Youtube Demo Artist Spotlight: Connor Kaminski
3rd March 2026
Celebrating Our Demo Artists
Here at Bare Knuckle we are immensely proud of our Youtube channel, and the demo artists we are lucky enough to work with. A Youtube channel, for a company that specialises in tone, is a priceless asset. Not only can players visit it to check out the sounds and tones we produce, it can be used as a tool for learning, a resource for inspiration and a way to form a community of like-minded players.
Over the next couple of weeks we will be shining a spotlight on this fantastic resource, and the demo artists who make our Youtube the most amazing tool for guitar players worldwide.
Spotlight on: Connor Kaminski
Today we are talking to Connor Kaminski, and getting to know him a little better. Check out his demo of our PolyPaf humbuckers below.
Connor is a guitarist and composer from the UK, growing up in the North West, not far from Preston.
On his early years and inspiration, Connor says: "From a very young age, I’ve always been drawn towards ‘guitar’ centred music. I think it was a mixture of my Dad’s music taste (U2, The Verve, Red Hot Chilli Peppers etc) and video game music. Even as a kid, you could sit me in a room with a bunch of music genres to choose from, and I would always pick 'rock' or 'guitar' stuff! I think it just sounded cool to me, and I think my dad was always saying 'guitarists are cool you know', (probably because he wanted to be one!). Back To The Future was one of my favourite movies, and my favourite scene is when Marty plays Johnny B. Goode."
So how did you get to work with us here at Bare Knuckle?
"I’ve always known about Bare Knuckle and the amazing quality of the pickups just from watching really old Misha [Mansoor, BKP signature artist] videos about the Juggernauts, and loads of others too. I actually got introduced officially around October 2021, and funnily enough, it was more of an unconventional intro as it was actually Nolly [Adam "Nolly" Getgood, BKP signature artist] who messaged me out of the blue. I don’t believe we’d ever spoken before and he asked me to put together a demo song showing off the brand new (at the time) Polymath pickups. He wanted to show off their versatility. I believe it was after that video that I began speaking to Tim [Mills] about being an artist! I began making a few other demo tracks for other Bare Knuckle pickup models quite quickly in parallel with new music that I was writing as a solo artist."
Which guitar are you favouring at the moment?
"My favourite guitar right now has got to my signature guitar from .strandberg*. The one I have is the pre-production model, and it honestly is such a unicorn guitar, with a crazy figured roasted birdseye maple board. Of course, I have fitted out with Bare Knuckle Juggernauts. We were actually able to offer the final guitars with Juggernauts, which was a dream come true of mine, and offering a production guitar fitted with Bare Knuckle Pickups was a first for .strandberg*!"
Watch Connor's first demo video for the Polymath below.
Tell us about your first guitar.
"It was my parents that pushed me in the right direction when they bought me a starter Squier for Christmas in 2006. Around that time, I was also introduced to a program called Super Duper Music Looper in Year 5 at my primary school! Our teachers wanted to show us how to make basic music using the new school laptops (fancy). I just remember loving it so much that I actually asked my teacher if I could take a disc of the program home for the summer, to which she said yes!
From there, I think I’ve slowly delved down the 'guitar' iceberg and fostered my innate love for weird and wonderful music. I was drawn to Muse first, then Metallica, then Dream Theater at the age of 12. When I went to college, I learned how to use a DAW properly, and I was obsessed with compression, EQ, the whole mixing thing really. My entire life, I’ve always been interested not only in guitar, but in making music."
Do you have a favourite from the Bare Knuckle range?
"Now this one is hard! The Juggernauts have long been my favourites for their versatility, and being able to achieve that 'djenty', 'genky' sort of tone when pushed through a 5150 style amp. But I must admit, I absolutely love the Nomads for a tele set, and the Triptychs are up there too! I think honestly, it just goes to show how many amazing models BKP offers."
What is your current rig looking like?
"I like to keep things as simple as possible, so in the studio I really stick to either Quad Cortex, or the Neural plugins, or oftentimes a combo of both. I love using the GGD Cali Oversized cabs too! For live, I’ll be using the Quad Cortex mini, which I’ll link up to my laptop and run MIDI switching with my backing tracks for clinics later this year."
How do you approach producing a play-through demo?
"Now that’s a tough question! Most of the time I’ll ask Tim [Mills] for a small prompt to get me going in the right direction. Generally I just need one sentence to get on with things. An example is something like, “We need some really heavy riffs for the Polypaf set, let’s roll with a song around that.” I like to give the pickups and genres that might need a bit more of a spotlight the focus, and I’m always open to any genre that might push me out of my comfort zone!"
What would you say to aspiring demo artists?
"I’d say, if you find yourself writing a 'demo' track, don’t overdo it with the mix, the arrangement, or the focus. The whole point of these songs is to provide musical context to the pickups, and the focus should be on how the guitar sounds in a mix. I’ve added orchestra and synths to demo tracks before, which satisfies the composer/producer in me, but it often takes away from how amazing the guitars sound. Most of the time these days, I like to roll with a really simple mix: drums, guitars, bass instrumentation. I like to keep it to the bare bones of the track, but what is there sounds amazing. I feel that is the key to getting these demo tracks feeling right."
How do you approach creating your own tone and individual sound?
"I would advise refraining from plugin buying sprees, or having thirty different amps on the Quad Cortex (or Axe FX, or Mixwave, or anything). I think I’ve begun to find the magic in really getting to know an amp or two at most. That’s why I nearly always reach for Neural’s Archetype: Nolly X, because I’ve used all four amps for hours and hours, and I’m still finding new ways to get new tones out of them. For example, pushing the Master on the 2nd amp all the way up with the Bright switch on just does something so good to the guitar tone. But it takes time to experiment and get the amp in the right spot for that kind of thing to happen.
I’d also say, sticking to the same cab/IR is going to help you massively, as it’ll keep different amps/pedals in the same sonic realm as any previous combos you might have. You’ll actually find that a 5150, Granophyre, and the Nameless, all sound somewhat similar when they go through the same cab. So I’d find a cab you love and stick with that before changing amps too much."
"Never forget why you picked up the guitar in the first place."
Do you have any final words of wisdom to impart?
"Be open to new ideas, and keep pushing yourself. There’s a saying in general fitness/health: 'When you rest, you rust', and I think the exact same thing applies to guitar. If you stay in those comfort zones, (for me, it’s three note-per-string alternate picking and drop D riffs) you find things get stagnant quickly. Even as recently as this week, I have been trying new things with the guitar that I’ve never done before, and it feels scary because you’re so much worse at those certain techniques. It can be disheartening, but I’d implore you to stick at it!
Never forget why you picked up the guitar in the first place. For me, making music brings me joy, and sometimes even makes me cry. Don’t lose sight of that magic because you are chasing views, spotify numbers, or likes. It just isn’t worth it. Play music for the sake of music. Share what you create, and the people will follow if it resonates with them. And put that level of energy into everything you touch, including when you do demo songs."
