Custom bridge-59 neck in mahogany body.Is it worth it?

[Anyparktos]

Greetings to all you guys here!This is my first post.

I wanted to hear some opinions about the pup swapping i'm thinking of doing.
Being on a pretty tight budget,i need a real value-for-money low cost guitar with versatility so i'm buying a cort kx1q.Lots of people suggested the p-rails for versatility but the routing or the cost of triple shot makes them a bit unaffordable for me,not to mention that they can't handle metal,which i'm not completely over apparently :9: .

The guitar is a mahogany body-mahogany set neck with a rosewood fretboard with a push/pull that splits both pickups.Hearing all the samples from the site and by questions here and there i came to the conclusion that probably the sh-5 custom for the bridge and the sh-1 59 for the bridge is what i need.I do,however,still have some questions.

-I've heard the custom doesn't have the big midrange spike or honk that the jb have which seems to annoy a lot of people but can it complement a mahogany body(which is pretty scooped as i've heard) as well as a jb?

-Is the custom split-worthy?I've seen very few comment on this and some of them said the split sound is pretty lifeless,others guessed that given that split it would barely have 7kohms resistance.

-I probably know this one,but i guess i could ask for a more complete view: Does the custom handle metal well?

About the 59:
-I've heard the 59s can be a little boomy with distortion and lose clarity.Given that i want my neck to have clear and mellow tone for versatility is it really the best choice in this guitar?Is it nice split?The tone chart also gives these values: bass:6 mid:3 treb:8.Given these,i'm wondering why is it that suitable for mahogany since it seems to lack mids and mahogany lacks mids too.This always confused me...

PS:Lots of people are going to suggest keeping the stock pickups,i bet they'll change their minds when they learn they are passive emgs :laughing:

 

[J. Burns]

Re: Custom bridge-59 neck in mahogany body.Is it worth it?

I've tried the Custom bridge in a few different mahogany guitars: an SG, LP Studio, and IC400. Really, I've yet to find a guitar made out of ANY wood that the Custom sounds bad in.

I've never found that mahogany lacks mids. FWIW, my SG has a TON of natural mids, and all my other mahogany guitars are fairly balanced.

As for the 59N, my LP Studio has one in the neck. It's not too boomy, but I am not that picky about neck pickups, as I primarily use the bridge position most of the time. If you're worried about boomy, a Jazz neck is a no-brainer and blends with a Custom very well in the middle position.

A lot of people here like the PG neck, too, but I've yet to try one. Supposed to be a little brighter than the 59, though.

 

[Anyparktos]

Re: Custom bridge-59 neck in mahogany body.Is it worth it?

Glad to hear that about mahogany.I've liked any mahogany guitar i've ever played.

I thought of the pgs as a nice and a bit deluxe(considering the price) alternative but SD's site recommendations put me off it as they say it's more suited to more bright sounding guitars(ebony or maple fb) and since i've played the instrument in a shop i wouldn't say it's that bright and also has rosewood.

The jazz on the other hand...It sounds a bit bright and frail.Sure,the clarity is great but i feel like something's missing really.

The main thing i'm still wondering about is if the custom and 59 sound good split.

 

[Franknfilms]

Re: Custom bridge-59 neck in mahogany body.Is it worth it?

-I've heard the custom doesn't have the big midrange spike or honk that the jb have which seems to annoy a lot of people but can it complement a mahogany body(which is pretty scooped as i've heard) as well as a jb?

Yep, Custom over JB in mahogany has a strong consensus on the forum, but there are many who disagree, including some of my favorite metal guitar players.

-Is the custom split-worthy?I've seen very few comment on this and some of them said the split sound is pretty lifeless,others guessed that given that split it would barely have 7kohms resistance.

I don't mid the low resistance, I don't split to play metal, I split for blues/surfer/country and other single coil oriented styles. My custom 8 is my fav custom split tone, I haven't split the regular custom sh-5 before so I can't comment on that one but I'm sure it would sound perfectly acceptable.

-Does the custom handle metal well?

Here is the custom directly through my xxx combo, the gain knob is very very low.
http://netmusicians.org/?section=id&value=9684

Also check out surfacex's amazing metal clip with the sh-5
http://netmusicians.org/?section=id&value=9772

About the 59:
-I've heard the 59s can be a little boomy with distortion and lose clarity.Given that i want my neck to have clear and mellow tone for versatility is it really the best choice in this guitar?Is it nice split?The tone chart also gives these values: bass:6 mid:3 treb:8.Given these,i'm wondering why is it that suitable for mahogany since it seems to lack mids and mahogany lacks mids too.This always confused me...

