Re: Wow . . . Joe Gore makes the "Black Ice" module sound pretty good!
Re: output and DCR, of course you're right that we should try not to call the DCR number "output" because it's not a measure of output. But for the sake of a passive distortion circuit I've always wondered if the DCR DOES correlate to the amount of distortion, and perhaps to as great a degree as the actual volume of the pickup. In other words, since the pickup's resistance is now directly linked to the clipping circuit, is it possible that the actual millivolt output is only partially responsible for the amount of distortion you hear, and the pickup's inherent resistance is responsible for the rest? (kind of like a bias?) I suppose the resistance drop associated with two pickups on in parallel would answer that...
In any case, Joe is amazing and beyond comparison.
