Bare Knuckle Polymath?

[bloughlin16]

I was curious if anyone here has tried the BKP Polymath set and what your thoughts are if so? I’ve had one of the original 200 SD Custom Shop Alpha/Omega sets in my main guitar for some time, but lately I’ve been feeling like I want something that’s a little more mid-forward, sweeter on the top end, and more forgiving on playing dynamics.

 

[Bogner]

I don't have the set but am interested in throwing a set in one of my guitars. I like the specs and sounds I am hearing. I also like the set you have and originally arrived at the Polymath looking for something similar to the Alpha /Omega but being different enough to not stray too far. I would imagine they would be a nice alternative.

 

[bloughlin16]

I have a set incoming. I’ll post a review once I can put them through their paces.

 

[orpheo]

I have tried a set extensively and I'm loving them. The closest thing I can think of, is a 59/Custom with an unoriented alnico 5 in the bridge. For the neck, nothing in the SD line comes close. I am loving this set. I have tried every BKP to date and this is one of my favorites.

'boil 'm, mash 'm, stick 'm in a stew' (strat, tele, LP), it all works great with these.

The midrange is chewy but extremely articulated. Pinch harmonics are easy and fly away. The high end is very controlable and open. The low end feels tight but doesn't overwhelm in the mix whatsoever.

The neck pickup has a liquid, flutey character I like that feels like the perfect accompaniment of the bridge. It is warm but not thick or syrupy, unlike others ( *cough* Crawler *cough* ).

I can highly recommend them but they are expensive, helas.

FYI: My favorite BKPs are the Cold Sweat set, Rebel Yell, Silo bridge pickup with a VH2 in the neck, VH2 set, Black Dog, Holydiver set, Crawler set, Stormy Monday, Mule and PG Blues. I.e.: vintage output up until medium hot. I don't go for the high output craziness anymore, for years by now I suppose.

 

[bloughlin16]

I have tried a set extensively and I'm loving them. The closest thing I can think of, is a 59/Custom with an unoriented alnico 5 in the bridge. For the neck, nothing in the SD line comes close. I am loving this set. I have tried every BKP to date and this is one of my favorites.

'boil 'm, mash 'm, stick 'm in a stew' (strat, tele, LP), it all works great with these.

The midrange is chewy but extremely articulated. Pinch harmonics are easy and fly away. The high end is very controlable and open. The low end feels tight but doesn't overwhelm in the mix whatsoever.

The neck pickup has a liquid, flutey character I like that feels like the perfect accompaniment of the bridge. It is warm but not thick or syrupy, unlike others ( *cough* Crawler *cough* ).

I can highly recommend them but they are expensive, helas.

FYI: My favorite BKPs are the Cold Sweat set, Rebel Yell, Silo bridge pickup with a VH2 in the neck, VH2 set, Black Dog, Holydiver set, Crawler set, Stormy Monday, Mule and PG Blues. I.e.: vintage output up until medium hot. I don't go for the high output craziness anymore, for years by now I suppose.

Yep, your description sounds exactly like what I thought/hoped they'd be. I'm so excited to try mine.

Side note: the LOTR reference was perfect!

 

[bloughlin16]

Pickups are in! I get the guitar back Saturday and will be posting a review here once I get some play time with it.

 

[bloughlin16]

After months of headaches via a bad install, I finally have them wired properly and have enough play time to give a review. These are installed with a 5-way super switch with the following voicings: bridge series, bridge parallel, inner coils in parallel, neck parallel, neck series.

These are quite possibly the most versatile pickups I've ever used. They have such a warm, musical voicing to them that seems to compliment any style. The midrange on these in particular really nicely fills out any amp, and I have not encountered a set that handles tones from the cleanest of cleans to searing high gain so well. The highs are harmonically rich and open without being harsh, and the low end feels huge while still being super tight. I've never loved the tone of palm mutes with a pickup so much; they're so deep and blunt, but manage to still cut through without being harsh.

They're certainly very dynamic, but I find them really easy to play with. If anything, I think my playing sounds better through these than the previous sets that I was using. Both pickups are very well balanced output wise, and the frequency response leaves nothing to be desired. I was honestly a bit apprehensive about these as they were a bit of the departure from the SD Alpha/Omega set that I had in this guitar for years, but they smoke them in every department. The neck pickup in particular is unlike anything else I've played: I can't recall the last time a neck pickup amazed me with its warmth on cleans but didn't bottom out on high gain tones.