Good questions. The 59 can be split if you can find a 4-wire version. I really like the 59 split better than the Jazz, retains a little more bass. I wouldn't worry about the lack of mids in 59, that keeps it nice and clean, and also mahogany doesn't lack mids.

I went to town on this thread because I happen to love the Custom/59 combo, you should get it!

 

[Despair]

Re: Custom bridge-59 neck in mahogany body.Is it worth it?

I'm a bit puzzled at the claims the P-Rails can't do metal. In series mode it gets some comparisons to the Tone Zone, most of the complaints are that it's too high output for vintage or classic rock...

The JB is a bit of a gamble in some woods. Not everyone cares about the weak points. It can sound very congested in some guitars. The worst I've heard from the Custom is it being really bright in a bright maple neck-through, and it still sounded pretty interesting there. The Custom is a safer bet, as it's less likely to run afoul of quirks.

Resistance isn't a great measure of split tone. Higher isn't automatically better. 7.5K of 44AWG isn't going to have higher output than 7K of 42AWG, and the hypothetical 44AWG coil would be brighter because it's wrapped closer to the poles.

Really, the only way to know is to have tried it, and not many seem to have done that with the Custom.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Custom bridge-59 neck in mahogany body.Is it worth it?

If you want a clean, clear neck PU, a JazzN is a good choice.

 

[Fly_with_v]

Re: Custom bridge-59 neck in mahogany body.Is it worth it?

I get perfect Metallica tones out of my P-Rails. The p-Rails in series is definately not low output. And if you have Push/pulls you do need the rings. If you can find some with them installed you should check them out. With the right guitar like an LP you can go from AC/DC crunch, to Metallica pretty easily. The parallel mode to me is PAF, and the series mode is more medium to high output. Tons of flexibility

 

[John E Rokker]

Re: Custom bridge-59 neck in mahogany body.Is it worth it?

Jazz Neck / Custom Bridge.

 

[whatshisname]

Re: Custom bridge-59 neck in mahogany body.Is it worth it?

I'm a big fan of this combo, and have used it in a few Flying Vs. IMO, Duncan should offer them as a set, like the JB/Jazz.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Custom bridge-59 neck in mahogany body.Is it worth it?

Custom8 in the bridge,
Jazz(b) in the neck.

 

[Anyparktos]

Re: Custom bridge-59 neck in mahogany body.Is it worth it?

Wow,i haven't checked this thread for a long time,i thought it died .
Thanks for all the replies guys,in the end i bought the custom and 59' and gonna put them in there soon.However,because of stuff i've heard in here mainly i really want to put an A8 magnet in the custom now but where i live(Greece) i can't find a place to buy without paying a truckload of shipping costs.Anyway,i'm going with ceramics for a while and if i find a way i'll put an A8 in there.

Any place i can buy a custom 8 already made?I'm not even experienced with wiring so it's gonna be tough to do it myself.

Also,i'm thinking of making a video comparison of the stock emg passives(they're listed as OC-1 in emg's site) and the custom/59 set.If i do this i'm going to post here.

 

[Nightburst]

Re: Custom bridge-59 neck in mahogany body.Is it worth it?

Wow,i haven't checked this thread for a long time,i thought it died .
Thanks for all the replies guys,in the end i bought the custom and 59' and gonna put them in there soon.However,because of stuff i've heard in here mainly i really want to put an A8 magnet in the custom now but where i live(Greece) i can't find a place to buy without paying a truckload of shipping costs.Anyway,i'm going with ceramics for a while and if i find a way i'll put an A8 in there.

Any place i can buy a custom 8 already made?I'm not even experienced with wiring so it's gonna be tough to do it myself.

Also,i'm thinking of making a video comparison of the stock emg passives(they're listed as OC-1 in emg's site) and the custom/59 set.If i do this i'm going to post here.

You can order your magnets from Addiction

This guy is selling all kinds of magnets, I live in Holland and the shipping was fast and not very expensive either. Highly recommended!

 

[Anyparktos]

Re: Custom bridge-59 neck in mahogany body.Is it worth it?

Thanks Nightburst!I'll bookmark the seller.I guess i'll try the ceramics for a while,get some experience with soldering and wiring and maybe try magnet swapping after that.

 

[Condemnedsoul]

Re: Custom bridge-59 neck in mahogany body.Is it worth it?

Sorry I'm checking in late.
Here is another vote of confidence for the Jazz / Custom in mahagoney. I have this combination in a LP and Sg. The custom has solid mids in both guitars.

The custom is an excellent pick up. Thanks for giving it a chance and hope you like it.

 

[BloodRose]

Re: Custom bridge-59 neck in mahogany body.Is it worth it?

Let us know how you like it! I love mahog guitars also and Love the Custom 8! The Custom sounds great also!