“I wanted the PolyPafs to be true players’ pickups”: Bare Knuckle and Adam ‘Nolly’ Getgood look to give PAF-style pickups a modern twist with new signature set
The vintage-voiced humbuckers have been tweaked to work with low-tuned modern metal music, and promise a dynamic and versatile tonality
(Image credit: Bare Knuckle)
Bare Knuckle has unveiled its second set of signature humbuckers for modern progressive metal maestro Adam "Nolly" Getgood.
The PolyPaf pickups follow the Polymath set from 2021, and are designed to unite classic PAF-inspired humbucking tones with modern sensibilities.
Former Periphery bass player, superstar producer (Architects, Northlane, Bury Tomorrow), and Manson Guitar Works endorsee Getgood has designed the ‘buckers to work in partnership with the Polymaths, meaning a blend of the two pickups could prove fruitful.
Centered on the dynamism, clarity, and three-dimensionality of authentic PAF-style pickups, the new PolyPafs are augmented with an accentuated mid-range for a set that intends to appeal to both new and old-school players alike.
That means those vintage flavors will work in modern applications, including in seven-string and eight-string riffing, thick string gauges, and tunings so low they can summon demons.
Their foundations can be found in Bare Knuckle’s The Mule and Stormy Monday humbuckers, and are likewise made with 100% vintage correct parts. This includes Alnico V magnets (8.3 kΩ DC resistance in the bridge, and 7.6 kΩ in the neck), and “a unique combination of high carbon steel slugs under the wound strings”.
As such, they are primed for everything from blues rock to brutal modern metal. Available in six-, seven-, and eight-string configurations, they are also said to be suitable for baritone and multi-scale guitars, and in solidbody and hollowbody builds.
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Adam 'Nolly' Getgood's Play-Through of his Bare Knuckle Polypaf Humbucker Set - YouTube
The tonal emphasis puts treble and mids above bass, with Bare Knuckle intent on “taking the original PAF tone into present-day playing context”.
“I wanted the PolyPafs to be true players’ pickups,” says Getgood. “The bridge is ready to go anywhere your picking hand takes it. Plaintive cleans, and raunchy open chords to gnarly, aggressive riffing can be had at your slightest command.”
“PolyPafs are judicious in their output, perfectly balancing dynamic headroom with midrange drive so you can express every nuance and emotion,” adds Bare Knuckle. “The open voice, trim bass, and string separation bring everything you play into sharp focus even when using super low tunings and thick string gauges.”
A freelance writer with a penchant for music that gets weird, Phil is a regular contributor to Prog, Guitar World, and Total Guitar magazines and is especially keen on shining a light on unknown artists. Outside of the journalism realm, you can find him writing angular riffs in progressive metal band, Prognosis, in which he slings an 8-string Strandberg Boden Original, churning that low string through a variety of tunings. He's also a published author and is currently penning his debut novel which chucks fantasy, mythology and humanity into a great big melting pot.