This is also the first time I've had parallel wiring in any of my guitars, and I absolutely love it. The parallel voicings give a wonderful, fat single coil sound that are completely usable and don't feel like an afterthought. They sound particularly nice for clean and mid gain applications, but they also produce some really interesting sounds on high gain.

These are definitely very expensive, and I expect that vintage purists would still rather get some kind of PAF set if they're going for humbuckers. That said, I truly feel like this is the first pickup set I've encountered that can do everything I would want it to and more.

 

[orpheo]

I still have to try the series/split/parallel setting for my pickup set, but I have heard those in other guitars and truly, they do it all so well.

Kudos for BKP and enjoy these pickups! I like them with cream coils, the gold covers with etch and burnt chrome poles (or, burnt chrome etched covers and gold poles).

 

[dave74]

Never tried them but the name sounds like they would sound very sterile lol.
I do have love for their c-pigs though!,,and would still like to have a set of aftermaths.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Sounds like the Polymath set is a real winner.

BKP makes some great neck pickups; I love the necks of my Rebel Yell and Holy Diver sets.
Both the bridges are pretty great too.

 

[orpheo]

Never tried them but the name sounds like they would sound very sterile lol.
I do have love for their c-pigs though!,,and would still like to have a set of aftermaths.

They're anything but sterile. The bridge pickup is like an asymmetrically wound Seymour Duncan Custom with an UOA5 magnet, and the neck pickup, that one is truly crazy; it's like a Screaming Demon, with an uoa5, but not nearly as 'fat'. The Juggernaut, that's a sterile sounding pickup, but the Polymath?! heck no. I'm truly in love with these pickups and I think they're some of their best.

Some others I totally dig: Holydiver (JB/Jazz set but less harsh, more forgiving); Mule (amazing allround PAF); Stormy Monday (very much like a Seth Lover!); Rebel Yell (balls to the walls, totally unforgiving and so much powerrrr!); Crawler (amazing set that works great in everything; not hot at all, despite the specs); Silo (OMG this pickup has so much tone: it's got the fluid feel for leads I like and the crunchy chops for rhythm; smooth singing highs and cutting mids).

I'm also fond of the Abraxis and Black Dog. Emerald, not so much. Oh, the Riff Raff is too bright imho, but the Cold Sweat is amazing. That neck pickup is liquid gold! And the VH2 is instant yeah, VH.

 

[bloughlin16]

Never tried them but the name sounds like they would sound very sterile lol.
I do have love for their c-pigs though!,,and would still like to have a set of aftermaths.

not even remotely sterile. I came from an SD Custom Shop Alpha/Omega set in the same guitar before the Polymaths, and while I didn’t consider those sterile, either, they were certainly much closer to that mark than the Polymaths. They’re rich, warm, very broadly midrange-y (not “djenty”), and very full. They could do that modern djent sound, but not nearly as easily as many other sets out there (Alpha/Omega, Juggernaut, Nazgûl, etc.)

 

[dave74]

not even remotely sterile. I came from an SD Custom Shop Alpha/Omega set in the same guitar before the Polymaths, and while I didn’t consider those sterile, either, they were certainly much closer to that mark than the Polymaths. They’re rich, warm, very broadly midrange-y (not “djenty”), and very full. They could do that modern djent sound, but not nearly as easily as many other sets out there (Alpha/Omega, Juggernaut, Nazgûl, etc.)

Great to hear. That sounds like a model I would really dig. I wonder why they chose that name though. Polymath just "sounds" like it would be plastic or djenty, like math-metal seems to my ears/tastes.

 

[orpheo]

Great to hear. That sounds like a model I would really dig. I wonder why they chose that name though. Polymath just "sounds" like it would be plastic or djenty, like math-metal seems to my ears/tastes.

Because originally, the term Polymath meant someone well-versed in many disciplines. Sounds to me like the perfect name for this pickup

 

[bloughlin16]

Would anyone be interested in high-quality DIs of them?

 

[Frater106]

Please!