Bare Knuckle Boot Camp True Grit Strat

The True Grit Strat set is what we are looking at next in Bare Knuckle’s Boot Camp series of single coil pickups.

You’re seeing me say this all over the Boot Camp series, but these are an excellent option. This set, as any Boot Camp option, stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the entire BKP menu for tone and for quality. The bonus is the accessibility that helps to make them economically appealing. And that is an achievement that is strictly about being ready-to-go items. In other words, with far fewer radical customization options.

It’s like stopping at the market to fetch a prepared meal that you just need to warm up. You want that same meal made specifically for you allowances for the seasonings and substituting the side items and your meal will naturally cost more and take a bit to prepare.

Installation

The True Grit Strat pickups are in a 1990 American Standard Stratocaster w/ maple board and 22 frets. Strings are 09-42 with standard E tuning. This is the same guitar and harness as the Old Guard Strat pickup article.

For the harness, I’m using the new Mojotone Solderless Convertible Strat Guitar Wiring Harness, from the mind of their pickup guru David Shepherd. This has CTS custom taper pots, CRL 5-way switch, Switchcraft jack, and Mojotone Dijon .022uF capacitor. This harness has dip switches for either standard switching or “blender” switching, which allows blending of the neck and bridge pickups, I have the treble bleed switch ‘on’ for this evaluation.

Evaluation

Looking for the single coil tones that surround the 1980s This is what you want. And by surround, I am including late-70s and into early-90s. Bold. Snappy. Punchy. Precise. Imagine the classic 50s and 60s voicing, but with a little more mids and a little less highs.

Totally taking a stab in the dark here, but I’m guessing there’s about 25% +/- wire on the bobbin than the Old Guard (for example). And then the Alnico 5 rod magnets deliver the focus. It’s that slight over-wind recipe definitely punches-up these single coils with body, attack, definition, and a bit of midrange growls for extra fun. The unique depth and fullness contributes to the clarity that makes this set excellent for both clean and dirty amp channels.

The True Grit Strat set is tight and has the definition to provide clarity in all configurations. When it comes to calibration, you’re getting a nice balance across each position to provide a maximum versatility in a spectrum of tone. Each position of the switch is an deeper dive into the attack and clear sparkle of this set. And of course the 2 and 5 positions have a classic in-between vibe but with the addition of no hum, courtesy of the middle RWRP.

Specs

---

Demo

Here is an official demo of the entire True Grit series. The single coils sections are sprinkled throughout.

Conclusion

The flat poles make this a great choice for some of the more modern fretboard radius and a more even string balance. If you’re looking to mix-and-match, maybe consider the True Grit Strat bridge as a strong lead to blend with the Old Guard Strat middle and neck. Or perhaps the True Grit Strat middle and neck for a move vintage complement to a Brute Force Strat bridge.

The True Grit Strat set is going to be good for hot blues, hard rock, grunge, punk, old school metal, progressive rock, and more! You can get them à la carte or as a full batch. They are availabele with your choice of black or white colors. If you just must let your freak flag fly, visit the BKP Accessories Shop to access Strat Singlecoil Covers in colors to meet your needs.

For reference, this Bare Knuckle True Grit Strat single coil pickup set evaluation was conducted with the following: Fractal Axe-Fx II XL+ featuring Celestion Impluse Responses and Fractal MFC-101 MIDI Foot Controller. ADA MP-1 Tube Pre-Amp loaded with Tube Amp Doctor ECC83 Premium Selected tubes, using the ADA MC-1 MIDI Controller. Fryette LX II Stereo Tube Power Amplifier. Physical cabs use are Marshall 1960B, Mojotone British, and Peavey 6505 cabs loaded with Celestion Classic Series Vintage 30s and Classic Series G12M Greenbacks.

Bare Knuckle Pickups Website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Instagram

7 string 16Ω 59 Airbucker Alnico 2 Alnico 3 Alnico 4 Alnico 5 Alnico 8 Bare Knuckle BKP Boot Camp Brown Sound Celestion Ceramic Custom Shop DiMarzio Dual Resonance EVH Fishman Floyd Rose Fluence Gibson Humbucker Ibanez JB Jimmy Page John Petrucci Les Paul MJ Mojotone P90 PAF Pariah Pickup Satch Satriani Schaller Seymour Duncan Singlecoil Single Width Speaker Steve Vai Tech Tip Virtual Vintage