Low/medium output bridge humbucker (Jazz, Screamin Demon?)

[SimpleT]

Hi there,

Looking for a replacement bridge humbucker for a Pegasus (I am doing an exchange so it has to be a seymour duncan pickup). The Pegasus, while I liked the tone, it didn't respond to my picking dynamics and when using my looper (which I do in my band) it got muddy and actually would push the looper into overdrive.... which does not sound good. I am looking for something that had plenty of clarity but is also not super thin. I play clean for the most part and when using gain I mostly rely on fuzz. From listening to demos I think I prefer alnico V over ii. Interested in the Jazz bridge and the Screamin' Demon, both of which there is not a ton info out there on. Going into a lightweight popular body with a rosewood board and a sentient in the neck.

Thanks!

[Mincer]

A Jazz bridge will have more clarity and dynamics than many other pickups. A 59 might also be a good choice if you want some bass in there, too.

[beaubrummels]

IME Jazz bridge sounds like a lower output Custom 5. It sits in Pearly Gates territory a little bit, but is flatter in the mids. My experience with the Jazz bridge is only in a mahogany SG with a TOM bridge. however. It's like an Angus Young hard rock kind of pickup. Works both clean and distorted consistently well.

I have a poplar Jackson with a laurel board, and moving pickups between my SG and the Jackson, the Floyd makes it a bit brighter (kind of overrides the wood of the guitar a bit) while the poplar accentuates a mid bump a bit. For example my Custom 5 sounded the same with a bit more sizzle on top. I would expect the Jazz bridge to be similar. It's not clear what bridge your guitar has, but that's the best opinion I can give based on my personal experience.

IME my Screamin Demon bridge, by comparison, was similar but a bit more scooped. Bright on top, thump on the bottom end and hollowed out in the mids. That was in my poplar Jackson with a Floyd.

Amp, cabinet and speakers, along with amp settings, can have a huge influence on countering any of the above effects, for example, if a pickup is a bit too scooped, I've had great success twisting amp knobs and getting it back into whatever territory I needed.

[SimpleT]

IME Jazz bridge sounds like a lower output Custom 5. It sits in Pearly Gates territory a little bit, but is flatter in the mids. My experience with the Jazz bridge is only in a mahogany SG with a TOM bridge. however. It's like an Angus Young hard rock kind of pickup. Works both clean and distorted consistently well.

I have a poplar Jackson with a laurel board, and moving pickups between my SG and the Jackson, the Floyd makes it a bit brighter (kind of overrides the wood of the guitar a bit) while the poplar accentuates a mid bump a bit. For example my Custom 5 sounded the same with a bit more sizzle on top. I would expect the Jazz bridge to be similar. It's not clear what bridge your guitar has, but that's the best opinion I can give based on my personal experience.

IME my Screamin Demon bridge, by comparison, was similar but a bit more scooped. Bright on top, thump on the bottom end and hollowed out in the mids. That was in my poplar Jackson with a Floyd.

Amp, cabinet and speakers, along with amp settings, can have a huge influence on countering any of the above effects, for example, if a pickup is a bit too scooped, I've had great success twisting amp knobs and getting it back into whatever territory I needed.

Oh man this makes them both sound like good options, so picking between is a bit hard. Is the main difference is that the Jazz bridge has more mids?

[beaubrummels]

Oh man this makes them both sound like good options, so picking between is a bit hard. Is the main difference is that the Jazz bridge has more mids?

I think that might be a fair statement, but I would say it's a slight difference IME. Maybe a particular amp or guitar body I don't have might make the difference sound greater than my experience. Other guys might have stronger/different opinions if they used them in different guitars through different amps. They are very close IME. For example, I put a row of hex heads in my Custom 5 and it just sounded like a loud Demon. So they are all very near neighbors IMO.

[alex1fly]

Can you lower the pickup? This has helped me “open up” a couple of humbuckers. I’m historically a single coil guy.

also ride the guitar volume. If you don’t lose high end when you turn the guitar volume knob down, you can play with the range. 10 will be more hot and compressed, 7-9 will be more dynamic and open.

[chadd]

I absolutely love the Demon and think it's incredibly underrated. It's articulate under pretty much any amount of distortion

[Mincer]

A Jazz bridge doesn't have a ton of bass, either.

[Ascension]

One of my favorite over wound PAF style Duncan's is the Perpetual Burn. The name like many of the Duncan pickups is very misleading. It's not overly hot cleans up well is very touch sensitive and splits very very well. Also may want to look very hard at the Saturday Night Special. In particular like these as a full set . Very very clear and defined have a unique attack and clean are fantastic but also hold up very well under high gain. Super versatile pickups!

[ToneFiddler]

i do like the demon, but i use it in LesPauls style guitars. no clue if it will sound good in a lightweight popular body.
2nd i don't know how the bright demon will pair with a fuzz.
same for the jazz.
only tried them in Mahaghoni