Duncan C5 vs. Rio Grande BBQ Bucker

[Benjy_26]

Hey everybody.

Can anyone compare the Duncan C5 and teh Rio Grande BBQ?

Right now I have the C5 in my Hamer, and while it sounds great for rythm and has a cool vintage feel to it, it seems a bit flat and one dimensional to me for leads. I tried the Custom before and it's a ripper, but the low gain OD sounds are a bit too fizzy for my tastes on the high end.

I like the bottom of the C5, but would like the mids to be a bit fuler than they are now. Thanks a lot everybody.

 

[c.s.james]

Re: Duncan C5 vs. Rio Grande BBQ Bucker

i have a custom 5 in the bridge of my LP. it sounds great distorted. what distortion set up do u have? If u can, u might wanna get push-pull pots. I did that with mine for coil-split and phase-reverse. also, wat kind of music do you play?

 

[AmpliFIRE]

Re: Duncan C5 vs. Rio Grande BBQ Bucker

BBQ= JB on steroids. It'll have ALOT more mids that your CS and it's got a huge bottom end as well....

 

[papersoul]

Re: Duncan C5 vs. Rio Grande BBQ Bucker

The Rio BBQ is very well rounded. It will have huge bottom, thick and full mids with plenty of highs! The BBQ is rather transparent to my ears and really lets the guitar talk. It sound bright and full in my LP, while very dark and murly in my Dean Evo....very smooth and cutting in my McCarty, and it even sounded thin in my Hamer Studio mahogany. Great pickup!

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Duncan C5 vs. Rio Grande BBQ Bucker

So you guys think that the BBQ will be thicker than the C5 in a Hamer Special?

BTW, I play through a Boss GT-8 driving a Mesa 50:50 and a pair of 2x12 cabs.

I don't think coil splitting will help my situation at all, and for me, phase reversal is pretty useless.

The C5 is fine in a singlecut mahogany guitar, but I feel I need more mids in my Hamer.

 

[Travis]

Re: Duncan C5 vs. Rio Grande BBQ Bucker

If you want more mids, check out the Custom/Custom. I had a BBQ in the bridge of my Hamer Special FM for a time. But it just wasn't my taste. It reminded me of a cross between a JB and a Pearly Gates, with a touch more bass. I had a set of pearly Gates in there before the Rio BBQ/Genuine Texas set, and I disliked the same things about both. They were a little too top endy for me. The Custom/Custom went in there and sounded great, but I decided that for that guitar I wanted a more vintage feel. So now it has an APH-1 in the bridge with a Seth on the way for the neck.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Duncan C5 vs. Rio Grande BBQ Bucker

I have an alnico II mag lying around. Maybe it's time for a swap.

Then again, I also have a JB in a drawer and a big ceramic... :naughty:

 

[OlinMusic]

Re: Duncan C5 vs. Rio Grande BBQ Bucker

Hi:

I am brand new. I use a PRS Custom 24 with a Custom 5 bridge and Alnico Pro 2 neck.

I would love to beef up the tone a tad, mostly in the bridge. I love the C5's balance, but I want some more mid fullness without sacrificing the chunk and feel and largeness. does the BBQ fit the bill? Any other thoughts?

 

[papersoul]

Re: Duncan C5 vs. Rio Grande BBQ Bucker

Hi:

I am brand new. I use a PRS Custom 24 with a Custom 5 bridge and Alnico Pro 2 neck.

I would love to beef up the tone a tad, mostly in the bridge. I love the C5's balance, but I want some more mid fullness without sacrificing the chunk and feel and largeness. does the BBQ fit the bill? Any other thoughts?

That is a big YES! The sweet thing about the BBQ is it is fairly transparent. It sounds completely different in different guitars. It is bright, fat anf full in my LP but darker, tight and smooth in my McCarty.

 

[jimlp]

Re: Duncan C5 vs. Rio Grande BBQ Bucker

I have a BBQ in my LP now and it is a great sounding pickup but it is also very distictive sounding and not everyone cares for the tone. Over all the pickup is darker sounding with good mids and slightly rolled back highs, if you have a dark sounding amp it may not be for you. These observations are from my personal experiences, since this pickup may sound totally different with your guitar and amp take it with a grain of salt.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Duncan C5 vs. Rio Grande BBQ Bucker

Does the BBQ get along well with Mesa's?

 

[papersoul]

Re: Duncan C5 vs. Rio Grande BBQ Bucker

I don't know the BBQ is rather transparent which is the sign of a decent pickup...but it does remain thick....sooooooo maybe the transparency theory...hmmm.

Anyway, it is anything but dark in my LP so it really takes on a new life depending on guitar.

 

[Fritz6]

Re: Duncan C5 vs. Rio Grande BBQ Bucker

Hi:

I am brand new. I use a PRS Custom 24 with a Custom 5 bridge and Alnico Pro 2 neck.

I would love to beef up the tone a tad, mostly in the bridge. I love the C5's balance, but I want some more mid fullness without sacrificing the chunk and feel and largeness. does the BBQ fit the bill? Any other thoughts?

