My Riff Raffs have arrived (including before & after cli

[Richie Zero]

This morning, about five minutes after I'd annoyed Tim with a mail asking if he had a dispatch date, the door bell rang and the Postie handed me this most delighful little package ...



The strings and plectrum are a really nice touch ...



So far so good. I'm really impressed with Tim's impeccable service and attention to detail.

I'd bought this first set of Bare Knuckles purely on reputation and based on a few of the clips here on the forum so I was really eager to get the pickups installed in my SG to hear them first hand. So I decided the working day was over (oh the joys of self employment!) and got started.

I have not been disappointed. The pickups ooze quality give the guitar's sound an unrivalled definition. My SG never had such an "honest", "open" sound to it. Utterly beautiful! Exactly what I was looking for.
So, thanks to Tim for the great service and fantastic product and thanks too to all those who chimed in on the forum to help me find what the right pickups.

Here's a quick before and after clip. It's not the greatest recording. The microphone I was using is an inexpensive vocals mic in the SM58 mould and it doesn't quite do the new pickups justice. It gives you an idea of the change though.

I played two clips (1 clean, 1 overdriven), first with the old stock pickups (Gibson 498R/498T) and then prettymuch the same with the new Riff Raffs. Pretty much all the variables were exactly the same. Just had to up the recording level to account for the lower output of the Riff Raffs.
Oh, and whilst I was enjoying the Riff Raffs so much, I decided to stick a quick second lead guitar with a bit more gain on the overdrive clip.
So the running order is ...
Gibson pickups clean
Gibson pickups dirty
Riff Raffs dirty
Riff Raffs clean

The Gibson pickups are by no means bad pickups but I wanted something with more of a PAF character anyway and I think even on these rough clips you can hear that the Riff Raffs have an bit more clarity and definition all round.
I was particularly blown away by the cleans. As with any humbucker, cleans can tend to be treated as secondary so these crystal clear cleans were a really nice surprise.

Excuse the playing ... there's a good reason why I'm the band's rhythm guitarist!  :lol:
Hope the clip makes for interesting listening nonetheless.

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/songInfo.cfm?bandID=532103&songID=4520516

[gingataff]

Beautiful playing!
You're right, the Gibsons aren't bad as such but the BKs have more depth. Dirty there's more attack and the clean has an almost acoustic sound to it. My girlfriend thought it was very romantic!

[Twinfan]

Sounds good!  Wait unti you hear them through a cranked valve amp  :D

By the way, slightly off topic, what do you think to your SG Classic?  I'm GAS-ing for one of those...

[TwilightOdyssey]

Thanx for the review, much appreciated -- and well-written!

[Richie Zero]

By the way, slightly off topic, what do you think to your SG Classic?  I'm GAS-ing for one of those...

I think it's cracking! Only had it a few weeks but I've gigged it and it sounded great.
I'd been lusting after one for ages but they were only ever available in the US. Then they were even supposedly discontinued but they appeared at a few stores here in Germany just recently. I had to sell a couple of guitars and get one straight away. It's been worth it.
I particularly like it because it's the same construction as my Standard, just with P90s, and my SG has always been my most "comfy" guitar.
The Classic is pretty good for those Pete Townshend moments!  Just remember to stop before the grande finale! :lol:

[Twinfan]

Cheers!  They seem to be not that common in Europe don't they?  If I ever see one I'll probably snap it up!

[_tom_]

Beautiful playing!
You're right, the Gibsons aren't bad as such but the BKs have more depth. Dirty there's more attack and the clean has an almost acoustic sound to it. My girlfriend thought it was very romantic!

+1 except the whole romantic thing :lol: The BK's definately seem a bit warmer, but there actually isnt as big a difference as I thought there might be.

[Richie Zero]

Must try out the romance theory and serenade the future Mrs. Zero with the new Riff Raffs!  :lol:

Twinfan, I got my Classic here ...

http://www.thomann.de/gb/index.html?sid=d0889c3516ec70fb968585b7bacc020c

The SG: http://www.thomann.de/gb/gibson_sg_classic_p90_hc.htm

... they ship to the UK and will probably be more than a match for most UK dealers. I've just realised it's priced even cheaper if you select the English language version of the site. I paid 949 for mine! The buggers!  :roll:

[dave_mc]

nice clips and nice review.

If it's not too much bother... I think it'd be cool if you put the two clean clips next to each other, to allow for easier comparison.

But yeah, the riff-raffs owned the gibbos. especially in the cleans.

:drink:

[Twinfan]

Must try out the romance theory and serenade the future Mrs. Zero with the new Riff Raffs!  :lol:

Twinfan, I got my Classic here ...

http://www.thomann.de/gb/index.html?sid=d0889c3516ec70fb968585b7bacc020c

The SG: http://www.thomann.de/gb/gibson_sg_classic_p90_hc.htm

... they ship to the UK and will probably be more than a match for most UK dealers. I've just realised it's priced even cheaper if you select the English language version of the site. I paid 949 for mine! The buggers!  :roll:

Cheers Richie - that's a good price!  I need to try one out in person I think...

[Richie Zero]

nice clips and nice review.

If it's not too much bother... I think it'd be cool if you put the two clean clips next to each other, to allow for easier comparison.

But yeah, the riff-raffs owned the gibbos. especially in the cleans.

:drink:

Agreed, it would have made more sense but it would be too a lot of faffing about editing it now. I bounced all the four tracks down to one stereo mix and don't have them individually anymore. Look on it as a work-out for your short term memory!  

I may do some better clips of the Riff Raffs some day too. I'm getting some lovely sounds out of just the bridge pickup on its own for instance.

[38thBeatle]

Great review and the clips were excellent. Even with my PC speakers, I could appreciate the difference.

[dave_mc]

Agreed, it would have made more sense but it would be too a lot of faffing about editing it now. I bounced all the four tracks down to one stereo mix and don't have them individually anymore. Look on it as a work-out for your short term memory!  

I may do some better clips of the Riff Raffs some day too. I'm getting some lovely sounds out of just the bridge pickup on its own for instance.

ok, no problem! I just used the slider bar, kind of got round it that way!

:drink:

[Elliot]

Well the BKPs win - easy, once again - good clips by the way