Custom 5 in neck/Custom in bridge--anyone tried it?

[Inflames626]

Hi all,
Normally I'm not a fan of really hot neck pickups, but lately they've been growing on me (browse around the forums for my thoughts on putting the JB in the neck).

I was really impressed by this video SD put together of the sounds of their Custom line:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLfRvjjAwf0

Mainly I was really surprised at how all three cleaned up.

I couldn't decide between the Custom 5 and the Custom, so I thought, "Why not just put them in the same guitar?"

I do have my new LTD EC-256 with a Custom 5 in the bridge, a tone which instantly made me think of Metallica's "Sad But True" the first time I played it. I'm guessing it's similar to a 498T. I really liked it if one can get over the extreme mid scoop. So for now that's my chugging guitar.

I have a Floyded BC Rich Mockingbird NJ with nothing to call it home. I thought the Custom 5 might sound interesting in the neck with the Custom in the bridge. This would be more for lead and melody playing.

Eventually when I record I could pan the Custom 5 left and the Custom right and see how they fill in each other's gaps.

As far as the Custom Custom, I think I'll save that for a HSS bridge with some Alnico II single coils, but as I like an Alnico II in the neck more than an Alnico 5 I might try the CC there too.

Thanks as always all.

 

[jafo]

Magnet-wise, it's a great idea. Wire the neck in parallel, to keep the neck from overpowering the bridge. I just put a JB in the bridge, C3 in the neck and it works great!

 

[Inflames626]

Thanks jafo . I stick Triple Shots, killswitches, and phase switches on everything now when possible.

 

[beaubrummels]

I think a Jazz or Screamin' Demon in the neck would keep the same sound better, not get thick on the bottom, and not overpower the bridge.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Demon is a great neck pickup with a beefy bridge.

 

[Mincer]

I'd think the C5 in the neck would sound/feel too compressed for me. I like the C5, but it is squarely a bridge pickup.

 

[Inflames626]

Thanks for things I hadn't considered, all.

If you want to see a neat retro-themed comparison between the pickups, try here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eHDpNg7Fl0

 

[soulforger]

I dig the CC in the neck forever, in a fairly bright guitar, never tried the 5 though.

 

[dave74]

If you already have one and are trying to avoid buying another then the C5 wired parallel would take in the right direction to be used as a neck. Lower output,compression, bass ect...

 

[Inflames626]

dave74 you are dead on. I just finished playing around with a Custom 5 in the bridge with a Triple Shot, phase switch, and tone knob. Really, really versatile pickup. Going into parallel put the Custom 5 into EMG 60 cleans territory.

The C5 may be a better neck pickup than many would think.

 

[Inflames626]

Got the pickups installed today. Fairly fast for me--maybe an hour not counting getting the pickups into the Triple Shots--and in my lap no less since I didn't have any table space at the time.

I like keeping as much lead as possible for installs/reinstalls. I found a way to get the long pickup lead wires to the Triple Shots without using electrical tape to keep everything in place.

I have to wind the lead around the pickup screws in a way similar to how the leads come wrapped when you get an SD pickup new. Tuck the conductor wires under the tightly coiled lead and you can keep all the long lead and use the Triple Shot, even though you may have to play with the wires a bit around the screws to get the pickup into the cavity (the lead wire can get trapped between the outside of the pickup screw and the cavity). Getting the conductors around the pole piece screws and onto the Triple Shot tabs can be a challenge, but once it's done it's a very neat way to connect everything.

It helped that the '94 MIJ BC Rich NJ Mockingbird I was working on had a control layout just like the SD diagram. It had an unusual SPST switch I had never seen before that was unlike the import box switches I normally use. It's here under "3 way import/economy": https://guitarelectronics.com/guitar-wiring-resources/pickup-switch-terminal-connections/

My guess is it was done this way because the control cavity is laid out a bit like a Tele and using that style switch was flatter in such a shallow bodied guitar. It also used mini pots which made grounding some things a pain.

