The Duncan Custom Appreciation Thread

[misterwhizzy]

I came into the Seymour Duncan world as a fan of Slash and a seeker of somewhat Slashy tones. I bought an A2Pro for my Squier Strat, which I loaned to a friend and which was destroyed in Hurricane Ike. A few years later, I put a Mayhem set in my Les Paul. Not exactly the tone I was after, but I figured that if it was good enough for Randy, it was certainly good enough for me. That’s when I joined the forum.

At the time, Alnico 8 mag-swapping was all the rage around here, so I overcame my fear of destroying a perfectly good, well, not perfectly good, pickup and gave that a try. Still missing something. When I discovered the cheap fixes weren’t going to work, I finally bought a Duncan Custom. That was it. The low end was there, the crunchy midrange, the highs that weren’t overbearing. That was the moment I found the pickup that was going to work for me.

I have this bad habit of not being able to leave well enough alone, and the members here are articulate enough to get me to try other pickups. I’ve tried the Custom Custom, the Custom 8, and the Custom 5, but after years of trying to find something with better tone and response for the type of music I love to play, I’ve realized the stock Duncan Custom is a thing of very hard-to-match sonic beauty.

[JOLLY]

It's always been one of my favorites. However, I've only played it in my Les Paul. I've always wanted to try one in one of my Charvels to see how it was.

[Mincer]

I've tried many neck pickups, even very expensive ones, but always come back to the APH-1. I am not even a Slash fan (and play nothing like him), but I love what it does to the sound.

[JOLLY]

I've tried many neck pickups, even very expensive ones, but always come back to the APH-1. I am not even a Slash fan (and play nothing like him), but I love what it does to the sound.

I think you meant to post that in the Slash pickup thread....lol

[Mikelamury]

I love the custom too. It is my favorite SD pickup. I tried one a long time ago right before I joined the forum and at least ge time I wanted more more more. I. Wanted the highest output pickup I could find (in the SD line) after trying about all the high gain pickups(except BW) I realized that the high output was compressing my tone a little bit and somewhere in this time started playing Gibson's and started to appreciate a lower (still medium) output pickup that is more open sounding and remembered trying the custom and at that time it was the opposite of what I was looking for when I tried it again I was set. That's my favorite SD pickup. Favorite DiMarzio SD, favorite Gibson pickup 498t.

[Aceman]

I currently have a Custom, a CC, and a C5...and the Custom is definitely a go to.

If there was a Steve Dallas signature guitar, that is what would be in it.

[Securb]

I came into the Seymour Duncan world as a fan of Slash and a seeker of somewhat Slashy tones.

I have a similar journey my first Duncan was my DImebucker I put in my Iceman looking to capture some of Darrell's magic.

[Artie]

I like the CC and C5. I can't remember if I've tried the Custom. I think I have a ceramic mag around here. Maybe I'll try slipping it into the CC.

[Mincer]

I like the CC and C5. I can't remember if I've tried the Custom. I think I have a ceramic mag around here. Maybe I'll try slipping it into the CC.

These are to 2 I like (as well as the Hybrid). I think the regular Custom is a little harsh and compressed for me. I don't hear that harshness in the C5.

[SFW]

Love the Custom. For high octane Les Paul tones, its hard to beat.

[JohnnyGuitarCA]

It's my favorite Duncan humbucker. Simply brilliant. Seymour knocked it outta the park when he designed the Custom!

[Archer250]

The Custom is one of my favorite pickups. It just works and sounds great.

[krovatron]

The Custom is great. Usually my recommendation for folks looking to do something different. The magnet swapping is effective and adds an extra layer of tweakability. Still will always be a staple and I will always have a few on hand. Right now, The BKP True Grit has replaced it in my passive wheelhouse for the Overwound PAF sound.

[Sun King]

I can't believe you haven't gotten more response on this. I originally started out buying various guitar models from Ibanez, Schecter, Jackson and LTD, some of which came with the requisite JB/59 or JB/Jazz combo. Eventually I ended up with what was said to be a Custom-5 in one of the Schecters. Didn't sound right to my ears and later found it to actually be a Custom Custom. That's when I learned about mag swaps on this forum! So it became a Custom 8, and I was hooked.

Fast forward and I've forgone the Alnico 8 magnets in favor of the good ol' Custom. It just seems to have a great cut and clarity while not sounding too thin, it's punchy and powerful and really good for rhythm and leads alike.

I just bought two brand-new LTD MH-1000's, one a deep red 2021 model with EMG's, the second one a beautiful blue, late 2022 production with Fishman Fluence moderns. Did a bunch of pickup swapping and now the EMG's are gone, the Fishmans are in the 2021, while I've put a Custom and 59 in the 2022 model. (White bobbins for those and IMO it looks outstanding!)
The Fishmans are good pickups, very versatile, but I'd have to say I like the Duncan combo much better! I have other guitars with Duncans, which include a JB and Black Winter, (for bridge pickups), but to my ear the Custom is the winner.

[EmiAba]

The custom is by far my favorite bridge humbucker. Mainly for two reasons: it is not compressed as the distortion and it takes whatever magnet you want gracefully. I've tried every magnet (with only 1 exception:A6). The C8 and the custom custom are my favorite.