Blackhawks????

[Toe-Knee]

Do you have any further info? Such as specs and a release date?

And i doubt it. But any chance of covers?

EDIT; scratch that i just noticed the update

[MDV]

some fresh news from FB
direct from Nolly

"Adam Nolly Getgood shared a link.
25 minutes ago
Here's a short clip of the new Bare Knuckle Black Hawk pickup doing some blues-fusion. This will be one of the clips featured on the Black Hawk's product page on the BKP website.

http://soundcloud.com/nolly/black-hawk-fusion

Wow! That actually sounds great! Really fat and smooth. It does seem very modern sounding though (unsurprisingly) and maybe maybe slightly dark in a les Paul custom. As far as I know the les Paul custom is BKPs standard demo guitar.

I do feel that BKP should begin to do distorted rythm clips though to display articulation and how the frequencies are "balanced" in a chord.

I feel they should start doing clips with amps again like they used to back in the old days :(

It showed the pickups in a much better light.

i think if the clips that are up now were up when i originally bought my miracle man in 2005 rather than the one that was up then i would have passed

Agreed. Dont like that tone at all, and all the newer clips are much more homogeneous than my experience of the pickups, in person and in recording. Ho hum, nothing to be done about it now. (And most people seem to like them, so job done I suppose, though I have seen lots of people (mainly on other forums, oddly enough) that the clips all sound too similar to make a decision easily)

Isn't that why we have this here lovely forum though?   :D

Indeed. You may be a bit new here to have read any of my essay-posts on the differences between the pickups in the contemporary range ;). I dont hear much of those differences in the clips on the site though.

The best representation I've heard of the nailbomb and miracle man are indeed in Tims 2005 recordings. I think that the newer clips more representative of the tones you can expect if you buy an AxeFX than any BKs, but obviously Tim disagrees or he wouldnt have used them.

This is also true. However from a marketing perspective it kinda makes a little bit of sense as the axefx is the current trend.

However there is also the point that you could get those tones from pretty much any pickup with a modeller.

Some of the official clips could NOT be done with just a straigh amp/guitar combination a boost would be needed and most likely an EQ also which again takes it back to not being truly representative of the actual pickups themselves.

Its a practical decision as well (edit: or at least it could be, and looks that way; as I said before, cant speak for tim or nolly, and they both seem to be here anyway :lol: Hi chaps!). With a modeller you can dial in a patch through your monitors, in a mix backing track you made earlier, go anywhere with a set of headphones and/or monitors and track quickly and with next to no expense. Amps are far more logistically and financially challenging.

But then I doubt that Tim would let the clips out if he didnt think they served their purpose or sounded good: hes not the type to cut corners like that or settle or 'make do'. And these things are subjective (ish...if we're talking about apparent difference, then thats much less subjective, but it is still subjective; we all hear differently, however slightly).

[James C]

I'm by no means a man with the most trained ears, but the clips seem to serve the purpose of direct comparisons with each other very well.

Saw the update on the site, and think i will replace the NB's in my RG7321 with blackhawks as part of the pimping project i'm raising funds for*


* Afghan Dave: It's a guitar pimping project, nothing else :lol:

[DoomBuggi]

I too can hear the difference between the clips on the site.  Though I do prefer amps to amp modelers, I believe that the tracks are satisfactory for distinguishing differences, as well as displaying the characteristics of the different pickups.  I have now owned, and played enough of BKP's to agree with this statement.  But to each there own.  The Black Hawks are now on the site by the way.

[FELINEGUITARS]

I'm by no means a man with the most trained ears, but the clips seem to serve the purpose of direct comparisons with each other very well.

Saw the update on the site, and think i will replace the NB's in my RG7321 with blackhawks as part of the pimping project i'm raising funds for*


* Afghan Dave: It's a guitar pimping project, nothing else :lol:

We've got some sets ordered for stock - look forward to getting them in

[TheyCallMeVolume]

Wow this is all some pretty cool stuff! I notice on the site it goes from Jazz, fusion, and funk to hard rock and metal subgenres. Does this mean it won't be very well suited to a more classic-y sort of rock tone?

[DoomBuggi]

Wow this is all some pretty cool stuff! I notice on the site it goes from Jazz, fusion, and funk to hard rock and metal subgenres. Does this mean it won't be very well suited to a more classic-y sort of rock tone?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=VKw1F1Bd1-w

Yes

[Tim]

The Black Hawk is very good for a range of applications and the idea behind doing a fusion clip as well as progressive and metal was to try and get players to think a little outside the box with this one. On paper the DC resistance puts the Black Hawk in with vintage output humbuckers however the design of the coils, blades and magnets allow the pickups to produce a lot of output, easily up there with the contemporary humbuckers, whilst retaining the open top end response and mids of the vintage range. The driven tone is absolutely excellent but these humbuckers are capable of a lot more besides and will be equally at home in a semi as they will a modern metal guitar. You'll notice in the homepage slide show the Black Hawks are loaded into a Black Machine, essentially a very modern style guitar however in the youtube video Adam is using a very old '70s LP loaded with Black Hawks - they look great and more importantly sound great in both!

[DoomBuggi]

Hell yeah Tim.  Cheers!

[Kiichi]

I very much want those pickups...wonder if they would sit well in the Steinberger Guitars Synapse TranScale ST-2FPA I have been eying for a while...look wise no problem, but sound...dunno...

Anyways, gotta get me some money first^^


Oh, and as usual thanks for the posts Tim, itīs much appreciated!

[TheyCallMeVolume]

Indeed, very nice to hear from Tim and Nolly!

[XxpapertigerxX]

They look wicked, but obviously nothing looks great in all guitars, so are covers an option? It would also be cool if it were possible to do the blades in black as well. But regardless of looks, these pickups have made me seriously consider a ceramic bridge. And is it just me, or does the Black Hawk also produce a wonderful clean tone? That makes for one hell of a versatile set. Of course now I'm wanting a seven string guitar again...

[Philly Q]

They look wicked, but obviously nothing looks great in all guitars, so are covers an option?

Good point.  I have to say the looks aren't doing it for me, I can't imagine them suiting any of my guitars (visually speaking).  

Maybe totally closed metal covers, Tony Iommi style?  That said, the bobbins look too big to fit under a normal cover.

[Tim]

The Black Hawks can't sit under covers I'm afraid as it would negate the effect of the blades(also the bobbins are taller than normal so a cover won't draw down over them) but you'll be surprised at how good they look in a guitar. I've had them in everything from modern Strat style, Vees, Sharkfins etc and also vintage LPs and Strats and they suit them all. The blades are nickel plated, I can't do them in black as I've not found a durable finish that will sit on such a fine blade, it really needs to be a plating and nickel works this best in this case.

[itamar101]

I personally really like the look of them!
I'm really tempted to buy some when I raise the money but first I'm gonna have to install the Holy Diver/Emerald set that I ordered from you to weeks ago!

Royal Mail Tracking services said that it arrived in Israel only two days after you shipped it (6 days after it was ordered) but the customs here somehow only managed to send me the slip so that I could pick it up 7 days after its arrival. Anyway, I'll go to pick them up today and hopefully write a review today. I have to thank you for the amazing service though!!!!

Anyway, back on topic, I think that the Black Hawks look and sound amazing. I've always like the look of blades.
How does it suit classic rock stuff. I assume that these pickups sort of "skipped out" on the lower gain rock genres this time round. The fusion clip sounds great though.

Also, couldn't you custom make a cover with cutouts specifically designed to not cover the blades, just like a normal cover doesn't block the polepiece screws?

A gold cover with black blades would look stunning!