All user reviews for the Bare Knuckle Pickups The Mule

The Bare Knuckle pickups are handmade in England with specs that make them very (or maybe too) expensive!
I have never been a fan of Seth E. Lover's invention, preferring single-coils and the P90. However, I became disillusioned with the arrival of my pair of The Mule, which don't seem to have any relationship with the other humbuckers I have been able to test, particularly those of Gibson. They came mounted on a Custom77 London's Burning HB (an ES-type guitar in LP format with the back nicely curved...)
These humbuckers try to resemble the original PAFs, like all others today, but using Alnico 4 magnets, which you might think is only a mere anecdotal detail, but it isn't!
Unlike its 2 and 5 "cousins," this alloy has the particularity of producing a more brilliant, even biting, sound when you drive it hard enough. This means their sound is far from the characteristic and well sought-after warm and vintage humbucker sound. At first, I was a bit surprised, and even disappointed, by the fact of not being able to feel the warm "Gibson vibes," but I said to myself: You paid almost 300 euros for them so you'd better do something! That's where joy resides! Finally, pickups that need to be tamed, to be domesticated. They need to be shown who's the boss around here!
The dynamic response of these pickups is hard to describe. You are sometimes under the impression of hearing Peter Frampton comes alive (without the same dexterity, obviously). The sound is quite simply organic, both clean and distorted. It's fantastic with a Vox AC15 and its natural distortion! I can only imagine what it can achieve with an old Marshall Plexi ...
Despite everything, the price is incredibly high (the pickups cost almost the same as the guitar...). It's good to know that if you don't have a fitting model, it's not worth it. You can play any pre-70s music style, given their dynamic response and exceptional take on not-too-extreme distortions. I don't play much jazz, but that's probably not their main strength, due precisely to their dynamic response (and my other gear, that's true ^^).
Every nuance is faithfully translated and, if you plan to buy them, you should know that you need to use them with a high-quality circuit to be able to take the best out of them. The circuit of my C77, even if quite acceptable, doesn't seem to be up to the job and the sound starts to lose quality as soon as I touch the knobs... What a pity =/

In short, you need to be very sure of what you're doing when buying them, they are very particular pickups. You might risk giving the cold shoulder to a brand that could surely satisfy you besides having lots of models....but with hefty prices ;(

I recently mounted this set on a LP Studio 91, but I have been using BKP for over four years on other guitars. The original pickups (490R and 498T) aren't bad but, to be honest, they play in different leagues - definition, clarity, articulation, dynamics, response, there's no comparison. For me, these BKP are the ideal complement to a LP and they are simply incredible, among the best BKPs, together with the Blackguard Flat 52.

I can understand that people used to overcompressed pickups or with a poor definition don't like them, because it's not as "comfortable" to play with pickups that reveal absolutely every detail, for good and for bad... You can certainly say "cold" instead of ""precise and detailed" ─ or "round and warm" instead of "muddled and mushy" ─ it's all a matter of word choice. As far as I'm concerned, I love to be able to hear distinctively every single note of a chord, even with a fat distortion, and that all playing intentions are faithfully reproduced. All wrong notes are inevitably and faithfully reproduced, too, which is certainly not as nice but, on the other hand, it makes you want to improve.

So, yes, this pickups are very brilliant, even twangy like those of a good Tele, and they require you to learn how to use the tone and volume pots of your guitar. The good news is that, as a consequence, the pots become useful, which wasn't the case with the original pickups and electronics of the LP Studio (nor most current LPs, for that matter). Personally, I think it's great to be able to go from a fat, round and warm overdrive (yes, yes, they can handle it, even the bridge pickup) to a crystal-clear clean sound on par with a good single-coil, including all nuances in between, by adjusting a couple of pots on the guitar. Compared to the (now long gone) days when I used the pots as simple switches and spent my time playing with flop flops to change channel and activate/deactivate pedals, I think these pickups are a big leap forward in all respects (sound quality and playing comfort).

