Distortion vs. Custom

[MikeS]

My buddy is not happy with the tone out of his Aria Pro II Mac-60. It supposedly comes loaded with the Duncan Designed version of the Duncan Distortion in the bridge and the Duncan Designed SC-101N in the neck and middle positions, which is according to the site, a cross between the vintage flat and the custom flat cingle coils.

He's also got an Aria Pro II LP copy loaded with a pair of Duncan Designed versions of the Duncan Distortion. The tonal differences between the two guitars is astounding. The Mac-60 is very thin and weak in comaprison and just plain doesn't have the balls the LP has (granted, the LP is a mahogany body vs the Alder body Mac-60, but still, the tones are so far apart that I had a hard time believing they had the same pups).

Anyway, he's looking for a real hot humbucker for the bridge postion. Something with a ton of harmonics and very a full sound. Lots of output as well. From the neck and middle he's looking for something that might come close to matching the output of the bridge but still retains very crisp cleans and smooth leads.

So far I've recommended he look at the Custom and the Distortion for the bridge. For the neck, I have no ideas yet.

Sorry for writting a book here, just want a few opinions on what might work well in this guitar.

[MikeS]

Re: Distortion vs. Custom

Come on, anybody?

[ArtieToo]

Re: Distortion vs. Custom

Hi Mike; Unfortunately, I can't really help you out with your question, and I don't mean to hijack your thread, but I notice you have an Aria HSS setup with a Cool Rails/Vintage Rails/Screamin' Demon combo. I just bought a HSS Peavey Generation that I plan on doing the CR/VR thang, but wasn't sure about what I want to put in the bridge. So how do you like the Sceamin' Demon in there? Do you think its a good match, tonally and balance wise?

Thanks, and again, hopefully someone will answer your original question.

[Robert S.]

Re: Distortion vs. Custom

Okie dokie, after a little web searching I see what some of the issues are.

First off the Mac 60 is maple on alder with a maple neck. It is also a 24 fret guitar with a tremolo bridge.

It's something like a cross between a Strat and a PRS CU-24 and it has enough differences from the LP copy to have a significant difference in tone.

The first thing I might try is adjusting the pickup height on the Mac 60. Significant girth can be had by raising the Distortion (korean or mia) closer to the strings.

If that doesn't work you might try a couple of things. I have installed the Dimebucker in typically bright guitars with excellent results and the clarity and bottom end thump is excellent for agressive playing. A Cool Rails(n) in the mid slot and a Hot Rails(n) in the neck slot will up the output and those will be your best bet for thickening up that guitar and to get the output from those positions closer to the bridge pickup.

I find the Custom a little thicker than the DD and that may help as well but at the cost of output, but you won't lose alot. A CC is famous for thickening a bright/thin guitar and that may be your best bet.

CC/CR/HR might just be the ticket.

Also remind your friend that different guitars sound different by definition and he may have to redial the amp if he wants two different guitars to sound more simular. If you want two guitars to sound the same they often need to be of the same make/model. Even that doesn't always work though and two guitars with consecutive serial numbers can sound very different. It's in the wood.

I have maybe a dozen different guitars and they all sound different. The trick is to play to each guitars strengths and enjoy them for that instead of trying to getting them to all sound the same. Of course if they sound bad, that needs to be addressed first.

[MikeS]

Re: Distortion vs. Custom

Thanks much, Robert. It took some time, but I was able to convince him that they'll never sound the same. He's fairly new to the tone junky thing, so I've been trying to educate him with my limited knowledge. Right now I think I've got him leaning towards the CC/CR/CR. I'll recommend the HR for the neck. I've also told him that to achieve proper balance in the axe that he might have a tough time finding a singe coil sized pup that'll back off and be as clean as some of his other guitars. Thanks again.

Artie, to answer your question regarding the CR/VR/Demon.... The CRn and Demon bridge are very well matched, IMO. I get great lead tones from the CR that match the output and guts of the demon right now. The VR and CR match up well, too, and I get a very interesting tone from that notch position. No hum, a very thick clean, and you can hear a little strat in it. What I don't like is the balance between the Demon and the VR. The Demon overpowers the VR in the notch position and I find that the VR by itself is very quiet in comparison to the Demon. Alone, though, I am very happy with the tone from the VR. Right now I do not have the Demon split in the notch position, so I may try that next time I've got the strings off.

[Robert S.]

Re: Distortion vs. Custom

The CC/CR/CR will work very well and the clean tones will be excellent.