DOING THE MATHS
When we started working on this issue’s theme of progressive gear design it so happened that Tim Mills, founder of Bare Knuckle Pickups, released one of the most interesting humbuckers we’ve seen in a while. Designed as the signature pickup set of renowned producer and guitarist Adam ‘Nolly’ Getgood, both the concept and execution of the resulting Polymath humbucker set goes deeper than is first apparent.
Ordinarily, Tim likes to listen to what an artist wants and then lets them pick their favourite of several prototypes in a blind listening session, conducted face to face. But thanks to lockdown, the Polymath set couldn’t be done that way. Instead, Tim relied on his experience and Adam ‘Nolly’ Getgood’s exacting feedback via email to get the job done. Trouble was, Adam wanted two things: a humbucker that performed as subtly and dynamically as a good PAF – but also one that could drive high-gain riffage with definition and articulation. It was the tallest of orders, but Tim thinks they “hit a home run” with the Polymath humbucker set, while the story of its creation sheds fascinating
