Bare Knuckle Slow Hand Single Coil Strat Set

Vintage Soul with Modern Muscle

Want vintage Strat charm but with a little more fire under the hood? Check out the Bare Knuckle Slow Hand set. From the UK by the tone obsessives at Bare Knuckle, these single coils are for players who crave classic Strat sparkle. But with a little extra punch to push their amp without giving it a nervous breakdown.

You still get bell-like clarity, but there’s more meat on the bone. If your current pickups feel like they are skipping leg day, these bring the gain and girth to fill things out – without losing that Strat voice we all want.

Installation

You don’t need a soldering degree from Hogwarts to install these. This 6-string set is a drop-in for any Strat-style setup, featuring traditional vintage staggered pole pieces and wax potting for squeal-free operation, even under stage lights or when things get rowdy.

These Slow Hand Strat pickups are in a 1990 American Standard Stratocaster w/ maple neck and 22 frets on a 25-1/2″ maple board. Strings are 09-42 with standard E tuning. This is the same guitar as the BKP Boot Camp single coil pickup articles.

For the harness, I’m using the Solderless Convertible Strat Guitar Wiring Harness, from the mind of guitar guru David Shepherd. This has CTS custom taper pots, CRL 5-way switch, Switchcraft jack, and a 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.

Beefed-Up Blues and Beyond

Let’s cut to the chase: these pickups are hotter than your standard vintage single coils, but not in a brash-and-bashful way. They’re like vintage tones that hit the gym and now wear tailored suits. The Slow Hand set features hand-beveled Alnico V magnets and modern polysol wire, which combine to give you thicker mids and a more focus in the treble response.

The low end? Fat, but controlled. The highs? Still chimey, but never harsh. These pickups have a voicing to push the front end of your amp just a bit harder, making them perfect for dynamic playing – whether you’re going clean, edge-of-breakup, or into light crunch territory.

The bridge pickup has bite and body. The neck and middle stay warm and articulate. They retain note separation even under gain, which is rare for Strat sets in this output range. They play nicely with both clean and dirty rigs, and they balance very well if you’re pairing with a hotter bridge humbucker. No surgical EQ needed. No pedalboard gymnastics required.

Classic Tone with Extra Snap

The Slow Hands aren’t just for slow hands. Fast ones will appreciate them too. From Texas blues to British rock and even gritty funk, they flex across styles like a pickup that forgets it is a single-coil.

You want vintage clarity with a little more heat? Covered. Want to tame a bright Strat without mudding the mix? Done. Roll off your volume knob, and the set cleans up with zero drama. Dig in with your pick, and it barks with dynamic growl. These pickups are all about touch-sensitive players.

If your guitar is brighter-toned ash or alder body with a maple fretboard, that Slow Hand set will fatten up your sound like a good tube screamer, but without the mid-hump. Think SRV with a British passport.

Specs

Demo

Conclusion

These pickups are like that blues-rock player who wears cowboy boots and a leather jacket. Respectful of tradition, but not afraid to bend the rules. If you want a Strat that can whisper, wail, and everything in between, the Slow Hand earns its place on your board. The Bare Knuckle Slow Hand pickups are for players who want Strat-style tone but with a bit more attitude. They bring the vintage sparkle, but throw in thicker mids and tighter lows – enough to hang in modern contexts without ever sounding flat or generic.

The Slow Hand single coils are going to be good for blue, funk, indie, pop, garage, punk, hard rock, and more. For the 6-string format, you can choose from up to 19 cover colors, over 10 metal covers, and over 10 TV covers. 7-stings covers come in black or white covers, in either new or aged appearance. Additional selections include magnet stagger and polarity.

For reference, this Bare Knuckle Slow Hand single coil Strat 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.

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