It's our birthday - we're 10 years old today!
Wow, where did that time go! It was 10 years ago today that Bare Knuckle Pickups officially came into being when I incorporated the company and what a ride it's been since then.
During that time we've been amongst the first to tool up for completely accurate 6 string vintage parts; created a huge range of unique contemporary finishes; developed some of the first nickel silver covers for regular and soapbar 7 strings, as well as being at the forefront of 8 and 9 string pickups. All the while staying true to our heritage, winding and making all of our pickups by hand.
I've made a lot of pickups and a lot of friends along the way not least the extremely dedicated team of guys who work alongside me every day. Of the many high points one for me personally was getting to work with Steve Stevens very early on, a relationship that has stayed strong right through the years. Then becoming an official supplier of pickups to Fender, who arguably started it all in the first place, really felt like coming back to the roots of it all.
Are we where we want to be yet? Hell no, there's a lot more fun to be had, more pickups to be made and more guitar to be played .The new generation of players are pushing the guitar forward like never before and I can't wait to see where it goes next.
To mark the occasion I've decided to produce a limited edition run of 100 sets of 10th Anniversary humbuckers. I will personally hand wind and make all 100 sets which will feature the custom cover etch you can see in the picture and come with a hand signed and numbered certificate of authentication.
The design is based on a pair of vintage humbuckers I made for one of my own guitars recently and have enjoyed the voicing so much I thought they would be perfect to mark the 10th anniversary of Bare Knuckle Pickups.
Whoever gets a pair of these humbuckers will be getting a piece of Bare Knuckle history and I sincerely hope they enjoy them as much as I will have done making them.
Tim Mills - founder/Bare Knuckle Pickups June 28th 2013