Another good point of these pickups, in my view, is their ability to cut through the mix without the need to crank the volume of the amp until you mask everything else, a problem I used to have with the original 490T/498R, regardless of what I did on the amp in terms of EQ.

In short, as far as I'm concerned, I'm satisfied with these pickups. They sound just like I expected after listening to clips, samples, videos, etc. ─ under the condition that you dial in your amp and guitar appropriately.

In the end, the main inconvenience of these pickups (like all BKPs I know) is that once you get used to this kind of quality you become very demanding.

NB: For those who think they are not "vintage" enough, you must remember that the idea was to reproduce the sound of the PAFs from the late '50s *at the time they were first put to use,* not the sound they have now, 50 years after demagnetization and oxidation... Thus, they are inevitably more brilliant and biting than the PAFs from the '50s that have survived to this day.

I'm one of the guitarists who bought The Mules for three reasons. The first is the attractive pub in the music press, the second satisfied reviews are published here and there, especially listening on the Bare Knuckle website.
I mounted this pair of microphones on my Gibson Les Paul (studio) then I tested on a Orange amp tube, a classic 30 tube and transistor Roland.
I liked the look of one thing without microphones black covers that showcased the guitar.
The sound surprised me nothing to do with what I heard on the manufacturer's website. Many are those who cataloging vintage I'm not really agree. I play the electric guitar for over forty years the vintage sound that's not it, do not expect to sounds or other creedence we are far from.
The bridge pickup is cold and loud neck pickup could go but it must spoiling the pair to get a result pretty near correct.
This article is very expensive for the result, buy used if you really want to try.
In short, I had doubts about my original pickups I quickly reassembled.

I bought it for my neck in Washburn WI66pro who should be the config 15me microphones ...
I have a mississippi queen and a riff raff on my Hamer Newport that I love so I wanted to try the mule
before that it was my washburn a seymour SH1 (tr trs good but too conventional and got my dig) and a Seth Lover I found good but a little bland.
I must confess that I am the final, the mule is prcis, but cold enough wood. I see well on a 335 or an jazz but on my Washburn he was not too much taf (violin closer to the SG as the LP)
if the quality is the sound Dfine is a nice balance, average output level, close enough to the SH1 and less dig.
good micro but not for this guitar.
She just received a couple of Shepton tribute is much warmer it gets better dj

Humbucker
Wire 42AWG Scatterwound
Bobin hand
Rdition almost original PAF
Alnico IV (a is not original)
The coils are insulated with plastic but with a Contents porcd vintage, more coteux time of manufacture.

This mic is the bomb if you want a humbucker.
The precision of the dot is, the harmonics are prcises and rich, while keeping the little characters with a sharp sweet vintage that made them legends.

The sound is both dynamic, making shows of sweetness and a voice mlodieuse (especially acute that flatters your ears in the solos). The sound is excellent articulation and variations or solos spend Manir trs liquid. Defines any other term.

Power level, the micro can achieve good performance without ever wanting to ogle the metal. But even the hard rock is possible.

Good versatility of uses rock, funk and blues.

Price lev but this is a microphone that does not go on any guitar.

[10] For the tuning of your Gibson Les Paul or tokai, must see!

Bare knuckle mule in the neck position on a Gibs LP Classic Premium Plus:

Having tried a lot of microphones on the shovel, I finally found my neck pickup.
Fat without drooling all over, vintage, trs sensible attack, it sounds (on my gear) as a Duncan Alnico Slash (I had installed on this guitar), in richer, denser, hotter, also pais. The sound took a lot of relief.
I will not say that Duncan aph is not good (I thought he was excellent a few months ago, but have tried the APRS Mule is definitely something else.

