Bare Knuckle P-Bass pickup

[jeffrey226]

Hi guys,
Anybody out there tried Bare Knuckle pickups on a P-Bass ? I have that project bass that is a true player but sadly equiped with a cheap Squier type pickup. Would like to add some punch to the instrument's sound, like adding some low end and growl without boosting the unwanted high mids. Or would the Bill Lawrence pickup be a more convincing choice ? And what about these low priced Tone Monsters we can buy on Ebay ?
I definitely would appreciate some advice on this topic.

 

[Davo-London]

If you are from the UK then try the Bare Knuckle pickup!

Davo

PS: your title is incorrectly spelt and it's worth changing in case folk search for these pickups within the forum.

 

[jeffrey226]

Thanks for pointing out the misspelling. In fact, I'm from Canada, but there is a Bare Knuckle dealer somewhere not too far from my town. If you suggest I should give it a try, it's probably that you did so yourself. So what are your impressions ? Do they give a round bass tone or are they like my cheap Squier type pickup - high mid undesirable kind of tone ?

 

[rubis]

Hi Jeffrey226, I have a Bare Knuckle '58 pickup in a P bass copy and I would highly recommend it. Slight mid scoop and very punchy, but smooth. A very well made versatile pickup!

 

[Davo-London]

No I haven't tried them but I'm still thinking about it!

Davo

 

[jeffrey226]

Finally decided on buying the thing. First of all, I found bizarre buying something of that price in an unsealed box. I mean, anyone could have retrieved something from it. But it turned out everything was in the box, the pickup itself, two nice stickers, a thing to put under your beer to prevent scratching the table, a guitar pick and... absolutely no wiring diagram. I know a P-bass pickup swap is a piece of cake, but what about the most specific projects. Anyway, I installed the pickup as soon as I could, and found myself facing the truth: No noticeable change in the overall sound or tone of my P-bass ! I mean, for the price, I was expecting no more than the most spcetacular change in a 30 year old career as a bassist. But I admit my deception. Of course, there is an evident gain in output volume, but that I could accomplish with the turn of the volume knob on my amplifier... No more lows, no more low mids, no more punch or growl. Maybe a little more "sweetness" in the overall tone, but nothing worth the 139.00$ plus the world reknowned Quebec sales taxes that elevated the final amount to 160.00$ I'm now looking forward to swapping the pots to 500k and maybe change the tone cap from .047 to .087, which always tends to make the tone range more even. But these changes I could have made with the factory Fender pickup in. So, all in all, I think I could have the same satisfaction with a DiMarzio DP-122 for half the price.

 

[The_Phoenician]

I put a Fender '62 Precision pickup in my ESP Vintage, and have been very satisfied. It has a great bottom end when you turn the tone down, even with Roundwounds and a high treble EQ on the amp.

 

[Britbonic]

Finally decided on buying the thing. First of all, I found bizarre buying something of that price in an unsealed box. I mean, anyone could have retrieved something from it. But it turned out everything was in the box, the pickup itself, two nice stickers, a thing to put under your beer to prevent scratching the table, a guitar pick and... absolutely no wiring diagram. I know a P-bass pickup swap is a piece of cake, but what about the most specific projects. Anyway, I installed the pickup as soon as I could, and found myself facing the truth: No noticeable change in the overall sound or tone of my P-bass ! I mean, for the price, I was expecting no more than the most spcetacular change in a 30 year old career as a bassist. But I admit my deception. Of course, there is an evident gain in output volume, but that I could accomplish with the turn of the volume knob on my amplifier... No more lows, no more low mids, no more punch or growl. Maybe a little more "sweetness" in the overall tone, but nothing worth the 139.00$ plus the world reknowned Quebec sales taxes that elevated the final amount to 160.00$ I'm now looking forward to swapping the pots to 500k and maybe change the tone cap from .047 to .087, which always tends to make the tone range more even. But these changes I could have made with the factory Fender pickup in. So, all in all, I think I could have the same satisfaction with a DiMarzio DP-122 for half the price.

Hmm.... I suppose it depends on what you're expecting and which Squier pickup. Also IME, the differences in P Bass pickups are not as noticeable as in other styles like Jazz bass.

Some of the Squier pickups actually sound very good. Also, how are you evaluating the differences? What were you looking for in a replacement PU? More output, bottom end, top end, mid growl?

