How does Duncan Distortion compare to Custom, Evolution, Super Distortion?

[Top-L]

I'm trying to get a frame of reference for how it sounds, relative to other pickups I have.

From what I have read, it has less bass than a Super Distortion, and high mid spike like a JB, so maybe its a bit like an Evo? Or is it like a ceramic full shred?

[beaubrummels]

I can only compare Distortion to Custom. (Don't have Evolution and haven't installed my Super Distortion in anything yet.) In my case, I tend to always play with Marshall Plexi sounds at the edge of break up, such that laying into the strings howls like the afterburner of a jet, but playing lightly or backing off the volume gets me bright and clean with just a few tell-tale sparkles of grit; so factor that in my feedback (e.g. I don't have triple rectifiers or Engl or Diezel or super high gain amps)

Custom lives up to it's name of being a hot PAF sound. It has filled in mids. Nice loud stereotypical 'Les Paul' kind of sound. The bass is tight. But it's also bright on the top and has extended high end IME. For some people, in certain guitars, through certain amp setups, that may translate as too bright or fizzy. For me, just rolling the tone off 2-3 numbers solves it. I tend to favor more flat, even response from my amps, so I don't have a problem with it. But I can tell it's brighter than some other models when I swap them around. I've used it mostly in a Les Paul Studio though.

Distortion I used in both my Les Paul Studio and in my Jackson. I had a very different experience between the two guitars. In my LP, it wasn't as tight or bright as the Custom. The low end actually sounded a touch flabby or buzzy. (For example, it sounded like the guitar on Led Zeppelin's Black Dog, but thicker and fuller). Totally unexpected from a ceramic high-output pickup, but that's what it did. In my Jackson is was a different animal. Brighter and tighter all the way. Sounded like Scorpions 'Lovin' You Sunday Morning' to me. I felt I could do almost any 80's shred I wanted with that one. I think the bright body and Floyd thinness contributed to the result I experienced.

YMMV. Others will likely have wildly different experiences based on the guitars and amps they are using.

[Rex_Rocker]

I've never had the Evo Bridge and it's been ages since I've had the Super Distortion.

But I always compare the Duncan Distorton sorta like to the JB and the Custom:

It has the high mids of the JB, but the grind and rasp of a Custom. The low-end is tighter than either (FWIW, I don't think neither the JB nor the Custom are particularly tight). It has more low-end than the JB, but not as much as the Custom. It doesn't have the stuffy low mids of the JB, though, so that's why it's tighter.

IMO, it resembles the JB more than the Custom, but I'd stilly say it's sorta like a middle ground EQ-wise. But output wise, it's hotter than either. Kinda hard to say which is hotter between the JB and the Custom, but the Distortion is way hotter, just not as hot as the BW or X2N.

It is a killer pickup, honestly. Very 90's Metal, but tight and cutting enough to be good for more contemporary tones. I was all about actives and didn't even consider passives before I tried the Duncan Distortion. Man, what a killer pickup.

[Inflames626]

I'm trying to get a frame of reference for how it sounds, relative to other pickups I have.

From what I have read, it has less bass than a Super Distortion, and high mid spike like a JB, so maybe its a bit like an Evo? Or is it like a ceramic full shred?

I can only compare it to the Custom.

The Custom line is more like a rhythm guitar pickup. The Custom is chunky and thick with more clarity but less gain than the Distortion. Imagine having a high gain sound but you have the gain and presence dialed back to where you have more definition.

The Distortion is like turning up the gain and especially the presence. There is more sizzle, high end, and brightness. To me this causes ear fatigue because of the icepick highs being like nails on a chalkboard, so I tend to use the Distortion for tracking solos only, whereas rhythm tracks (which may be anywhere from doubled to x6 depending on if I want to use a 16th or 32nd of digital delay) get something like a Custom because there is less harshness is the tone to muddy up a mix.

In short, Distortion is like turning preamp gain to 9 to 10 say on a 5150. Lots of fizz. Custom is much more muscular and defined, like a scooped Dual Rec tone, gain on about 7 (Custom 5 is even more scooped).

Full Shred has the lows dialed way back and is much clearer and gentler in the highs than the Distortion. I actually prefer the Full Shred to the Distortion for that reason.

