Best Duncan HB to match Fender single coil pickups?

[papersoul]

Hello everyone!

Hope I may ask this question and I am sure it has been answered before but I did not see anything linking a great Duncan with the
Fender Fat 50s. I have a stock 2013 HSS American Standard with a Diamondback humbucker and two Fat 50s singles.

I am looking for a Duncan in the bridge that has great clean, with great mid to high gain tones. I am thinking something similar to a PAF
or something in the 59, Custom 5 category. Maybe the PATB-3, C5, 59, PG, PG+, 59/Custome Hybrid or Dimarzio 36th PAF? Must splt well too. Maple fretboard.

Music is classic rock, blues, rock and hard rock.

Thanks!!!!

 

[Rockstar216]

Re: Best Duncan HB to match Fender single coil pickups?

Screamin Demon or put in a JB and wire it to split.

 

[papersoul]

Re: Best Duncan HB to match Fender single coil pickups?

Thanks sir! JB, I am not a fan of in a strat, poor cleans and too hot. I thought the Demon is supposed to be very bright!!!!

 

[Rockstar216]

Re: Best Duncan HB to match Fender single coil pickups?

Oh I just saw you said the 59/custom hybrid that is a great option as well. As for the demon I can't speak for the full size since I have the lil version but I wouldn't call it overly bright. I will say it is very articulate and will hold together under extreme gain better then those fat 50's.

Me personally I hated the cleans from the Custom 5 mind you my clean tone is very clean no grit with a bit of chime. Now if you get your clean from rolling back on your vol knob while already using dirt then for that application I love the mild crunch to slightly over driven clean tones it gives off.

 

[esandes]

Re: Best Duncan HB to match Fender single coil pickups?

for good high gain tones i would go for an alnico 5 humbucker. as mentioned the 59/custom hybrid may do the trick. there's also the whole lotta bucker or the brobucker.

check the sound clips in the tone chart. you'd be surprised how good the JB clean tones are. i think it's the best sounding pickup that you can hear here. i don't think the whole lotta bucker or brobucker are available in sound clips.

 

[papersoul]

Re: Best Duncan HB to match Fender single coil pickups?

Thanks again for your help! I want the pickup to blend well with my Fat 50s single coils. So, I am leaning toward low output and bright. I will be using the stock 250K pots. Duncan recommends the 59 or Pearly Gates. I love the clean tones of the stock Fender DB pickup but not a fan of the overdriven tones.
I won't rule out a Rio Grande Texas or DiMarzio like the 36th PAF Anniversary pickup.

 

[esandes]

Re: Best Duncan HB to match Fender single coil pickups?

here's a clip of the next guitar i'm getting, the G&L fallout. the stock humbucker in the bridge is a JB. the clean tones sound great to me..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9kQXuHOL20

since you plan on keeping a common 250k volume pot, the JB would be perfect. i also use an alnico 2 pro and i swear it sounded better when i used a 250k pot with it than with the new configuration i have with it using a 500k pot. the a2p is a nicely balanced pickup that sounds good clean and screams a bit for solos.

 

[phred]

Best Duncan HB to match Fender single coil pickups?

I have a 59 with two Fender 57/62s and it does classic rock very well with my Vox VT50. Now my floyded strat with a 78 and Texas Specials does it in spades. Both have 250k pots btw.

 

[papersoul]

Re: Best Duncan HB to match Fender single coil pickups?

esandes, are you suggesting A2Pro or the JB? Duncan recommends the Pearly Gates. Will the JB balance with Fender Fat 50s single coils? That could be a tough one!

I am tempted however to try the JB next. However, I want this humbucker to be closer to a single coil when clean. I tried the Fender Atomic humbucker which is supposed to be similar to the JB and hated it.

Wow, that new G&L looks awesome, that may be my next guitar! I am not kidding, but I am in love with tha G&L Fallout. Thanks for letting me know about it. I have wanted a G&L for years, but never found the right model for me, till now!

I actually like the Rio Grande BBQ over the Duncan JB for most applications.

Keep in mind Duncan designed the JB for warm guitars, primarily with rosewood fretboards. A strat is brighter and mine has a maple board.

Since I want this strat to be rather low output and clean, I may do the 59 or Pearly Gates, maybe the Pearly Gates Plus since it has an Alnico 5. I want the bridge humbucker of this guitar to be almost single coilish. Another pickup said to be almost single coilish at times is the DiMarzio 36th Anniversary PAF!

here's a clip of the next guitar i'm getting, the G&L fallout. the stock humbucker in the bridge is a JB. the clean tones sound great to me..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9kQXuHOL20

since you plan on keeping a common 250k volume pot, the JB would be perfect. i also use an alnico 2 pro and i swear it sounded better when i used a 250k pot with it than with the new configuration i have with it using a 500k pot. the a2p is a nicely balanced pickup that sounds good clean and screams a bit for solos.

 

[marcello252]

Re: Best Duncan HB to match Fender single coil pickups?

I had in my strat a JB with SSL1s for almost 10 years with 250K pots.
The JB sounds wonderful but IS indeed hot compared with the singles, both in level and tone, even when left far from the strings.
It depends on the tone you're after, in my opinion if you're looking for a level comparable you should have to check a lower impedance HB, a '59, A2P, Seth, Jazz, PG or something like that. Then you have to choose the type of magnet, A2 if you want a warmer sound with rolled off highs and compressed bass, A5 if you're looking for a brighter, tight but slightly hollower tone

 

[papersoul]

Re: Best Duncan HB to match Fender single coil pickups?

The stock Diamondback is pretty impressive. I may leave it, but I might just try a DiMarzio 36th, Duncan 59 or PG+ for fun.

