Thoughts on this combination? - Full Shred neck w/ Black Winter bridge

[Demanic]

I have a 59n in the neck of my Blackjack. It's wired to split and has an polished A4 in it and it's perfect. No loss of output from the A5. Nice even tone, lots of harmonics. In humbucker it will easily get Neil Schon neck tones. Split it is very neck Strat like. In the middle with the bridge pickup, which is an RCUOA5 JB, it gives a full but defined tone. No mud.

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[AdrianSD]

It's all about Full shred screws or Demon screws for neck position. Then I use UOA5 if I want it vintage (still bright), or A9 if I want max cut out of it.

Yeah, exactly :-) My favourite neck pickup now, on par with the Full Shred, is 59/Jazz hybrid with short hex screws replacing the filister screws for low E, A and D.

[Bowtomecha]

The Charvel DK24 with the a2pro in the neck is very interesting in that this particular a2pro has hex poles like the full shred. I think it’s a literally full shred neck with an alnico 2 magnet. It has a lean warmth to it where it’s not boomy but has a sweetness to its high end. The full shred neck is essentially a jazz neck with hexes right? And an a2pro is a jazz neck with an alnico 2 magnet? I think it’s a very tweakable platform, being able to swap the magnet and one or both rows of hexes with fillister poles. I think that’s what lends the screamin demon it’s ability to sit well in the neck position.

[Bowtomecha]

I went to guitar center today to play the dk24 model and my thoughts on the neck humbucker still holds. I can roll off with the tone control to get a good tubby or wooly neck sound if needed. The bridge full shred is too bright and snappy for my tastes though. I think a regular custom five or Duncan custom would be just fine in the bridge of that guitar.

[Meanderthal]

My first impression with the Black Winter set has been very pleasant. The comments about the neck pickup being the stronger of the two is accurate, it took some taming, including lowering the pickup height quite a bit to balance the volume. But once balanced with the bridge it's a formidable sound especially played with gain (the more the merrier).

The real hidden gem of that neck pickup though is how it responds to a coil-split, it's a lovely clean sound. The bridge split isn't a drastic tonal difference, but the neck really shines, I really like the combination of the neck split with the full bridge humbucker together.

Anyway, just the early stages of testing it out, but so far it has responded well with every amp and plugin I've tried it with.

The only slight caveat is that with a guitar with only a single volume control, it does make it a little challenging to have two pickups that are equally hot. I still think pairing it with a neck pickup like a Full Shred (lower output) would balance a little better in a single-volume configuration.

[Condemned soul]

Related Question:

I've got the Charvel Dinky SSH version of the guitar and am very unhappy with the Full Shred as I am prefer solid bass and mids, and the Full Shred doesn't work for me.

I've adjusted the pickup height and pole pieces, and amp, yet somehow the single coils usually end up like they are sounding worse than when I started.

I was thinking about replacing the Full Shred with one of these: 59b, 59/Custom, Screaming Demon, the Custom, and JB. A local store [ Also has a Trem JB in stock] has a Trem version of the Custom on order, and I am thinking about giving the Custom a try in this guitar.



With swapping out the Full Shred with the Custom or the and the JB, what differences in guitar bridge sound can I expect?
Will these pick-ups play nice with the SSL6s?

[Hsb]

The Custom family of pickuos, Custom, Custom Custom and Custom 5, are going to be scooped PAF tyoe tone that to my ears is brighter, thinner than the JB, the JB is a fuller, thicker sounding pickup with an upper mid spike. The JB is a different animal than any you have listed.

[Mincer]

Although the JB isn't as thick as the Custom Custom at all.

[Hsb]

Although the JB isn't as thick as the Custom Custom at all.

Ive tried the CC and it just doesnt fill out the same way as the JB or at least in the guitar I tried it in. The CC as all the Custom Ive tried, were better at that raunchy, kinda bright, whisky bar tone, where as to me, the JB was big and fat and thick. Again could be the guitar its in also and the eq differences between them and how we each hear something

[Mincer]

Yeah, the JB to me has always had this thinner barky thing going on that I can't stand.

[Hsb]

Thats how I hear the Custom family. I have become more comfortable with it.

[Mr. B]

I don't think the Full Shred Neck would match the Black Winter Bridge well at all. I really liked the Full Shred Neck, but it definitely has its own thing going on. Very rounded, tight tone. I never could find a Bridge model that I thought had the same character, not even the Full Shred Bridge model.

[Mr. B]

Someone said the Custom and CustomCustom are scooped sounding??? The Custom with an A5 magnet is, but those two are not.

I think Seymour Duncan should package a Custom Humbucker along with 5 different magnets and call it the "Tone Chaser Starter Pack" or something like that, and every new player that begins trying to find "their tone" should have to start out with that. One of the Custom humbuckers and a handful of magnets is the best, and definitely the cheapest, way I found to learn the character of different magnets.

[weepingminotaur]

My first impression with the Black Winter set has been very pleasant. The comments about the neck pickup being the stronger of the two is accurate, it took some taming, including lowering the pickup height quite a bit to balance the volume. But once balanced with the bridge it's a formidable sound especially played with gain (the more the merrier).

The real hidden gem of that neck pickup though is how it responds to a coil-split, it's a lovely clean sound. The bridge split isn't a drastic tonal difference, but the neck really shines, I really like the combination of the neck split with the full bridge humbucker together.

Anyway, just the early stages of testing it out, but so far it has responded well with every amp and plugin I've tried it with.

The only slight caveat is that with a guitar with only a single volume control, it does make it a little challenging to have two pickups that are equally hot. I still think pairing it with a neck pickup like a Full Shred (lower output) would balance a little better in a single-volume configuration.

Great post. I agree that the Winter neck splits like a dream. The Winter bridge splits well too and functions remarkably well clean with the tone rolled off. But as you said, you do have to tinker with the neck pickup height to avoid a mismatch in volume. The Winter neck takes gain like a champ.

[Meanderthal]

The Winter neck takes gain like a champ.

Definitely! Coil-splitting the neck pickup and then running through a Plexi model with a treble boost gives you a good approximation of the early Tony Iommi P90 sound.

It also sounds awesome tuned down to C standard and paired with a fuzz pedal, a phaser and a wah for the "Matt Pike worship".