posite63
New member
Hi guys, I've been lurking for years but finally decided to create an account. I have a question/dilemma and would love to hear some of your expert opinions. And fair warning, I’m going to use the term “djent”, but only as a description of a certain tone and style. I promise I’m not one of THOSE players 
First things first: The guitars in question here are 3 Schecter Gryphons, tuned low to A, A# and B, running through a POD HD500X. Musical style is hard rock/metal/prog metal, anywhere from radio stuff like Chevelle, to prog metal like Tool, to modern djenty stuff like Tesseract.
I'm outfitting all my guitars with the same/similar pickups in order to maintain some consistency (got kinda sick of tweaking all of my patches for each guitar). I should also mention that I’m on a budget and am sticking with mid-range pickups, so no need to tell me to go for the “real thing”. I understand the tradeoffs. After some experimentation with different cheapos (GFS Crunchy Pat and Crunchy Rails, Warman Dominator, various Artec, etc), I’ve narrowed down my choices for the bridge to the Duncan Designed HB 102 and HB 103. Each has qualities I like. But I can’t find a good middle between the two…
My question: does swapping the magnet change the “voice” of the pickup? I love the full, throaty sound of the HB 102, but can’t get it to djent. It would work great for all my other needs. On the other hand, the HB 103 is tighter and djents well enough, but sounds rather sterile for full chords and rhythmic stuff.
I’m hoping swapping the magnets will land me in a good middle ground. I’m looking at an Alnico 8 for either/both. I hear this will round out the highs and fill in the mids on the HB 102. Or hopefully it would warm up the HB 103 and give it some personality whilst retaining it’s tightness. I’m also considering an A4 or A5 in the HB 103, though I’m not sure what to expect from those at such low tunings.
It seems that the winding/construction would play as big a role as the magnets. Which pickup has better bones and might lend itself better to change? The HB 102 just seems more full by nature, and I’d love to maintain that while tightening it up for djenting purposes. But would adding an A8 really achieve that? Or would I have better luck trying to fill out the HB 103’s voice with something Alnico while retaining it’s inherit tightness?
Any other mods to consider? Opinions please!
TL;DR: Looking for full AND tight sound. Mag swap for Alnico 8 in DD HB 102? Or A4/A5/A8 in HB 103?
First things first: The guitars in question here are 3 Schecter Gryphons, tuned low to A, A# and B, running through a POD HD500X. Musical style is hard rock/metal/prog metal, anywhere from radio stuff like Chevelle, to prog metal like Tool, to modern djenty stuff like Tesseract.
I'm outfitting all my guitars with the same/similar pickups in order to maintain some consistency (got kinda sick of tweaking all of my patches for each guitar). I should also mention that I’m on a budget and am sticking with mid-range pickups, so no need to tell me to go for the “real thing”. I understand the tradeoffs. After some experimentation with different cheapos (GFS Crunchy Pat and Crunchy Rails, Warman Dominator, various Artec, etc), I’ve narrowed down my choices for the bridge to the Duncan Designed HB 102 and HB 103. Each has qualities I like. But I can’t find a good middle between the two…
My question: does swapping the magnet change the “voice” of the pickup? I love the full, throaty sound of the HB 102, but can’t get it to djent. It would work great for all my other needs. On the other hand, the HB 103 is tighter and djents well enough, but sounds rather sterile for full chords and rhythmic stuff.
I’m hoping swapping the magnets will land me in a good middle ground. I’m looking at an Alnico 8 for either/both. I hear this will round out the highs and fill in the mids on the HB 102. Or hopefully it would warm up the HB 103 and give it some personality whilst retaining it’s tightness. I’m also considering an A4 or A5 in the HB 103, though I’m not sure what to expect from those at such low tunings.
It seems that the winding/construction would play as big a role as the magnets. Which pickup has better bones and might lend itself better to change? The HB 102 just seems more full by nature, and I’d love to maintain that while tightening it up for djenting purposes. But would adding an A8 really achieve that? Or would I have better luck trying to fill out the HB 103’s voice with something Alnico while retaining it’s inherit tightness?
Any other mods to consider? Opinions please!
TL;DR: Looking for full AND tight sound. Mag swap for Alnico 8 in DD HB 102? Or A4/A5/A8 in HB 103?
