Custom with big ceramic has turned my Les Paul into a beast!

dvanburen

dvanburen

New member
So I experimented with the custom and the big ceramic a couple of years ago. I remember really liking it but I only used it for a short time and it was only in comparison to the regular ceramic custom. Ive been running a custom8 in the les paul for sometime. Ive always really liked that pickup by itself. And I pair it with a 59/jazz A4 in the neck. I was on an alnico kick and really strayed from ceramics because I remember after experimenting with pickup modding that the regular ceramic was a tad brittle and cold in the custom. Anyway I got a new amp and the pickups react just a bit different and I wasnt getting "the meat" that I always missed from a Les paul. So I thought about buying a couple of pickups and experimenting again. Last night I thought I would try a mag swap again just to check it out. I pulled the big ceramic from the DD and threw it in the custom. I knew it was going to be big sounding but what surprised me was that it pairs extremely well with my neck hybrid with the A4 mag. Honestly, I thought these pickups were going to be night and day from each other. I'm serious, that is far from the truth. Not only did the big ceramic add the meat and grind that I miss. but it added a fullness that I always loved from the custom. It is not cold or brittle like its smaller ceramic counterpart. The volume surprisingly matched the neck pickup. Both are full and meaty. Both have a clarity that complement each other. This custom works much better with my neck pickup than the Custom 8. Cleans are surprisingly good in the bridge. Middle position yields great tone that doesn't clash with each pickup. In comparison to the small ceramic, the big one is tighter, fuller, warmer but it still has great punch and "meat" that the custom offers. Note separation is great and clarity on each string doesnt get lost even under heavy gain. It really doesnt have any negative qualities that some would associate with ceramic pickups. this one is a real winner in a Les paul! I dont think its going anywhere for a long time.
 
Re: Custom with big ceramic has turned my Les Paul into a beast!

Nice I will need to try this.


Sent from my Death Star.
 
Re: Custom with big ceramic has turned my Les Paul into a beast!

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:D
 
Re: Custom with big ceramic has turned my Les Paul into a beast!

Custom = :headbang:

All you had to say….
 
Re: Custom with big ceramic has turned my Les Paul into a beast!

dvanburen said:
Cleans are surprisingly good in the bridge. Middle position yields great tone that doesn't clash with each pickup. In comparison to the small ceramic, the big one is tighter, fuller, warmer but it still has great punch and "meat" that the custom offers. Note separation is great and clarity on each string doesnt get lost even under heavy gain. It really doesnt have any negative qualities that some would associate with ceramic pickups. this one is a real winner in a Les paul! I dont think its going anywhere for a long time.
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Interesting. I didn't think that there would be that much difference between a regular and thick ceramic. That opens up a lot of possibilities. I wonder what thick alnicos would be like...
 
Re: Custom with big ceramic has turned my Les Paul into a beast!

Aceman said:
Custom = :headbang:

All you had to say….
Click to expand...


I know right. I loved the stock custom for a while, then got into alnico. But man, this big ceramic just works with that pickup. I like it much better than the stock mag
 
Re: Custom with big ceramic has turned my Les Paul into a beast!

blueman335 said:
Interesting. I didn't think that there would be that much difference between a regular and thick ceramic. That opens up a lot of possibilities. I wonder what thick alnicos would be like...
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dunno. It be interesting. I was just amazed at how it complements the A4 hybrid in the neck. The regular custom has that almost thin, cold harsh quality in the high end. I'm not bashing that pickup but I only noticed after comparing it with alnico. The big ceramic doesnt have that. Its much warmer. The A8 was great in that pickup. But in my new rig the screaming mids and harmonics didnt balance well with the low end for me (under high gain). The big mag gives a big huge punch and feels like it carries more "weight". Thats the best way to describe it. A8 lacked the weight and growl that I just wanted out of a les paul. I was just pleasantly surprised that it gave me a very balanced pickup that doesnt feel like a typical ceramic pup.
 
Re: Custom with big ceramic has turned my Les Paul into a beast!

I've been telling you guys for, what, three years now?

Big ceramic FTW.
 
Re: Custom with big ceramic has turned my Les Paul into a beast!

King IzzO))) said:
I've been telling you guys for, what, three years now?

Big ceramic FTW.
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I think you were actually the one who turned me on to it. Like I said, I tried it and remember liking it but for some reason didnt keep it in the guitar. Its an amazing mod
 
Re: Custom with big ceramic has turned my Les Paul into a beast!

You just created the closest thing to a Super Distortion with a Seymour Duncan that you can get without having a Super Distortion.
 
Re: Custom with big ceramic has turned my Les Paul into a beast!

It does sound sorta like a Super D, but it's not the same thing. It's tighter, more powerful and less fizzy/buzzy. It has that big strong low end though.
 
Re: Custom with big ceramic has turned my Les Paul into a beast!

King IzzO))) said:
It does sound sorta like a Super D, but it's not the same thing. It's tighter, more powerful and less fizzy/buzzy. It has that big strong low end though.
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This gives me an idea... I have a unused custom screw coil running around... if i can dig up another ill swap the screws to hex's and use the fat mag and see what i get.
 
Re: Custom with big ceramic has turned my Les Paul into a beast!

Edgecrusher said:
This gives me an idea... I have a unused custom screw coil running around... if i can dig up another ill swap the screws to hex's and use the fat mag and see what i get.
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sounds cool. You'll have one tight pickup on your hands. this custom is already really tight
 
Re: Custom with big ceramic has turned my Les Paul into a beast!

King IzzO))) said:
It does sound sorta like a Super D, but it's not the same thing. It's tighter, more powerful and less fizzy/buzzy. It has that big strong low end though.
Click to expand...

Isn't that a Duncan Distortion?

Sorry - just read the low end comment….
 
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