Reamp-ready DIs of 11 popular Bare Knuckle pickups

[Nolly]

Hey guys,

Some of you may know I recorded the clips for the Bare Knuckle website, and I tracked dry DI signals alongside many of the clips in case there was any need for reamping. Since many people ask about the varying characteristics of Bare Knuckles I realised, prompted by a thread on sevenstring.org, that those capable of reamping could try doing so with the DIs to see how they sound with their own tones. The easiest examples to use are the rhythm tracks from the "modern metal" clips, but if this proves popular I can bounce out some of the others too.

So, without further ado:
The DIs were captured through an Audient MiCO preamp/DI; I should stress that the recording process for these clips was fairly manic (we did 200+ clips in 4 days), so apologies for any sloppy playing/editing/clipping you might encounter, though I don't think there is anything bad enough to hamper the comparison experience. They are all .wavs exported at 44.1/24
The guitar is a 80s Gibson Les Paul Custom, which is I guess what one might describe as medium-bright for an LP. There are two exceptions to this - the Aftermath is in my Blackmachine B2, and the Sinner is in a Fender Custom Shop Relic '62 Strat. Note there are a couple of lower output models in there too: the Riff Raff and Black Dog.

Aftermath

Black Dog

Cold Sweat

Holy Diver

Miracle Man

Nailbomb

Painkiller

Riff Raff

Sinner

Warpig (AlNiCo)

Warpig (Ceramic)

 

[Fbarre]

I will have a listen to them. Thank you for your effort. Would be even more interesting if you could record a track for an emg 81 and a duncan blackout.

 

[Ola Englund]

sounds awesome on the bare knuckle site. Which one do you like the most? And btw your playing so fucking sick.

 

[Ermz]

Thank you! Leeched all of them, and look forward to giving them a thorough listen through my incoming new rig! These things can really help focus bands down the right path for their tone search, so it's greatly appreciated.

 

[metalfanat1c]

I'll be checking these out very shortly.

 

[Nolly]

Cheers dudes, hopefully you'll find them useful or at least interesting.

sounds awesome on the bare knuckle site. Which one do you like the most? And btw your playing so fucking sick.

Cheers Ola!

Difficult to say really, I think the Black Dog and Riff Raff are a real surprise for most - very snarly indeed and the higher resonant peak/reduced bass of the weaker wind works very well with the Les Paul's naturally big sound. The Nailbomb also sounds cool to me - a nice mix of an old school voicing with a more compressed dynamic than a vintage pickup. The Sinner is pretty nuts for a true single-coil too!
FWIW I'll be putting a Riff Raff in a Les Paul-type guitar I'm having built.

 

[Ola Englund]

Cheers dudes, hopefully you'll find them useful or at least interesting.




Cheers Ola!

Difficult to say really, I think the Black Dog and Riff Raff are a real surprise for most - very snarly indeed and the higher resonant peak/reduced bass of the weaker wind works very well with the Les Paul's naturally big sound. The Nailbomb also sounds cool to me - a nice mix of an old school voicing with a more compressed dynamic than a vintage pickup. The Sinner is pretty nuts for a true single-coil too!
FWIW I'll be putting a Riff Raff in a Les Paul-type guitar I'm having built.

Thanks for the answer, I've only tried the Nailbomb alnico myself and it sure sounds awesome.

 

[Nolly]

Yeah, I really like the Nailbomb, I have one in the Blackmachine the Aftermath DI was recorded in now and it sounds great!

 

[::XeS::]

Is it me or every Bare Knuckle pickup has a shitload of bass? Usually I have to hi-pass them way more than a classic EMG pickup...anyway they sound great with an awesome grittyness.

 

[Mattayus]

EMG = compressed to fuck
Bareknuckle = way more open and dynamic, so it will receive a wider frequency range from your guitar's body.

Great idea Nolly, I used to have a set of Painkillers in my old RG7620, loved'em.

 

[Plankis]

What's your approach to pickup height, Nolly?
I find my nailbombs incredibly sensitive, turn the screws a 1/8th of a revolution and there's a completely new sound.

 

[Nolly]

What's your approach to pickup height, Nolly?
I find my nailbombs incredibly sensitive, turn the screws a 1/8th of a revolution and there's a completely new sound.

I tend to have them up pretty close, but obviously not to the point that they're messing with the intonation/action. For the clips I was down at the BKP workshop though, so Tim himself was wiring/setting up the guitars, I just recorded them as he handed them to me.

 

[Ermz]

This has actually put my mind at ease about something I experienced with the Painkiller not long ago. When the guitarist raised it up close to the bridge I noticed it had a 'distorting' type character to it. I was really afraid that I clipped my mic pre without knowing, but going by these clips, that distortion seems natural for it.

 

[Nolly]

^ Yeah I think I know what you mean. Did you dig any of the others, out of interest?

 

[sprack]

The Cold Sweat sounded best to me. Best mix of clarity and lows. I expected to like the Miracle Man the most.

 

[Lasse Lammert]

Is it me or every Bare Knuckle pickup has a shitload of bass?

yes, that's why I never liked any of them tbh.
they've got an interesting voicing for sure, definitely a unique sound to it.
great doom/sludge/stoner pickup for sure.but I fukcing hated them for everything with fast palm mutes.
but that might just be my taste

 

[Nolly]

The Cold Sweat sounded best to me. Best mix of clarity and lows. I expected to like the Miracle Man the most.

Yeah, I like the Cold Sweat too. Works great in an Les Paul especially

 

[guitarguru777]

The Cold Sweat sounded best to me. Best mix of clarity and lows. I expected to like the Miracle Man the most.

I use Miracle Mans's in my 7 string they have a real 81ish tonality but with WAY more dynamics. I love them!

 

[fade_2_black]

This is awesome man, thanks a lot. I wont have a chance to check these out for a short while but looking forward to when I get the chance!

 

[Eduardo Apolonia]

Thanks a lot for doing this Nolly.