Tweet
my little review between Duncan Custom and Duncan Custom Five.
So Guy's , after very long tests,I have finally an idea of the direction I want to go.
CUSTOM FIVE SH14 or TB14:
By reading the forums, I thought, by installing the custom five, that I will get a great balanced sound, with as many lows than treble, but more scooped midds , in short: a hole in the mids, make this Pup a little bit dark sounding or not open enough. Warm but not really "super-open".....but these fears were unfounded
-By playing pantera style rythms , (or other bands like chimaira) I have immediately understood what it meant "to have punch." The riffs are heavy with a super punch, we feel the pleck stroke and the right hand (if right handed ). And despite a more bassy sound than the JB, the accuracy of each note is really much better. Everything is more subtle, more compressed but really opened at the same time.
Playing solos was a slap in my face !! while I thought the JB was that there were better, I have been surprised by the ability to play solos with the custom five .
the highs are much, much more defined than the JB !!!! When playing bends, the pup screams with a hell's precision.
I have been amazed by the ability of the Custom-five to make sounds the shades of each note, quite accurate. On this point, the JB is really much, much worse, and again, although the JB is more "trebly" and less fat, it sounds more "muddy". Surprising.We read everywhere that this pickup has a great clarity, but without really knowing exactly how it sounds / that means...:
The sound had really extraordinary precision and it is really super accurate, really. Crystal clear sound but not harsch, which is really singing highs, very warm.
CUSTOM SH 5 or TB5: (to compare it with the custom)
I mounted the custom in my guitar last week and play a lot since.
I' ve not change the sound of my amp, to be sure to get a real 1 to 1 comparison. (this will come later i suppose ^^ )
I was directly surprise about the tonal differences between the Custom five TB14 and custom TB5.
First caracteristic is the attack:
-The custom , because of increased mids, got a lot of attack and power; more than i thought. Very good Punch. A little bit more than the custom five. But attention; this is normal because the custom Five has a more fully vintage sound with less mids, the custom five sounds "rounder" , when the custom sounds punchier.
The sounds are not the same , but i was surprising, because you can really feel, while playin' these pup's, that all two's are customs. Not the same sound, but the same character. It's surprising.
I play metal so wich is the best for me?
some of you could be surprised but i think the custom five is better for my playing style.
He get's a fuller sound, the mids are lower, but Not scooped, just the right mids to get a full warm and punchy sound. Less mids could make the custom five scoopy in the mids but as it is, No; he's definitly not scooped. (But sure , if you play a custom five with a mesa rectifier, it's not the best association
.
The custom five allows me to get more vintage sounds but too, to get a sound that is more versatile in metal or rock. The deep bottom is alwas here, while the custom has punch but to less ground. The custom five is more controlable and sounds cleaner, despite of the more bassy sound, and he get's never muddy.
That was my great surprise about the custom TB5: The mids frequencie's make this pickup a little bit dirty, not bass, but mids, certainly because of more mids but mainly of more distortion, make it not as accuracy than the custom five. It's simply a little bit too much for me, to much distortion make it a little bit dirty, and not enough warm bassy sound.....but very impressive power.
In Brief:
i was searching for an replacement pickup for my JB (TB4) and the result is that the custom five is nearer for what i was searchin for, while the custom has a sound that come nearer to the JB. The interesting thing is that the custom has better mids than the JB , he's more "traditionnal" and it result no "bad mids frequencie's" that made the JB such a controversy reputation.
The punch and the rythm capability's of the Custom are much better than the JB. Only by the highs, the JB is better, but not much more than i was though.
The custom has the sound to cut through ,(I now understand what is written on the box) and the highs are not harsh; they are really good for an ceramic magnet pickup.
All in all, the Custom is a great solution/alternative for a JB replacement , it's a JB made for ryhtm !!!
But i was searchin' a pup that gives me more and the Custom Five does it. More bass (but not muddy) deeper mids as Custom or JB, and this is the essential point , that allows me to turn up the mids to get a punchier sound like a custom but with less distortion , but with very impressive clarity, too.
Seymour wrote on the box (about the custom five compared to custom):
"It offers the optimum balance of warmth, punch and power to clarity. Compared to SH5 custom, it is more vintage with less distortion, but it's very strong and powerfull , it's fuller than an SH5 with softer highs more bass and slightly less output. Clean Sounds are rich and full with enhanced presence. "
This is exactly the right description.
It remains for me only to remove the custom from my guitar, and send it to Ltkojak for an alnico8 mag swapping. But I wonder if it is even worth it ? I'm curious to see the result, compared to five cutom and custom.
PS: I mean (for metal playing) that the custon Five is the better choice for amps that needs to turn up the mids for sounding Good, like a Marschal JVM's, while the custom is the better choice for amps that sounds very full and modern like Mesa rectifier or Engl Powerball's or Diezel amps.
For amps like teh Peavy 5150, I think the two can be interesting pickup's, each with specific tonal characteristics.
PS2: i was playing the custom bridge combined with a PAT-B2 in the neck. Both splitted, you get a very telecaster type sound, very cool.
I'd glad to have your opinion. Thanks for reading.
