JOLLY
Super Simonologist
I don't get it man. I was reading an interview with Steve Stevens in this month's Musicians Hotline. Check out the last couple of lines of the interview. Why didn't he just call up Seymour?
MH: Speaking of big crunchy rhythm tones, let’s talk about Bare Knuckle Pickups, and the release the Rebel Yell Steve Stevens signature humbucker set. I’d heard you were using a Nailbomb Bomb for some time as well.What was your take on that?
Steve: I’ve always been in search of way to better my tone and make my guitar sound bigger. Then I stumbled upon Bare Knuckles. I’d seen an ad in a British guitar magazine, and something about it grabbed me. I’d never heard of them, so I went online and read about Tim Mills, the president of the company. It seemed right. He was using materials that were the same as what were available back then, in what is now considered the holy grail of humbucker pickups: the Gibson PAF, which is the original “Patent Applied For.” If those materials were not available, Tim would commission manufacturers to make them. That is dedication, right there. Plus, he’s a player -- a really good player. At first I wondered, “How I can communicate what I’m looking for to someone who doesn’t use this stuff?” So I e-mailed him, and then I ordered a set. I got the original set— from the Mule Series—which is basically a Patent Applied For with a bit more gain to it. I loved the pickups as soon as I got them, and I could tell by looking at them that they were going to be good. The biggest compliment I could pay to Bare Knuckles is the fact that suddenly your guitar sounds in tune. From a guy who plays primarily Les Paulstyle guitars, that has always been an issue because of the scale length. These pickups are just harmonically correct, so the notes ring and live in the same world as each other.With a lot of pickups I use the notes kind of sound separate. There’s always that problem with the G-string being very difficult to intonate correctly once you play a bar chord. So, the role it plays in the chord can kind of waiver. As soon as I used Bare Knuckle pickups, that wasn’t a problem. So, I stayed in touch with Tim. I said, “Look, I’m going out on the road for eight months. How would you like to develop a signature pickup?” Each week he’d send me a different winding, a different composite, a different magnet structure or a different type of wire. After about seven incarnations we settled on a pickup that ended up being what the original Seymour Duncan JB was, but without my knowing it beforehand – I remember when I first bought the Duncan JB. I thought it was a fantastic pickup.
http://musicianshotline.com/issue/features/200606_artist_stevens1.asp
MH: Speaking of big crunchy rhythm tones, let’s talk about Bare Knuckle Pickups, and the release the Rebel Yell Steve Stevens signature humbucker set. I’d heard you were using a Nailbomb Bomb for some time as well.What was your take on that?
Steve: I’ve always been in search of way to better my tone and make my guitar sound bigger. Then I stumbled upon Bare Knuckles. I’d seen an ad in a British guitar magazine, and something about it grabbed me. I’d never heard of them, so I went online and read about Tim Mills, the president of the company. It seemed right. He was using materials that were the same as what were available back then, in what is now considered the holy grail of humbucker pickups: the Gibson PAF, which is the original “Patent Applied For.” If those materials were not available, Tim would commission manufacturers to make them. That is dedication, right there. Plus, he’s a player -- a really good player. At first I wondered, “How I can communicate what I’m looking for to someone who doesn’t use this stuff?” So I e-mailed him, and then I ordered a set. I got the original set— from the Mule Series—which is basically a Patent Applied For with a bit more gain to it. I loved the pickups as soon as I got them, and I could tell by looking at them that they were going to be good. The biggest compliment I could pay to Bare Knuckles is the fact that suddenly your guitar sounds in tune. From a guy who plays primarily Les Paulstyle guitars, that has always been an issue because of the scale length. These pickups are just harmonically correct, so the notes ring and live in the same world as each other.With a lot of pickups I use the notes kind of sound separate. There’s always that problem with the G-string being very difficult to intonate correctly once you play a bar chord. So, the role it plays in the chord can kind of waiver. As soon as I used Bare Knuckle pickups, that wasn’t a problem. So, I stayed in touch with Tim. I said, “Look, I’m going out on the road for eight months. How would you like to develop a signature pickup?” Each week he’d send me a different winding, a different composite, a different magnet structure or a different type of wire. After about seven incarnations we settled on a pickup that ended up being what the original Seymour Duncan JB was, but without my knowing it beforehand – I remember when I first bought the Duncan JB. I thought it was a fantastic pickup.
http://musicianshotline.com/issue/features/200606_artist_stevens1.asp
