Custom shoot-out

[King Halt]

Hello. I have just bought a 2010 Schecter stargazer. Solid Ash body (flame maple vaneer), set maple neck, and rosewood fingerboard. I'm not really liking the stock pickups and am thinking about a pearly gates in the neck and something in the custom family (custom, custom custom, or custom5). I have limited experience, but not in a relitivly bright ash guitar. Any thoughts?

I play old school metal to contemporary hard rock and punk though a helix modeled JCM 800 on a medium to high gain setting.

 

[Nagisa]

Re: Custom shoot-out

I don't have an ash guitar, but in my LP the custom was too ceramic sterile sounding, the custom 5 was much more lifelike but scooped......and the custom uoa5 is perfect. It really sounds balanced but with the organic and rich alnico sound.

 

[Aceman]

Re: Custom shoot-out

Custom


It really is that easy....

 

[King Halt]

Re: Custom shoot-out

Custom


It really is that easy....

Is this based in experience, theory, or because you don't like the other two?

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Custom shoot-out

!!!

Somebody forget to put the 59/Custom Hybrid in the poll! That's easily my favorite of all the members of the Custom family.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Custom shoot-out

I use the 59/Custom Hybrid in my ash Strat, and I love it.

 

[King Halt]

Re: Custom shoot-out

Doesn't have enough bass response for me in my les paul style guitar, I'm sure it wouldnt in the ash. Believe me, it was omitted from the pole on purpose

 

[Hank-]

Re: Custom shoot-out

The Custom has most bass & highs in your poll
The CC has more mids, less strident highs than the Custom & less bass(rumble) but lower mids of it dont make it sound thin.
The C5 has more bass, much less mids & more or less similar sort of highs like the CC.

Thats what I found in prs cu22 & an lp copy. Both mahogany. If your guitar is very bright then I'd look away from the stock Custom family.

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: Custom shoot-out

Aceman has owned and played all of the pickups in the Custom family, so his suggestion is based experience.

In an already bright guitar, I would also stay away from the Custom, I did find it very bright in a strat style guitar; too bright. Of the Custom family, the CC is the only one I would recommend for your situation, if you can live with bass that isn't super tight. One pickup that gets overlooked a lot is the PATB family, mainly because of it's looks. However, in your Shelter, a PATB-3 might be the ticket. It's not as hot as the Custom family, but hotter than most PAF style pickups. They're meant to help warm up Floyd equipped guitars, but they work well in strat type trems and hard tails as well. The PATB-3 is a 9k DCR pickup and sounds great. I also have the PATB-1, and it is closer to the Custom, but warmer, at least IMO.

Or, you could go with a WLH bridge HB, which is a pickup known to be slightly darker and warmer in the bridge, and on the slightly hotter side of vintage. IME, you don't need a super hot pickup to cover the styles of music you listed. The pickups voice is much more important than its output.

 

[King Halt]

Re: Custom shoot-out

The Custom has most bass & highs in your poll
The CC has more mids, less strident highs than the Custom & less bass(rumble) but lower mids of it dont make it sound thin.
The C5 has more bass, much less mids & more or less similar sort of highs like the CC.

Thats what I found in prs cu22 & an lp copy. Both mahogany. If your guitar is very bright then I'd look away from the stock Custom family.

If the custom family will be too bright, I'm wondering if a tone Zone might fair better

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Custom shoot-out

If it's too bright, just toss a 300k pot for the volume on the bridge pickup. Just as an aside, I don't think from my limited experience that Stargazers are in fact all that bright. The one I played had a set of APH-2s, which are a bit dark as they are, and that guitar was a mighty Jazz beast. It might just be the stock pickups are too bright.

 

[Aceman]

Re: Custom shoot-out

Is this based in experience, theory, or because you don't like the other two?

Experience. Thank you for asking. For the record, the C5 is not a bad second choice. Old school metal and contemporary hard rock are gonna both benefit from the added thump factor and highs of the Ceramic. You may need to drop the treble a touch to taste on the amp, but that is what that knob is there for. If you were going for something the "cleaner" route, I'd have said C5

The Custom Custom, if you were using a flooded Supertrat in any wood.

 

[Aceman]

Re: Custom shoot-out

I get why people are saying Custom Custom, on the "fear of brightness factor"

However, The CC, in that guitar, IMO, is just wayyyy the wrong vibe for what he is playing.

Based on the "59/Custom didn't have the booty" comment, I now completely believe the custom to be the one he needs. The highs in a C5 or Custom are gonna be very present, but of different qualities. He wants bottom, Custom is the way to go. You can always tame the highs, but it can be hard to add them. Lower the treble on the amp, (and this is a Helix modeled amp!!!!), lower the tone on the guitar, change a cap. Tweak a pole. Lots of options.

 

[Cynical]

Re: Custom shoot-out

Regular Custom.

SuperD will probably be a better pick for this guitar in this application than any Duncan, though, IMO. Or, if you really want to go Duncan, Pegasus (make sure you've got room for the long pole pieces on the Pegasus). The Custom is bright.

 

[Aceman]

Re: Custom shoot-out

By the way - I stuck with the OP's request and stayed Custom.

However - I agree - what they really need is something DiMarzio style, as in their Bass+ Mids and not so much Highs. I think a super D would work very well.

 

[Ascension]

Re: Custom shoot-out

Custom Custom here. Find it to be the most balanced and to have a solid singing solo tone. Custom 5 has a HUGE open rhythm tone but is to scooped for me and won't cut well on solos and the Custom is to harsh with the Ceramic mag when you roll the volume back.
Owned and played Custom 8, Custom, Custom Custom and the Custom 5 so experience on stage with all including the hybrid not included here.

 

[Aceman]

Re: Custom shoot-out

Custom Custom here. Find it to be the most balanced and to have a solid singing solo tone.

Again - depending on the guitar...


A mid scooped guitar that is Uber-bright? Like a Floyded Super-Strat? Hell yeah! But a dark mid heavy Les Paul....oh hell no.

 

[JimmyO]

Re: Custom shoot-out

I have a custom custom bridge / pearly gates neck in a alder superstrat and those pickups are never leaving that guitar. I don't have much experience with the other customs but if your guitar is bright the custom custom would be the one I'd start with. You can always use Duncan's exchange policy if you don't like it.