Getting some new pickups: Bare Knuckle or Oil City/Creamery?

timmypix · May 2018

I've been a long time user of Bare Knuckles, but with the time coming for new pickups for a couple of my guitars, I couldn't help but notice all the good words spoken about Oil City and The Creamery on this forum, and they are cheaper. As such, I'm after some opinions/experience from anyone who's had the pickups I've got in mind.

The first guitar is a PRS SE Bernie Marsden. I'm 90% decided on a set of Bare Knuckle Mules for this, as I had them in a previous guitar (now stolen) and adored them. However, it's hard to ignore the cost saving if I can get a similar pickup from Oil City or The Creamery. I'm set on Alnico IV PAF-style pickups; I've got higher output humbuckers in other guitars, Bernie's guitar used A4s according to the specs on the Beastbucker replicas, and I like how they sound, respond and feel (assuming the Mules are a typical example).
Has anyone had the chance or the experience to compare the Bare Knuckle Mules with the Oil City Forces Sweetheart or an A4 version of the Creamery '59?

The second guitar is a lovely Highway One Strat with an alder body and rosewood board. I'm looking for a nice open, woody, warm, bluesy sound - think general mid-60s vibe, Matt Schofield, less-scooped John Mayer, etc. Up til now I've been pretty set on the Bare Knuckle Mother's Milk set, but again, the other winders appear to have similar options, in particular the Oil City Route 66 and the Creamery '64 sets.

It's easy to find good examples of most Bare Knuckle pickups, but it's much harder to find good demos of Oil City and The Creamery. That, plus my so far positive experiences with BKP make them seem like less of a gamble, but I'm sure the other winders do equally good work; I just need to be sure I make the best choice for my money.

TL;DR: BKP Mules vs Oil Ciy Forces Sweethearts vs Creamery '59 A4 vs any other A4 PAF recommendations/thoughts?
BKP Mother's Milk vs Oil City Route 66 vs Creamery '64, House of Tone, Mojo... recommendations/thoughts?

stimpsonslostson · May 2018

I’ve had several Oil City pickups, all were excellent. I’ve preferred them to bigger name pickups.
Dont forget Mojo pickups (or Alegree!)

The joy of the small boutique companies is that you’re dealing with a real person & their expertise. If you’ve got a specific requirement they may be able to accommodate you in a way a big firm can’t.

Dodge · May 2018

I think BKP have just had a lot of internet hype and good marketing - they're certainly no better than Oil City, Mojo etc., and certainly not worth paying a premium for over those two brands. I've never tried Creamery pickups, but I hear good things.

Mojo and Oil City make superb products.

timmypix · May 2018

Goddamnit forgot about Mojo and House of Tone. Just had a quick look and both have very similar looking Strat sets for my needs too. Complicated stuff this!

Stimpsonslostson, you make a good point about the potential customisation options. You mention having had several Oil Cities - don't suppose you've tried the Forces Sweetheart or any Strat sets?

Dodge: you're right, the marketing is excellent, and certainly contributes to the cost (larger overheards and larger staff), but it also means I can get a much clearer idea of the product than I can from smaller winders. So the end product may not be that different, but it does make it easier and feel like less of a gamble. So I know where my premium's going if I do decide it's worth spending. Have you got any direct experience/recommendations/thoughts of Oil City/Mojo that you can share?

normula1 · May 2018

I had a set of Mules in my PRS Custom 22 as I didn't really get with the stock VB / HFS set. After a year or so, I got Oil City to rewind the originals to Forces Sweetheart spec. and sold the Mules.

axisus · May 2018

I have had quite a few BK over the years, liked some not so keen on others. I think that they are too expensive to be honest.

Oil City I have had an HB, a P90 and an SC. Love the HB and the P90, the SC wasn't quite the sound I wanted. Also made me a custom stealth pickup, although I'm not using it at the moment. I like the company so happy to go there.

These days I'm most likely to go Oil City or Alegree for new pickups, although I'd probably still get BKs if they turn up secondhand at a decent price. I don't think I'd fork out for new BKs again

meltedbuzzbox · May 2018

Mojo for the win

timmypix · May 2018

normula1 said:

I had a set of Mules in my PRS Custom 22 as I didn't really get with the stock VB / HFS set. After a year or so, I got Oil City to rewind the originals to Forces Sweetheart spec. and sold the Mules.

Very interesting! Please could you expand on this a bit, in terms of why you changed and what differences you noticed?

webrthomson · May 2018

As far as BKP's go Mules are some of the best sounding pickups they do IMHO, I don.t think you can go wrong with them in most guitars. I would agree I think the price of BKP's has become a little much

I have several set of Oil Citys humbuckers (Blackbird / Blackbird Ulfberht / PAT 63's) and I would highly recommend the PAT 63's they are very nice PAF style pickup - thought probably not quite as authentic as the Bean-o or Forces Sweetheart.