I also prefer to Parallel Axis Original Trembucker, as it has characteristics of the Distortion but is not as grating on the ears (for reference, at 43 years old I can hear up to about 16 khz now and I tend to gently shelve everything above 5 khz to control stuff like hiss, fizz, cymbal wash, keyboard artifacts, etc.).

I always think in terms of a mixer, even when playing live.

[Rex_Rocker]

I personally don't find the Distortion fizzier than the Custom.

We all perceive things differently, of course. And "presence" doesn't mean the same for us all. But I usually think of presence in the way it works on a 5150 or a Recto in Modern mode. Like the uppermost sizzle the amp puts out. However, I know a JCM800's presence knob is actually controling a lower frequency than the treble knob, so even what "presence" means is up for debate.

I do feel like the uppermost frequencies both pickups put out is more or less the same in terms of "amount". You could go all technicall and argue resonant peaks and whatnot. The Distortion has a lower resonant peak than the Custom. However, no one is going to tell you the Distortion is a dark pickup. However, for me, they both feel more or less equally trebly, raspy, and sizzly, but not "airy" like a PAF-type either.

However, I do agree that the Distortion does come across as harsher because consider it doesn't have less sizzle than the Custom (perceivably, I mean), but it also has the JB's high mids on top of that. Add to that the Custom does have a bigger low-end, and yeah. That's why it sure comes across as that.

I do agree that the Custom might come across as "clearer" at first, but once you start dialing up the gain to match the saturation of a Custom-equipped guitar to a Distortion-equipped guitar, you're getting into a territory where the exta clarity the Custom offers becomes arguably negligible (IMO, of course). That being said, I've never had a problem with the Distortion's clarity. In general, I feel both Distortion and Custom are very "Duncan" in terms of sonic signature where even if they're high output overwound monsters, there is always clarity and high-end detail in the pickups' designs (compared to many DiMarzios, for example, which tend to have a rounder high-end and a bigger low-mid emphasis) with of course, several exceptions.

But overall, I don't find the Distortion fizzier than the Custom, personally. Harsher, yes, probably. Fizzier, not for me. Nor muddy whatsoever either. But we all like different things, of course.

[Clint 55]

It sounds like a modern JB. It has the same mid grind from the bass all the way through to the top. But the bass is a bit rounder and the mids are fizzy.

[orpheo]

All below is just my opinion, my ears, via my gear/rig

The Distortion has a fizzy top end, tight low end and a huge midrange. It's tight a.f.
The Custom is fatter, less output, but also tight. It has a huge punch in the midrange and the mids 'feel' bigger than on the Distortion.
Super Distortion: fat, fatter fattest. If Lizzo was a guitar pickup, it would be the Super Distortion.
Evolution: TIGHT, superb pick attack. No fizz at all, extremely articulated, very even sounding. (my fav of this bunch).

JB: upper mid range spike but a 'liquid' feel to it. The low end is not a slab of concrete like the Distortion. It's more like a flexible bounce.

[marcello252]

I can talk about these three:

JB - mid-high spike, ideal to be heard in a band mix during a solo, a bit soft on the bass, compared to a common HB I think it is, in terms of sonical analogy, what the telecaster is for the stratocaster for example

Custom - take a '59, pump a lot the volume and the mids , I dont' hear that V shaped eq the 59 has

DMZ Super Distortion - take the Custom and make it way fatter in the bass and mid part of the eq, but it is very musical, I think it has a very distinctive character, like a JB

[hamerfan]

Most of descriptions fit into my experiences.
All in all the Custom is strong but still vintagey. The JB is slick and more compressed. The Distortion is fat and growly, but also brings me easily to ear fatigue. The Gibson 500T is over the Top and muddy to me.
My recent go to is the Distortion neck in the bridge. It's aiming towards the Distortion, means growlier than the Custom and meaner with attitude.

[Rex_Rocker]

500T for me is more JB EQ profile than Distortion (IMO), except with some elements from the Custom and Distortion thrown in. And hotter than the JB and *maybe* hotter than the Distortion, but I've never AB'd the output of both directly, TBH.

I love the 500T, personally. I like all 500T, JB, and Duncan Distortion (in that order), but they're all more or less in the same family of pickups IMO. Same as the Black Winter.

