Help me choose some Bareknuckle pickups for my SG Standard ‘61 Reissue

[Daddy D-Rock]

Hey all,

I’m currently in the process of trying to find some pickups for my Gibson SG Standard ‘61 Reissue

TLDR —
I want a low-mid output Neck Pickup that is full, and clear without being wimpy, muddy — while maintaining some upper bite, sparkle
&
I want a ballsy mid-high output Bridge Pickup that can do high gain (not death metal), while maintaining note clarity — without harshness, squealing or becoming too compressed

Candidates:
— Neck: The Mule, Stormy Monday, Riff Raff
— Bridge: Nailbomb Ceramic, Cold Sweat, Riff Raff

Additional info —
I keep this guitar tuned to half-step down or half-step drop D.

The guitar comes stock with ‘61 Burstbuckers.
They are pretty good, but could be better.
Overall, I find them a bit scooped, and compressed.
They also squeal like a banshee with a lot of gain.
Looking for something fuller, balanced, more open and less microphonic.
The guitar already has a good amount of mids, high-mids, so I probably don’t need anything that accentuates those too much.

I don’t do extreme gain metal tones or anything like that, but I do need a bridge pickup with some balls.

I want a full, but articulate neck pickup for cleans, but not too wimpy — so I can do some Big Muffy woofy leads.

Here are the tonal improvements I’m trying to make:

The Neck Pickup —
The current neck pickup is kinda boomy and muddy, but has a good bite to it.
Lowering the pickup helped with the boominess, but it still sounds muddy and compressed. But I do like the slight top end sparkle it imparts.
Turning down the volume on this pickup does help, but it’s still muddy in the low-mids overall.

The Bridge Pickup —
I’m much happier with the bridge pickup, but it could also be better.
With med-high overdrive, it starts to get compressed and a bit mushy. Has a good amount of high-mid bite too. I would prefer just a little less of that— Something slightly smoother.
I have to be careful with the presence and treble controls on my amp or things quickly get too spikey.
Decent note clarity, and string separation overall, but I suspect I could find something even better.
The worst part is how much it squeals and feeds back under medium-high amounts of gain. It’s really annoying.
It’s also a bit lacking in the lows (as most SG’s are), so I’d like something with some balls and low-mid girth to make up for this, while remaining tight — not flabby or loose.

Thanks in advance for the insights!

 

[ARandall]

Without having read everything (you might want to work on post clarity and brevity) if you're after some of the band's tone you've mentioned I'd go for a medium output bridge pickup - the Rebel Yell or similar from BKP. The amp will do a lot of the heavy lifting getting the tones you're after.
The neck in an SG is not at the 24 fret location, so it needs a bit more thickness to make up for it. I'd suggest something with more fullness in the BKP PAF clone type winds. I've not studied their eq so don't know models to recommend.

 

[Daddy D-Rock]

Without having read everything (you might want to work on post clarity and brevity) if you're after some of the band's tone you've mentioned I'd go for a medium output bridge pickup - the Rebel Yell or similar from BKP. The amp will do a lot of the heavy lifting getting the tones you're after.
The neck in an SG is not at the 24 fret location, so it needs a bit more thickness to make up for it. I'd suggest something with more fullness in the BKP PAF clone type winds. I've not studied their eq so don't know models to recommend.

Sorry lol — I shortened it down.

 

[AJK1]

I’ve used a few different Barenuckle sets over the years
The descriptions of their pickups on their website are very accurate so I would just use that as a guide to work out what you need
One set I had that was similar to what you describe was a Rebel Yell set
It replaced a 61r/t set that was in my LP classic
The Rebel Yells were amazing

 

[Daddy D-Rock]

Thanks for the tips! I’m kinda suffering from option paralysis lol.

I did remove the Miracle Man because I think the output is too high — I’m interested in the Riff Raff though.
Slightly hotter output that my current Burstbuckers

 

[ArchEtech]

I have a set of aftermath in a custom Les Paul with coil taping and a very even taper pot set up. They are geared towards higher output but I really like their sound with the volume backed off. They tap wonderfully and don’t lose clarity/sparkle in single mode or backing off the juice. Very p90 ish. The. At full tilt they can saturate with the best of them. I like them enough to put them in another guitar and they have cool/unique finish options.

