Bare Knuckle Brute Force Neck Review – High Output Clarity for Modern & ’80s Metal

Bare Knuckle Brute Force Neck Review

Bare Knuckle Pickups has always had a clear reputation: no shortcuts, no compromises, and a very deliberate approach to voicing. With the Boot Camp series, the brand aimed to make its hand-wound pickups more accessible—without diluting the core philosophy that made Bare Knuckle a reference point in the first place. Among this lineup, Brute Force stands out as the most aggressive offering, unapologetically voiced for modern high-gain applications.

While the bridge model naturally gets most of the attention, the Brute Force Neck deserves a closer look. High-output neck humbuckers often struggle with clarity, articulation, and low-end control—especially in modern metal contexts. This review focuses on whether the Brute Force Neck can avoid those common pitfalls and deliver a tight, expressive, and usable neck tone without sacrificing the aggression implied by its name.

The Test Guitar

‘Brute Force Neck’ (BFN shortly) still standing on my “Pink Tiger” for a while. That pink tiger is a superstrat has a Jackson Dinky body made of alder, one piece maple neck in modern C profile, German made Jackson Floyd Rose tremolo with Japanese stainless steel saddles, 25,5” scale, stainless steel frets, Alpha 500K pots and elixir strings in E-std tuning. Guitar has Seymour Duncan Custom in the bridge and No-name blade style middle pickup (~9K thou). Its primary (unplugged) tone is neutral to fairly bright.   

Evaluation

Let’s read the desciption first, as always;

“Boot Camp

High output, ceramic and Alnico-V HUMBUCKERS, STRATS, TELES & P90s for searing driven tones. Handwound in the UK…

Brute Force pickups are handwound, feature ceramic magnets (Strats and Teles are Alnico V). Suitable for progressive metal, thrash, hardcore and extreme metal styles. Brute Force pickups are in the high output range and produce a deep, saturated tone.

Applications

High gain rock, progressive metal, thrash, hardcore and extreme metal styles.

Suitability

All solid-body guitars, semi-acoustic and hollow-body guitars or any guitar that would benefit from high output humbuckers with deep saturated driven tones and fatter, controlled highs.”

…And, my measuremens are here;

Bare Knuckle Brute Force Neck w/Chrome cover

Magnet – Ceramic

Advertised DCR: 13.40 K Ohm (Series)

Measured DCR: 13.780 K Ohm (Series)

Measured DCR: 6.84 K Ohm (Screw Coil)

Measured DCR: 6.80 K Ohm (Slug Coil)

Inductance @100Hz: 5.7980 H (Series), Q: 0.2642

Inductance @100Hz: 2.57 H (Screw Coil)

Inductance @100Hz: 2.58 H (Slug Coil)

Measured C: 149.7 pF (Series)

Calculated Self Resonance Peak: 5.4021 KHz

Output: High

EQ (B/M/T) – 5/6/5 (i have derived it from official website)

Gauss: 350G screw (measured at top center of D&G pole pieces)

Ambient Measurement Temperature: 19^oC

Bare Knuckle Brute Force Neck - the bottom

When a pickup arrives for review, the first thing I do is a visual inspection. I look at screw length and dimensions, anything out of the ordinary, possible material choices, and—when there’s no cover—details that might hint at the winding itself: coil shape, fill level, and wire insulation type. Once that’s done, I move on to electrical measurements.

With the Bare Knuckle Brute Force Neck, the chrome cover naturally hides most of these details, so there isn’t much to report visually. The screws are shorter than those typically found on PAF-style clones, but beyond that, nothing particularly distinctive stands out. Visually, it’s a straightforward modern humbucker with a chrome cover.

Things get more interesting once the measurements are taken. At that point, the Brute Force Neck starts to look electrically very close to a classic, best-selling pickup—one that doesn’t officially exist in a neck version, but if it did, this could easily be it.

Here are a few clues:

• Approximately 13.5kΩ DC resistance

• Ceramic magnet

• Symmetrically wound coils

• Brand: DiMarzio

The answer is the DiMarzio Super Distortion.

The Super Distortion’s technical measurements are available on the Tone Journey review page, and its coil DCR values are notably close to each other—just like those of the Brute Force Neck. Because the chrome cover prevents visual access, I can’t comment on coil fill or geometry. That said, unless there’s an unusually underfilled coil structure hiding underneath (which seems unlikely), the comparison holds up well.

Based on the available data, the most significant differences appear in inductance and gauss strength. The gauss readings are very close to those of the Seymour Duncan Custom, which strongly suggests a ceramic bar magnet of standard humbucker dimensions.

What stands out is that, despite having very similar DCR values to both the Duncan Custom and the Super Distortion, the Brute Force Neck shows the lowest inductance of the three. This could be due to several factors: different wire gauge, lower iron content in the metal components, or variations in slug and screw dimensions. At this stage, the exact cause isn’t clear—but the difference is measurable and consistent.

Is this a drawback? Not at all. Lower inductance generally translates to better clarity and lower output, and considering that this is a neck humbucker, it’s actually a desirable trait. For players pairing it with a powerful bridge pickup, the Brute Force Neck promises a well-balanced and controlled neck position.

