Custom5/Jazz high gain question

CTN

CTN

The Drama Dude
Hey folks

I just got a these two, Custom 5 Trembucker and a Jazz Neck model for my new guitar...it's a Mahogany body, set maple neck, rosewood fretboard and it's got a floating trem too.

I was looking for a set of pickups that'd be articulate, but powerful without getting muddy in the bass, or horrendously sharp in the highs but with great mid presence.

Everything I've heard about the Custom 5 is that it's really well balanced and sounds good in mahogany guitars. But since it's not really one of the typical "metal" pickups, I wanted to know how it handles high gain.

I've got a Rocktron SS preamp going into an all tube Mesa 295 power amp. My main high gain channel has quite a bit of a mid boost, treble just a shade lower than that, and the bass a lot lower, but just enough to add some nice chunkiness to palm muted riffs.

I'm sure I'll need to adjust my tone settings on my amp after I install the new pups, but my question still stands, what's the Custom 5 like with high gain? Overall sound? harmonics? leads? riffs? chords?

Thanks!
 
Re: Custom5/Jazz high gain question

I think that's a great combo. Both are articulate enough to handle your settings. The C5 works great with a mahogany single-cut I have...and handles gain exceptionally well. Its has a unique, natural sounding voice for leads but doesn't get all nasally. Riffs are defined and punchy; but like the 59' it can get 'boomy' under certain presets. It would go well with palm muting. Harmonics: yup they are tight enough to make those pop out. A versatile...understated metal pup in just respects.
 
Re: Custom5/Jazz high gain question

Boomy? :eyecrazy: Not sure I like the sound of that...What kind of presets are you talking about?

I'm trying to get a sound that is saturated but still well defined, and can cut through easily....boomy...well, last i checked, doesn't do that! :boggled:
 
Re: Custom5/Jazz high gain question

ConvoysToNothingness said:
Boomy? :eyecrazy: Not sure I like the sound of that...What kind of presets are you talking about?

I'm trying to get a sound that is saturated but still well defined, and can cut through easily....boomy...well, last i checked, doesn't do that! :boggled:
Click to expand...

The C5 is scooped if you can hear it. Giving you a 'saturated' sound isn't an inherent characteristic of the pickup. It looks like you eq'd your mesa completely opposite to the C5. Mine can sound boomy if I have a distortion pedal on, but that can be adjusted.
 
Re: Custom5/Jazz high gain question

Great high gain pup and setup you got, but you have to decide how much mids you want/need. It's really lacking on mids, and the CC is too muddy and thick.

If SD came up with a pup between the CC and C5 in either an A2 or A5, it would be great. Brobucker perhaps? EVH?
 
Re: Custom5/Jazz high gain question

Nagarajah725 said:
I think that's a great combo. Both are articulate enough to handle your settings. The C5 works great with a mahogany single-cut I have...and handles gain exceptionally well. Its has a unique, natural sounding voice for leads but doesn't get all nasally. Riffs are defined and punchy; but like the 59' it can get 'boomy' under certain presets. It would go well with palm muting. Harmonics: yup they are tight enough to make those pop out. A versatile...understated metal pup in just respects.
Click to expand...

+1. This is a very good pair of PU's, and shows the player knows what he's doing.
 
Re: Custom5/Jazz high gain question

the jazz is a great match for your guitar's neck spot, since it doesn't have too much low end, so it definitely won't get boomy and will have a very articulate sound, great for high-gain leads and cleaner chords. C5 is a good all around rock pickup, also matched well for your guitar. great, present lows, cutting highs, and not too much in the way of mids, but since your guitar is mahogany/setneck it'll have a balanced midrange. it's got enough output to handle high gain, but low enough to clean up fairly well. you picked a set of pickups that suit your needs fairly well:D
 
Re: Custom5/Jazz high gain question

Well, I installed them without any problems...

I've so far only played them through my solid state practice amp and recorded some stuff direct into my computer to see the difference between the old stock pickups and the SDs, and I think I'm quite pleased so far. From what I can tell, it's got a nice saturation to it.

I hate to use the term mid-scooped, but I'm definitely hearing more punchy bass and creamy highs than the stock pups which I found were very middy without much personality. The C5 in comparison sounds nice and fat...and the cleans sound very nice, rounded and clear.

I haven't had a chance to play it through my full rig yet, but I'll do that tomorrow and report back on how much glee I get from it :fingersx:
 
Re: Custom5/Jazz high gain question

Well, I had a chance to see what the Custom5/Jazz sounded like today at band practice, and I was absolutely gleeful!

my sound has filled out so much more, it sounds more alive, more saturated with gain, and so much more refined!

This is exactly the kind of sound I was looking for. I didn't find the Custom 5 boomy at all, on the contrary, the bass and treble presence served to round out the sound of the distortion on my solid state preamp and gave me the punchy low end and creamy high end I wanted. Mids are still very present (cuz I have a good amount of mids dialled in on the preamp) but it's definitely a more pleasing balanced gain sound, not like the tin-plate sound i was getting from the stock pickups in my guitar.

In between ripping black metal and soaring epic songs, we did some bluesy jams, and both the custom5 and the Jazz were absolutely singing!!!

I'm definitely very very happy with this combo, thanks so much for the advice and opinions folks, much appreciated :banana::headbang:
 
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