The only things that bug me is the SD logo being upside down (so the screws on the Custom 5 face the neck) and the awful rosewood (?) grain they used on this guitar's fretboard. The wood is a beige color with very dark streaks. It looks like a 70s plastic laminate countertop. But I suppose that's nothing a neck replacement can't fix.

I let the killswitch on the bridge pickup ride really high from the surface--maybe an inch--to make pinky volume swells easier and to keep the knob from hitting the paint when the killswitch is used hard.

Now I'm just waiting on a new Schaller Floyd Rose bridge. I'll string it, set it up, and let you guys know my thoughts. It should be done in a week or two.

Hopefully I can popularize a Custom 5 in the neck. It's a really nice pickup.

 

[Mincer]

You can always remove the upside down logo if it bothers you.

 

[BeKindRewind]

The only things that bug me is the SD logo being upside down (so the screws on the Custom 5 face the neck) and the awful rosewood (?) grain they used on this guitar's fretboard. The wood is a beige color with very dark streaks. It looks like a 70s plastic laminate countertop. But I suppose that's nothing a neck replacement can't fix.

Hey maybe I'm weird or something but that actually sounds really cool to me.! I say, give it some time and see if you like it. Over the years my guitar tastes have changed, and lately my preferred aesthetic are imperfect guitars. not relic. but just.. customized using whatever parts were laying around, rather than picking a certain color or whatever. The look of mismatched pickup covers on a strat does things for me :dunno: I was in an "undesirable" situation of mismatched parts just like that, when I discovered, upon putting it together, that I actually really... really, liked how it looked.

I'm a little late to chime in on the actual situation, but I went thru a big phase of really liking hot bridge pickups in the neck, like the JB and the Custom Custom. I really liked how EMG 81 and 85 sound in the neck, and those are hot bridge pickups, so I figured why not try a CC? Initially loved it but it's REALLY hot in the neck, eventually started to realize the limitations and that it wasn't for me. I wish you much success on this adventure, continue where I could not!

 

[eclecticsynergy]

I thought NJ stood for New Jersey; shouldn't it have full size pots?

EDIT: Never mind, I looked it up - made overseas but built like the old school models.

 

[Inflames626]

Hey maybe I'm weird or something but that actually sounds really cool to me.! I say, give it some time and see if you like it. Over the years my guitar tastes have changed, and lately my preferred aesthetic are imperfect guitars. not relic. but just.. customized using whatever parts were laying around, rather than picking a certain color or whatever. The look of mismatched pickup covers on a strat does things for me :dunno: I was in an "undesirable" situation of mismatched parts just like that, when I discovered, upon putting it together, that I actually really... really, liked how it looked.

I'm a little late to chime in on the actual situation, but I went thru a big phase of really liking hot bridge pickups in the neck, like the JB and the Custom Custom. I really liked how EMG 81 and 85 sound in the neck, and those are hot bridge pickups, so I figured why not try a CC? Initially loved it but it's REALLY hot in the neck, eventually started to realize the limitations and that it wasn't for me. I wish you much success on this adventure, continue where I could not!

BeKindRewind , I started out with EMGs too--the usual 60/81, and have always felt the neck should have a bright clean sound suited to a Roland JC120 or similar amp.

I don't care much for the EMG 85 in the bridge as I think it is less tight than the 81, but I started trying to solo from the neck with a hot pickup and felt I got more of a Dave Murray (Iron Maiden) type sound--really warm and nice for legato runs.

I'm not sure how I feel about a warm clean tone from the neck. I think that's more Strat territory. But we'll see. My hope is the C5 will do an EMG 60 in parallel and a 60A (Alnico V magnets and thus warmer) in series.

I wouldn't use only guitars with hot pickups in the neck, but as far as recording I think they add another tool to the arsenal.

I agree completely with mismatched stuff too. The LTD EC256 I built recently has an SD A2PN with a nickel cover but black with exposed coils on the bridge. I started out hating it but kind of like it now.

When I swap out Floyd Rose bridges on black guitars now I often use nickel or chrome but don't bother making the locking nut match. All black is kind of bland (except maybe for my Black Winter equipped Warlock). Accenting it with chrome or nickel is nice, and it not being completely matched gives it a unique look.

