black dog/vhII 7 string black limba

[johnson]

So after some play with the Blackdog, as with most bareknuckles you have to dial in and pick in much more detail to get the full effect of the pickup, right?There is no mercy. The lower output makes you try harder but when you get those tones it's just like the clip on the BKP website. The growl under the mute is present when you dig in. Leads sing in the higher register.

i have a 1meg pot and the bridge pickup is a little closer to the bridge so this creates a very bright attack, especially for a 7 string:

Black limba body / headstock veneer
Oregon Myrtle top
East Indian rosewood neck and fretboard with Purple Heart laminates
Blackdog bridge
VhII neck
Jescar Stainless steel frets 57710
Series/split (north coil on both)/ parallel
On/on/on mini switch per pickup
Hipshot bridge and
Hipshot grip lock tuners
Graphtech nut
Dual action truss rod with carbon fiber reinforcements.

Amp: Blackstar ht 40 with a g12-35xc 90th anniversary / 2x12 extension cab - 18 ply birch with a g12-35xc & v30

Gold Lion Kt-77 power tubes and Sovtek 12ax7lps preamp tubes, monster cables (if that matters lol )

For a 7 string this thing has plenty of bite and attack but not harsh. The sub frequencies do not struggle to surface with tight solid response especially to  palm mutes. The mids are balanced not over powering the mix of treble and bass, just standing its ground and bites back when you manipulate your picking. very touch responsiveness and as expressive as a piano key, that's one great thing about lower  output, you can hear everything and it makes it effortless once you warm up.

The VhII is a hell of a neck pickup for any style such as straty stuff to single note phrases all the way to shreds, split and parallel are very prominent in their own ways. the north coil select is very saturated and with the black dog in parallel, they are an amazing match, very chimy but the bass presence is full. shreds in series on the vhII are rich and separated very well with the pick attack right where you could want it with out trying to hard.

The Black dog is a tricky pup. i thought i didn't like it at first because you have to be very particular to get specific sounds and tones out of it. When your in it and fully warmed up, its so expressive you don't have to dial the gain back just to get the note definition to ring out when doing lightly played parts, just play it like a piano 

[johnson]

i just raised the pickup to the strings and found the sweet spot. no lack of out put what so ever. its so sensitive i feel like if i put anything hotter in it i will loose the responsiveness to the picking. its making me a better player and i dont have to play hard, just articulate and detailed to get it going. it takes me about an hour just to get used to how sensitive this pickup is. the Mids and lows are pronounced and respond best when you just let the pickup go. very satisfied. still a little bright in this guitar though. i can roll off the highs and get a great mix though.

[ericsabbath]

Great Review
Perhaps you should try 500k or 550k to tame the brightness

[johnson]

i just ordered a CTS and a mini ts-9 this should take care of the brightness and boost the output enough to accomplish what i want. i'm in love with the responsiveness, kind of having the tube preamp gain on low when blasted but when you pick hard the beast shows its teeth for sure

i cant stress enough how good these cleans sound. the overdrive really stands out after a clean part which is something i have not been able to accomplish the way i wanted until now. i also scooped the mids to about 9 o'clock (this amp's mid control really does add mids clockwise) it was just too much at my usual setting with a JUGG in a solid Mahogany guitar which is what i was playing before.

Getting used to it. i still want to try different bkps since i don't have much experience except for two bridge models and one neck so the journey continues