Bare Knuckle Aftermath

[The Dali]

Interesting... I picked up an Ibanez the other day - beautiful Iron Label guitar (pic below) and it came stock with super expensive BareKnuckle pickups. I've never used them... my thought was to remove and slap in a set of Duncans... but DAMN these sound good. I have not put it through its paces yet, but I am super impressed. Especially the split-coil sound. More to come.

I guess the guitar is more of a modern metal type, but I loved the wood grain and was intrigued by $350 pickups. Color me impressed!

 

[beaubrummels]

That looks super nice. I would keep it as is.

 

[allstarrme]

I have been buying up bare knuckle pickups second hand when I see and can afford them. A lot of them are really good. They definitely offer something that Duncan doesn’t do have much of.

 

[Mincer]

What kind of wood is that? And what do those pickups sound like? Can you compare them to something else?

 

[Edgecrusher]

And what do those pickups sound like? Can you compare them to something else?

Ive been a big fan of the aftermaths for a long time. They dont really compare to anything at all in the duncan lineup, Gun to my head the closest and its not very close would be the original Dimarzio Evolutions. The Amaths though do precise razor chugga chugga far better. The bottom end is super tight and precise. They are kinda compressed but not squishy style compressed if that makes any sense. I find people who are precise players love them, people who play loose generally dont. They are not a pickup you can hide behind just by turning the gain up.

 

[dave74]

I've only used their ceramic warpigs, but from most of the quality clips and comparison/shootouts over the years the Aftermath ceramic bridge has always sounded to me most similar to the Nazgul out of SD models.
The aftermath is one of those "modern" modest-dcr but high-output ceramics that might sound dry and shrill to some. It's for those who like thick and searing gain but still want some percussive lows and upper bite. Same thing with the Nazgul as far as marketed customer.

About the Ibanez;
Wow that looks really good. I wouldn't change anything. That's great that Ibby has been using all kinds of pickup models and brands lately.

 

[The Dali]

Thanks everyone! I'll get a more detailed review shortly. They are definitely a new metal pickup... this guitar features both Aftermath pickups, an Alnico in the neck and Ceramic in the bridge. I thought that we pretty interesting (same pickup design with different magnets). You can DEFINITELY hear the difference between the two. The Alnico is so much warmer.

I've updated the picture to one from my basement. You will see that the guitar has a bookmatched top which is nuts since it is a solid piece of wood. most of these have 2 piece bodies that have different grain patterns.

 

[The Dali]

Well I cannot remove the other attached picture. The one from outside (on the grass) is not mine, was used as reference. Mine is the one in the case.

The wood is mahogany with a light finish. It isn't a "faded" finish like many of the entry-level RGs, but more proper glossy THIN finish. It is nice. The neck is 3-piece maple-bubinga-maple neck. One funny part that I didn't expect... the middle bubinga runs up through the headstock and you can see it at the top - not a big deal but I thought it was kinda funny looking.

The coil-split works really well and these pickups sound very single-coil-ish compared to many split humbuckers.

 

[The Dali]

Here is the neck and headstock.

I’ve never had multi-piece neck so I didn’t expect this look!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[dave74]

The aftermath neck is both a different mag type and also a differently wound model.
They have the same name but aren't the same. They're just "calibrated" to sit well together in terms of tone/response/volume (to some debatable degree).

There is also a less common aftermath alnico5 bridge version but most of them are ordered ceramic.

 

[Artie]

Wow. That is gorgeous.

 

[Bogner]

The Aftermath is a great pickup. One of my all time favorites. It is incredibly articulate and fast...fast could mean tight or stiff. It is the best I have found for super articulate, speed type stuff. I wouldn't call it a versatile pickup. I would call it a bit brighter than other pickups of similar style. I could see putting it in the wrong guitar as being a disaster. It tends to work better in darker guitars. It has great low end and also a nice mid range as well. The Nazgul could be said to be in the same family. The articulation of the Alpha & Omega set is similar while I still feel the Aftermath is still tighter. Fast alternate picking, tremolo picking, chug stuff with immense clarity is its thing.

As was said on the Alnico 5 option of the Aftermath, that feels more familiar with the Alpha & Omega than the Ceramic version. If what it does is your thing, it is a home run. If not, you won't be happy....similar with the Nazgul in that regard.