 

[moreles]

I like ARandall's suggestions. I have a '61 Reissue, but mine is a Custom and from ;87 and so has Shaws as the original pickups and I've kept them because they're great ans suit me and the guitar well. The point is that in an SG, I think the instrument plays best with moderate output pickups, relying on the usual methods -- pickup height, appropriate pots and caps -- to balance and adjust output, relying on the amp and if needed, a pedal to provide whatever heat or distortion you might want. It's easy to dial in those qualities when you have clear, articulate, moderate output, but IMO, it's a losing battle working with hot pickups when you don't particularly want such a tone. I think it's a big mistake to put edgy P-90s or HBs in an SG.

 

[dc007]

Just a thought. You could take the covers off the stock pups as a possible cure for the squealing. Drop an A3 mag in the neck pup

 

[Brazilnut]

Here's another thought. I get @Roxie13 to make me up a 50's harness with OIP caps and 400K pots for my SGs. That smoothes out my bridge pickup quite a bit. Plus I use a compressor too. Not too much, just enough. Rebel Yell is a great PU. So are Wagner Godwoods, and they cost less. [Although you don't get the coaster and the fancy box.]

 

[ErictheRed]

I went down the Bareknuckle rabbit hole for a couple of years and spent a lot of money and wasn't happy with the results. They have so many options that you keep thinking that if you aren't entirely happy wtih the sound that it's your fault, that you need to try another one. It's kind of addicting. Personally I would recommend looking elsewhere for a lot cheaper, unless you're in the UK.

Having said that, I've played a ton of BKP humbuckers and have spent a lot of time on their forums, so I can offer some insight. I've also emailed back and forth wtih Tim Mills a bit about a particular guitar and pickup combo for that (similar to a SG).

Regarding the neck pickup, in my experience, most Bare Knuckle pickups are quite bassy, full, round, etc. The Emerald that everyone raves about, for instance, was way too dark and bassy for me, as was the VHII. Both seemed much higher output than I expected. Your Mule, Stormy Monday, or Riff Raff are probably good options, though the Mule neck leans toward the warmer/fuller/bassier side of things. The Riff Raff is bright and almost single coil like, kind of like a Suhr Thornbucker. The Stormy Monday is one of the few that I haven't tried.

Regarding bridge, the Ceramic Nailbomb is going to be much higher output than it seems that you're looking for, higher than a JB for instance. The Nailbomb (both versions) was one of the most unpleasant bridge pickups I've ever tried, personally. I didn't find it versatile at all like the website suggests, it felt like it always wanted to explode into early 2000s Nu Metal or something. Very cocked wah sounding and not versatile for me at all. I haven't tried the Cold Sweat, but the Riff Raff is like other Alnico 5 PAF style that I've tried, something like a Burstbucker Pro but more thin with less bass. It's not high output at all. You considering the Riff Raff and the Ceramic Nailbomb kind of has me scratching my head, as they're extremely different...I'd say that the Riff Raff is one of the brightest bridge humbuckers I've tried, and you may not want that. It's definitely lacking in lows.

I tried many, many BKP humbuckers, and my very favorite were the True Grit, which thankfully happen to be the cheapest! I suggest you start by looking there. The True Grit bridge was described to me by Tim Mills as an overwound Emerald or underwound Rebel Yell; the Rebel Yell itself is often described as an underwound Alnico Nailbomb. I'm not sure how true that is as they sound a bit different to me, but it could be true. Anyway the True Grit is still PAF-like in a lot of ways but has more output, though it doesn't compress as much as a Nailbomb or Holydiver for instance. The True Grit neck pickup was pretty balanced as well, not extremely overly bassy like most of the BKP I tried. They're one of the only pickups from them that I didn't find extreme in the voicing, they sound like regular pickups.

