Can we talk about the Custom?
- Thread starter Artie
- Start date
The SH5 stays in my LP style guitar. The top end can get overbearing but thanks to the 4 knob setup, it can be softened to desirable amounts. It goes well with the SH1 in the neck. The both pickups together yield a wide range of tones in the middle position.
I didn't like it in my prs se cu22, there the sh11 was best. Didn't like the SH5 in a hss setup either. I find it to be a more organic pickup than the SuperDistortion. I wouldn't use it for cleans but for any driven sounds it tends to work just right. Works great with lot of drive pedals too.
I didn't like it in my prs se cu22, there the sh11 was best. Didn't like the SH5 in a hss setup either. I find it to be a more organic pickup than the SuperDistortion. I wouldn't use it for cleans but for any driven sounds it tends to work just right. Works great with lot of drive pedals too.
Big Mike Blues
New member
Great rock pickup for sure. I think I prefer to a JB in a lot of things, particlarly super strat.
If you're an 80's kiss fan like me....Bruce Kulick had em in all his ESP's.
His tone on the revenge album in particular is pretty great.
the 59/C hybrid is cool too, but seemed a hair bright for me. CCs are too thick for me. C5 too scooped.
Synapsys
New member
Have one in my PRS SE 30th Anniversary Custom 24 Flametop, with Pearly Gates neck.
Great Rock and all kinds of Metal pickup. Played from 80's rock to Death Metal with it, but I find more compressed than the C5 I own in ESP LTD MH-1000HH which has the same wood construction.
It's a really punchy, in your face kind of pickup. The highs and lows are very present, which may not suit everyone, but they are tight. I find the middle well balanced for the kind of pickups it is.
Also owned an Ibanez S670FM with it,,and sounded glorious, so my experience with the Custom finds it to work perfectly in mahogany bodied guitars.
Great Rock and all kinds of Metal pickup. Played from 80's rock to Death Metal with it, but I find more compressed than the C5 I own in ESP LTD MH-1000HH which has the same wood construction.
It's a really punchy, in your face kind of pickup. The highs and lows are very present, which may not suit everyone, but they are tight. I find the middle well balanced for the kind of pickups it is.
Also owned an Ibanez S670FM with it,,and sounded glorious, so my experience with the Custom finds it to work perfectly in mahogany bodied guitars.
LLL
New member
Wow LLL. That really sounded great. Not just for the pup sound, but for VH without DLR.
Thanks - it really brings the balls.
Here's me fiddling with "Everybody Wants Some!" - massive (in a non-chug-metal way).
BTW, the tone control in the guitar isn't connected via switching (same guitar for both clips)... it's just the SH-5 to a 500k vol pot.
So, with the right rig or config, the treble from the pickup is perfect.
Last edited:
Lewguitar
New member
Of the three (Custom, Custom Custom and Custom 5) I like the Custom best. I found the Custom Custom to be too smooth and lack any kind of edge. I found the Custom 5 to have too much edge and sound too bright and sharp. But I liked the Custom. Not enough that I didn't eventually change it out, but I did like it. Ultimately, I tend to like humbuckers 9K or under with an Alnico magnet rather than ceramic.
PFDarkside
of the Forum
I’ve still got it in the bridge of my Les Paul, along with a 59 in Jimmy Page wiring. It’s the ultimate heavy rock rhythm pickup for me. Through the Mesa is just sounds thick but has cut, no honk of the JB, big but tight bass. If I was tracking a heavy rock record I’d have a Custom LP for rhythm and a JB LP for lead.
dystrust
Well-known member
I've had a Custom / Jazz set in my Explorer since 2003; I've also used it in a LP Standard and my Charvel Model 4 mutt. The bass was a bit much in the LP & Charvel, and it can be a bit too hot for some styles, but it may just be my favorite SD humbucker. Whenever I'm playing something heavier than classic rock, the Custom just feels like home.
Explorer following a recent facelift with a new guard and updated wiring to split both pickups:
Explorer following a recent facelift with a new guard and updated wiring to split both pickups:
Artie
Peaveyologist
That's not really my "flavor" of axe . . . but that is sweet. Nice.
The cream and black really works.
It is the first SD pick I used many years ago and, even though I don't use it currently, I still like it. I've tried every variation of the Custom, even putting a big ceramic in one and also using JB coils to create a JB/Custom hybrid in another. All of this and my favorite version is the stock SH-5. For rock, hard rock and metal rhythm it is hard to beat. Power chords are huge and palm mutes are tight and percussive. It doesn't have the best lead tone, doesn't sing like the JB, but it is still very good in that area. Clean tones are just okay, but most ceramics struggle in that area and I'd argue that if you are mainly playing clean you're probably looking at the wrong pick up anyway =D.
Gtrjunior
New member
How did you like the JB/Custom? I’ve been thinking of trying that too.
I think it was just okay. I kind of felt like I didn't get the best from either pick up when I did it. Meaning the Custom's chunk and JB's singing leads. It was a long time ago so I don't remember which coils from which or which magnet I used. I also remember there being some weird overtones and just overall sound that didn't agree with me. I'd rather use either a JB by itself or a Custom by itself.