CUSTOM FIVE SH14 or TB14:
By reading the forums, I thought, by installing the custom five, that I will get a great balanced sound, with as many lows than treble, but more scooped midds , in short: a hole in the mids, make this Pup a little bit dark sounding or not open enough. Warm but not really "super-open".....but these fears were unfounded
-By playing pantera style rythms , (or other bands like chimaira) I have immediately understood what it meant "to have punch." The riffs are heavy with a super punch, we feel the pleck stroke and the right hand (if right handed ). And despite a more bassy sound than the JB, the accuracy of each note is really much better. Everything is more subtle, more compressed but really opened at the same time.
Playing solos was a slap in my face !! while I thought the JB was that there were better, I have been surprised by the ability to play solos with the custom five .
the highs are much, much more defined than the JB !!!! When playing bends, the pup screams with a hell's precision.
I have been amazed by the ability of the Custom-five to make sounds the shades of each note, quite accurate. On this point, the JB is really much, much worse, and again, although the JB is more "trebly" and less fat, it sounds more "muddy". Surprising.We read everywhere that this pickup has a great clarity, but without really knowing exactly how it sounds / that means...:
The sound had really extraordinary precision and it is really super accurate, really. Crystal clear sound but not harsch, which is really singing highs, very warm.
CUSTOM SH 5 or TB5: (to compare it with the custom)
I mounted the custom in my guitar last week and play a lot since.
I' ve not change the sound of my amp, to be sure to get a real 1 to 1 comparison. (this will come later i suppose ^^ )
I was directly surprise about the tonal differences between the Custom five TB14 and custom TB5.
First caracteristic is the attack:
-The custom , because of increased mids, got a lot of attack and power; more than i thought. Very good Punch. A little bit more than the custom five. But attention; this is normal because the custom Five has a more fully vintage sound with less mids, the custom five sounds "rounder" , when the custom sounds punchier.
The sounds are not the same , but i was surprising, because you can really feel, while playin' these pup's, that all two's are customs. Not the same sound, but the same character. It's surprising.
I play metal so wich is the best for me?
some of you could be surprised but i think the custom five is better for my playing style.
He get's a fuller sound, the mids are lower, but Not scooped, just the right mids to get a full warm and punchy sound. Less mids could make the custom five scoopy in the mids but as it is, No; he's definitly not scooped. (But sure , if you play a custom five with a mesa rectifier, it's not the best association
.The custom five allows me to get more vintage sounds but too, to get a sound that is more versatile in metal or rock. The deep bottom is alwas here, while the custom has punch but to less ground. The custom five is more controlable and sounds cleaner, despite of the more bassy sound, and he get's never muddy.
That was my great surprise about the custom TB5: The mids frequencie's make this pickup a little bit dirty, not bass, but mids, certainly because of more mids but mainly of more distortion, make it not as accuracy than the custom five. It's simply a little bit too much for me, to much distortion make it a little bit dirty, and not enough warm bassy sound.....but very impressive power.
In Brief:
i was searching for an replacement pickup for my JB (TB4) and the result is that the custom five is nearer for what i was searchin for, while the custom has a sound that come nearer to the JB. The interesting thing is that the custom has better mids than the JB , he's more "traditionnal" and it result no "bad mids frequencie's" that made the JB such a controversy reputation.
The punch and the rythm capability's of the Custom are much better than the JB. Only by the highs, the JB is better, but not much more than i was though.
The custom has the sound to cut through ,(I now understand what is written on the box) and the highs are not harsh; they are really good for an ceramic magnet pickup.
All in all, the Custom is a great solution/alternative for a JB replacement , it's a JB made for ryhtm !!!
But i was searchin' a pup that gives me more and the Custom Five does it. More bass (but not muddy) deeper mids as Custom or JB, and this is the essential point , that allows me to turn up the mids to get a punchier sound like a custom but with less distortion , but with very impressive clarity, too.
Seymour wrote on the box (about the custom five compared to custom):
"It offers the optimum balance of warmth, punch and power to clarity. Compared to SH5 custom, it is more vintage with less distortion, but it's very strong and powerfull , it's fuller than an SH5 with softer highs more bass and slightly less output. Clean Sounds are rich and full with enhanced presence. "
This is exactly the right description.
It remains for me only to remove the custom from my guitar, and send it to Ltkojak for an alnico8 mag swapping. But I wonder if it is even worth it ? I'm curious to see the result, compared to five cutom and custom.
PS: I mean (for metal playing) that the custon Five is the better choice for amps that needs to turn up the mids for sounding Good, like a Marschal JVM's, while the custom is the better choice for amps that sounds very full and modern like Mesa rectifier or Engl Powerball's or Diezel amps.
For amps like teh Peavy 5150, I think the two can be interesting pickup's, each with specific tonal characteristics.
PS2: i was playing the custom bridge combined with a PAT-B2 in the neck. Both splitted, you get a very telecaster type sound, very cool.
I'd glad to have your opinion. Thanks for reading.
i have come to the conclusion that since i like the custom,jb and many others i have tried in the last few months i need more guitars for each of them!
Comment