It is right on the Slash, Gary Moore, Santana etc ... A micro rock trs, trs Les Paul, but in fact typ trs, and the whole complexity and richness of this microphone, trs versatile. With a view vintage, it is nuanced, trs dynamic trsmdium, treble and bass flute Paisses but not tight, flexible trs. We will work with a good sound amp lamp crunch with the volume, tone and attack. Les Paul is the sound, I do not see it on another guitar, so even if it is typical, although sr, it should sound on other config.

A micro exxxxxxxxxcellent; far the best neck pickup I've ever jou. I'm excited!

Yes, Bare knuckle is expensive, yes Duncan, DiMarzio and EMG are good products, but I do not my n'changerais Mule against a pair of microphones, as good as they are.

APRS, the ratio Q / P, as everyone Defines the Manir. I think 80 in a micro dpenss found a lot without addition, it is a bad ratio Q / P.

And dernire thing, Mule does not play better. He flatters, he pleased (raaaaaah, the GAS is cool even when ..) but does not make the game more fluid, more music etc ... In addition to the fingers, he dpend sr good for that in which it is installed and is branch.

edit from 26.10.2008:
Some impressions APRS 6 months of use: I am excited.

The handle: Round trs, trs hot, big bass that drool a little, big big mdiums trs that dbordent full, treble down. Vintage trs microphone dynamic output level not bin up, all in relief, full of nuances, not acute trs, it's really the sound of Slash live on November rain or THEME The Godfather.
Trs's big sound.
I handed the duncan alnico aph (I love yet ...) to compare now that I'm used to the Mule, and sd is trs dig lack of bass and prsence ct ...

His buddy Mule acute: a little more level, but even when typ vintage, treble sharper, mdiums solid bass a little behind. Trs dynamic, saturated or not by the attack of mdiator. I love it. An excellent microphone, trs versatile jazz, BLUS, rock and hard rock. No more. Submitted trs, trs clear. Excellent!

For me, this pair is the pair of microphones vintage LP. The gibson, Duncan etc. lack a little something like when you enlve ct loudness his stereo.

Warning: I have shot and guitar on the advice of Doc Toulouse, redid the wiring of my guitars with knobs CTS, good cables, condos quality (and Sprague Vitamin Q), trying diff values annuities. With these pickups, the entire chain is important. Means really the difference.
To exploit them, and I think APRS testing is essential.

Edict of 05/23/11: I bought another mule to install it on a PRS McCarty in handle. A killing is most excellent, I do not see better. I bluff by microphone. And thank you to Tim at BKP rpond all emails, trs nicely, always available. This is the class!!

How long have you use it? I use this mic in the bridge position on an Ibanez pf200 of 1978 for 6 months. I kept the original neck pickup (Ibanez 70), because it rings of hell, vintage trs. By dint of costs on record and in concert on super micro 70 in the bridge position seemed a bit rough and aggressive <img class="smiley" src="https://fr.audiofanzine.com/images/audiofanzine/interface/smileys/icon_wink.gif" alt="wink" /> I was looking for a micro prcis and vintage. This is done with the Mule. It brings together the two qualities I was looking for, namely precision and beautiful sound. A small but because the shuffled BMOL super 70/Mule say is .. special!
What is the particular feature you like best and least? So I rarely use the position intermdiaire my pickup selector to take advantage of the best of each microphone. Indeed the extreme precision of the micro and natural compression that caractrise is a plus for the musician mticuleux. But because there is a but for me I find this mic a little "cold", much less warm than the super 70. Then distortion is that of happiness but for his velvety I turn to its Japanese ancestor <img class="smiley" src="https://fr.audiofanzine.com/images/audiofanzine/interface/smileys/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="biggrin" />
Have you tried many other models before acqurir? The test I know the kind REFERENCE DiMarzio, Fender, Gibson, EMG, Seymour Duncan. There are good mics for trs in all these brands but I was looking for a sound "original". Mission accomplished!
How do you report qualitprix? The report quality price seems justified because it is an almost artisanal production and srieuse. The quality has a price!
Exprience with, you will do again this choice? ... I think so. It fulfills its purpose with flying colors.

