jb vs. duncan custom sh5

[rgreen11]

I play in a cover band and play EVERY style of music from 70's funk to the Killers. I'm not sure if I sould replace my Gibson Burstbucker with a JB or the SH5 (duncan custom) I have a Les Paul Standand. Can anyone offer their advice

[PFDarkside]

Re: jb vs. duncan custom sh5

I've never played a Burstbucker, but from the description, it should be pretty PAF like, right? Here's the way I compare the JB and Custom: JB = Crunch, and Custom = Chunk. The JB is all about the upper mids, it makes a Marshall sound like the 80's. (Funny, that's what everyone was using in the 80's...) The Custom really reminds my of a huge PAF, nice solid bass, clear highs, kind of thick... It almost defines the late 90's/2000's style rock sound (it can do more, it's like a juiced up PAF, but that's my first impression)

Both are higher output than a vintage styled pickup, so if the Burstbucker is, and you need more power, either one would do. The Custom is one of the favored pickups on this forum, and the JB is SD's best selling pickup of all time.

[Eddie J.]

Re: jb vs. duncan custom sh5

Welcome to the forum.

First thing i noticed with Custom (2 minutes after playing JB) is very full and complex sound when soloing. JB is great too, very penetrating, but Custom sounds richer, it has some texture that i like very much. JB is...well.....flatter? Custom is also much stronger in bottom, not boomy but it can sound a bit agressive and snappy in lows. (which can be a good thing).
Very tight pickup.
Overall, I think Custom is better choice for LP.

Use the search option, you`ll find a lot on this subject.

[nyk03x2]

Re: jb vs. duncan custom sh5

I don't know about Gibsons, but recently I swapped the stock pickups of my Epi LP custom to Jazz/JB and it stays insanely tight. It was tight before with the stock pickups and I was worried about the JB losing tightness, but it's still **** tight

[BRHGM]

Re: jb vs. duncan custom sh5

I like the Custom, but it's very modern sounding. I think the 59 would be more in the ballpark.

[blueman335]

Re: jb vs. duncan custom sh5

If you want a warmer tone that's not bright & harsh, the Custom & JB would be out of the running. IMO I don't think they work well in classic rock, & defintely not in blues or jazz. A much better bridge choice for most kinds of music would a '59b for a vintage sound, or a C5 for a little more muscle.

The JB has a notorious (and often perceived "unpleasant") icepick tone, & the Custom has a ceramic magnet that can be pretty harsh when played relatively clean. Both work well for metal & cutting through massive distortion, which is where most of their popularity comes from. A lot of guys just don't like either of them (at least not with the factory magnets).

[MikeS]

Re: jb vs. duncan custom sh5

I think the Custom and JB might have a little too much muscle for those tones, especially if you're shy with the volume knob. I use a Custom in my LP and it covers all the bases I need it to cover. It reacts quite well to input from the volume controls. I don't play many clean passages on the bridge humbucker, though. Both the Custom and JB can be a bit bright and harsh on the top end when played clean. That said, it's a ton easier to attenuate highs than to add them, so I'd rather have excess top end I can roll off. Trick is to not be afraid of your volume and tone controls... that's what they are there for.

Is there a reason you don't like the Burstbucker? Is there something the tone is missing? Perhaps then we could better direct you to a possible replacement pickup. Welcome aboard.

[disturb]

Re: jb vs. duncan custom sh5

I prefer the JB. It's the only high output pickup I've played that actually has an open sound to it. It's pretty clear. I don't like the Custom. It sounds a little grainy, and has way to much bottom end. Can get muddy/thumpy very easily. I couldn't get the boom out of it. And I really don't like the sound of ceramic magnets.

[Spark]

Re: jb vs. duncan custom sh5

Dude, I was totally where you are at right now. Cover band doing Rufus Tell Me Something Good thru Franz Ferdinand Take Me Out. My main guitar is a LP Classic, and the 1st pickup to replace the 500T was a JB. I dug it for a long time, and it still has my favorite lead tone of any SD humbuckers I have tried. But eventually the relative loosenes of the low end had me looking for something else.

The Custom gives nice tight power on low string riffage, and killer crunch on chords. But I found the lead tone a little stiff, and the tone could get a little brittle on higher notes (like the part before the verses on Take Me Out
|------------------------------|---------------------------------||
|--8---------------------------|--7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-----------o||
|------9---9p7-----7---9------|----------------------7-7-7-7----||
|--------------9---------------|---------------------------------||
|------------------------------|--------------------------------o||
|------------------------------|---------------------------------||)

I swapped the creamic mag in the Custom for an a5 to make it a Custom5 (SH-14). While it doesn't have the same juicy lead tone as the JB (and I am the lead player in my band), or the killer chord crunch of the Custom, it solved the low end looseness of the JB needed for the more modern songs, and the a5 smooths out the ceramic stiff/brittle thing of the Custom, and leaves you with a nicer clean tone too. I didn't like it as much the 1st time I tried when I was playing mainly thru the 6L6 Boogie amp, but now that I am just bringing the EL34 combo amp to gigs I really dig it. Or at least it is the best compromise I have found for my cover band gigs.

[rgreen11]

Re: jb vs. duncan custom sh5

Dude, I was totally where you are at right now. Cover band doing Rufus Tell Me Something Good thru Franz Ferdinand Take Me Out. My main guitar is a LP Classic, and the 1st pickup to replace the 500T was a JB. I dug it for a long time, and it still has my favorite lead tone of any SD humbuckers I have tried. But eventually the relative loosenes of the low end had me looking for something else.

The Custom gives nice tight power on low string riffage, and killer crunch on chords. But I found the lead tone a little stiff, and the tone could get a little brittle on higher notes (like the part before the verses on Take Me Out
|------------------------------|---------------------------------||
|--8---------------------------|--7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-----------o||
|------9---9p7-----7---9------|----------------------7-7-7-7----||
|--------------9---------------|---------------------------------||
|------------------------------|--------------------------------o||
|------------------------------|---------------------------------||)

I swapped the creamic mag in the Custom for an a5 to make it a Custom5 (SH-14). While it doesn't have the same juicy lead tone as the JB (and I am the lead player in my band), or the killer chord crunch of the Custom, it solved the low end looseness of the JB needed for the more modern songs, and the a5 smooths out the ceramic stiff/brittle thing of the Custom, and leaves you with a nicer clean tone too. I didn't like it as much the 1st time I tried when I was playing mainly thru the 6L6 Boogie amp, but now that I am just bringing the EL34 combo amp to gigs I really dig it. Or at least it is the best compromise I have found for my cover band gigs.

Hey man you know exactly where I'm comiing from. I too am the lead player and we do those same tunes. I'ts also funny to me cuz I play a Boogie Mark I that has 6l6s. Let me ask you this I play pretty much play everything on my bridge pickup so I need something smooth and nice for the clean ( not brittle or harse) and something w/a tight low end and transparent singing highs. what would you recomend

[LtKojak]

Re: jb vs. duncan custom sh5

I'm not sure if I sould replace my Gibson Burstbucker with a JB or the SH5 (duncan custom) I have a Les Paul Standand

Go with a Custom 5. I have one and I love it.

HTH,

Pepe aka Lt. Kojak
Milano, Italy