I did this with several C5's and it worked wonders:

-Convert to double screws and radius the poles (I go 1/16th). This'll get the middle 4 poles on BOTH coils up to where they should be. You WON'T believe what a difference in 3d wallop this makes.

*grind down the screw heads to fit the slug holes, dont enlarge the holes themselves (thanks to Jeff Gay on this one).

*make sure to put the bucker in front of a fan after gluing in the inserts or the glue fumes will mar the top of the coil (this one too!).

-Cut the screw bottoms so they are flush with the bottom of the baseplate. Got this one from Neal Schon. Adds a touch of chunk to the sound to my ears. Don't do it with the screws in the bucker cause they get HOT!

-Swap the mag out for an A3. The A3 is a great mag cause it has more mids than the A5, but doesn't lose as much bass as an A2. My favorite mag.

-Knock the pot down to 250k. To my ears this takes the "split ends" off the sound if that makes any sense. Two 1/4 watt 1 meg resistors in parallel from the in to ground on the vol pot'll do the trick.


These things sound great with all the buckers I've done them to, particularly mid neutral or mid scooped buckers.

 

[Fritz6]

Re: Duncan C5 vs. Rio Grande BBQ Bucker

Also, wax up each screw before screwing it into the insert. Might pull the insert loose and then it and the screw will spin without the screw going down. Found that out the hard way. Had to do them all over again..groan.

 

[OlinMusic]

Re: Duncan C5 vs. Rio Grande BBQ Bucker

Hmmmm well here I go chiming back in...

I just did the C8 mod over at Zhang's place. He lives right near me here in LA. he is one hell of a tone guru and an amazing player to boot!

H ehad an A3 magnet in one of his pickups, it was like a really balanced A2 with more bite and bass, not as sweet and spongy as an A2, which can be a very good thing. It gave a dark Gibson a tele-like bite when spanked. a good thing! (Unless I am misquoting him, I am damn sure he said it was A3).

As far as the A8 went, it remedied a TON of the C5 problems. I must say, I haven't gotten to A/B the C8 or C5 to a BBQ, and I haven't heard the BBQ in a while. I am not sure if I want to take the $120 plunge.

I am still comtemplating trying the A2 in my custom and giving the Custom Custom sound a whirl. So far the A8 is a clear winner!

 

[papersoul]

Re: Duncan C5 vs. Rio Grande BBQ Bucker

Hmmmm well here I go chiming back in...

I just did the C8 mod over at Zhang's place. He lives right near me here in LA. he is one hell of a tone guru and an amazing player to boot!

H ehad an A3 magnet in one of his pickups, it was like a really balanced A2 with more bite and bass, not as sweet and spongy as an A2, which can be a very good thing. It gave a dark Gibson a tele-like bite when spanked. a good thing! (Unless I am misquoting him, I am damn sure he said it was A3).

As far as the A8 went, it remedied a TON of the C5 problems. I must say, I haven't gotten to A/B the C8 or C5 to a BBQ, and I haven't heard the BBQ in a while. I am not sure if I want to take the $120 plunge.

I am still comtemplating trying the A2 in my custom and giving the Custom Custom sound a whirl. So far the A8 is a clear winner!

Olin, where sis you see the BBQ for $120!!!!!!! I have recently seen it for about $79.:smack:

 

[notesfield]

Re: Duncan C5 vs. Rio Grande BBQ Bucker

I have used both of these. The C5 was thin and bright in guitars like an SG but really nice in a LP.
The RIO BBQ/TXS set is huge sounding, crunchy, thick, full and rich. Tames harsh or thin guitars with a thick sizzle of sorts. SOmeone else said like a thicker JB without the hump, I agree. Or, a warmer, thicker PG. Hard to describe but it really thickens and warms without being muddy.

 

[Jeffrec]

Re: Duncan C5 vs. Rio Grande BBQ Bucker

I have an alnico II mag lying around. Maybe it's time for a swap.

Then again, I also have a JB in a drawer and a big ceramic... :naughty:

Benjy,

Try the Alnico-2 in the JB, and put it in your Hamer. I did that with my Hamer Archtop, and it sounds great.


Jeff

 

[Johnny Q]

Re: Duncan C5 vs. Rio Grande BBQ Bucker

Does the BBQ get along well with Mesa's?

I used to use my BBQ loaded Les Paul Custom through a Dual Rectifier, and that was the tightest low end I ever got out of that amp, my guitar sounded huge!!!

With that said, through darker amps like my Rivera, its sounded like crap, so out it came....

JQ

 

[papersoul]

Re: Duncan C5 vs. Rio Grande BBQ Bucker

I used to use my BBQ loaded Les Paul Custom through a Dual Rectifier, and that was the tightest low end I ever got out of that amp, my guitar sounded huge!!!

With that said, through darker amps like my Rivera, its sounded like crap, so out it came....

JQ

The BBQ sounded great in my LP going through my Line 6 Vetta which can be bright but it really depends on the amp model.