Post by slartibartfarst42 on Jul 6, 2014 20:12:47 GMT
To give this review a sense of context, it is a review of a bridge version of the Bare Knuckle Miracle Man that was installed into a Jackson SL3 Soloist, which is maple neck-thru with alder wings and OFR. The amp I used ws a Blackstar HT60 Soloist. In this same guitar I can (and will) compare it to an Alnico Nailbomb and Holydiver as this may help to clarify what I've found. I can also compare it to a Cold Sweat in a very similar guitar but let's start with how it compares to the Bare Knuckle description on their website.
With the Holydiver I found that the Bare Knuckle description didn't do it enough justice as although it does all the things they claim, it's actually far more versatile than you'd think. In comparison, the A-Bomb is claimed to be extremely versatile yet I didn't find it so. Horses for courses I guess but the description of the Miracle Man is spot on. It is hotter than the Holydiver but not by a huge amount and I'd say the A-Bomb sat between the two in terms of power, though with my failing memory, it may even be a touch hotter than the Miracle Man. There's not much between those two anyway. When you play it you are instantly aware that it is a Metal pickup and it sounds far more saturated than the Holydiver and Nailbomb. I'm not at all convinced I'd describe it as having 'surgically tight bass' but it is extremely articulate and I have no doubt it would handle lower tunings easily, though I only play in Standard and Eb. So far, so good. If you like the description on the website, you're probably not going to be disappointed.
The Miracle Man is clearly a Metal pickup and I doubt that comes as a surprise to any of you. The cleans are OK but they are a bit sterile, though in fairness, if you play a lot of cleans, I'd be surprised if you'd be looking at a pickup like the Miracle Man anyway. The cleans on the A-Bomb are certainly better and the cleans on the Holydiver are vastly superior. I think the best thing I can say about the Miracle Man cleans is that they are very usable and certainly a lot better than you might imagine from a pickup like this. Put it this way; if every other guitar you had at a gig broke and you needed to play some cleans, the Miracle Man won't let you down and nobody will think you sound terrible but realistically, you should have a second guitar for really good cleans. That may sound a bit like I'm having a go at the Miracle Man and I'm not because in the context of a pickup like this, 'usable' cleans are actually pretty impressive.
Distortion is where this pickup is at home and it is a home where it really excels. It is tight without being sterile like I find an EMG and it is aggressive without being at the stage where it's raping your sister so in that respect I'd say it strikes a really good balance. The distortion you get is smooth and warm despite the tightness and aggression so I'd say it's home is very much 80's Metal but be assured, that is just the starting point. The Miracle Man will go a LOT further than that and will cover modern styles with ease. Like the Holydiver, the Miracle Man nails 80's Metal songs, albeit with a bit more power and aggression but while the Holydiver will happily fall back into Hard Rock territory, the Miracle Man looks less at home there. It can do it quite well but the Holydiver does it better. What the Miracle Man does do well is push on past the 80's and into more modern Metal tones. In a bit of a mirror image, although the Holydiver can go into more modern Metal tones, the Miracle Man is far more convincing here.
You'd never guess it to look at the EQ data on the website but the Holydiver and Miracle Man sound far more alike than you'd think. This is obviously partly due to their smooth delivery but it's also because the EQ figures for the Miracle Man hide the fact that it has a lot of lower mids. This makes the pickup sound really thick like the Holydiver when you're playing rhythms and heavy riffs and with the added aggression and tightness it's great for chugging. As you move into a higher register you leave those lower mids behind so notes become more precise and you notice the tightness a lot more. In many ways it's the best of both worlds as it's fantastic for thick heavy riffs while also being a shredder's dream for solos. I'm no shredder and I love the fluidity you get on single notes with the Holydiver but even I can appreciate that the Miracle Man is a great lead pickup as well as a great rhythm pickup. There really are some fantastic sounds in there.
In many ways I'd say the Miracle Man occupies the middle ground between the Holydiver and the A-Bomb and I know that sounds crazy because they're both alnico and this is ceramic but on this guitar at least, I swear it's true. The Miracle Man has the aggression and tightness I associate with the A-Bomb (though not as extreme) but it also has the smoothness and warmth I associate with the Holydiver. Although it lies between these two, in reality, it's a lot closer to the Holydiver than it is to the A-Bomb, as you might have already guessed as I've already mentioned the Holydiver quite a lot and described it in relation to 80's Metal. In comparison the A-Bomb has a very 90's Metal feel to it in that it's very aggressive, tight and edgy, while the Holydiver and Miracle Man are beautifully smooth in their delivery. Both the A-Bomb and Miracle Man are aggressive pickups, both are tight and both are aimed at Metal players but similarities after that are more limited. As you might expect with an alnico magnet instead of ceramic, the A-Bomb has much better cleans than the Miracle Man, even if they're not in the same league as the Holydiver but what is more surprising is that I found the A-Bomb to be far more aggressive than the Miracle Man and somewhat tighter too, which I wouldn't have expected from an alnico pickup at all.
As for the Cold Sweat, that's very different. Again, there's an 80's Metal feel to it but the Cold Sweat is much brighter. It's tight like the Miracle Man but the lack of lows and lower mids mean it's nothing like as thick sounding. If you have an H-H guitar the Cold Sweat neck would be great with a Miracle Man in the bridge and if it's H-S-S like my Jackson, the Trilogy Suites are really nice.
