Deep Dive Review: Bare Knuckle Polymath Pickups
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- Опубліковано 14 лис 2021
- LET ME KNOW YOUR FAVORITE FROM THE DEMOS
Full mix demo: • Another Bareknuckle Po...
This video goes in deep testing the Nolly signature pickups from UK pickup brand Bare Knuckle in a Strandberg Boden NX 6 in Autumn Red set in a progressive metal setting. This video will look at the sonic characteristics, compare them to other similar pick ups, run through different gain stages, and my own opinion in great detail. Enjoy!
Great video! we're so glad that you're enjoying the Polymaths and your other Bare Knuckles!
What's not to love??
You guys are fucking nailing it!!
I have 3 different BKP sets, and love all of them.
I'm potentially looking to upgrade the bridge in a Strandberg Standard 6, but seeing as it hasn't arrived yet, I suppose I should play it 1st 😅
That's how I got here, and I'm liking what I hear!
Love the depth you go into! Now I want these pickups, and this video will serve as good source of reference. Looking forward to more videos!
Great review, can’t wait to get my set soon!🤘🏼
Loving your videos bro, subscribed!
Fantastic review man sounded 👍
great video man thanks for this
Jim Halpert rocks
Solid review
Thanks for the video, very cool and useful :)
I love the polymath bridge! they are really tight and percussive but also fat and chunky. Works great for anything from classic rock/blues to drop tuned chuggings. Ordered the neck pickup as soon as I tried the bridge, that's how good it is.
great video... im gonna go for the polymath
I just got a set in my Mayones. They are absolutely incredible. That neck pickup is beautiful.
That sounds like a killer combo!
Really curious how they compare to the Silo set
I was looking for a comparison between the Poly and the Fishman in the bridge position. I already own Fishman and I’m super satisfied with them. For a second guitar I want to install BKP and my doubt is in choosing between the Silos and the Polys.
What’s your feeling between the Polys and The Fishman then, at the bridge?
Great video!
This is a great video, but I don’t think these are for me - of the BKPs shown, I think I’d prefer the aftermaths. Great work!
You totally answered my question and main concern. I was concerned about the output vs the other periphery pickups. Ill pass on the polymaths and buy the ragnaroks. I love my juggernaunts, and the output is great on the jugs.
subbed :) loved all your reviews man, it cant be cheap to do them, and buy all this stuff - but I hope you keep at it, you've been super helpful in my buying decisions and I'm happy to say I'm not disappointed at all with my purchases.
Great review! Can you post a wiring diagram for this specific wiring of yours? I'd love to replicate it
excellent video comparison man
the polymath sound so fuking great, I liked a lot, I agre with you man, the problem is that are so expensive , I hope somedar can I get my polymath set
could please to make a video review of dimarzio illuminators vs others pickups like a dimarzio titans or pickups that you have avalable in yours others guitars
greetings from mexico man
Thanks subbed
is there a way to show how you wired the pickups ? theres not much information out there
thanks
Great review! The only pickups I currently own for comparison are the illuminators. I went back and forth between the distorted parts, and in your video they sound very close and the clean parts are much more different.. How would you compare the output and feel for these two?
I would say the output of the Illuminators is higher than the Polymaths; ceramic magnet vs the alnico v in the BKP's. In terms of feel the DiMarzio's are a larger bolder feel with great string clarity, whereas the Polymaths are a gut punch in the upper mids that make them heard. The Polymath's breath a bit more overall and djent a bit harder so they really fit in any kind of heavy mix style; the JP pups are like an underlying massive sound through the mix. I hope this answers your question. Thanks for commenting and watching, good luck with your metal covers they sound great!
@@TheBedroomGuitarist1 Thanks man! Great explanation! That clears up some questions I had! Nolly mentioned that the output is lower, but they feel like a higher output due to the unoriented/isotropic A5 magnets. That's what makes it sort of a gamble if you dont have any comparison to any pickups you own yourself. I have the Ragnarok in a 7 string, but that's nothing like it.. I previously owned the juggs, but I couldnt work with the mid bump they have, but the feel of that set was like almost perfect. I really dig the sound the Polymaths make in every video! Keep up the good work!
The uoa5 mag seems to have a lot to do with some of the sound characteristics of the polymath. I’ve swapped a uoa5 mag into a few pickups with really good results.
Really nice tone. Would you suggest using these with baritone guitars? Or maybe the Aftermaths
Tough one. To me the Aftermaths fill the bottom end more in way that gives the tone and overall mix thickness; they remain tight and clear, but a bit more scooped through my go to signal chains. The Polymaths have that beautiful upper mid range that sits more on top and doesn't dominate sonically, but the dynamics and chugs work in any situation I have put them in.
