Ep. 108 - Tim Mills of Bare Knuckle Pickups! 

What a great guy. Everyone is “good enough”. Tim Mills makes me still have hope for humanity.

Tim has such a sophisticated way of speaking...you can listen to him all day. Great episode!🤘

I dealt with Tim many years ago when they had not been going long, great guy with a great focus on helping you get the sound you wanted, really great episode.

Dave speechless when Tim talks about Steve Stevens being able to cope without his Friedman built rack and using a Korg multiFX! Priceless

This was brilliant, I had no idea how much attention to detail Tim puts into his pickups, or that he was a pro-guitarist. I just assumed he was an independent Brit builder who was just copying pickups out of a garage and charging a 'boutique' premium. Think I might have to buy a set of Mules now. What a cool guy! Flying the flag for the UK!

Didn't think i could listen to 2 hours of chat about pickups, but Tim is a passionate genius that knows what he's talking about, couldn't turn off. His willingness to share his knowledge and experience is greatly appreciated by wankers like me. Might have to consider pickup upgrades.

1:09:18 Hah! I had a set of Warpig 7s from 2010 that had the handmade/split bobbins as BKP didn't have that tooling for 7s. The first BKP set that I owned was a Miracle Man/Mule combo from about 07, then a Cold Sweat set a couple of years later (which was the answer to the question "I want a replacement for the PRS HFS/VB set but better"). The Mule may be the best pickup, all round, that I've ever heard. So good!

VERY Impressed with the Stormy Monday pup he came out with not to even mention all the other winds Such great information Thanks

It doesn't get better than BKP. Best tone and dynamics ever.

Great show! I've never played bare knuckle, and I am pretty happy with my setups. Gotta say that I'm going to look into trying these. The business philosophy alone demands it.

I purchased a Juggernaut pick up from Bare Knuckles to put in a EVH body, I had to take the entire pickup apart to do some minor cutting and grinding to get it to fit. I forgot how to put it back together correctly with the magnets facing correct north and south, so I contacted the guy's at Bare Knuckles and they were some of the most helpful people I have ever interacted with, I want to say thanks for the excellent customer service and for great quality pickups.

I was already a fan of Bareknuckle pickups and now iam a fan of Tim aswell this is one of my favourite episodes and ive watch the most,thanks guys!

One of the best shows yet, amazing story

I was at that Billy Idol show at Donington. It. Kicked. Ass. Steve sounded phenomenal, the whole band was awesome

What Tim didn’t share at the end about the Riff Raff, Mule and Black dog: riff raff is bright! Mule is balanced and woody. Black dog is very mid-rangey. All good but very different pups. I love love the mule in the neck of my LP’s, mule doesn’t drive and crunch enough for me in the bridge. I think the riff raff is best for dark LP’s that are dark. I have owned a ton of BKP’s and love them. I have a few Les Paul’s and a couple SG’s, and I have tried a lot of the same BKP’s in every guitar. Very consistent pups. My #1 LP has VHII in bridge and mule in the neck. Great tone talk, thanks Tim, Dave, & Mark! 🤘🏽

Another great show guys. Tim very generous in sharing his knowledge and experience. Many thanks.

What an excellent show. You can hear why his pickups have such a great reputation, he has done his homework. I put a pair of Mules in an Epiphone Les Paul for a friend and the transformation was astonishing. You'd think through the same rig the differences would be subtle but they were anything but. Great note articulation and a bell like chime that was so musical I wondered how this could be the same guitar, totally transformed.

Another great episode filled with super valuable information, thanks guys! Love Tim's approach to building pickups, BKP rule!

Amazing episode. Tim was so interesting to listen to, and really good at explaining things. Thanks, Tim, Dave and Marc.

The MULE is the best P.A.F repro i have heard. It sounded more like the real deal than the throbak OX4, Wizz and Doyles coil in my test. I was not able to compare it against the Holmes 455. The Mule also cost's a lot less money than all those others.

I have three Les Pauls with Stormy Monday (neck) and The Mule (bridge). Absolutely my favorite humbucker pickups ever. They are clear and dynamic. They cover so much ground and killer guitar sounds. Try those two, I highly recommend.

Tim is an artist. I love listening to people like this discuss their craft. I bought a pair of Pile Drivers for my Tele copy and love how they sound.

Yet another fantastic show…Tim was such a brilliant guest…..

Very Great Interview, I learned a lot and I am going to search for his pickups ! Thanks

Going to have to try some bare knuckle pickups after listening to this episode

I’ve used BKP since 2005 and Tim has always been a joy to talk to and order from. The best in the business.

Im sure i saw Tim in an Ozzy tribute act at The Diamond in Kirkby in Ashfield...hmmm...Rainbow Rising too...

This was totally fascinating…. Bareknuckle pickups have always given me something “more” that was at times hard to describe with words. I love them all - thanks for a nice peek behind the curtain!!!

I have some great pickups across several guitars... Wolfetone, Manlius, and Seymour Duncan are some of my other favorites. But my super Strat Swiss army knife and my HSS Strat style each have a Bareknuckle in the bridge. Their articulation makes them super versatile.

