Close cousin of the Seymour Duncan SH-4 for Metal

[JivRey]

I own a 1985 Kramer Striker 400ST that I LOVE. The touch is perfect, the neck is super straight. I just love this axe.

I play mostly Black Metal, Rock/Old school influenced metal. My current chain is Pedal Projects Klon -> Vintage RAT -> JCM 800 2204

I use to play using the stock pickups. Don't ask me what they are, just don't know. I recently decided to change the bridge pickup for a Seymour Duncan JB SH-4, and I love the way the mids are rising up, and the gain level is much more suitable than my stock pickup to be able to tweak my pedals to feed my JCM 800.

I am right now very close to what I am looking for, dirty yet detailed sound.

All this introduction to say that however, I think its not 100% the right pickup for me. I am looking for a just a bit more gain, but keeping the sonic characteristics of the SH-4. Some sort of real close cousin of it.

Does anybody have a good idea which pickup I should consider? I am allergic to active pickups by the way Hehe

 

[Synapsys]

Re: Close cousin of the Seymour Duncan SH-4 for Metal

Distortion SH-6?

 

[Demanic]

Re: Close cousin of the Seymour Duncan SH-4 for Metal

Put a regular ceramic in it. Done. Thank me later.

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[jeremy]

Re: Close cousin of the Seymour Duncan SH-4 for Metal

that was my first though too, distortion lite. it does change the eq some but adds a little more output and is a little more aggressive without losing all the character

 

[Nostalgic Distortion]

Re: Close cousin of the Seymour Duncan SH-4 for Metal

Yeah, a ceramic would definitely be a good place to start....

 

[SirJackdeFuzz]

Re: Close cousin of the Seymour Duncan SH-4 for Metal

This might help some !

 

[Aceman]

Re: Close cousin of the Seymour Duncan SH-4 for Metal

Or....pickup booster before the first pedals.

Or even raise it a little closer to the strings.

Or...with those pedals in line, just turn up their gain a little.

How much more power do you seriously need?

 

[Rand-O-Monium]

Re: Close cousin of the Seymour Duncan SH-4 for Metal

Don't you have a JB8 Ace?

 

[JivRey]

Re: Close cousin of the Seymour Duncan SH-4 for Metal

This might help some !

Can't believe I haven't seen this vid before. Thanks

 

[JivRey]

Re: Close cousin of the Seymour Duncan SH-4 for Metal

Put a regular ceramic in it. Done. Thank me later.

I didn't know you can mod a JB SH-4 (Or any pickup while I'm am it), and from what I am reading so far, looks like a GREAT solution. I will definitely dig this. THANKS

 

[Mr. B]

Re: Close cousin of the Seymour Duncan SH-4 for Metal

You are describing the Duncan Distortion.

 

[DrNewcenstein]

Re: Close cousin of the Seymour Duncan SH-4 for Metal

Not so much.

Take the ceramic magnet out of a Duncan Custom if you happen to have one laying around and replace the JB's magnet. It's not quite a Distortion, but something more than a JB.


Or, go with Ace's advice and simply turn the pedal knobs 2 clicks higher.

 

[JivRey]

Re: Close cousin of the Seymour Duncan SH-4 for Metal

Put a regular ceramic in it. Done. Thank me later.

I read a lot about it today, and looks like its going to be the first thing I will try. But looking on the web I see a lot of different lengths and thickness available, and I have no clue where to go from there. Can somebody enlighten me on that matter? Even suggest a store, model number, whatever helps me? THANKS A LOT!

 

[punchlinechar]

Re: Close cousin of the Seymour Duncan SH-4 for Metal

I read a lot about it today, and looks like its going to be the first thing I will try. But looking on the web I see a lot of different lengths and thickness available, and I have no clue where to go from there. Can somebody enlighten me on that matter? Even suggest a store, model number, whatever helps me? THANKS A LOT!

Iwould order from addictionfx on ebay, they have good stuff

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[JivRey]

Re: Close cousin of the Seymour Duncan SH-4 for Metal

I would order from addictionfx on ebay, they have good stuff

Unfortunately, the kind of eBay seller that thinks that Canada and the North Pole are the same, and charges $40 USD to ship a single magnet bar vs. $2.95 USD in the U.S...

 

[allstarrme]

Re: Close cousin of the Seymour Duncan SH-4 for Metal

Most old terrible pickups have ceramic magnets in them to make up for the dullness they are wound with, collect them out of your own old junk pickups. Sometimes people here on the forum sell them or give them away to.

 

[devastone]

Re: Close cousin of the Seymour Duncan SH-4 for Metal

It's a good idea to try to keep the polarity the same when you change the magnet.

 

[Diego]

Re: Close cousin of the Seymour Duncan SH-4 for Metal

How close is your JB to the strings? Maybe raising it a bit could do the trick.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Close cousin of the Seymour Duncan SH-4 for Metal

I thought of a regular ceramic magnet, too as my first choice. I don't know if it would be 'louder', but it would sound more direct, and 'faster'.

 

[Zheddar]

Re: Close cousin of the Seymour Duncan SH-4 for Metal

Yup, I just did this last night (ceramic mag swap into JB) in an all maple neck, alder strat, with 500k pots. I don't know about other woods, but it's for sure not shrill or icepicky. Granted it's a newer JB and not my JBL labeled one from days of old, I didn't like a ceramic in the JBL (they must have wound it a little differently). It is so worth it, I need to get a double thick ceramic to try in it next. If I were you I would definitely try the regular ceramic in a JB.