Just a quick review (as I myself did not find much in terms of information comparing these 2 pickups specifically).
A while ago I got myself a used MIK Tokai (LP Custom style). Very nice playing and looking guitar, pickups were not too bad, but not suited to what I'm playing.
Put a Dimarzio Super Distortion that I had lying around in the bridge position and it was a nice uprade at first.
Became a big fan of the SD overall: Huge, fat, rough tone with nice low end but enough cut. Did not replace the neck HB to match the SD though to get a more long-term impression of the SD.
Now I had the chance to pick up a used Duncan Alternative 8 with gold cover (the SD was open black) for a good price, so I just went for it for mostly shallow/superficial reasons and because I've been intrigued by the pickup for a long time.
The previous owner warned me that it's a very loud and "present" pickup, which did not exactly match what I found about it online ... or my experience after putting it in my guitar in the end.
So I swapped the SD for the Alt8 now and I'm pretty happy. The mids are filled out more nicely (SD sounded kind of dark/almost scoopy in comparison), the highs are not as sharp, it's less rough/hairy sounding. A bit less "open" sounding and maybe not as good for heavier classic rock tones compared to the SD, but from 80's metal (something in the midrange makes me think 80's) and beyond the Alt8 does higher gain tones very well. And in the end downtuned (D-Standard and Drop C) high gain tones is what I'm going for.
Overall more refined, maybe more "modern", a bit tighter, smoother. I like its lead tone more and it fits the stock neck pickup pretty well (I guess it would pair well with most low-to-medium-output PAF-ish pickups).
The SD has its qualities and character, but looking back I'm more happy with the Alt8 in this guitar. It seems more appropriate for the lack of a better description, especially since I liked the neck pickup pretty well. Switching from bridge to neck PU does not sound like switching to a different instrument anymore.
The SD will go into an LTD EX together with a Super 2, let's see how that goes.
Summing up:
If you are in the market for a high-gain pickup in a mahagony guitar that doesn't sound too aggressive and hairy, doesn't have too sharp attack as some (ceramic) metal pickups tend to have, doesn't sound dark, has a big but tight low end, mids to cut through the mix but without any honkyness, works well for both lead-tones and rythm chugging, the Alternative 8 is most likely a good bet.
A while ago I got myself a used MIK Tokai (LP Custom style). Very nice playing and looking guitar, pickups were not too bad, but not suited to what I'm playing.
Put a Dimarzio Super Distortion that I had lying around in the bridge position and it was a nice uprade at first.
Became a big fan of the SD overall: Huge, fat, rough tone with nice low end but enough cut. Did not replace the neck HB to match the SD though to get a more long-term impression of the SD.
Now I had the chance to pick up a used Duncan Alternative 8 with gold cover (the SD was open black) for a good price, so I just went for it for mostly shallow/superficial reasons and because I've been intrigued by the pickup for a long time.
The previous owner warned me that it's a very loud and "present" pickup, which did not exactly match what I found about it online ... or my experience after putting it in my guitar in the end.
So I swapped the SD for the Alt8 now and I'm pretty happy. The mids are filled out more nicely (SD sounded kind of dark/almost scoopy in comparison), the highs are not as sharp, it's less rough/hairy sounding. A bit less "open" sounding and maybe not as good for heavier classic rock tones compared to the SD, but from 80's metal (something in the midrange makes me think 80's) and beyond the Alt8 does higher gain tones very well. And in the end downtuned (D-Standard and Drop C) high gain tones is what I'm going for.
Overall more refined, maybe more "modern", a bit tighter, smoother. I like its lead tone more and it fits the stock neck pickup pretty well (I guess it would pair well with most low-to-medium-output PAF-ish pickups).
The SD has its qualities and character, but looking back I'm more happy with the Alt8 in this guitar. It seems more appropriate for the lack of a better description, especially since I liked the neck pickup pretty well. Switching from bridge to neck PU does not sound like switching to a different instrument anymore.
The SD will go into an LTD EX together with a Super 2, let's see how that goes.
Summing up:
- Great pickup for a warm/dark sounding guitar
- Recommended for anything from 80's metal tones up to modern high gain and everything inbetween
- Big, tight low end, present midrange, smooth highs, very articulate
- Good clarity for a high gain pickup, not overly compressed
- Great allrounder for both rythm and lead playing
- Works well paired with a PAF-type neck pickup (from my limited experience so far)
- Not the most aggressive, in-your-face sounding pickup, but still very loud and powerful
- Good clarity for a high gain pickup, not overly compressed
- Great allrounder for both rythm and lead playing
- Works well paired with a PAF-type neck pickup (from my limited experience so far)
If you are in the market for a high-gain pickup in a mahagony guitar that doesn't sound too aggressive and hairy, doesn't have too sharp attack as some (ceramic) metal pickups tend to have, doesn't sound dark, has a big but tight low end, mids to cut through the mix but without any honkyness, works well for both lead-tones and rythm chugging, the Alternative 8 is most likely a good bet.
Comment