No stickers for me, though!

 

[Inflames626]

I thought NJ stood for New Jersey; shouldn't it have full size pots?

EDIT: Never mind, I looked it up - made overseas but built like the old school models.

eclecticsynergy , I qualify things with NJ series so everyone will know it's not a really nice, Gibson-esque neck through mahogany type Mockingbird.

I tend to like bolt on necks anyway as I find them snappier and with faster transients, and it seems the only ones I could find with Floyds were cheaper imports. All the Mockingbirds on Reverb that were nice were usually tune-o-matics.

BC Riches of all types seem like they're getting hard to find since their near bankruptcy a few years ago. You find all the tribal stuff from the 00s with the Kerry King endorsements but I mean production stuff from the 90s-early 00s mainly.

 

[Inflames626]

Mincer , I didn't know I could remove the logos. I thought about taking a black Sharpie and covering the "Seven" on the side of my AHB-3s, but I tend to like to keep logos so everyone will know it's authentic gear, especially if I resell it.

For me gear logos are kind of like your favorite band T-shirts. I don't mind them. I suppose the upside down logo does give it a kind of symmetry, too.

I'll have to do this with my old EMG 89 as well that I'm going to put in my Kramer Assault. I bought it before they had the 89R which has the coil split on the neck.

Mainly I like logos because I hate having to remove a pickup just to look at the bottom to find out what it is.

By the way, is there any reason why the logos change from time to time? I have a PATB-1B from the 80s-90s and the logo looks a little different than a PATB-1 neck I bought recently.

 

[Mincer]

Logos might change over the years because they try different things. On my Seth Lovers, which have black powder coated covers, there is a tiny logo on the bottom right of the cover. As far as taking them off, I think you can use a little 91% alcohol to rub it off. Some people have used toothpaste, too.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

eclecticsynergy , I qualify things with NJ series so everyone will know it's not a really nice, Gibson-esque neck through mahogany type Mockingbird.

I tend to like bolt on necks anyway as I find them snappier and with faster transients, and it seems the only ones I could find with Floyds were cheaper imports. All the Mockingbirds on Reverb that were nice were usually tune-o-matics.

BC Riches of all types seem like they're getting hard to find since their near bankruptcy a few years ago. You find all the tribal stuff from the 00s with the Kerry King endorsements but I mean production stuff from the 90s-early 00s mainly.

Thanks for clarifying. When I learned NJ stood for Nagoya, Japan, I still thought they were built to the same specs as the old ones.
Perhaps there have been a few different issues of the NJs over the years? I see Korean-made NJs on Reverb that are neck-through.

 

[Inflames626]

eclecticsynergy , funny, off the top of my head I thought NJ meant "New Jersey." But Nagoya, Japan makes more sense.

When I was at GIT from 99-00 guys--usually departing students--used to post stuff in the hallways selling stuff with little strips of contact information you would tear off the bottom.

One guy was selling a BC Rich and he said it was a neck through, American made model, "not an NJ series." That's the first I remember hearing about them but I knew the NJs were the production models similar to the bolt on stuff Jackson/Charvel/ESP/Ibanez etc. were starting to put out as they shifted from boutique work to worldwide mass production.

I didn't know they made neck through NJs. I'll have to keep an eye out for them.

And yeah they are Asian specs I think. My imperial sized pots wouldn't go through without reaming. The tops are really thin, too, or at least mine is. A short shaft pot meant for a Strat might work on them if you don't use a washer of any kind and just put on the spacer and top washer.

By a nice BC Rich, I mean this, and even this is production:

https://images.reverb.com/image/upl...90,w_620/v1459293537/t2gkymhhm5r6w4zzrzsn.jpg

vs. something like I have because I don't mind if it gets beat up:

https://images.reverb.com/image/upl...,t_large/v1418965991/kw7buwmnoehnlgjbnrfs.jpg

Mine is also flat. I tend not to like arch top guitars, as beautiful as they are.