Hey Vic,
I've just got back from holiday here, and I've not seen you about before, so welcome to the forum.
Much of what you say I agree with completely, thanks for the comments. Just a couple of points you've skimmed over. Firstly, the scale length undoubtedly has an impact on output level (and probably on perceived 'distortion', although I say probably, as this part of the statement is just conjecture). I agree that slamming the front end of the amp harder is often (almost always?) a great way of tightening up the sound of a tube amp; indeed, I'll be doing this with my Black Dog-loaded 26.5-28" multiscale baritone with 14-70 strings in A-E-A-D-F#-B tuning, as and when the Bloody Murder I ordered last May arrives.
However, you've basically got a bit carried away in your post, and essentially accused both WezV and me of not knowing what we're talking about. While I can't and won't speak for Wez, he's a lot more experienced than me with this sort of thing. Given that I do, contrary to your absolute statement, know from first-hand experience what I'm talking about from my own experimentation, a reasonable extrapolation puts the luthier of my most recent guitar in an equal or greater position of authority to provide his advice than me, too.
For my part, I'll admit that I could have phrased 'muddier and less defined bass' in perhaps more flattering terms, especially in view of the fact that none of the BKPs I know of (either first-hand or second-hand from my time on these forums/other BKP user friends) are in any really tangible way muddy or poorly defined. The way I put it could be misconstrued as absolute (at a stretch), but that was not my intention, and indeed I don't believe in absolutes at all when it comes to guitar tone.
My reasoning for suggesting lower output pickups is that the option to boost with a pedal in front of the amp leaves more dynamic range available for cleans by cutting the boost and cutting back on the volume. It's still very easy to achieve the desired slamming of the front end of the amp, even with lower output pickups, especially if you have a long scale length coupled with reasonably large strings. This isn't me as a person on a forum getting caught up in absolutes, this is me as a person with said setup saying what works well for me, and advising that this works in my case. Sure, your mileage may vary - of course it can and will from guitar to guitar, from player to player and so on!
The vast majority of your post was accurate, helpful and friendly. Perhaps if you respectfully disagreed rather than launching a (albeit muted) personal attack, your posts might not be quite so abrasive...
Roo
Hey Roo,
My long post was not meant to be anything personal and I'm sorry if you or anyone interpreted it that way. I'm glad you understand the majority of where I was coming from however. I just had observed over the months the same (in my view) short-sighted posts regarding 7-strings and baritones and it got on my nerves since I knew better. I wasn't singling anyone out, I was just trying to say that the idea that you can't get clear, tight, musical response out of the low B (or A) with the high output BKPs is not true. It varies amp to amp, style to style, cabinet to cabinet, etc.
I know as well as any that low output pickups can yield great results w/ low tunings, as someone who has been tuning down to B (or lower) for 10 years I've experienced that first hand. However, I've also been through a wide array of amps, and with some the low B is enhanced with high output pickups while low-outputters can be detrimental in fact (too dry, peaky for the heavy stuff).
Again, my only point was, let's settle down with the absolutes. Every time someone asks a question about 7-string or baritone, instead of just cutting and paste Tim's stock recommendation, let's keep our minds open. All my guitars have Bare Knuckles, 6 7 and 8-strings, most of them have the high-output BKPs in them and sound amazing. This is because Tim's designs are so perfect that you can get the aggression and saturation while still having the dynamics, definition and organicness of a mid-gain pickup. And also because my VHT rig is voiced well for it. Certainly someone else's rig may respond to low/mid-output pickups instead, thats the point though, it all depends.
PS: Yes I don't post here much but I lurk often. I get 2207207429724 BKP questions/advice solicitations/order inquiries a day on other forums as it is, but I've been meaning to post here more too :)