 

[esandes]

Re: Best Duncan HB to match Fender single coil pickups?

esandes, are you suggesting A2Pro or the JB? Duncan recommends the Pearly Gates. Will the JB balance with Fender Fat 50s single coils? That could be a tough one!

I am tempted however to try the JB next. However, I want this humbucker to be closer to a single coil when clean. I tried the Fender Atomic humbucker which is supposed to be similar to the JB and hated it.

Wow, that new G&L looks awesome, that may be my next guitar! I am not kidding, but I am in love with tha G&L Fallout. Thanks for letting me know about it. I have wanted a G&L for years, but never found the right model for me, till now!

I actually like the Rio Grande BBQ over the Duncan JB for most applications.

Keep in mind Duncan designed the JB for warm guitars, primarily with rosewood fretboards. A strat is brighter and mine has a maple board.

Since I want this strat to be rather low output and clean, I may do the 59 or Pearly Gates, maybe the Pearly Gates Plus since it has an Alnico 5. I want the bridge humbucker of this guitar to be almost single coilish. Another pickup said to be almost single coilish at times is the DiMarzio 36th Anniversary PAF!

i just can't imagine the JB to be too overpowering for the single coils. but if there is some doubt the alnico 2 pickups; 78, alnico 2 pro or pearly gates would be good candidates. yes, the pearly gates is an alnico 2 magnet-based pickup.

as you may know, the JB sounds alot like a single coil when the coils are split. although the atomic has the same specs as the JB alot of people say they are totally different.

the dimarzio 36th anniversary pickup sounded lackluster and bland from all of the clips i've listened to.

yes the fallout is a very cool guitar. you could order a swamp ash body, as opposed to the standard alder, for no extra charge.

 

[CTN]

Re: Best Duncan HB to match Fender single coil pickups?

I think you should glue a motherbucker to an X2N.

that'd be great!

 

[papersoul]

Re: Best Duncan HB to match Fender single coil pickups?

Thanks esandes, I appreciate the info! I just ordered a Pearly Gates Plus and will see how it works. I prefer to keep this strat closer to single coil output with all three pickups.

I have lots of humbucker guitars and don't want this to be a jack of all trades as I originally thought.
I just can't stand single coils in the bridge slot. That is why even my Tele has a Lil 59 in the bridge slot.

 

[esandes]

Re: Best Duncan HB to match Fender single coil pickups?

yeah single coils in the bridge just don't cut it for me too.

let us know how the PG+ works out.

 

[papersoul]

Re: Best Duncan HB to match Fender single coil pickups?

yeah single coils in the bridge just don't cut it for me too.

let us know how the PG+ works out.

Thank you brother!

How would you compare the JB to the Pearly Gates? I decided to start with the JB since I can get a better price on a TB-4 black.

What makes you think the JB will not over power my Fender Fat 50s?

Thanks!

 

[esandes]

Re: Best Duncan HB to match Fender single coil pickups?

Thank you brother!

How would you compare the JB to the Pearly Gates? I decided to start with the JB since I can get a better price on a TB-4 black.

What makes you think the JB will not over power my Fender Fat 50s?

Thanks!

no problem.

i actually never tried the JB or PG yet. i think the PG is similar to the A2P but has more bite, as they say. the PG has a bit more DCR than the A2P and both have the same magnet so i'd think the PG would have a tad bit more juice than the A2P. the JB is on another level; alnico 5 magnet and twice the DCR.

i have some low output single coils that are coupled with a pretty hot humbucker and the single coils have very low output and they don't get drowned out with the humbucker, surprisingly, when i switch the pickup position. the pickup height adjustments can help to compensate for any output differences.

also in the video clip, that JB probably has 2-3 times more wire than the P-90 it is coupled with but they work well together.

 

[papersoul]

Re: Best Duncan HB to match Fender single coil pickups?

Good points! I agree you can always raise the single coils higher but I have always read that single coil pickups should nwver be close to the stru ngs as this will ruin sustain and other things as well?

no problem.

i actually never tried the JB or PG yet. i think the PG is similar to the A2P but has more bite, as they say. the PG has a bit more DCR than the A2P and both have the same magnet so i'd think the PG would have a tad bit more juice than the A2P. the JB is on another level; alnico 5 magnet and twice the DCR.

i have some low output single coils that are coupled with a pretty hot humbucker and the single coils have very low output and they don't get drowned out with the humbucker, surprisingly, when i switch the pickup position. the pickup height adjustments can help to compensate for any output differences.

also in the video clip, that JB probably has 2-3 times more wire than the P-90 it is coupled with but they work well together.

 

[esandes]

Re: Best Duncan HB to match Fender single coil pickups?

raising the pickups closer to the strings can cause some sustain loss but not enough for me to notice. the closer the pickup the more sensitive i find it to be so i'd say it nullifies the slight loss of sustain.

 

[Mr. B]

Re: Best Duncan HB to match Fender single coil pickups?

I have had just about every humbucker duncan makes in a strat at one point. The 250k pots thing is what gets you. A lot of humbuckers do not sound good running with 2 250k's. I found that the Fat 50's actually sound better to me using a 300k volume pot, which gives the humbucker a little more room to breathe. I've settled for the CustomCustom in the bridge. It is just great in a strat, and balances pretty well with the output of the singles. The JB sounds good with 250k pots, but it does overpower the singles. The Pearly Gates is another one that balances well, but I wasn't crazy about it. I also didn't like the 59 in my strat, but I did try it with 250k pots, so.. One pickup that really surprised me in a strat was the now discontinued Virtual Hot PAF from Dimarzio. It even had a great strat-like notched tone when combined with the middle pickup