Bare Knuckle PG Blues Humbucker Set

Where History Meets Tone

The Bare Knuckle PG Blues humbucker set is not just a nod to the past. It’s a straight-up love letter to one of the most iconic tones in rock and blues history. Everyone knows Bare Knuckle Pickups for their bruiser-level Contemporary line, but if you’re sleeping on their Vintage range, you’re missing out on some serious magic. I’ve already raved about classics like the Stormy Monday, The Mule, and the Riff Raff, but the PG Blues? This one taps into pure guitar folklore.

The story goes back to Peter Green’s legendary 1959 Les Paul Standard. That guitar, with its famously “accidentally” out-of-phase middle position, became the sonic signature of Green’s haunting, almost vocal-like tone. With it, he carved his name in the Bluesbreakers and etched timeless tracks in the early Fleetwood Mac era. The guitar didn’t stop there. Gary Moore took the same axe and burned it into our brains with fiery blues-rock leads, only to eventually pass it along to Metallica’s Kirk Hammett, who still tours with the holy grail today.

What Bare Knuckle has done with the PG Blues set is capture that soulful, hollow, and unmistakably human tone that defined a generation. It’s not just about recreating pickups. It’s about bottling lightning and handing it to players who want that elusive Green-Moore-Hammett vibe in their own hands.

Out Of Phase Magic

Now here’s where the PG Blues humbuckers separate the casual players from the true gear geeks. The secret sauce behind Peter Green’s legendary tone wasn’t just the guitar itself. It was that quirky neck pickup being out of phase with the bridge. Drop both pickups into the middle position and you get that unmistakable hollow, almost vocal quality. Some folks call it a “cocked wah” effect, but let’s be real – it’s basically mojo bottled in magnets and wire.

So, how does a humbucker end up out of phase? There are a few ways. The magnetic route flips polarity, reversing the push and pull of the field. The mechanical route? That’s when one set of coils gets wound in the opposite direction compared to its partner. Something that can cause chaos when you start mixing brands in the same guitar. And if you’re running four-conductor wiring, you can even force the issue with some clever soldering tricks.

Now, when it comes to Peter Green’s actual ‘59 Les Paul, the guitar nerd community loves to argue about exactly how that out-of-phase tone happened. Magnet flip? Miswind? Wiring accident? Honestly, unless you’ve had that holy relic in your hands and a multimeter in your pocket, it’s all conjecture. I haven’t, and I’m not about to pretend I have. So I’ll just say this: whatever the recipe, the end result is pure sonic sorcery.

Installation

For this evaluation, I plant the PG Blues set in a double-hum axe. Connections are Bourns 500k pots, a Switchcraft 12120X 3-way toggle, and a Switchcraft 1/4″ output jack. I like my humbuckers with short legs, open coils, and 4-con lead wire. You can find or order yours with the full range of accouterments that I will touch on a little more further down in this article.

Evaluation: Vintage P.A.F. Tone with Attitude

Did I already say the Bare Knuckle PG Blues humbuckers are impressive? Let me rephrase: they’re most impressive. The kind of impressive that makes you raise an eyebrow and wonder why more pickups don’t pull this off. See, the marketing blurbs throw around the usual adjectives: “sweet,” “warm,” “fat.” Nine times out of ten, that’s code for “muddy mess you’ll regret installing.” But not here. Not even close.

Straight out of the gate, the PG Blues hit me like The Mule’s older, tougher, streetwise brother. And that’s saying something, because The Mule is a heavy-hitter in my book. Top 10 in vintage-style pickups, Top 5 as a P.A.F. replica, and the go-to for tone hounds like Steve Stevens when they need a benchmark. But sometimes The Mule wants a little extra amp saturation to really flex. The PG Blues? Already packing the grit, already leaning into that smoldering voice, and ready to handle business.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not calling it a face-melting sonic sledgehammer. This isn’t a “dimed JCM800 in a garage the size of a phone booth” situation. But the voicing here? It’s versatile, balanced, and dripping with that elusive mojo that makes you stop tweaking knobs and just play.

Dirty Crunch and Crystal Cleans

Kick on the dirt, and the PG Blues humbuckers bloom with harmonics and transparency. Chords stay articulate instead of collapsing into sludge. Leads? They’re touch-sensitive, nuanced, and alive with dynamic response. Sustain a bend and you’ll hear the decay unravel into all those raw little string artifacts we guitar nerds obsess over.

Clean tones are where most humbuckers phone it in, but not these. The PG Blues deliver rich, sparkling cleans in full series wiring without begging for coil splits or parallel tricks. Of course, if you want that ultra-glassy hi-fi tone, you’ve got options. But honestly, you don’t need them. The middle position is pure gold for cleans, thanks to the slightly reduced presence and the deliciously out-of-phase character. It’s the kind of tone that makes you forget pedals exist.

Demo

How about we go back to the source? As a reference of the Peter Green “tone”, check out this video of Mr. Green performing with Fleetwood Mac:

Here’s an BKP official demo:

Unofficially, here’s a demo from Will Wallner that’s too good to pass up. Will is using a 1991 Les Paul Studio, Keeley-modded Ibanez Tube Screamer, and a 1986 Marshall JCM 800 2204.

Specs

Did you catch that? Heavy Formvar for the neck! Bare Knuckle is relatively renown for using vintage correct 42 AWG plain enamel across their Vintage selection. It’s cool they are being transparent with this variance. Is Formvar bad? Nope. It’s the type of insulation in use, that’s all. Formvar is a little more common on single coils, and a bit of a rarity on humbuckers. We can deep-dive on the geek factor of that all day long. I’m simply looking at it as a unique approach, and the results seem to be working.

Conclusion: Vintage Mojo, Modern Versatility

The Bare Knuckle PG Blues humbuckers are a killer option for anyone chasing that elusive P.A.F.-style tone with a little extra fire under the hood. Like the Greenie set, they nail the vintage vibe, but the out-of-phase trick is the cherry on top. Not a gimmick, just pure added character. If you dig The Mule but want something that pushes your amp a little harder without losing clarity, the PG Blues should be on your radar.

These pickups aren’t pigeonholed either. Blues? Absolutely. Country? Yep. Funk, reggae, pop, classic rock? They’ll handle it all without breaking a sweat. Bare Knuckle also goes full custom shop with them. 6, 7, or 8-string builds, more bobbin colors than a candy store, covers from classy nickel to wild radiators, screw or bolt pole options in multiple finishes, and a choice of leg lengths and lead wires. Translation: you don’t just get tone; you get tone dressed to kill.

The PG Blues are proof that vintage-style humbuckers don’t have to be polite or predictable. They’ve got history in their DNA, versatility in their voicing, and enough customization options to make your guitar as unique as your playing. In short: they’re not just pickups. They’re a statement.

For reference, this Bare Knuckle PG Blues humbucker 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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