Another thing I'd like to add is I don't think the Custom is tight. I wouldn't say it's tighter than the JB, even. The JB has more stuffy/spongy low-mids, and the Custom is more immediate because of the Ceramic magnet, but it still has a very prominent low-end that can get boomy easily. You all have been saying it. The Custom is fat. If a pickup is fat, for me, it's not tight. It's the two opposite sides of the spectrum. Not to say the Custom is bad or that it cannot be dialed in tight or that it's even close to the loosest pickup ever. But I don't think it's particularly tight, IMO.

[Top-L]

All below is just my opinion, my ears, via my gear/rig

The Distortion has a fizzy top end, tight low end and a huge midrange. It's tight a.f.
The Custom is fatter, less output, but also tight. It has a huge punch in the midrange and the mids 'feel' bigger than on the Distortion.
Super Distortion: fat, fatter fattest. If Lizzo was a guitar pickup, it would be the Super Distortion.
Evolution: TIGHT, superb pick attack. No fizz at all, extremely articulated, very even sounding. (my fav of this bunch).

JB: upper mid range spike but a 'liquid' feel to it. The low end is not a slab of concrete like the Distortion. It's more like a flexible bounce.

I've been looking for a hot pickup with some sizzle. You know that sound that was popular in the 80s, when you mute the strings while picking and you still get that sizzle? It sound like you get a little swish noise every time you pick. I like that.

I've played the Evolutions for years, but they are not as thick as teh D sonic I've been using, which I may prefer a bit. But that could all change depending on what I'm playing through. This is why I have different pickups in all my guitars. Its like having different colors to paint with. Despite how hot the Evos are, they sound more like rock than metal.

You confirmed that the Duncan Distortion and Super Distortion are different pickups, not one trying to copy the other. I might buy a Super Distortion for a backup guitar so I have something that does the Maiden sound.

[Rex_Rocker]

You confirmed that the Duncan Distortion and Super Distortion are different pickups.

Yeah, nowhere near the same.

Consider the Distortion a JB fine tuned for nasty grindy Metal. That's way oversimplifying, but that's what it kind of is for me. Way more similar to the JB than to the Super Distortion.

[orpheo]

Yeah, nowhere near the same.

Consider the Distortion a JB fine tuned for nasty grindy Metal. That's way oversimplifying, but that's what it kind of is for me. Way more similar to the JB than to the Super Distortion.

right on the money dude. The SuperDistortion uses a brass baseplate vs nickelsilver, uses huge polepieces versus the usual size, 43awg versus 44awg, and a chunkymonkey ceramic magnet.

The Custom is closer to the Superdistortion but with a thinner magnet, so it's not as thick and booming as the SuperD.

The EVO is a weird one. It's ceramic, yes, but it's almost singlecoily in its vibe. OK, let's compare it to Seymour Duncan's.

EVO-Neck is like the Jazz neck: very articulate, clear, clean, super pick attack.
EVO-Bridge is like the Screaming Demon: almost like a singlecoil in its attack. The EvoBridge is a little less brittle and thin sounding than the Screaming Demon, but close.

[Top-L]

right on the money dude. The SuperDistortion uses a brass baseplate vs nickelsilver, uses huge polepieces versus the usual size, 43awg versus 44awg, and a chunkymonkey ceramic magnet.

The Custom is closer to the Superdistortion but with a thinner magnet, so it's not as thick and booming as the SuperD.

The EVO is a weird one. It's ceramic, yes, but it's almost singlecoily in its vibe. OK, let's compare it to Seymour Duncan's.

EVO-Neck is like the Jazz neck: very articulate, clear, clean, super pick attack.
EVO-Bridge is like the Screaming Demon: almost like a singlecoil in its attack. The EvoBridge is a little less brittle and thin sounding than the Screaming Demon, but close.

Is the screamin demon hotter than the full shred?

I thought the FS was close to the EVO, but it had a more open top because A5. If the Screamin Demon is hotter than the FS, then I will definitely give it a try some time, but I remember seeing an equivalence chart that put the demon closer to the Fred (which I also love.)

All these pickups are in my wheelhouse.

[jeremy]

the fs is hotter than the demon