Hi, so I just got the 7-string multiscale kit, I test fitted everything and the neck pickup doesn't fit. I didn't care too much about that because I was planning on replacing them anyways. The real problem was the bridge pickup cavity is way too far away from the bridge itself and I think the neck cavity is also too far down. The scale length is fin I'm just worried about the tone because the bridge pickup is so far away. (I compared it to the pictures of the kit on the website). Do I get it replaced or not because I was planning on investing a lot of money into pickups and tone.
The 7-strings multiscales are quite rare on here and I'm not sure if they are still based on the same model that there were similar sounding issues with when Pit Bull first brought out a multiscale guitar. There was talk of the supplier changing. The first picture (overall kit) on the kit page looks to be of the old version with the fretboard extending beyond the nut, but the rest look to be of an updated version.
It's hard to tell about things like pickup fitting and distance from the bridge without photos. The site hosts photos but they'll need to be resized so the maximum length on a side is 1500 pixels. The files also need to be just under 1Mb in size, but that's not normally an issue at that pixel size. Otherwise host elsewhere and link to the pictures.
Getting replacement pickups isn't easy for these kits. The angle of the pickups isn't a common one for replacements and the end mounting tabs are a different shape to most replacement pups. If you don't return the kit because of issues, I'd build it with the kit pickups and then decide if it's worth upgrading. If you were looking at a new bridge, again, the angle needs to be the same, as does the string spacing.
Note that neck tenon doesn't sit against the end of the neck pickup pocket but the end on the neck itself should be mounted so it's flush with the front edge of the neck pickup rout. No CNC machining on these kits, just jigs and routing templates, so the fit and cut in some areas can be a bit suspect.
You can use a sanding wheel attachment on a Dremel to enlarge the pickup cavities slightly if necessary, or maybe file a bit off the edge of a pickup mounting tab to help with the fit.
But if you don't want to do that, then return the kit. They should obviously be correct when sent out. Some people are happy to make the necessary mods as part of the build, others aren't.
So I did some research on pickup placement and overtones and it's not a huge deal more like preference on tone and the bridge pickup would just be a little more bassy than my other guitars. I have measurements now and the distance from where the string would leave the bridge to the start of the pickup for the high e string is a little under 1.5 inches or about 32 mm. My other guitars are a little over or a little under 1 inch so less of a difference than I thought. The low E is about 4 cm or a little over 1.5 inches which is common for multiscale to have different angle pickups from the bridge but overall, it's still farther away. I Emailed Pit Bull about returns or getting a new one but I'm thinking of building it out and seeing if it makes a big difference. For replacing the pickups, I was going to get custom ones from Bareknuckle. They have custom angles for multiscale and the pickups in the kit say 16 degrees. I did see that the mounting tabs were different so I could see if they would do custom ones or if I need to widen the cavities.
I just got one of these myself. My plan for the pickups, I found it to be easier and much cheaper to get some standard ones you like and just take those apart and mount to the baseplate of the kit pickups. I know you said you wanted to invest a lot into this so maybe custom pickups is still the move, but this could also allow you to spend up elsewhere... Here is a video
Edit:
I also test fit it and the pickups were extremely snug and only fit when I snaked the wire through otherwise there was no extra space, as I have noticed with my other kits.
Also, my plan for the bridge is similar to the pickups and to keep the 16 degree baseplate and get new saddles. But that is only if I get picky down the line, I think I am going to go with the stock one as its modeled after the Hipshot one so it should hopefully be pretty solid
Last edited by DrJackalope; 28-11-2022 at 09:25 AM.
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