Bridge pickup to pair with Custom Custom and 59 Custom in neck

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Inflames626

New member
Hi all,
So for those who follow my threads, I've built a Floyded '94 NJ BC Rich Mockingbird with a Custom 5 in the neck and Custom in the bridge. I was very happy with the results. When combined with Triple Shots, dual independent volume knobs, a tone knob, phase switch, and killswitch it is one of my most tonally versatile guitars. Rarely can I have a bright and warm neck pickup in the same guitar.

(FYI: independent volume knobs/phase switch on neck pickup/Shadow killpot on bridge pickup/.047uf master tone knob/Triple Shots are now part of my default passive pickup loadout whenever a guitar can accommodate them.)

I decided to go further with my bridge pickup in neck position experiments. I prefer an Alnico 2 to an Alnico 5 in the neck, actually, and thought about using the Custom Custom in the neck. I'm also considering the 59 Custom in the neck.

The thing is I am not sure what to put in the bridge. I thought I'd ask for advice. This is for passive pickups only.

I dislike using the same pickup in the same position on multiple guitars as this seems like wasted resources, so I am avoiding pickups I have used before in the bridge or plan to use in future builds (such as Pegasus/Sentient, Jazz bridge/Nazgul, etc.).

Passive pickups I have already used in the bridge or will use in the bridge and thus can be excluded: Custom Custom (in bridge), Full Shred, Distortion, Parallel Axis Original, Parallel Axis Distortion, Custom 5, Custom, Dimebucker, 59 set, Pearly Gates set, Jazz bridge/Nazgul, Pegasus/Sentient, Black Winter set, Jason Becker.

Pickups I have used in the bridge but disliked and am on the fence about using in future builds: Screamin' Demon, JB.

Pickups I have used and do not like: Alternative 8, Invader.

Pickups I have not used but I am curious about: Warren DeMartini, Exciter (guessing this is based on late 70s/early 80s Judas Priest tone from Stained Class to Defenders of the Faith), Jupiter, Thrash Factor, StagMag (I may use two of these in one guitar so I can have a Strat sound in both positions), Distortion neck in bridge (as "Seymourizer").

For the 59 Custom I am leaning toward a JB in the bridge even though I am not crazy about that iconic pickup. The 59 is often combined with the JB and I think having a 59 Custom to increase output might make for a better pairing with the JB. It can never hurt to have a JB equipped guitar as it sounds thick for slower riffs despite that loose low end and mid spike. I can hear a 59 Custom/JB in an SG/LTD Viper blues rock guitar in my mind.

For the Custom Custom I am leaning toward the Exciter or DiMartini.

For Alnico 2's in the bridge I am just not a fan. The Demon has a huge low end but feels a little thin in the mids and highs (I know it was supposed to be articulate--combine it with the mids and highs of a Full Shred and you'd have my ideal pickup).

Meanwhile, the Alnico 2 Gibson 57 Classic Plus felt a little rubbery and weak in the lows although it was a great hybrid picking pickup in the bridge. I would use it for bluegrass and country for sure.

Last observation: pickup winds seem to be getting hotter and hotter if one bases this on DCR numbers. I used to consider 16k upper limit and prefer 12-15k or so for a balance of clarity, distortion, and output.

I am now seeing 16k+ on newer Duncan designs up to 19k+. This is for production models and not custom shop options like the Slug.

My guess is DeMartini used a JB and a boosted JCM800 back in the day. The hotter wind on the new signature pickup may eliminate the need for a Tubescreamer or other front end amp assist.

Many thanks.
 
Also, my mistake. I thought the Demon was an Alnico 2.

My point: I don't really like low output Alnico 2's in the bridge. Very "springy" and, again to my ear, ideal for country and chicken pickin' licks.
 
I don't mean this in a bad way....but from the first post, why don't you tell me the three pickups you actually would use and I'll suggest then.
 
You can try approaching it from another viewpoint- decide on how you want the guitar to sound, and then get a pickup that will get you closer to that sound, even if it means using a pickup you have used before. If that is what the guitar needs to sound the way you want it to sound, don't worry too much about it. Otherwise it just becomes a race to get a high output pickup you haven't tried. That's cool, too, but that's a different goal than trying to make each guitar sound its best.
 
Hmm, Custom Custom neck, not A2 in the bridge, less than 16k. Have you tried or considered a DiMarzio Super Distortion?

StagMag is A2 poles and sounds like a Custom Custom with just a touch more Stratty twang to it.

Can't speak to the others you are curious/considering, I haven't tried them yet either.
 
Aceman said:
I don't mean this in a bad way....but from the first post, why don't you tell me the three pickups you actually would use and I'll suggest then.
Click to expand...

