender spacing. The majority of Gibson guitars are standard spaced although they have occasionally used a wide spaced bridge on some SG and Flying Vee series. PRS, despite fitting standard spaced humbuckers as stock are actually wide spaced on their trem equipped guitars.Neck pickups are always standard spacing. If in doubt...get the ruler out!

What is the difference between vintage long leg and short leg baseplates? The 1/2" vintage long leg humbucker mounting is common on Gibson guitars or any guitar with a generous pickup cavity.The shorter 1/4" long humbucker mounting leg is more suited to shallow routed/slimmer bodied guitars such as Strats, PRS etc

Stock vs RWRP middle single coils.
A stock middle coil will have more mid range on the in between positions of the 5 way selector and not be hum canceling.You'll also notice marginally more volume across the whole set of 3 coils.Fender Strats originally came with 3 stock wound/polarity coils. RWRP middle coil will hum cancel in positions 2 and 4 of the 5 way selector, arguably more versatile than a stock middle coil and popularized by players like Mark Knopfler and Eric Johnson.

Flat magnet profile or vintage stagger?

A vintage stagger handles the heavier 7 1/4" radius of a vintage fingerboard and works well right up to @ a 10" radius.The stagger is how Leo Fender heard the strings to balance the best and we use the more common '56 stagger with the E/A magnets at 17.6mm, D/G magnets at 18.4MM, B magnet at 16mm and high E magnet at 16.8mm. We can also produce the earlier '54 stagger with low G pole on request. Flat magnet profile gives better string to string balance on modern radius finger boards of 10" and flatter. At the end of the day it's a matter of preference and what works best for the individual-some players use a vintage stagger on very flat fingerboard radii of 14" and love it!!

What does RW/RP mean? Reverse wind/reverse polarity is used with reference to a common modification to the middle pickup on a Strat. With a 5 way selector a RW/RP middle pickup will act as a humbucker when combined with the bridge and neck pickups in positions 2 and 4. The magnetic polarity and the wind direction of the pickup is the opposite to the other coils on the guitar. This enables a stock coil and RW/RP coil to be wired together in series allowing hum cancelling operation. This modification is common to Strat®, Tele®, P90 and P&J Bass coils. In fact, anywhere that hum cancelling is required from 2 or more single coils.

What is polarity? This is the relationship of positive and negative electrical current or magnetic poles to each other.

What is the difference between a humbucker and a single coil pickup? A humbucker consists of two coils usually wound in the same direction however the electrical path to ground travels in opposing directions in each coil and the magnetic polarity is reversed. The humbucker is designed to cancel out 60-cycle hum and has a fatter, richer sound to that of the taller, narrower single coil that can be prone to 50/60 cycle hum.

How long is the warranty and is it transferable? The warranty is for life to the original purchaser subject to returning the registration form. The warranty is non-transferable and does not cover damage through misuse or improper handling, normal wear to covers, installation charges or any form of modification or repair undertaken by anyone other than Bare Knuckle Pickups Ltd.

What are zinc plate steel baseplates? Zinc plated steel baseplates for Strat coils add more bottom end definition, clarity and power to the coil. They work on the same principle as a Tele bridge baseplate with tapped mounting holes so height adjustment screws thread directly into the baseplate ensuring it will never fall off. The baseplates are waxpotted with the coil to provent microphonic feedback. Whilst it is most common to fit one to the bridge coil only, the zinc plated steel baseplates work well on middle and neck coils too.

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