BareKnuckle new line?

[AkiraSpectrum]

I initially ordered a 50mm bridge pickup since the guitar is a Gibson with a TOM, but it seems that my luthier widened the string spacing a bit after refretting and removing the nibs (he also installed a new bridge with unslotted saddles), so that the b and e strings were a bit too far away from the pole pieces on the bridge pickup, so I returned the the 50mm and ordered a 53mm version instead. I also measured this one before installing it and was surprised to see that it was 14.0 kΩ instead of 13.0 kΩ. Does 50mm and 53mm normally differ in DC Resistance? I guess it must be similar to the differences between 6-string and 7-string pickups but less extreme.

Also, I had less trouble finding the sweet spot with the 53mm version. It just sounded great from the beginning. This is quickly becoming my favorite bridge pickup and I'm considering getting another set for my Schecter C1+. It's just so clear and tight with the perfect amount of bite, but not too dry or trebly and the mids are present but not overpowering. I'm so happy this worked out since the last set of BKP's I bought were alnico Nailbombs, and I really really hated those - the mids just pierced by brain in the most uncomfortable way and there was no way to dial it out on my amp.

Can't wait to read other peoples opinions on these.

Generally speaking, even Gibson's with a ToM bridges made after a certain date (1998?) are Trem/F-spaced. You're still able to use regular spaced humbuckers with them without issue, although depending on how things are aligned, sometimes you may have a pole piece or two that don't line up that well. Generally though unless the string is completely/entirely outside the pole piece you shouldn't really have any significant tonal differences.

Yes, usually when going from regular spaced to trem/f-spaced (in BKP's terms 50 to 53mm) you will see an increase in DC resistance (this is due to the change in spacing, and its done so that it will sound like the regular spaced humbucker--in other words, it has the same relative value). On average you can expect to see around a 0.7-0.8 difference for most pickups, so a 1.0 difference is completely reasonable. Not to mention, pickups tend to vary in DC resistance anyways even for the same models (for example you may have the same model pickup with same spacing vary in DC resistance by 0.4 or more even).
In other words, you're good.

 

[McBrain]

your explorer is awesome.

Thanks! I love that guitar. It's really light and resonant, balances perfectly and sustains really well. Only thing that's not so great is the access to the last fret, at least with my tiny hands, but I can live with that. It took me about five years to find a good one, since they only made 400 of them back in 2007 and at that time I was studying, so it was way out of my price range.

Generally speaking, even Gibson's with a ToM bridges made after a certain date (1998?) are Trem/F-spaced. You're still able to use regular spaced humbuckers with them without issue, although depending on how things are aligned, sometimes you may have a pole piece or two that don't line up that well. Generally though unless the string is completely/entirely outside the pole piece you shouldn't really have any significant tonal differences.

Good to know about the F-spaced ToM bridges On the Explorer the b and e strings were completely clear of the pole pieces - even worse than the last example in this picture. Now all the strings are like the one in the middle, so that should be ok. My other Gibson, a 2007 ES-339 seems to be standard spacing, but it's got an ABR-1 instead of a Nashville style ToM. Don't know if that makes a difference or if it's just a coincidence?

Yes, usually when going from regular spaced to trem/f-spaced (in BKP's terms 50 to 53mm) you will see an increase in DC resistance (this is due to the change in spacing, and its done so that it will sound like the regular spaced humbucker--in other words, it has the same relative value). On average you can expect to see around a 0.7-0.8 difference for most pickups, so a 1.0 difference is completely reasonable. Not to mention, pickups tend to vary in DC resistance anyways even for the same models (for example you may have the same model pickup with same spacing vary in DC resistance by 0.4 or more even).
In other words, you're good.

Thank you for the insight! It sounds great, so I wasn't really worried Just thought it was weird.