All user reviews of 5/5 for the Bare Knuckle Pickups The Mule

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.

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!!

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...