I do all my critical listening in home studio at relatively low volumes. I'm usually plugged straight into my DAW so it's very neutral. FWIW, I've tried a couple of different PUs in my 08 Am Std before settling on the Dave Allens which I'm very happy with. Could have also been pretty happy with the stock ones, the Bill Lawrence or a couple others I tried but preferred the Allens. Am still happy with stock Fender PU in my 57 AVRI too. Haven't tried the Bare Knuckles but have heard good things. Curious why you'd change to a 500K pot? It won't impact the tone, only how the volume pot works.

 

[Henry D]

Heavy rock kinda examples of the bare knuckle P pickup:


Enjoy!!

 

[Britbonic]

Great sounding PUs. I usually don't like PJ but like these.

 

[jeffrey226]

Hmm.... I suppose it depends on what you're expecting and which Squier pickup. Also IME, the differences in P Bass pickups are not as noticeable as in other styles like Jazz bass.

Some of the Squier pickups actually sound very good. Also, how are you evaluating the differences? What were you looking for in a replacement PU? More output, bottom end, top end, mid growl?

I do all my critical listening in home studio at relatively low volumes. I'm usually plugged straight into my DAW so it's very neutral. FWIW, I've tried a couple of different PUs in my 08 Am Std before settling on the Dave Allens which I'm very happy with. Could have also been pretty happy with the stock ones, the Bill Lawrence or a couple others I tried but preferred the Allens. Am still happy with stock Fender PU in my 57 AVRI too. Haven't tried the Bare Knuckles but have heard good things. Curious why you'd change to a 500K pot? It won't impact the tone, only how the volume pot works.

You know, more output could be easilly achieved with no cost, just by turning the volume knob of the amplifier. No, I was looking for a little more bottom end and a bit more mid growl. Which seems to be something a P-Bass in incapable of anyway...

 

[jeffrey226]

Heavy rock kinda examples of the bare knuckle P pickup:


Enjoy!!

This is THE clip that led me to buying a Bare Knuckle at first. But Nolly has a two pickups configuration on a very expensive bass, which is not my case. And there is no possibility for us to see through what kind of rig he is actually playing. I set the controls of my amplifier the same as I did with the factory installed PU and got the same P-bass sound, with a lot of mids and no bottom end.

 

[jeffrey226]

I put a Fender '62 Precision pickup in my ESP Vintage, and have been very satisfied. It has a great bottom end when you turn the tone down, even with Roundwounds and a high treble EQ on the amp.

Pickup change on a Jazz Bass is always a little more significative. I've always had problems with the P-bass global sound, which is mostly mids and not much bottom end. That was what I was looking to improve, but nothing happened...

 

[jeffrey226]

Finally decided on buying the thing. First of all, I found bizarre buying something of that price in an unsealed box. I mean, anyone could have retrieved something from it. But it turned out everything was in the box, the pickup itself, two nice stickers, a thing to put under your beer to prevent scratching the table, a guitar pick and... absolutely no wiring diagram. I know a P-bass pickup swap is a piece of cake, but what about the most specific projects. Anyway, I installed the pickup as soon as I could, and found myself facing the truth: No noticeable change in the overall sound or tone of my P-bass ! I mean, for the price, I was expecting no more than the most spcetacular change in a 30 year old career as a bassist. But I admit my deception. Of course, there is an evident gain in output volume, but that I could accomplish with the turn of the volume knob on my amplifier... No more lows, no more low mids, no more punch or growl. Maybe a little more "sweetness" in the overall tone, but nothing worth the 139.00$ plus the world reknowned Quebec sales taxes that elevated the final amount to 160.00$ I'm now looking forward to swapping the pots to 500k and maybe change the tone cap from .047 to .087, which always tends to make the tone range more even. But these changes I could have made with the factory Fender pickup in. So, all in all, I think I could have the same satisfaction with a DiMarzio DP-122 for half the price.

Who ever said that only foolish people never change minds was absolutely right once again.
After a couple hours of experimentation with my amplifier and tone knob on the bass itself, I can now say that the Bare Knuckle pickup opened the overall sound of my P-bass to a wide array of tonal "colors" that just simply weren't there with the factory installed pickup, no matter what I tried . I mean... Wow !!! At first, I just plugged the bass in and started playing with the same settings as I usually did before the swap, which was the only acceptable one with that particular instrument. Now I can go through the whole possibilities of the amp and almost everything will be good to the ear. And from now on, I truly believe that what was intended to be a good backup bass for the gig nights will become a stage instrument full time ! And I won't be searching for a used Jazz Bass anymore...
All in all, the '58 Split P from Bare Knuckle, although remaining a little expensive versus what the competition has to offer, is a very sweet sounding pickup with a great range of possibilities.