jazz vs full shred in the neck

[Chazzy]

I need a neck pickups for soloing (id be playing metal so high gain) It needs to cut through extremely well and be very very clear, it would also need to have insane sustain and good harmonics (ik its mostly technique but thats still debatable). At the same time i would really want it to have ok cleans.

I would be putting it in my schecter blackjack mahogany guitar with ebony fretboard, running it through a marshall 6100 and an overdrive pedal, the pickup in my bridge is a seymour duncan distortion, any suggestions?

[Demanic]

Re: jazz vs full shred in the neck

Can't go wrong with the Jazz, though now that they offer the Sentient in 6 string form, that might be the best choice.

[Chazzy]

Re: jazz vs full shred in the neck

thats the one already in my guitar and idk, its a little bright, want something maybe a bit harsher a little more bass idk, and i heard that the sentient is like a 59/jazz combo sorta thing

[JOEBACCA]

Re: jazz vs full shred in the neck

I've tried both the JazzN & Full Shred N. They are similar in the sense that they both are clear and articulate Neck Pickups. The FSN's double row of hex poles really change the attack in comparison to the JazzN slug coil/screw coil. FSN has an almost single coil type of attack, the wound strings are tight with very little bass response, mids are neutral and have a flutey quality, the treble is clear not harsh. Sounds good for cleans and high gain leads. I will say you can pull off pinch harmonics with the FSN but I've found that most Duncan Neck Humbuckers seem to lack in that dept. especially when compared to some Dimarzio Neck Pickups, in particular the D Activator Neck and the Air Norton. My 2 cents...

[Chazzy]

Re: jazz vs full shred in the neck

what exactly does the jazz sound like compared to the full shred, if i worked on the sound could i make the jazz sound harsh and have decent pinch harmonics with high gain, and how are the cleans on the fs, does it sound full and warm?

[JOEBACCA]

Re: jazz vs full shred in the neck

The Jazz N in comparison to the Full Shred N will have a little more bass on the wound strings and isn't quite as tight as the FSN but it's in the same ballpark. The Jazz N is a little bit warmer but still has nice presence/treble on the plain strings to my ears without sounding thin. I actually prefer the Jazz Neck over the FSN but not by much. You could probably make the Jazz more harsh by moving it closer to the strings, raising the pole pieces, and turning up the Treble on your amp. Although I'm not quite sure why you would want a harsh sounding Neck pickup...

The FSN sounds very good for cleans. It is bright and can cut through the mix and has a very tight immediate attack. If you roll back your tone knob to 7/10 the FSN will be very even EQ wise and cuts out some of the cutting Treble which gives it a singing lead tone. It is pretty versatile if you mess around with the Tone Knob.

Although I've never tried the Sentient the description of it being a cross between the 59 and Jazz sounds perfect on paper IMO. I'm gonna snag a Sentient along with the Pegasus Bridge for my Iceman to see if it will dethrone my Full Shred Set at some point.

[Chazzy]

Re: jazz vs full shred in the neck

well honestly not that harsh, i just really want it to get through and still be pretty articulate with high gain, id be running it with a distortion in the bridge and wouldnt want it to sound out of place, (i read somewhere the jazz doesnt do so well under gain however i think i was reading from someone who doesnt know anything about pups) anyway what would you honestly recommend, for the best soloing, most articulate, but still have beatiful warm cleans, so far im thinking the jazz would be the best, im just a little worried about the gain thing, but im pretty sure it cuts through well so yeaa...
what about jazz vs 59 for all of the above?

[Archer250]

Re: jazz vs full shred in the neck

well honestly not that harsh, i just really want it to get through and still be pretty articulate with high gain, id be running it with a distortion in the bridge and wouldnt want it to sound out of place, (i read somewhere the jazz doesnt do so well under gain however i think i was reading from someone who doesnt know anything about pups) anyway what would you honestly recommend, for the best soloing, most articulate, but still have beatiful warm cleans, so far im thinking the jazz would be the best, im just a little worried about the gain thing, but im pretty sure it cuts through well so yeaa...
what about jazz vs 59 for all of the above?

Jazz. Keep in mind that *any* pickup will get muddy under ungodly amounts of gain, but IME, the Jazz certainly has less mud than the 59. Soloing on the Jazz is great, too. I can definitely hear my pick attack, and extra warmth can be achieved by rolling back the tone knob.

[JOEBACCA]

Re: jazz vs full shred in the neck

well honestly not that harsh, i just really want it to get through and still be pretty articulate with high gain, id be running it with a distortion in the bridge and wouldnt want it to sound out of place, (i read somewhere the jazz doesnt do so well under gain however i think i was reading from someone who doesnt know anything about pups) anyway what would you honestly recommend, for the best soloing, most articulate, but still have beatiful warm cleans, so far im thinking the jazz would be the best, im just a little worried about the gain thing, but im pretty sure it cuts through well so yeaa...
what about jazz vs 59 for all of the above?

Then get the Jazz Neck. Wherever you read that the Jazz doesn't do well under gain is a complete moron, don't listen to a single word of it. The Jazz is my favorite pickup in the Duncan lineup for articulate high gain leads & clear precise clean tones. The Jazz also pairs really well with the Distortion IMO.

The 59 is a love/hate pickup for me. The bass is too boomy, could use more mids, but the treble is actually spot on for my tastes. But I still prefer the Jazz.

[Chazzy]

Re: jazz vs full shred in the neck

well thanks, a distortion and jazz combo it shall be

[darthphineas]

Re: jazz vs full shred in the neck

The FS will be a little tighter and articulate in they lows. A bit more focused than the Jazz. Hard to go wrong with either. Putting an A4 magnet in either will give a little more balanced EQ.


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[Progbusters]

Re: jazz vs full shred in the neck



At about 1:00 minute mark, Akira takasaki switches to what most likely is the Jazz neck

[Chazzy]

Re: jazz vs full shred in the neck

cool, that seals the deal

[Inflames626]

Re: jazz vs full shred in the neck

I'm with darthphineas. My experience is the Full Shred neck is a slightly hotter, brighter, more articulate Jazz. FSN also sounds interesting split.

I used an EMG 60 for years and to me none of Duncan's neck pups that I have tried come close to that bright, articulate, Roland JC120 type of sound that the 60 has. Even a Jazz is slightly warm for my tastes. And I use a metal pick.

FSN and Jazz will get you a similar sound, but when I dig in with the FSN I get squeals and such.

I'd go FSN. In fact, I'd even prefer a Full Shred set over the Distortion depending on the guitar and signal chain (I have a Distortion in my Jackson DK2S). FS is way more articulate, balanced, and sonically neutral than a Distortion. It gets a similar tone with less grit. And people here like Frank Falbo have said that the FSN has a really strong sound when detuning because the mids cut through. More definition than the Distortion, but less saturation. Same harmonics, I'd say.

Think about it like maybe a boosted Marshall vs. a 5150. A Marshall will tend to get you a cleaner high gain tone than a 5150, which tends to have a lot of harshness. I associate a hot, highly wound pickup, especially a ceramic pup, with that harshness, and I prefer getting my gain and saturation through a boost rather than the pup.

That said Jazz will be much easier to find used for a good price than the FSN. I'd just pick a FSN, but you can't go wrong with a Jazz/Distortion set.

[Chazzy]

Re: jazz vs full shred in the neck

i want my bridge pickup to be more noisy and harsh and not super precise, im taking the jazz as i love the cleans and want alot of versatility, also pinch harmonics are mostly technique anyway so i shouldnt have too much trouble getting them from the jazz and distortion combo