Color OCD- Duncan Cool Rails and Custom 5 trembucker

[Synapsys]

I'm considering these two pickups, the Rails in cream and the trembucker in reverse zebra. Is the lighter-colored coil the same as the zebra Rail?

[Bowtomecha]

Re: Color OCD- Duncan Cool Rails and Custom 5 trembucker

The zebra is black and cream. So the Cool Rails will match if you get it in cream.

[Bowtomecha]

Re: Color OCD- Duncan Cool Rails and Custom 5 trembucker

I had no idea until now that the Cool Rails was a single coil sized take on the Jazz. I always thought it was trying to be a bad traditional single coil sound lol.

[Synapsys]

Re: Color OCD- Duncan Cool Rails and Custom 5 trembucker

I asked this because on all the images I find online, taken for each pickup, they don't seem to match the color exactly. I blame it on the lighting and camera specs, though.

On the Cool Rails, I already have one on a poplar bodied Jackson Dinky, and it is becoming my favorite single coil sized neck pickup. Very versatile, and handles gain very well, especially for lead work. At least to my ears, guitar tone is not an exact science .

[jeremy]

Re: Color OCD- Duncan Cool Rails and Custom 5 trembucker

i have a cream cool rails and zebra duncan at home, i can check the color match when i get home from work and after my gig tonight

[Synapsys]

Re: Color OCD- Duncan Cool Rails and Custom 5 trembucker

Jeremy, thanks for you help. Take your time, I'm planning things for the future, so there's no urgency on this.

Hope the gig goes well! Rock on!

[jeremy]

Re: Color OCD- Duncan Cool Rails and Custom 5 trembucker

ill post a crappy cell pic later but the color is very slightly different when you put them right next to each other

edit: heres the pic

they are very close, if they werent right next to each other you might not be able to tell

[Synapsys]

Re: Color OCD- Duncan Cool Rails and Custom 5 trembucker

Thank you so much, Jeremy! If you ever come to Lisbon, Portugal, I'll have a beer with your name on it.

I see the tone is quite close indeed; still, why couldn't Duncan make the color match exactly?

To me, even being so close it makes my OCD cringe. Will have to take in consideration once I buy the guitar. The other option would be to get the Rails in white and a white zebra trembucker some sellers have available, but I don't think it will work that great with the guitar color and finish I want.

Back to do a little brainstorming about this, I guess!

[jeremy]

Re: Color OCD- Duncan Cool Rails and Custom 5 trembucker

i assume its due to the different plastics but i dont know

[AlexR]

Re: Color OCD- Duncan Cool Rails and Custom 5 trembucker

Yes, different plastic types take colour differently. But even with the same plastic formulation the raw materials are based on pigmentation with natural variation as an expected variable. Similarly, I don't think there has ever been an occurrence in history where the colour of paint from batch to batch has been the same.

Expecting zero variation in any product is merely a misplaced expectation.

[Synapsys]

Re: Color OCD- Duncan Cool Rails and Custom 5 trembucker

Well, if the competion can do it, why not Duncan?

On topic, I will probably go with a normal, not reverse zebra and keep the cream thing going.

[Mincer]

Re: Color OCD- Duncan Cool Rails and Custom 5 trembucker

Different plastics might age differently. A switch in the formulation might have occurred for a number of reasons. Also, Duncan has come up with different shades of cream to get around the patents of another company (in humbuckers).

[Synapsys]

Re: Color OCD- Duncan Cool Rails and Custom 5 trembucker

I tought about that, but I had the idea the DM no longer had the excluaive patent for cream humbuckers.

Still, given the distance between pickups, using a regular zebra and since the guitar has an HS configuration, the slight diffecrence in color won't be as evident.

[jeremy]

Re: Color OCD- Duncan Cool Rails and Custom 5 trembucker

the age may come into play now that dave mentions it, the pg in the pic is 10+ years old and the rails is a few months old

[AlexR]

Re: Color OCD- Duncan Cool Rails and Custom 5 trembucker

Well, if the competion can do it, why not Duncan?

On topic, I will probably go with a normal, not reverse zebra and keep the cream thing going.

I don't think the competition do it either. Dimarzio certainly have had many creams over the years even on their doublecream pickups, in fact I'm seeing a DiMarzio in google images that has two different bobbin colours on the 1 pickup.