Bare Knuckle Riff Raff Humbucker Set

The Riff Raff humbucker set is like a “what comes next” in the timeline of historic humbuckers. You can find the turn-of-the-decade The Mule to cover the transition from the late 1950s and into 1960. From there, the Riff Raff steps up to the plate. This is about the time that the winding on the bobbins start to become a little more consistent. And the Alnico 5 bar magnet is the selection of the time.

If you are looking for BKP’s take on a Jimmy Page humbucker set, this is the suggested bridge option. Pair it with The Mule in the neck, as you’re ready for that post-1972 Zeppelin Les Paul vibe. That should be a pretty good idea of where the Riff Raff falls in to the scheme of things.

Installation

At the time of acquiring this set, I’m already thinking of the aforementioned Page set. So I’m grabbing this set and the Mule set at the same time. I mean, why not? Nobody wants to come back later to read about just the neck when I’ve already overed just the bridge. LOL! That’s me…. always looking out for your guys!

For this application, I’m going with a double cut 2-humbucker body with maple neck and rosewood fingerboard. The guitar has 09-42 strings and is in E standard tuning.  Hardware includes a German Floyd Rose double-locking tremolo system.

Evaluation

We know that a lot of the sought-after charm of the late-50s humbucker is the unpredictability. As we get into the 60s, there is a more calculated effort toward consistency. An element of that is a bit of a fine-tuning of the process that ends up with coils that are better matched. There is a bit of narrowing of the resonant peak. Once the shorter Alnico 5 is introduced, it works together for a purposeful focus of the overall voice.

On dirty amp settings, it riffs with authority (ha! a pun!) and gives open chords an sense of command.  Yet, as with a vintage-class pickup, this pickup allows for nuance.  The neck position is great for heavier or more assertive blues styles.  Going to cleaner amp settings, you can expect a touch of deliberate focus and a bit of chimey goodness.

Overall, a touch of compression to the character.  Maybe it’s a result of the slightly more aggressive take on a vintage character.  Or perhaps it’s how the low end is kept under control without becoming brittle.  With that in mind, if you want a wolf in sheep’s clothing, consider these pickups.

Demo

Open your ears and lay your eyes on this video from BKP of Little Angels guitarist Bruce Dickinson.  The RR neck comes in at about 04:15

And this demo, showcasing a complete set:

How about we mix it up a little? Let’s blend the RR with other BKP pickups.

First up with the RR in the neck w/ a Black Dog bridge.

And here we have a RR bridge w/ a Stormy Monday neck:

Specs

Conclusion

The RR set is going to be good for blues, funk, indie, reggae, Britpop, garage, punk, alternative, classic rock, heavy rock, and 80s metal. It is available in 6, 7, and 8-string configurations with the full range of colors, covers, and pole piece options.

For reference, this Bare Knuckle Riff Raff humbucker 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.

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