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So I've now had all three on my Strat as well as the 'Winter and the 500T on my Les Paul. I made a thread about asking the differences between the DD and the 500T some time ago, so I figured I'd follow up with my own experience.
OK... so I'm probably going to compare them all to the JB in one way or another. I haven't had the JB in either these guitars, but I know the JB really well, and I know many of you do to.
So the Duncan Distortion has the broadest EQ of all. It's still a mid-focused pickup in the grand scheme of things, of course, but compared to the 500T and the Black Winter, it has the lowest lows and the highest highs. There is some top-end sizzle as well as... I wouldn't say it has a super deep bottom-end, but it's not as rolled off as the BW. The high mids are not as emphatic as the 500T. I know there is an ongoing debate on wether it's the same wind as the JB or not, but IME, it's not hard to hear that it is related to the JB in one way or the other. The DD opens up the lows and the highs compared to the JB, but since it's also higher output, it seems to have more of both.
The Black Winter is the tightest, most focused of the bunch. It has the leanest, fastest, tightest low-end. But since the low-end is rolled off, it also comes across as the most focused. It's not got as much sizzle as the Distortion, but the low-end rolloff makes it seem as it is as bright. It has a very emphatic twang when you pick hard. The high-end is raspy or bitey rather than sizzly like the Distortion. It also has more mids. I wouldn't say more low-mids, but high mids and core mids for sure. It is also the hottest of the bunch. It truly is really hot. It's the hottest passive I've tried alongside the X2N. Both have more or less the same output level.
The 500T is the middle ground between the DD and the BW. It's got the low-end of the Distortion, but it's got the upper mids of the BW. It hasn't got the same output as the BW, but it's closer to the BW than to the Distortion in that regard. People mentioned the 500T had more low-end than the Distortion, but that wasn't my experience. The 500T seemed more focused to me, but maybe that's because it's got more emphasis on the high-mids and more output. IMO, the 500T is the one that comes across as a "JB with a Ceramic magnet" the most.
So... yeah! Let's discuss! Do you agree or do you not?
On a last comment, I'd say all three are certainly more alike than different. They resemble each other more than they do, let's say, the Custom, for example.
OK... so I'm probably going to compare them all to the JB in one way or another. I haven't had the JB in either these guitars, but I know the JB really well, and I know many of you do to.
So the Duncan Distortion has the broadest EQ of all. It's still a mid-focused pickup in the grand scheme of things, of course, but compared to the 500T and the Black Winter, it has the lowest lows and the highest highs. There is some top-end sizzle as well as... I wouldn't say it has a super deep bottom-end, but it's not as rolled off as the BW. The high mids are not as emphatic as the 500T. I know there is an ongoing debate on wether it's the same wind as the JB or not, but IME, it's not hard to hear that it is related to the JB in one way or the other. The DD opens up the lows and the highs compared to the JB, but since it's also higher output, it seems to have more of both.
The Black Winter is the tightest, most focused of the bunch. It has the leanest, fastest, tightest low-end. But since the low-end is rolled off, it also comes across as the most focused. It's not got as much sizzle as the Distortion, but the low-end rolloff makes it seem as it is as bright. It has a very emphatic twang when you pick hard. The high-end is raspy or bitey rather than sizzly like the Distortion. It also has more mids. I wouldn't say more low-mids, but high mids and core mids for sure. It is also the hottest of the bunch. It truly is really hot. It's the hottest passive I've tried alongside the X2N. Both have more or less the same output level.
The 500T is the middle ground between the DD and the BW. It's got the low-end of the Distortion, but it's got the upper mids of the BW. It hasn't got the same output as the BW, but it's closer to the BW than to the Distortion in that regard. People mentioned the 500T had more low-end than the Distortion, but that wasn't my experience. The 500T seemed more focused to me, but maybe that's because it's got more emphasis on the high-mids and more output. IMO, the 500T is the one that comes across as a "JB with a Ceramic magnet" the most.
So... yeah! Let's discuss! Do you agree or do you not?
On a last comment, I'd say all three are certainly more alike than different. They resemble each other more than they do, let's say, the Custom, for example.
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