Duncan Custom SH-5 Special Van halen pickup

[IanBallard]

Re: Duncan Custom SH-5 Special Van halen pickup

The bridge pickup in his new guitar are around 14k, but not sure about magnets. I don't know if anybody has taken one apart and examined the magnet. Some have claimed it's an A5 like the EBMM pickups, but it could be ceramic being that it's designed to be "full-range" and you can pull more EQ out of a ceramic, depending on how you wind it.

I'm pretty impressed with his new tone on the new record, so if you're looking for something similar and don't have $120 to blow on a pickup, the Custom would work great.

 

[frankfalbo]

Re: Duncan Custom SH-5 Special Van halen pickup

The Seymour Duncan Guitar Player magazine 1979 ad on the "Customized Van halen Pickup" has been found.Go to the Metro amp site and then Eddie van halen section, go to a thread called "Leadguy and whoever is interested".View the ad very carefully.The Seymour Duncan Custom SH-5 was the customized van halen pickup,case closed...............

It's been "found"? HAAAAHAHAHA I posted it here on our forum predicting it would drive some people crazy. The pic he posted is from my photobucket account just a few hours prior. LOL It doesn't mean anything. Those guys on the Metro Amp forum are going nuts. All in good fun...

 

[IanBallard]

Re: Duncan Custom SH-5 Special Van halen pickup

Frank, it was marketing. I mean, Dave uses the term "flavor of the week" at that point in their early history and all kind of guitar parts folks were cashing in on Eddie. How can you blame anybody? Eddie was always swapping pickups and even said he carried a suitcase full of parts on tour and changed stuff even between shows to suit is current tonal desires. It would not surprise me if he used some 14k/ceramic Seymour invention at some point. I mean... the Frankie pup is 14k, the IM1 used on the Kramer was 14k and his current guitar uses a 14k wind. He likes that output level at the bridge! It's not a conspiracy... you guys are just trying NOT to get sued!

You mentioned that you guys produced some prototypes for the Wolfgang... any insight on the formulas (wind/magnets) you tried? Any plans on offering some of those brass baseplates for sale? I'd love to try a brass Trembucker plate on my hybrid!

 

[WhooHoo]

Re: Duncan Custom SH-5 Special Van halen pickup

Thanks for posting the ad https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?t=233435&page=2

If the Duncan Custom was associated with EVH back in 1979 then WTF is the later EVH78 (or whatever it's called now) about?

Then there is the interview with Seymour saying Ed had a JB from what he could remember.

Seymour has certainly got the EVH thing covered across his model range LOL.

I can believe that EVH had a Duncan Custom because of the early ad and also because Ed just sounds like a Ceramic pickup/no MV Marshall combo early on to me but the other pickups are maybe associated with a later EVH period or are just conjecture.

The Duncan Custom could have been used by EVH in 1977 and also for the first album and the EVH78 could have been used by EVH in 1978 and also for the second album and the JB could have been used by EVH around the mid/late 80s.

Then it makes some sense to me.

Maybe Seymour thought it was ok to sell the Custom with EVH's name in 1979 because EVH had already moved on to the EVH78 in 1978.

 

[IanBallard]

Re: Duncan Custom SH-5 Special Van halen pickup

The description of the pickups in that ad are in parentheses. The JB says (Harmonics), The Mag (Strat sound) and the Custom (Van Halen), etc. That doesn't mean THAT was the pickup he wound for Eddie. That, to me, was their attempt to market the SOUND. Eddie had a "PAF on steroids" tone and they were the hottest band around in 1979, so it makes sense from a marketing standpoint. Eddie stated in an interview with Jas Olbrecht, that Seymour tried to market a pickup in his name and he had to sick the lawyers on him, hence the removal of the name in the latter ad. It happens.

The market was demanding higher output models, so it didn't make sense to Seymour (I assume) to market the '78 model when everybody wanted a Super Distortion type pickup.

 

[WhooHoo]

Re: Duncan Custom SH-5 Special Van halen pickup

I think the PAF thing is a red herring.

I can see an overwound PAF being used in 1978 because EVH's tone changed in 1978 (check 1978 world tour boots and videos) but not really before then.

EVH was using Ceramic Mighty Mite DiMarzio Distortion clones in early/mid 1977 and this is more of the cutting club tone that seems to be on the first album recorded in 1977.

This video shows the differences between driving a EVH like Plexi with different pickups.

 

[LtKojak]

Re: Duncan Custom SH-5 Special Van halen pickup

It's been "found"? HAAAAHAHAHA I posted it here on our forum predicting it would drive some people crazy. The pic he posted is from my photobucket account just a few hours prior. LOL It doesn't mean anything. Those guys on the Metro Amp forum are going nuts. All in good fun...

Never underestimate the POWER OF FANBOISM!!!!!!!!!!!

:cool2:

 

[jmh151]

Re: Duncan Custom SH-5 Special Van halen pickup

The description of the pickups in that ad are in parentheses. The JB says (Harmonics), The Mag (Strat sound) and the Custom (Van Halen), etc. That doesn't mean THAT was the pickup he wound for Eddie. That, to me, was their attempt to market the SOUND. .

THIS makes the most sense to me

 

[Ed Hunter]

Re: Duncan Custom SH-5 Special Van halen pickup

NOT to sound like a smart ass but a lot of this S**T could be resovled if SEYMOUR himself or CATHY answered to it?
Was it wound for eddie on request or was it a take on eddies tone and eddie never actually used it? yes or no? i dont see the big deal with clearing this up.:28: it has been over 30 years!

