Did I screw up by ordering a Duncan Distortion? (No 21 day return)

[Nagisa]

So I know this is a super subjective query, but I ordered a sh-6 and it got here now and I haven't opened it yet. I live in Japan, out of the SD policy zone for exchanges.

I have a LP Studio with 500k pots and 50s wiring with .022 orange caps and a pearly gates neck. I have a 498 that is coming out. It's just too thin sounding. I initially was going to put an a8 in it but chickened out of doing a magnet swap, in part as I don't have a 50w soldering iron, and in part because I just felt the 498 was far enough from the sound I want that a magnet swap might now be enough, though I have never performed one. I am using a kemper with 5150, mesa mark 4 and friedman profiles.

Anyways I mostly play solos. I have a strat with Dimarzio injectors and an area 67 middle for less distorted leads as well as any cleans.

I was looking for something to make the LP really roar and get my metal fix in, like Megadeth/Metallica type solos and such. I had emgs before in a different guitar but hated the sterility.

I do not need to do cleans on my LP bridge. I will mainly play it for metal or rock solos as well as some metal rhythm. I am sure the DD is powerful enough for metal, but I would like it to play regular rock music too like guns n roses or van halen, without having a harsh unwanted sound.

Now after ordering it, I have read about how 300k pots are better on it and about how it may be too hot to be versatile. If I open the package I can't send it back. Am I probably going to get a good sound for what I mentioned (and without changing my wiring)?

If I send it back I get a 15% restocking fee but if it's not a good match then I could eat that. Should I go for it and put it in?

 

[jeremy]

Re: Did I screw up by ordering a Duncan Distortion? (No 21 day return)

i much prefer the sh6b with 500k pots. its a rockin pup but you can play lots of different music with it. i played blues with a distortion set in a prs for a while although its much more suited for rock

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Did I screw up by ordering a Duncan Distortion? (No 21 day return)

It's gonna depend largely on the amp and pedals, too. I briefly had an Epiphone Les Paul with a Distortion set, and it sounded great in the store with the Blackstar amp I demoed it on. At home, through my Super Reverb, it was an icepick.

 

[Nagisa]

Re: Did I screw up by ordering a Duncan Distortion? (No 21 day return)

It's gonna depend largely on the amp and pedals, too. I briefly had an Epiphone Les Paul with a Distortion set, and it sounded great in the store with the Blackstar amp I demoed it on. At home, through my Super Reverb, it was an icepick.

With the Kemper the amp side should be ok; I have tons of amps to choose from. I hear you though.

Also for the 500k endorsement above, that is reassuring. It should be simple to tame treble with the tone knob and amp and graphic eq settings, right? I'm not so experienced yet in terms of using the graphic eq but I'd imagine it could do about the same thing to the signal that a reduced pot value would?

 

[hamerfan]

Re: Did I screw up by ordering a Duncan Distortion? (No 21 day return)

I like the DD in my Les Paul even better than a 500T (498 with triple ceramic mags). If the highs are your concern you can back away the pickup from the strings. This tames the treble (and the lows) and bring out the mids. The DD is a kind of a metal only pup but does it well.

 

[Aceman]

Re: Did I screw up by ordering a Duncan Distortion? (No 21 day return)

I think you will be just fine. Rob's (hamerfan) suggestions are good too. Be sure to really work on the height/poles. Slightly lower is better IMO. But Metallica/Megadeth? Especially the good (early) years - oh hell yes.

That said - Youtube up a mag swap. It literally needs no tools except a screwdriver. I used to be afraid of this too until I did one. It is really no big deal.

And....an A5 will get you a very-very-close to a JB, and an A8 will get you more bottom, less highs and overall more even thick pup somewhere between a Distortion, and a SuperDistortion, IMO.

 

[Aceman]

Re: Did I screw up by ordering a Duncan Distortion? (No 21 day return)

Oh yeah - a graphic EQ will work better than a tone knob. But in general - a good rule is "You can always turn a 500k down, you can't turn a 250k up." 7.2/7.4 = about a 250k pot.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Did I screw up by ordering a Duncan Distortion? (No 21 day return)

I can't imagine there would be a problem. I'd recommend the Distortion with your description. Install it, and let us know how it sounds. If you absolutely hate it, you could always sell it or swap it with someone here.

 

[Nagisa]

Re: Did I screw up by ordering a Duncan Distortion? (No 21 day return)

UPDATE! It's in and it sounds great! Definitely giving me the oompth and thickness I was looking for. I still have to mess more with the pup height and pole pieces but already this is a big improvement for me over the 498. It's not too trebly with the 500k pots imo either. So far it does seem to push crunch amps a bit too far but I'll work with the vol knob and so on to see what I can do there - but it does the distortion beautifully and that's what I really care about.

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!


UPDATE 2: Messed with the height, sounding perfect. "Technical Difficulties" and "Hangar 18" never sounded so good. Well, except for the originals Also I can get Eric Johnson's humbucker tones good enough so that's about the least heavy I need it.

 

[akio]

Re: Did I screw up by ordering a Duncan Distortion? (No 21 day return)

One trick not yet mentioned: series/parallel switch.

 

[zvsmedia]

Re: Did I screw up by ordering a Duncan Distortion? (No 21 day return)

And....an A5 will get you a very-very-close to a JB, and an A8 will get you more bottom, less highs and overall more even thick pup somewhere between a Distortion, and a SuperDistortion, IMO.

This is getting nit-picky, but how does a Distortion 8 compare to a JB-8? I already have a couple of guitars with JB-8's but a Distortion 8 sounds so very tempting. I'd just try it but I barely even have time to play these days, let alone tinker...

 

[Nagisa]

Re: Did I screw up by ordering a Duncan Distortion? (No 21 day return)

This is getting nit-picky, but how does a Distortion 8 compare to a JB-8? I already have a couple of guitars with JB-8's but a Distortion 8 sounds so very tempting. I'd just try it but I barely even have time to play these days, let alone tinker...

I read jb and distortion are exactly the same minus the magnet. Not sure if it's true or not though

 

[Mincer]

Re: Did I screw up by ordering a Duncan Distortion? (No 21 day return)

This is great news. Happy you enjoy it! Can we get a pic of it in the guitar?

 

[zvsmedia]

Re: Did I screw up by ordering a Duncan Distortion? (No 21 day return)

At some point someone called SD and verified that they are very similar winds but not identical. I don't know if I could tell the difference (*with the same magnet in both), especially in two non-identical guitars. I collect Jacksons, so I have Dinkys that came with JBs and Soloist Pros that come with Distortions. I think the difference between bolt-on vs. neck-through (not to mention woods) is probably greater than a JB coil vs. a Distortion.

 

[Demanic]

Re: Did I screw up by ordering a Duncan Distortion? (No 21 day return)

In the right guitar a Distortion is a thing of beauty. Same with the JB. Don't forget the Dokkenbucker.

Sent from my MotoE2(4G-LTE) using Tapatalk

 

[zvsmedia]

Re: Did I screw up by ordering a Duncan Distortion? (No 21 day return)

In the right guitar a Distortion is a thing of beauty. Same with the JB.

I'll second that. In the past I've usually ended up swapping an A8 into any JB that comes my way (usually in a Jackson Dinky). However, over the summer I picked up a Charvel with a JB that sounds *amazing* stock. It's mind-blowing to me that wood/construction can make an audible difference in my high-gain signal chain. Let the ears be the judges...