Do Bardens Dull the Wound Strings?

I'm thinking of ordering a set of Bardens with some Christmas funds, but want to hear more clean clips of them first, and find out more.

One of my favorite things about the tele is the way the low/wound strings ring and twang. I know that Bardens are bright, but some here have said that they dull the wound strings in a way that even bright humbuckers can do. Every Danny Gatton clip I hear confirms this. His low strings always made more of a bright thud sound than a long, ringing twangy sound.

Is this accurate at all? It seems crazy to ask so many random questions, but not as crazy as paying $300 for pickups without knowing all you can.

Barden pickups in my guitars are bright and hi-fi on all strings. The bottom three strings can twang like crazy if you want them to.

Someone posted this the other day, but I'll post it here again. This is the best Barden-Tele demo video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGpr-Zy_wRs

And the first time I saw Bill Kirchen do this was a video last year, where he's got a backing band.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77Rl1zNIpzg

It's getting a bit funny that people keep posting these 2 years old live videos instead of playing something on their own barden equipped guitars.

I always thought the same thing 'bout DG's bottom strings- dead.
I noticed it esp in his two Hotlicks inst. videos

It's getting a bit funny that people keep posting these 2 years old live videos instead of playing something on their own barden equipped guitars.

If I could play that good, I'd post myself on youtube. But I think Bill's work does a good job of showing just how twangy the Bardens can be, which was a question the original poster had.

If I could play that good, I'd post myself on youtube. But I think Bill's work does a good job of showing just how twangy the Bardens can be, which was a question the original poster had.

I understand that, but for a demo, I wouldn't expect you or anyone to play good at all. Certainly not at the levels of Bill Kirchen or the likes. And honestly, for a demo I prefer people record their stuff on something a bit better than youtube anyway. What I mean is, just mic your amp and play some chords and single note lines, then create a plain old sound file and upload it on a free site like http://box.net for example.

I always thought the same thing 'bout DG's bottom strings- dead.
I noticed it esp in his two Hotlicks inst. videos

Danny liked the low strings to be dead. He even had a special sauce of beer & cigarette ash that he would apply to deaden new bass strings.

My Barden's have just as much bass response as treble.....full frequency. I sure don't get the folks who think they are ice picky. Maybe I just got a good set, or have the right guitar for them. I love mine.

My Barden's have just as much bass response as treble.....full frequency. I sure don't get the folks who think they are ice picky. Maybe I just got a good set, or have the right guitar for them. I love mine.

I agree with you completely. Bardens sound the complete opposite of dead, on all strings and all frets.

they are very bright on wound strings in most cases. The usual factors apply (your guitar, bridge, pickup height, age of strings, and what kind of strings you use (nickel, nickel plated steel, steel). I use DR pure nickel and back when Bardens were all I used, I had to have a tone network made for me to cut some of the high end sparkle because I wanted to hear more of the note focus on most songs - I think you'll be ok. Just don't expect perfect single coil sound with no noise. They have their own thing. I am a fan in Kinman for alnico sounds without the hum.

Danny Gatton was probably playing on DEAD strings! Have you seen the way he used to murder a set of strings? If you want the Gatton sound and more, without spending all the money for the Barden pickups, try this! Here's the 'winning recipe' I accidentally came up with.

I modded my Tele with the GFS 7K Lil' Puncher @ the neck & the Razor 7K Blade Pickup @ the bridge. From there, I added the 4-way switch, 250K pots, a 120pF cap across the in & out lugs of the volume pot and a Vitamin Q oil/paper tone cap. The bridge is a Gotoh 6-saddle (heavier than the stock Fender ones) on an ash body & solid maple neck. This guitar has more guts and sustain than any other Tele I have ever played. It still sounds like a tele but the 4th position in the switch puts the 2 pickups in series, giving it a very convincing 'classic humbucker' sound, without using the 'G' word! If you want one of the most useable telecasters, try this recipe; it's a show-stopper and a Twin-popper! Howie

Nosiree! And you can vary response to your taste with subtle height adjustments. When you find your sweet spot, how sweet it is!