Re: Duncan Custom vs. 59/Custom for Mustang Bridge?
I am not getting any punch or crunch from the JB in that guitar. It has a very compressed "singing" tone-great for soloing and single note riffing, but I can't get a tight, crunchy, punchy and powerful overdriven rhythm tone with chords. The Mustang is a short scale guitar with a rosewood fretboard, so it doesn't have the snap of a Strat style guitar. It can get muddy under high gain and I do play a lot of hard rock and 80's metal. Because of the type of sound I am looking for, I decided to go for an overwound PAF type of tone. I did look at the Pearly Gates, but I am thinking the A2 magnets might be too warm for my guitar. I was thinking warmer toned guitars like my Mustang need ceramic or A5 magnets. I also have a short scale Jaguar with rosewood board that came loaded with Fender Enforcer pups. They are very high output ceramic pups-not the type I would normally chose, but I am able to get the sounds I am looking for out of that guitar and they also sound acceptable in split coil mode for my Hendrix and SRV moments. I also demo'd a Pawnshop Mustang Special loaded with those same Enforcer pickups and it also sounded good for the type of stuff I play, so I am assuming I can get an even better sound out of my Mustang loaded with the right Duncan PUPs. Because of my experience with my Jag and the Pawn Shop Special Mustang, I am assuming that I prefer the sound of ceramic pups in a short scale guitar. The Custom seems to be the best choice for an overwound ceramic PAF type tone. The 59/Custom Hybrid seemed to be my best choice if I decide to stick with ALNICO pups. It is also an overwound PAF type sound and I think the A5 magnets would work better in a warmer, muddier guitar than any of the A2 options. I also think the mismatched coils would impart a little bit of a "Fenderish" single coil flavor to the guitar, which is appealing to me for a Mustang. Both pups also have a high enough output on the slug coil in split mode to produce an acceptable single coil type sound. That is one of the reasons I am looking for an overwound PAF. I have owned both a Duncan '59 and a Screamin' Demon in the past and, while I loved them both in full HB mode, they were somewhat spikey and anemic on their own when split.