TLDR; the Aftermaths are more brutal heavy sounding and the Polymaths are more dynamic but will do great things in any situation.
I hope this helps, let me know what you decide.
Great review. The pricing of these is absolutely nuts though. I have/had plenty of BKP. Great pickups. So are SD's, Guitarmory, Instrumental, Lundgren, Fralin, Lollar, etc that are FAR less. They're just way too much for me to even be interested in at this point. I'm glad my Aquila had Silo's in it when I bought it because they sound great but I wouldn't be springing for them if it didnt.
Absolutely agree. It’s crazy the sets are going for well above $400 now. It’s offensive at this point.
They actually cost around the same for someone outside the US (well, not with the regular SD, but the SD custom shop pickups).
@@pputra914 Seems kind of irrelevant considering we are living in a global economy in which the US is a massive if not the majority market for BKP. Their prices are excessive even before shipping and exchange rates.
@@user-te3qq1rb7u still, I would buy their pickups with no regrets. They are kinda a monopoly right now because there's just no pickups sounding as good as theirs. Literally.
@@samuelng6441 100% false statement. Their stuff is good but its not as unique as they want you to believe. There's no magic fairy dust inside of BKP's.
Why not raise the gain to compensate for the lower output?
Really interested in these for my Boden 8. I cannot stand the fluence moderns. Just curious if a covered set will be a drop in replacement.
For me, the polymath and dimarizio illuminators sounded the best here!
Just basing this on what I have: The moderns in my Boden 7 measured ~37x87mm and the BKP Juggernauts in my Jackson Juggernaut HT7 measured 37x79mm. So my best guess is no; it will not be a simple drop-in replacement. Though I have never done it personally I have seen custom dimension BKP's; if you contact them with the guitar model and pickup model you are trying to replace I am willing to bet they have a solution for you. Dimensions of the BKP's can be found here as well: www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk/support#dimensions
Thank you for watching, I hope this helps.
So I've had them for a while now and I'm not sure if I really like them. They aren't saturated at all. The distortion is so dry. It's almost like there isn't enough gain no matter how much gain you add. It's so weird.
It was a little trial by fire for me, but I had a similar experience at first. I found that bringing the pickup height way up helps a lot and I am finding many other polymath users are doing the same. Maybe give that a go.
would you say the polymaths are a bit “mushier” sounding than other contemporary pickups?
It depends. Hypothetically, if you had an identical signal chain and identical guitars but one had polymaths and the other had (for example) Fishman moderns or BKP Aftermaths and played the same way then yes the Polymath's would be what I would consider "mushier." I know this isn't everyone's cup of tea but taking the time to dial in pickup height, pushing the gain a bit more, and using your right hand in a specific way then you get that hot grindy mid range. I hope that helps.
You definitely had a noise gate when you tested the high gain stuff and maybe a compressor so its hard to tell what the pickup actually sounds like because you've cut off all the dynamic range
I did have a noise gate on, you can hear it cut off the sustain at 1:36 and you can see it in the background. The Apex preamp and the Nolly Neural DSP plugin also have a built in gate. I would also recommend it for these kinds of prog metal tones. No compressor on any the high gain tones; however, at high gain there are many forms of natural compression, which I tried my best to demonstrate and talk about. For example a tight palm mute that cuts off a significant tail of the note behaves dramatically different that a long drone of a looser palm mute like in the demo at 1:09; the changes in frequency, compression, and tone as a result contribute to what I would call dynamics of a pick up.
Had them for a year now, I don't like them. I really gave them a shot, raised the height, tried new settings on all of my amps and even changed them from a guitar to another. These are definitely not it, which sucks because of how expensive they were.
Tried these. They were really good but they don’t do it like the alnico nailbomb, rebel yell bridge, jugg bridge or the silo.
Out of interest what makes you say that? I have Alnico Nailbombs in a couple of guitars, and was considering a Rebel yell for ages in another guitar, but recently been pondering the Polymath bridge instead. Also with what amp/guitar combo?
@@Piplodocuswell it depends on your needs. For me, polymath was too bright on distortion. I like thickness, with mids that are balanced with a slight hump in the low mid region while having presence for clarity across the spectrum. For my setup, polymath didn’t work. Amps I often run: Mesa mark IV, KSR JUNO and Splawn quick rod with KT88.
@@duck2587 thanks!
It's weird because in Nolly's video they sound way fatter than in yours. It's almost like you turned the gain down all the way.
This video made me hate my fluence moderns. They really do sound like a half cocked wah pedal to me now.
When someone asks why 8 strings: ua-cam.com/video/vozUJHR0NoA/v-deo.html
Jim Halpert rocks