One of the most popular knew pickup makers on the scene is Bare Knuckles pickup. Bare Knuckle pickups is a small boutique pickup maker from England. They have an endless list of options you can select for a set of custom made pickups. You can choose your own magnets, covers and wires when you order from them. They also have a line of production models that are just as high quality but are mass produced in the same shop and have all the same quality. The Mule is a vintage style PAF pickup for your humbucker guitar that Bare Knuckles produces. It has a lot less output than most of the other pickups the company makes but still has all the tone you would expect from a pickup by them. It is named after Warren Haynes band Gov't Mule. Warren Haynes is known for his classic southern rock sound from his vintage Les Pauls and this pickup has that tone in spades. They are pretty much old school PAF pickups inside and out. They even are reliced to look like they are 50 years old. They are voiced to go in Les Pauls of course so they boosted a bit of the high end to give more clarity to the thick Les Paul sound. In the neck position it is nice and smooth but does not get muddy at all. The bridge pickup with the extra treble is just as clear as the neck so when you are riffing away you get a ton of nice bite and clarity. The output of the two pickups is pretty close so you wont be fumbling for your volume knob when you switch positions. These pickups are well balanced for each other and for any Les Paul style guitar. If you are looking for a nice set of boutique pickups that will give your LP a very vintage sound.

I have a real nice old Tokai LP, killer guitar and great sounding. The only issue being the microphonic original pickups. I wanted to replace them but there are just too many good PAF-style pickups available. Being a Gov't Mule fan, the BKP The Mule set caught my attention. The clips sounded promising and when a pair popped up on the 2nd hand market, I snagged them. I wanted relic’ed pickups to go with the look of the guitar but the ones I have are polished. Doesn’t matter, the sound is what’s important.

Got them, installed them in the guitar and haven't looked back. They sound stunningly good, they are a perfect match with the guitar. I always felt that the neck pickup in a lot of LPs sounds too muddy, not with the Mules. They have the right amount of mids to sound syrupy and smooth but not too much to be muddy. The bridge pickup has a nice attack while still sounding sweet. Both pickups also clean up nicely and respond very well to picking dynamics. Were I struggled with the in-between position on this guitar before the swap, i now find myself using it a lot, balancing the sound with the volume controls. Even with the old electronics in the Tokai, the Mule set has brought the guitar to life. A friend who owns some killer LPs played the Tokai before and the pickup swap and he was stunned with how good the guitar now sounds with the Mule set.

The Mule set will turn any good LP into a stunner. I wouldn't recommend them for metal, there are other better suited pickups but for everything else, these rock HARD. I have heard nothing but praise about the customer service from BKP so that shouldn’t be a problem. I’m considering getting some more of their pickups to try in other guitars as they are really good.

Handwound in the UK by Tim Mills a very friendly person and excellent pickup maker, the Mules are based around the classic Gibson PAF, Patent Applied For pickups of the 50's, just slightly overwounded with plain enamel wire and Alnico IV magnets.

These pickups were fitted in my Gibson Les Paul Classic replacing the 500T as I wanted a lower output humbucker for classic rock tones. To my surprise these pickups do that to a tee, but so much more indeed.
I am believer and after buying these Mules I have since bought the Rebel Yells as well.

Very low compression, perfectly rounded and smooth pickups, they sound like a '57 should sound nowadays. Tim Mills is a genius and it shows in his designs.

The Mule is in a class by itself even in the boutique league of pickup manufacturers. I have tried Suhr, WCR, Wolftone, Fralins. These are the best PAF type pickups I have heard.

I bought them with 550K CTS audio taper pots as well, directly ordered from BKP, and as a bonus these sound stellar coil split!

Take a chance, although expensive these babies rock, and this guitar is my number 1 guitar right now, ahead of a Les Paul Custom as well...