Bare Knuckle Stormy Monday Set

Blues Rock Pedigree: From Fillmore East to Your Guitar

The Bare Knuckle Stormy Monday humbucker pickup set is a clear salute to the legendary Allman Brothers live album At Fillmore East from 1971. Duane Allman and Dickey Betts deliver a blues focused Southern rock guitar tone that defines an era. Their guitars lock in together like a sonic peas and carrots stew of sweet sustain and razor bite. Think right up there with Skynyrd Rossington and Collins or the Eagles Frey Walsh and Felder tag teams.

For this live Fillmore recording, Duane is playing his 1959 Cherry Burst Les Paul but here is the twist. He swaps the original pickups for the humbuckers from his 1957 goldtop Les Paul. That is the same goldtop he uses on the Clapton Layla sessions. So yes these are those pickups with real rock history in every note.

Dickey plays a vintage Gibson Les Paul from that same era. Some say a 1957. Some say a 1958. Others argue he uses a Gibson SG. Rather than let the internet go full cork sniff mode we keep the focus on the tone that matters.

For amps Duane works a 50 watt Marshall for quicker breakup and extra grit. Dickey rolls with a 100 watt Marshall for bigger headroom and a glassy top end. Together they create that iconic blues rock vibe that Bare Knuckle wants to bottle with the Stormy Monday pickup set.

Clean and Confident: Installation in the Real World

For this evaluation I install the Bare Knuckle Stormy Monday humbucker pickup set in my reliable double humbucker test mule. The wiring harness uses Bourns 500k pots a Switchcraft 12120X three way toggle and a Switchcraft quarter inch jack to keep the signal pure and ready for serious tone hunting.

Once everything is wired up and fired up a very familiar Bare Knuckle pattern shows up. The marketing spins a tale of sweet and warm bass smooth high end and mellow attitude. Normally that reads like soft and dull and I run the other way. I do not want pillows in my guitar tone. But here we go again. The Stormy Monday set proves that Bare Knuckle knows how to take those polite descriptors and twist them into something with real soul and clarity. They say mellow and I hear musical. It says smooth and I hear defined. And when they say sweet and I hear vintage magic with bite.

So yes I am once again proven wrong and laughing at myself for judging a humbucker by its sales copy. The Stormy Monday pickup set means business and the installation shows that right out of the gate.

Sonic Revelation: Evaluation and Tone

The Bare Knuckle Stormy Monday humbucker pickup set arrives with real vintage credibility. We are talking 42 AWG plain enamel wire butyrate bobbins and roughcast magnets that deliver the classic P.A.F. attitude. The original P.A.F. builds are all over the map so it is impressive when a pickup maker dials in the best voices from that era with this level of focus.

The Stormy Monday set has a slightly more open feel that makes every nuance of your playing breathe. This is especially obvious in that sweet zone between the natural sustain taper and the tiny mechanical sounds of a string vibrating and sliding against the frets. It is the expressive detail that many guitarists forgot during the high octane big hair glory days of 80s riff rock.

Players looking for maximum note separation and a responsive dynamic attack need to put the Stormy Monday on their radar. Clarity and definition live at the front of this design. Clean amp settings respond beautifully and the volume pot alone can take you from chime to growl without drama. Coil split or parallel wiring options open up a very chime filled snap and a glassy sparkle that shifts this set into a new dimension.

The low end carries strong definition with a punchy presence and just enough fullness. It never gets tubby or muddy which is critical when the amp gets edge dirty or fully overdriven. The mid range is shaped to sit just right in a mix and help the guitar speak without fighting other instruments. The high end has a sweet but bold attitude that pushes leads forward with confidence while keeping everything musical and never shrill. The result is a vintage flavored pickup set that rewards touch technique and tone chasing in every context.

Demo

Here is an official demo of the Stormy Monday neck, with a Riff Raff bridge:

Specs

Versatile Tone Machine: Conclusion

In my ears the Bare Knuckle Stormy Monday humbucker pickup set sits right between The Mule set and the PG Blues set. All three aim at specific late 1950s P.A.F. humbucker flavors and all three hit their marks with authority. Each brings its own strengths to the party and I appreciate what every one of them adds to the modern guitar battlefield.

The Stormy Monday set targets players who live in Blues, Country, Jazz, Funk, Indie, Reggae, and Classic Rock. That said it also handles heavy blues, hard rock, and even a little brown sound attitude when you lean into it. The dynamic response makes the guitar feel alive and connected to the player which is the entire point of a vintage focused humbucker.

Like most Bare Knuckle options the Stormy Monday comes in six seven and eight string versions with a full menu of bobbin colors and cover styles. You also get the choice of leg length and type of lead wire. Versatility tone and legit heritage come together to make the Bare Knuckle Stormy Monday set a serious contender for anyone chasing expressive vintage magic without losing clarity and presence in a modern rig.

For reference, this Bare Knuckle Pickups Stormy Monday 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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