 

[ErikH]

Re: Duncan Custom SH-5 Special Van halen pickup

It's been "found"? HAAAAHAHAHA I posted it here on our forum predicting it would drive some people crazy. The pic he posted is from my photobucket account just a few hours prior. LOL It doesn't mean anything. Those guys on the Metro Amp forum are going nuts. All in good fun...

Frank went fishing and caught a WHOOOOOOOOLE boatload of gooberfish....LOL.

 

[Ed Hunter]

Re: Duncan Custom SH-5 Special Van halen pickup

Maybe they want you go to go to your graves tone chasing a hack who is know about lying about his tone secrets.

Find your own voice.

are you serious??? YOU are calling him a hack?
When is the last time you added ANYTHING to the guitar vocabulary?:14:

 

[Ed Hunter]

Re: Duncan Custom SH-5 Special Van halen pickup

Frank went fishing and caught a WHOOOOOOOOLE boatload of gooberfish....LOL.

What exactly is your problem???
I see everytime there is anything about VH on this forum you add a smart ass remark to the thread instead of tryin to help out the newer guys here who want to know?
If it bothers you so much why the hell do you even click on any VH links???

 

[jmcorey]

Re: Duncan Custom SH-5 Special Van halen pickup

You know something?

Larry Carlton sounds like Larry Carlton, no matter what guitar and rig he plays through.

David Gilmour sounds like David Gilmour, no matter what guitar and rig he plays through.

Eric Johnson sounds like Eric Johnson, no matter what guitar and rig he plays through.

Phil Keaggy sounds like Phil Keaggy, no matter what guitar and rig he plays through.

Jeff beck sounds like Jeff Beck, even when he's not playing a tele-gib with a JB!

Larry Carlton sounds like Larry Carlton, no matter what guitar and rig he plays through.

Can we just ACCEPT THE FACT THAT EDDIE SOUNDS LIKE EDDIE AND LIKED EXPERIMENTING WITH DIFFERENT PICKUPS TO HELP REFINE HIS TONE, LIKE SO MANY OF US DO?

SHEEEEEEESSSHHHHHH!

 

[ErikH]

What exactly is your problem???
I see everytime there is anything about VH on this forum you add a smart ass remark to the thread instead of tryin to help out the newer guys here who want to know?
If it bothers you so much why the hell do you even click on any VH links???

I don't have a problem. I stopped chasing this crazy info years ago. Who cares anymore? Why? There is the search function that will give everything available in past threads.

I don't post smartass comments in every one of them. Just a select few. Get over it.

 

[frankfalbo]

Re: Duncan Custom SH-5 Special Van halen pickup

NOT to sound like a smart ass but a lot of this S**T could be resovled if SEYMOUR himself or CATHY answered to it?
Was it wound for eddie on request or was it a take on eddies tone and eddie never actually used it? yes or no? i dont see the big deal with clearing this up.:28: it has been over 30 years!

No worries about how you sound. But none of the information you seek could be resolved by any information we have here. What we made doesn't mean anything because how would we know what pickups he used on which tracks? We wouldn't. Seymour didn't produce the album, he just made pickups. You're barking up the wrong tree. It's like asking the grocery store what I made for dinner. All they know is what they sold me that day, and they wouldn't know what I already had in my house or how I cooked with it.

 

[oilpit]

Re: Duncan Custom SH-5 Special Van halen pickup

I had forgotten about this thread...

*sigh*

 

[Ed Hunter]

Re: Duncan Custom SH-5 Special Van halen pickup

No worries about how you sound. But none of the information you seek could be resolved by any information we have here. What we made doesn't mean anything because how would we know what pickups he used on which tracks? We wouldn't. Seymour didn't produce the album, he just made pickups. You're barking up the wrong tree. It's like asking the grocery store what I made for dinner. All they know is what they sold me that day, and they wouldn't know what I already had in my house or how I cooked with it.

yes i understand all that but why not just let others know IF eddie was in on that model or it was just INFLUENCED by his tone back then? thats all i wanted to know,i dont care if he used it really i am more curious to finally find out if that model was a custom request or a pup called custom because it is seymours take on the elusive VH tone back then?

 

[Ed Hunter]

Re: Duncan Custom SH-5 Special Van halen pickup

I don't have a problem. I stopped chasing this crazy info years ago. Who cares anymore? Why? There is the search function that will give everything available in past threads.

I don't post smartass comments in every one of them. Just a select few. Get over it.

We both know that a search will find anything you need to know about the VH tone past,present and even future but a lot of new guys dont bother searchin and just ask on a thread. I have no prob rehashing the info to help em out
Oh and i was never under it to have to get over it! LOL!

 

[pittbull]

Re: Duncan Custom SH-5 Special Van halen pickup

Eddie tone sounds different on each of the van halen albums so to say Eddie sounds the same on what ever he plays though is total BS.As for seymour coming forth on this subject,he wont,its a cash maker for him look at all the so-called van halen pickups he make's.

 

[IanBallard]

Re: Duncan Custom SH-5 Special Van halen pickup

I think the PAF thing is a red herring.

I can see an overwound PAF being used in 1978 because EVH's tone changed in 1978 (check 1978 world tour boots and videos) but not really before then.

EVH was using Ceramic Mighty Mite DiMarzio Distortion clones in early/mid 1977 and this is more of the cutting club tone that seems to be on the first album recorded in 1977.

This video shows the differences between driving a EVH like Plexi with different pickups.

Wow. Pete nails it at the end with the Super D-powered Partscaster. That's about as VH1 as you can get. Although, that Wolf Custom sounds amazing.