Best duncan for semi-hollow mahogany guitar?

[Auburn RSX-S]

Hey gang. I've got a Carvin Holdsworth guitar that has a mahognay body and a chambered inside and a quilted maple top. The neck is set and it's also mahogany.

I know mahogany is a fairly neutral tone wood so I've got 2 pickups I'm considering but wondering if any of you SD gurus out there would know which would be best mated for this wood and config.

I'm leaning either towards the JB or the Custom 5. The guitar has the standard carvin holdsworth humbuckers in there now and the neck pickup I think sounds better than either the Jazz or '59 model but the bridge pickup just doesn't have the bite or power that I need. I mean, it's got a really sweet juicy sound but it's a classic rock pickup at best.

I've got a wolfgang pickup in my DC135 guitar in the bridge and a Custom Custom model in my Kramer replica at the bridge but I need somthing that can kick this holdsworth's tone into overdrive.

It looks like they're extremely similar tone-wise. I'm just not sure which one would be best to go into a mahogany guitar and how the chambered body would affect the tone of the pickup. It's got plenty of natural mids so I'm needing cutting but smooth highs and clarity as I do a lot of lead work.

Thanks for any help/suggestions!

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: Best duncan for semi-hollow mahogany guitar?

Try a Custom 8

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Best duncan for semi-hollow mahogany guitar?

I think the Custom 5 has more actual highs/harmonics than the JB, but the JB has the fatter tone and thicker mids. The mids have a lot of prescence in the JB...expecially the upper mid/lower treble frequencies. Personally, I love the Custom Custom and Seth Lover in my chambered mahogany body/maple top guitar: Hamer Monoco Super Pro. That guitar has eaten up every Les Paul I've compared it to...three to date: One with Tom Holmes HB's, one with Jazz N and JB, one with Burstbuckers. The Seth Lover and Custom Custom combo is hard to beat.

 

[Auburn RSX-S]

Re: Best duncan for semi-hollow mahogany guitar?

You mean the SH-8? The invader?

 

[St_Genesius]

Re: Best duncan for semi-hollow mahogany guitar?

No, he means the mod-du-jour, an Alnico 8 magnet swapped into a Custom, Custom Custom or Custom 5.

You mean the SH-8? The invader?

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: Best duncan for semi-hollow mahogany guitar?

No, he means the mod-du-jour, an Alnico 8 magnet swapped into a Custom, Custom Custom or Custom 5.

You are correct, sir! Kayooooo!!!!

 

[Auburn RSX-S]

Re: Best duncan for semi-hollow mahogany guitar?

Can you buy these? Or do you have to frankenstein them together?

What are the tonal properties of them in comparison to the JB and Custom 5?

 

[hamerfan]

Re: Best duncan for semi-hollow mahogany guitar?

Frankenstein it! Its a thing of 10 minutes and can be reversed without trace. I do it while looking TV - kind of sofa sports to me ;-)

 

[Fusion1]

Re: Best duncan for semi-hollow mahogany guitar?

How about trying a Custom/59 Hybrid for the bridge of your Carvin Holdsworth? Should kick it up a notch.

On a side note, I have always been curious to see how an original Seymour Duncan Holdsworth pickup would sound in that Carvin. Basically its a JB with an alnico 2 magnet and a double row of adjustable pole pieces.

 

[JumpMarine]

Re: Best duncan for semi-hollow mahogany guitar?

+1 for the Custom Custom and the Seth's

 

[Auburn RSX-S]

Re: Best duncan for semi-hollow mahogany guitar?

cool. Thanks for the suggestions. IF I were wanting to make the custom 8, how do I obtain the alnico 8 magnet to put in there? And which mag in the custom 5 would I swap out?

Are there any instructions here on this proceedure?

 

[Lu_B]

Re: Best duncan for semi-hollow mahogany guitar?

+1 for Seths