In the past I've always shied away from getting a Miracle Man because I assumed it would be too aggressive and too tight for me but it's not. I asked for a pickup that is smooth, thick and warm like the Holydiver but with a bit more tightness and aggression in the low end (without going as far as the A-Bomb) and more screaming highs. That is EXACTLY what I got in the Miracle Man. If your starting point is 80's Metal and you want to push on from there into more modern tones, the Miracle Man is a great choice. Thick, warm and smooth with aggression and articulation - what could be better?
With the Holydiver I found that the Bare Knuckle description didn't do it enough justice as although it does all the things they claim, it's actually far more versatile than you'd think. In comparison, the A-Bomb is claimed to be extremely versatile yet I didn't find it so. Horses for courses I guess but the description of the Miracle Man is spot on. It is hotter than the Holydiver but not by a huge amount and I'd say the A-Bomb sat between the two in terms of power, though with my failing memory, it may even be a touch hotter than the Miracle Man. There's not much between those two anyway. When you play it you are instantly aware that it is a Metal pickup and it sounds far more saturated than the Holydiver and Nailbomb. I'm not at all convinced I'd describe it as having 'surgically tight bass' but it is extremely articulate and I have no doubt it would handle lower tunings easily, though I only play in Standard and Eb. So far, so good. If you like the description on the website, you're probably not going to be disappointed.
The Miracle Man is clearly a Metal pickup and I doubt that comes as a surprise to any of you. The cleans are OK but they are a bit sterile, though in fairness, if you play a lot of cleans, I'd be surprised if you'd be looking at a pickup like the Miracle Man anyway. The cleans on the A-Bomb are certainly better and the cleans on the Holydiver are vastly superior. I think the best thing I can say about the Miracle Man cleans is that they are very usable and certainly a lot better than you might imagine from a pickup like this. Put it this way; if every other guitar you had at a gig broke and you needed to play some cleans, the Miracle Man won't let you down and nobody will think you sound terrible but realistically, you should have a second guitar for really good cleans. That may sound a bit like I'm having a go at the Miracle Man and I'm not because in the context of a pickup like this, 'usable' cleans are actually pretty impressive.
Distortion is where this pickup is at home and it is a home where it really excels. It is tight without being sterile like I find an EMG and it is aggressive without being at the stage where it's raping your sister so in that respect I'd say it strikes a really good balance. The distortion you get is smooth and warm despite the tightness and aggression so I'd say it's home is very much 80's Metal but be assured, that is just the starting point. The Miracle Man will go a LOT further than that and will cover modern styles with ease. Like the Holydiver, the Miracle Man nails 80's Metal songs, albeit with a bit more power and aggression but while the Holydiver will happily fall back into Hard Rock territory, the Miracle Man looks less at home there. It can do it quite well but the Holydiver does it better. What the Miracle Man does do well is push on past the 80's and into more modern Metal tones. In a bit of a mirror image, although the Holydiver can go into more modern Metal tones, the Miracle Man is far more convincing here.
You'd never guess it to look at the EQ data on the website but the Holydiver and Miracle Man sound far more alike than you'd think. This is obviously partly due to their smooth delivery but it's also because the EQ figures for the Miracle Man hide the fact that it has a lot of lower mids. This makes the pickup sound really thick like the Holydiver when you're playing rhythms and heavy riffs and with the added aggression and tightness it's great for chugging. As you move into a higher register you leave those lower mids behind so notes become more precise and you notice the tightness a lot more. In many ways it's the best of both worlds as it's fantastic for thick heavy riffs while also being a shredder's dream for solos. I'm no shredder and I love the fluidity you get on single notes with the Holydiver but even I can appreciate that the Miracle Man is a great lead pickup as well as a great rhythm pickup. There really are some fantastic sounds in there.
In many ways I'd say the Miracle Man occupies the middle ground between the Holydiver and the A-Bomb and I know that sounds crazy because they're both alnico and this is ceramic but on this guitar at least, I swear it's true. The Miracle Man has the aggression and tightness I associate with the A-Bomb (though not as extreme) but it also has the smoothness and warmth I associate with the Holydiver. Although it lies between these two, in reality, it's a lot closer to the Holydiver than it is to the A-Bomb, as you might have already guessed as I've already mentioned the Holydiver quite a lot and described it in relation to 80's Metal. In comparison the A-Bomb has a very 90's Metal feel to it in that it's very aggressive, tight and edgy, while the Holydiver and Miracle Man are beautifully smooth in their delivery. Both the A-Bomb and Miracle Man are aggressive pickups, both are tight and both are aimed at Metal players but similarities after that are more limited. As you might expect with an alnico magnet instead of ceramic, the A-Bomb has much better cleans than the Miracle Man, even if they're not in the same league as the Holydiver but what is more surprising is that I found the A-Bomb to be far more aggressive than the Miracle Man and somewhat tighter too, which I wouldn't have expected from an alnico pickup at all.
As for the Cold Sweat, that's very different. Again, there's an 80's Metal feel to it but the Cold Sweat is much brighter. It's tight like the Miracle Man but the lack of lows and lower mids mean it's nothing like as thick sounding. If you have an H-H guitar the Cold Sweat neck would be great with a Miracle Man in the bridge and if it's H-S-S like my Jackson, the Trilogy Suites are really nice.
In the past I've always shied away from getting a Miracle Man because I assumed it would be too aggressive and too tight for me but it's not. I asked for a pickup that is smooth, thick and warm like the Holydiver but with a bit more tightness and aggression in the low end (without going as far as the A-Bomb) and more screaming highs. That is EXACTLY what I got in the Miracle Man. If your starting point is 80's Metal and you want to push on from there into more modern tones, the Miracle Man is a great choice. Thick, warm and smooth with aggression and articulation - what could be better?