Oryx

When Craig Bellamy took over Manson guitars, many of us thought it's gonna be bent on producing his signature & the derivatives exclusively. You know, that singlecut design that looks like a mutant LP / Tele hybrid. Come 2022, we have this Oryx as a surpsise, really. The brand name moved away from being solely owner-influenced, worked with a prominent endorser & the Oryx was born. I like the simple design & the fact that it comes with reputable pickups - BK's Polymath humbuckers. If there's anything significant about this development, I feel that it's taking on that Chapman / Solar vibes & working towards refinement in time to come. We don't have Manson dealers / distributors here, unfortunately. Teaser :

Pic: Manson guitarworks

Ibanez: RG90

Bare Knuckles are into the 9 bandwagon early. Here's an Ibanez Prestige featuring a set of Canine humbuckers. It's definitely good to know an established name being at the forefront of change. But as it is with Ibanez, whichever name they flirt with, they keep coming back to DiMarzio.  Time will tell.

GJ8: Body features

I'm still with the GJ8, here. The body is not a departure from the traditional designs we see in the market. The pickups you see there:

• Neck: Bare Knuckles- Cold Sweat
• Bridge: Bare Knuckles- Miracle Man

There are 6 bolts here & the screws are slightly smaller than the traditional, say, Fender/ Ibanez units. That's right, that line there is the wood's 2-piece division line not concealed by any finish, ditto the working stain.

This is the flip-side view of the treble end cutaway. The beveling there aims to promote upper fret access, Herman Li & Rusty Cooley (among others) would love this feature.

This is how much top material the instrument is equipped with. It's not about having an attractive cosmetic top, the wood is there to help achieve the end in mind- good tones for the taking.

Gibson BFG: Yet another revision...

Yes, that's another new humbucker in my Gibson BFG- Bare Knuckles' War Pig.

I have nothing against the previous humbucker in there, Duncan's Alternative 8 is a fantastic pickup especially for high gain/ intense drive purposes but the BFG is inherently bright sounding due to its chambered body. The reason the War Pig is now the resident pickup there is because it doesn't let down in the distortion aspect while maintaining a commanding low-end response. Please do not go away believing the War Pig is a bass-inclined pickup, it's just a better performer when one is reliant on the lower frequencies.

Bare Knuckle pickups hail from England & they aren't cheap- the War Pig you see hear costs me $300+/- (yup, it's obscene). In general, a pair of Bare Knuckles pickups could easily get you a new guitar. It's not about higher pricing being equivalent to better tone either, the War Pig isn't the end-all search for the ultimate, drive-inclined humbucker, in fact, it only sounds nice in my BFG, as compared to other guitars I own.

PS: Thanks, Master Beez, for another fine installation!