Anyone Ever Compare: SH-5 Custom to an Air Zone

[LesPaulRules]

I've had several Air Zones in various Les Pauls. They sound good in brighter pauls, as they have slightly rolled off highs, and very big lows (though not the tightest).

I've also tried Custom Customs and a Custom 5 (Just did a magnet swap). The CC is very smooth, but I need a tighter pickup. The C5 was just too scooped for my tastes, even in a Les Paul.

Just curious if anyone has played both an Air Zone and a regular Custom SH-5, and could compare the two?

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Anyone Ever Compare: SH-5 Custom to an Air Zone

I've had 'em in my 81 Hamer Special. It's a two piece mahogany body, mahogany necked, double cut, string thru guitar with a Gibson scale and a rosewood fretboard. It also sports a very thin maple cap. Tonally, it's much closer to a SG than to a LP. Both are hot, aggressive sounding pickups that sound great with high gain but don't do particularly well under low gain OD sounds.

Under those conditions, the AZ is muffled and the Custom is too fizzy in the highs.

For heavy, tight rythms, I'd go with the Custom. For thick, smooth lead tones, the AZ is king.