Aceman , I'd say Distortion neck in bridge, DeMartini, and Exciter. The Exciter sounds like a DeMartini but "boxier" due to increased mids. The DeMartini sounds much more well rounded--maybe like a hotter Becker.

The Distortion neck is about 13k. Custom Custom is 14.8k. Not sure how often neck pickups are hotter than the bridge but it's something to consider.

I usually quibble a bit with SD's EQ charts because there isn't a low/high mid distinction. Often when the mids are high on an SD pickup I avoid that one, at least in the bridge, because I find it unpleasant in the low mids around 400k. Scooping creates more clarity based on SD's charts. For neck pickups it's more complicated. Sometimes more mids cuts through and sometimes it makes it less articulate. I've always found the Jazz to be articulate but it is pretty mid scooped. The Demon is super articulate and slightly scooped.

Basically what I'm hearing as upper mids (around 2k) I think SD might be considering as highs on their charts. What SD considers mids I'm considering low mids and frequencies the bass would be better suited to fill (cut around 400-700 hz, and then the SD mids fill say 800hz-1.6k). Highs I consider anywhere from 5k up. Hiss and sizzle. Very much Distortion territory.

Mincer , I notice the new production models are still on the Custom Shop page. If one is just interested in stock looks (usually basic black with the SD logo), is there a difference between say a DeMartini on the production model page and the Custom Shop page?

beaubrummels , thanks for the info on the StagMag. I've considered it as the bridge pickup on my A2PS/A2PS/Custom Custom Adrian Smith HSS build. I may try to StagMag in it in place of the CC but two StagMags does sound interesting. I think a StagMag might get me closer to emulating a 3 single Strat too.

I'd prefer staying in the SD family right now as I've yet to try any DiMarzios. I will probably start with the PAF Pro/Super Distortion combo and go from there, although the Super 2 in bridge seems more my speed.

The only pickups I buy multiples of in the same position are Blackouts and the EMG 60/81, usually for drop tuned guitars for the SDs and for D-E standard tuned guitars in the second in 24 volts. Both tend to be master volume only and would be more live oriented guitars than all these passive guitars with Triple Shots and all sorts of features, which are meant more for dialing in during studio use.

The sound of both Blackouts and EMGs is just so ubiquitous that it's hard not to use them in multiple Floyded tunings.
 
Also, the original Scott Ian El Diablo thread was very informative. Scott's position on the Demon (increasing output while maintaining the overall tone) is what I was thinking too. I wouldn't call the highs on the Demon shrill. That's more the Distortion and why I'm preferring the smoother top end of the PATB pickups these days over the old school Distortion.
 
Inflames626 said:
Mincer , I notice the new production models are still on the Custom Shop page. If one is just interested in stock looks (usually basic black with the SD logo), is there a difference between say a DeMartini on the production model page and the Custom Shop page?
Click to expand...

It just depends if you want MJ to wind it or not. The recipe is the same. Honestly, I think they just don't update the Custom Shop page very much, so it is lagging.
 
Distortion neck is a good bridge pickup, from the little while I had with it. I only got to try it in that 25.5" Epiphone LP, the 7 string model. I recall it sounding firm and balanced with a decent amount of bite, without the continuous high end presence of the bridge Distortion, and I enjoyed playing it. Not mean-sounding enough for what I wanted out of that guitar, but I'd buy another for the right instrument.
 
Thanks Seashore . You've described the Distortion neck in bridge as I hoped it would sound.

Meanwhile, I'm wondering what a neck pickup designed to offset the Distortion in the bridge is supposed to sound like in the first place. Clean to be a polar opposite? Like the Distortion but toned down?

There's a lot of directions one could take the neck pickup considering the Distortion bridge's sound. The bridge version has its benefits but also definitely its drawbacks.

I would describe the Alternative 8 as "muscular." It's been many years since I've played it, but I remember it being in the template of the Distortion but warmer in the highs. Even backed down into the cavity I didn't like the fizziness in the 8. I think the Parallel Axis has done a better job of correcting the Distortion's (subjective) flaws.

Mr. Mincer , is it still possible to have the Custom Shop make the original El Diablo? Or is it like the Lynch Super V and kind of doesn't exist anymore except as something historical?
 
Inflames626 said:
Thanks Seashore

Mr. Mincer , is it still possible to have the Custom Shop make the original El Diablo? Or is it like the Lynch Super V and kind of doesn't exist anymore except as something historical?
Click to expand...

Unless there is a specific, legal reason they can't produce it (like an agreement with an artist), I would think they could do it. They have notes on everything. Contact them to be sure.
 
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