I'd give Ash at Oil city a call and he will steer you to what you need!

p90fool · May 2018

Mules are my favourite ever PAF, if you love them just buy some, or you'll always be wondering whether you should have. It's only money.

That said, I've had some stunning pickups from Oil City made to my spec, and Marc from Mojo seems to have a bit of voodoo going on. I'm a pragmatist with a tech background who understands how magnets and wires work, but he just seems to breath life into pickups somehow.

timmypix · May 2018

p90fool said:

Mules are my favourite ever PAF, if you love them just buy some, or you'll always be wondering whether you should have. It's only money.

That said, I've had some stunning pickups from Oil City made to my spec, and Marc from Mojo seems to have a bit of voodoo going on. I'm a pragmatist with a tech background who understands how magnets and wires work, but he just seems to breath life into pickups somehow.

Yeah I think I am leaning towards the Mules regardless, but I figure it's worth asking just in case someone who's had one and preferred another pickup can provide some insight.

Strat pickups I'm less sure on, and the love for Oil City and Mojo on this forum does seem pretty universal. Being in Manchester I also feel like I ought to support the local guys at Creamery and House of Tone. I think, lacking demos/comparisons, it may just come down to phoning them all and getting quotes.

m_c · May 2018

You could always send @TheGuitarWeasel (Ash at Oil City) or @Alegree a message on here.

Either of those would be my preference, just for the amount of advise they contribute here. I've only bought from oil city, but some of Alegree's stuff sounds very nice.

thegummy · May 2018

p90fool said:

Mules are my favourite ever PAF, if you love them just buy some, or you'll always be wondering whether you should have. It's only money.

That said, I've had some stunning pickups from Oil City made to my spec, and Marc from Mojo seems to have a bit of voodoo going on. I'm a pragmatist with a tech background who understands how magnets and wires work, but he just seems to breath life into pickups somehow.

This is golden advice. I've only played maybe a dozen humbucker pickups but the mule is significantly the nicest sounding for me.

But more importantly, you'll always wonder "what if". I doubt you'd care about any price difference a year from now if you're in the position to buy high end pickups.

markr76 · May 2018

I have a set of mojo pickups in my strat and a set of monty's in my les Paul. I've had lots of sets of bkp in the past and a set of ox4's in another led Paul. To be honest all of the pickups at that level are fantastic. I've had fantastic customer service from all of them also. In particular from Marc at mojo pickups and Matt at Monty's.

timmypix · May 2018

To be honest all of the pickups at that level are fantastic. I've had fantastic customer service from all of them also.

Yeah I thought this would be the case. Hence why I'm looking at specific models and hoping to hear some first-hand experience to help push me towards a winder or two, as unfortunately I can't afford to try them all! I know with the smaller operations, the model is just a starting point to then have it tweaked to taste too, at which point I don't suppose it really matters.

I've been looking through all the winders' sites as people have been recommending them.

Given the recommendations so far, I reckon it's worth asking Ash at Oil City about the Forces Sweetheart, and then it's probably between that and the Mule. Vanity dictates brushed nickel covers and gold polepieces to suit the PRS look, which I know I can get from BKP out of the gate, and I know I love the Mule; but Oil City could work out being almost half the price for a similar, if not better pickup.

For the Strat, I reckon I'm probably best just emailing Mojo, Oil City and The Creamery and seeing which is best in terms of cost and service.

Still looking to hear from anyone who has experience with the relevant pickups, though

HAL9000 · May 2018

Admittedly I've not tried The Creamery, but I've had a (small) number of OilCity pickups and wouldn't feel the need to look anywhere else.

hotpickups · May 2018

Can I throw in the mix, Have you checked out monty's pickups? They are amazing too

timmypix · May 2018

hotpickups said:

Can I throw in the mix, Have you checked out monty's pickups? They are amazing too

Yeah I've had a quick look at their site. Great as their products look, not sure they have what I'm after, and seem to be priced not too dissimilarly to BKP.

Lestratcaster · May 2018

I have BKP's in 3 of my guitars and I like them very much. They've made them sound a lot better but I did have to pay a bit for them, and its been heavily marketed.

The only guitar that hasn't got them is a Strat (they have the SD Everything Axe set) and I might swap them out for something else.

Have heard good things about the smaller/"lesser known" companies so if I can get something cheaper that's just as good then I'm all for it. There's a company called ASL that I've heard of that are meant to be great.

Blueingreen · May 2018

I have a pair of Mules in my Les Paul and think they are terrific. Don't have experience with the others.

Re price - I believe it's fairly easy to re-sell Mules for a decent percentage of the new price. I don't know whether or not that's true of the other options. I'd be having a quick look at resale values if deciding whether the Mules were worth the extra.

meltedbuzzbox · May 2018

hotpickups said:

Can I throw in the mix, Have you checked out monty's pickups? They are amazing too

I am really baffled by the praise Monty's pickups are getting. I had a set of his vintage tele pickups and I would have been mortified if I had paid his retail price

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Getting some new pickups: Bare Knuckle or Oil City/Creamery?

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