Here's a good video that I think really shows off how they sound, and they're in a SG. It's not exactly my style of music but you get the idea:

I found that a lot of Bare Knuckles are very extreme in their voicing. If you buy one and don't like the extreme EQ curve (the Riff Raff is too bright/thin, the Nailbomb too cocked wah, whatever), you've spent a lot of money. I don't feel that you get enough value for your money over other brands that cost a lot less in the States, even the non-sexy Seymour Duncan. I personally love Suhr pickups, and even they cost quite a bit less than Bare Knuckle pickups these days. Anyhow good luck!

 

[ErictheRed]

Hey all,

I’m currently in the process of trying to find some pickups for my Gibson SG Standard ‘61 Reissue

TLDR —
I want a low-mid output Neck Pickup that is full, and clear without being wimpy, muddy — while maintaining some upper bite, sparkle
&
I want a ballsy mid-high output Bridge Pickup that can do high gain (not death metal), while maintaining note clarity — without harshness, squealing or becoming too compressed

Candidates:
— Neck: The Mule, Stormy Monday, Riff Raff
— Bridge: Nailbomb Ceramic, Cold Sweat, Riff Raff

Additional info —
I keep this guitar tuned to half-step down or half-step drop D.

The guitar comes stock with ‘61 Burstbuckers.
They are pretty good, but could be better.
Overall, I find them a bit scooped, and compressed.
They also squeal like a banshee with a lot of gain.
Looking for something fuller, balanced, more open and less microphonic.
The guitar already has a good amount of mids, high-mids, so I probably don’t need anything that accentuates those too much.

I don’t do extreme gain metal tones or anything like that, but I do need a bridge pickup with some balls.

I want a full, but articulate neck pickup for cleans, but not too wimpy — so I can do some Big Muffy woofy leads.

Here are the tonal improvements I’m trying to make:

The Neck Pickup —
The current neck pickup is kinda boomy and muddy, but has a good bite to it.
Lowering the pickup helped with the boominess, but it still sounds muddy and compressed. But I do like the slight top end sparkle it imparts.
Turning down the volume on this pickup does help, but it’s still muddy in the low-mids overall.

The Bridge Pickup —
I’m much happier with the bridge pickup, but it could also be better.
With med-high overdrive, it starts to get compressed and a bit mushy. Has a good amount of high-mid bite too. I would prefer just a little less of that— Something slightly smoother.
I have to be careful with the presence and treble controls on my amp or things quickly get too spikey.
Decent note clarity, and string separation overall, but I suspect I could find something even better.
The worst part is how much it squeals and feeds back under medium-high amounts of gain. It’s really annoying.
It’s also a bit lacking in the lows (as most SG’s are), so I’d like something with some balls and low-mid girth to make up for this, while remaining tight — not flabby or loose.

Thanks in advance for the insights!

A couple of last thoughts, if you found the Burstbuckers to be compressed I really don't think that you should be looking at high output pickups like the Cold Sweat or Nailbomb. Also if squeling is a problem then you really want a potted pickup. For the bridge, it sounds like you really want an Alnico 5 magnet, which will give a bit more balls and hold together better in the lows without getting mushy. You might really like the Seymour Duncan Jazz or Sentient neck pickups if you're willing to look at other brands...

Lastly you should really adjust the pickup pole pieces and heights and all of that before spending money, you might be surprised at the results.

 

[Daddy D-Rock]

Thanks for solid advice, guys.

After doing a lot of research and reading I’ve decided to go for lower-output potted pickups.

Right now I’m leaning toward a Stormy Monday in the Neck and a Mule in the Bridge

 

[AJK1]

Thanks for solid advice, guys.

After doing a lot of research and reading I’ve decided to go for lower-output potted pickups.

Right now I’m leaning toward a Stormy Monday in the Neck and a Mule in the Bridge

What did you end up getting ?

 

[Daddy D-Rock]

For now, I’ve kept the stock pickups. I really like the bridge one, but the neck one will likely get swapped for a Stormy Monday at some point

 

[AJK1]

All talk, no action

 

[Radbloke McShreddington]

From what you've said here, the last thing you want in the bridge is a C-bomb. I will say the A-bomb in the bridge of an SG is fantastic if you're playing a lot of punk rock/hardcore. Very tight and punchy, yet still a lot of clarity. However, it doesn't sound like that's the sound you're going for.

 

[sc1989]

Gibson 490r/490t might be worth a squizz?