I chuckled when Siiskonen turned into Silkenskin and Silkonen :D It really gives perspective to hear a foreigner try to read finnish names. Not easy. Tim Mills was a super interesting guest! Learned so much and like Dave said, he really made me think "I gotta try them". Especially because I learned about Bare Knuckle only after Periphery caused people I know to buy Bare Knuckles for low frequency metal. Should've known the roots were in the old school rock. Any time a craftsman is super into getting everything right, it makes me interested. Even if I didn't like it, there has to be a lot to enjoy.

Great episode. interesting about Page's Les Paul

Hey guys awesome as usual. I have 2 more guys to try and get on here. Henric Hermansson and Jens Kruse!!!

Great interview! I have a Miracle Man Set and the Aftermath. They really made me opened my eyes and not mind about spending extra for pickups anymore.

Great episode guys!! Come back east Dave we are entering our 6 months of cloudy cold weather in upstate NY 🤘🤘🤘

Had a couple of sets of Alnico 4 humbuckers, they were great. Really enjoying the show, love Tim's outlook.

Great interview. Tim gave a lots of details and insight on his approach to pickup making, very interesting.

Not surprising another great episode. Aware of BNP for awhile but didnt know anything about the company. Tim is awesome, knows his stuff and passionette about his work.

Awesome RU-vid video and one of the best tone talks to date

BKP are essential to the integrity of our guitars & customer service. Tim continues to be indulgent of our needs

Absolutely love Tim Mills' passion for quality. Don't have any Bare Knuckles yet, but I sense that some are in my future.....

one of the best podcasts yet, really enjoyed it chaps. Was hoping to hear Tim talk about Johnny Marr's signature set for his signature Fender Jag

One of the best shows!!! Thanks...donny lovette

Amazing show.

Very impressive interview. Great Company !

Fantastic episode guys. Tim was a great guest and the depth of knowledge he demonstrates on the subject of pickups and also running his business is inspiring.

Very impressed with Bare knuckle obsession company... I mean pickup company ;-)

Talk about Jimmy Page's #1 @45:41

Great episode! I learnt a LOT about pickups 👌

Great stuff from Tim.

Tim is a legend, love my BKPs!

Awesome show guys!!!

1:48:17 that balance I find in a Gibson 490t. Havent had the pleasure of trying Bareknuckle yet. Interested in the Silo.

Never used bareknuckles, but really enjoyed the show

this is awesome, thanks again Marc and Dave 🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻

Great show!

Great stuff to listen. Just stumbled to this channel by accident. Having my Bare Knuckle's being produced. Just can't wait to get them in my guitar

great show!!

Thanks for making me find a need to buy even more guitar equipment! Just kidding, but Tim seriously is making me think about replacing the P100 Pickups on the double cutaway Les Paul Special that I just bought back from a friend with a set on his P90 Pickups. Since I am doing 1950s and 1960s style music, the single coil sparkle is probably more important than the hum cancellation. I am playing with a lot less gain lately. Sort of like I will need Dave’s AC30 because I don’t have a Vox Top Boost Circuit in any of my amps, only AC15 EF86 and Normal Channels.

What a great episode! I thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Wow!!! David and Tim. Both trailblazers in there field. Glad to see no egos were brought to the table. So much respect for both those guys. David has especially carved out his own brand in a cut throat industry of lawsuits and culture vultures. I will own a Friedman Butterslaxx and a candy green Cali before I die. I WILL.

Damn, missed it again lol! Too busy Saturdays ;p

Great story for the name of the brand.

Vigil Lay of Lay's guitar in Akron Ohio...shaved the Page/Walsh Les Paul.... he also invented SIT strings

I've literally bought guitars just to try out new BareKnuckle pickups, haha... set of VHIIs being the most recent!

Please have EDDIE LENZ on!!!

Sold me on them 🤜

All the best from Canada!

Someone give Tim a doctorate degree on PUPs

seymour duncan sells the page pickup as sh18 whole lotta humbucker

ha, damn, too late... already ordered my BNP Polymath's ... Tim maybe pulling wires atm. :D

Bare Knuckle might be one of the coolest names in pickups,lol along with the Velvet Hammer

Tims way cool. Let me play a bunch of his guitars at NAMM years back.

Did Tim ever answer Dave's question on what he thought was the BEST '59 pickup? He started talking about The Mule pickup and then....went way out to left field and never came back to the question. I actually sat up in my seat waiting for his response. Bummer! Great pickups ,though!

After listening to the interview I feel very comfortable trying out BKP for my Standard Hey Tim what's the difference between the Mule and Stormy Monday pups ?? Thanks New customer here I'm thinking

I wish there were time stamps so I could find the section where he talks about Jimmy Page's #1. ;) Update: 45:50

Tf is Dave talking about? It regularly pours in a winter, it gets relatively cold and gloomy and LA looks beautiful in a gloomy weather. Wish I could attach a pic of flooded Hollywood and La Brea lol.

Yup, southern California *is* ugly when it rains.

Somehow, my BKPs sound thinner than my Dimarzio PAFs.

I'm here

Who is Marc!? He has to be the worst interviewer ever, a complete bore. Dave needs a better foil!