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I found some WONDERFUL sound clips of these pickups (and we know how demos can be) as well as some gushing reviews.
I am SERIOUSLY considering these and wanted to know if anyone here has had any experience with them.
Thanks!
Bare Knuckle HSP90 Manhattan
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09-03-2012 11:03 AM
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First three tracks recorded with the P90 version of that pickup. They should sound the same. Guitar is a Godin Kingpin, recorded with a cheap Zoom and Cube 80XL unfortunately. I really like that pickup.
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No worries. It sounds great. ...and I love my Cube 80x.
Originally Posted by jorgemg1984
So... no apologies needed!
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Oh yeah Barry - I remember our chats about the Cube now! So I guess those "demos" end being up good for you
If I record new stuff I will tell you but I've been using my X-500 more recently.
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By all means, please do! Originally Posted by jorgemg1984
Oh yeah Barry - I remember our chats about the Cube now! So I guess those "demos" end being up good for you If I record new stuff I will tell you but I've been using my X-500 more recently.
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Jorge - can you give more details of why you like the Bare Knuckles more than the stock Godin pickups.
Many thanks
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I have a big gig tomorrow, maybe I'll have time Wednesday and record some of my solo guitar arrangements on my home. Originally Posted by barrymclark
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Well first I already had The Mule PAFs on my 335 and Stormy Monday on my archtop and loved them. Second a guy bought me the whole stock electronics for 70€ - the Bare Knuckles pickup, pots, caps and some extra good wire and shielding copper I had was about 100€. So not exactly a big investment. Originally Posted by newsense
I did not spend many time with the stock pickup but basically improved fidelity / clarity on chords / fatness without ice-pick in single notes. Not a huge difference but still worth the 30€ for me.
PS - The mod was hard as hell according to my luthier. Not recommended if you don't know what you're doing or if you don't have a good tech.
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Jorge - many thanks. Perhaps I'll just start by changing the strings on my new Kingpin Originally Posted by jorgemg1984
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I have John Pearse Jazz Rounds on them and I am pretty happy. Stringsdirect have them usually.
If you like it as it is just leave it... I tend to care too much about details
PS - If you decide to go on with the mod I can ask my luthier and assist you in all I can.
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Take your time. I am in no hurry. I gotta wait for a Gretsch to sell before I order the Heritage with Manhattans (or whatever). Certainly let me know when you do get something! Love to hear it! Originally Posted by jorgemg1984
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Couldn't agree with this more. Originally Posted by jorgemg1984
I have John Pearse Jazz Rounds on them and I am pretty happy. Stringsdirect have them usually.
If you like it as it is just leave it... I tend to care too much about details
PS - If you decide to go on with the mod I can ask my luthier and assist you in all I can.
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Let's see how the week goes, Septembet is when I organize the classes I give and the classes I have - and there are some gigs on the horizon also. But when I am able to do it I will post it here with a Soundcloud link! Originally Posted by barrymclark
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Sweet! What I am hearing in the Manhattan clips is exactly what I wanted to hear in the translation from strings to amp: smooth subtlety. Love that smokey thumping honk. The other Humbucker/P90 retrofit pickups tend to have some serious output. The Manhattan seems to have been built for my idea of P90 in mind. That and the Half Note 90s. Originally Posted by jorgemg1984
Let's see how the week goes, Septembet is when I organize the classes I give and the classes I have - and there are some gigs on the horizon also. But when I am able to do it I will post it here with a Soundcloud link!
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The one I have is precisely the Half-Note 90 (I think the Manhattan is exactly the same but in an humbucker enclosure). I also don't like high output pickups, at lest the ones I've tried. Even for rock OD tones!
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Agreed! Even for rock I like the vintage output. Originally Posted by jorgemg1984
The one I have is precisely the Half-Note 90 (I think the Manhattan is exactly the same but in an humbucker enclosure). I also don't like high output pickups, at lest the ones I've tried. Even for rock OD tones!
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I'm a massive fan of the BKPs. My 175 has stormy mondays, as does my prs hollowbody, and to my ears it massively improved both of them. Really great, dynamic pickups. I've not tried the P90s though.
You could always email Tim/Ben at BKP - they're really helpful. The forum there is also pretty helpful generally, although with the caveat that if you say "shall I get BKPs in my guitar", the answer is always YES.
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These seem great! Jorge you really got that 50's 175/Jim Hall tone pretty close.
So these are probably the best option fof humbucker sized p90's? I'm going to look into these more...
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Hy Ryan, that's a big complement because I absolutely love Jim Hall, specially the early stuff. That is not my core sound because I usually use pedals (and a better amp) but I don't mind the guitar - cord - amp setup if I have to.
I know there are other P90 in an humbucker shape pickups that are supposed to be great but I've been so happy with Bare Knuckles stuff that I never cared to try other brands to tell you the truth (plus I live in Portugal so no fees with Bare Knuckles from UK). But I guess it's worth checking all the possibilities!
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Now here is the question to answer questions: how forgiving are the Manhattans/Half Notes? My Seth Lovers will let you know if you are not playing cleanly and love the subsequent tone. These do the same truth telling? No slop allowed? I hope so! Originally Posted by jorgemg1984
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Sorry Barry not sure if I understood your question correctly (English is not my first language)... can you rephrase it? Thanks!
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I apologize. Your english is very good by the way. Originally Posted by jorgemg1984
The Seth Lover pickups I have are very sensitive to the nuances of the player's technique. They are so sensitive that any mistakes are very clearly heard. Are the Manhattans similar in this way?
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Oh don't need to apologize Barry I just needed to be sure what exactly what you wanted to know.
To tell you the truth I never thought about it... I guess I blame my mistakes on myself not the pickup
But as I see it if you have a rig designed to be 100% clean no matter what your mistakes will be much more audible than if you have any sort of OD (light, crunch, distortion, etc...) That's why so many rockers play really fast when they have tons of distortion and are very sloppy when playing clean...
Sorry not being able to help you more. By the way the gig is now done, went really well so now tomorrow I will try to do some sort of recording.
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Hey there
I've been using a manhattan neck in my ES335 and i can give you a feedback on it.
In a few words: when i changed from the classic 57 to the manhattan in my i was struk by one thing: my 335 had a REALLY open sound, in fact, it sounded more like an archtop than a 335 (think lage lund sound)!
These pickups are extremely reactive to touch, great dynamic range, controlled bass, nice mediums, singing highs, great articulation.
BUT, i'm selling this pickup .. why ? : My main complains are :
not really cutting in a band situation and it lacks a bit of 'badassery'
i'm looking for a kurt rosenwinkel/adam rogers type of sound, and not a jim hall / lage lund type of sound.
so i'm considering changing for a slightly higher output pickup, with more mids.
I think it's a GREAT pickup for jazz, but jazz in the sense of 'traditional jazz'. and i'm much more into contemporary jazz.
In the end, i'm looking for another bare knuckle.. because i'm convinced that they are a REAL impovement over stock gibson pickups, but this particular model is not for me..
If my description makes you think you'd like to try it, you might consider buying it from me .. then feel free to pm me
it has the beautiful brushed aluminium cover and its in perfect state and still has a long cable.
peace,
Arnaud
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I also would like to add that i think they would be nearly perfect in an archtop. if you're looking for that kind of sound, then i think you might really love them.. i'm just looking for something a little meaner in a semi hollow. but in an archtop ... it would be great, i undestand why Jorge loves it in a godin kinpin
Last edited by add4; 09-07-2012 at 10:44 AM.
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