Next thing i would like to remind you is to share this bit of information, because there still seems to be a bit of confusion around it. The Boot Camp series is, in the company's own words, a smart move aimed at "making Bare Knuckle quality more accessible." By offering fewer options (such as fewer choices for covers, winding wires, bobbin colors, etc.) across three tonal categories — vintage, moderate, and high-gain — the idea is to meet core tonal needs at more competitive prices. The "Brute Force" series corresponds to the high output category within these three groups.

When it comes to the tonal response of the Brute Force, I can say that the frequency graph published on the official website is quite accurate. The low end is relatively strong and very tight, the midrange is clearly present, and the upper mids extend into sharper, more assertive highs.

At this point, there’s another pickup the Brute Force Neck strongly brings to mind—one I intentionally saved for this stage, as I try to follow the same evaluation order I use when reviewing a pickup. That comparison is the Seymour Duncan Black Winter Neck. Its measurements are also close to those of the Brute Force Neck, with the most noticeable difference being gauss strength. As a result, many of the characteristics associated with lower magnetic pull are present here as well.

Tonally, the two pickups sit in a similar space. The Black Winter Neck is more powerful and more aggressive, with a sharper overall edge, while the Brute Force Neck feels more controlled, more balanced, and noticeably less sharp. And no—“round” wouldn’t be the right word here, as the Brute Force Neck is not a round-sounding pickup by any means.

In terms of clarity, I can say the Brute Force Neck is quite articulate “for a high output neck humbucker”. No, i’m not compairing it with ’59 or Air Classic. My test guitar tends to be on the brighter side, and in that sense, the Air Norton had performed really well in the neck position. The Jazz and its variants, on the other hand, come across as a bit too bright for my taste in this guitar. the Brute Force Neck is also somewhat affected by this. Normally, I prefer slightly warmer neck pickups in my Pink Tiger. That said, I can honestly say I really enjoyed the BFN in the Pink Tiger. It’s very clear, punchy, mid-oriented but not excessively bright or boomy, either. It has enough meat in the neck for shred. It’s articulate and dynamic relatively as well. It’s also not a too compressed pickup, which makes it responsive to volume knob manipulations near the amp’s breakup point. Playing at those nuanced levels feels really satisfying.

However, I think the BFN pairs really well with hi-output bridge humbuckers. I have little doubt that it would pair extremely well with many of DiMarzio’s high-output humbuckers. As mentioned earlier, the Super Distortion, Steve Morse Model, Super 3, Tone Zone, Crunch Lab, D-Sonic, and Fusion Edge are the first that come to mind. From Seymour Duncan’s lineup, the Distortion, Invader, and Black Winter also stand out as very natural matches. Cleans? Pretty nice and sweet. I am the right expert to say solid words about it but i could achieved typical sweet clean tones…

So, what styles of music is the Brute Force Neck best suited for? While using it, the first thing that came to mind was just how well it fits ’80s-oriented tones. Think of a high-gain Marshall stack sound—plug a Super Strat equipped with a Brute Force Neck straight into that kind of amp, and you’d be very close to a classic mid-’80s / early-’90s Whitesnake neck tone: powerful, clear, and focused.

Hard rock and heavy metal are very much within this pickup’s comfort zone, and even heavier metal styles feel right at home here. Strong output combined with good clarity is really what defines the Brute Force Neck’s core character, and that combination makes it particularly effective for lead work in these genres.

Conclusion

The Bare Knuckle Brute Force Neck proves to be a well-judged and purposeful high-output neck humbucker. While its name and specifications suggest sheer aggression, in practice it delivers a more controlled, articulate, and balanced response than expected. Thanks to its relatively lower inductance and moderate magnetic pull, it avoids the muddiness and excessive compression often associated with powerful neck pickups.

Tonally, it sits close to familiar ceramic references like the Super Distortion and Seymour Duncan Black Winter Neck, yet distinguishes itself with a tighter low end and a less abrasive overall edge. It’s not a vintage or round-sounding pickup by any means, but it offers clarity, punch, and enough dynamic response to remain expressive—especially when paired with a strong bridge humbucker. Perhaps most importantly, the Brute Force Neck proves to be an excellent partner for high-output bridge pickups, maintaining clarity and definition without feeling underpowered or disconnected.

From classic ’80s hard rock lead tones to heavier modern styles, the Brute Force Neck is not a compromise pickup—it’s a deliberate design. For players looking for a modern, high-output neck humbucker that remains articulate, responsive, and balanced alongside a powerful bridge pickup, it makes a very strong case for itself.

Pros

• Excellent clarity for a high-output neck humbucker

• Tight, controlled low end with well-defined mids

• Lower inductance improves articulation and note separation

• Pairs exceptionally well with high-output bridge pickups

• Dynamic and responsive to volume knob adjustments

• Capable of both modern metal and classic ’80s hard rock lead tones

Cons

• Not suitable for vintage or PAF-style neck tones

• Can feel slightly bright in already bright guitars

• Players seeking a warm, round neck sound may find it too focused

• Chrome cover. I don’t like them but if you do, no problem at all.

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