Duncan Design Pickups

[Ephman]

Hi all!

So I have a Metallic Black Dean Vendetta XMT Guitar and I didn't want to spend a god awful amount on pickups but I want to beef it up quite a bit in the bridge. It is made from paulownia wood and has a rosewood fingerboard.

I kinda like the dean pups at the bridge. But my question is which is better for metal in the Duncan Design brand? The HB103 or the HB108? If not these then what are some quality made pups I could buy from a trusted source?

 

[Ed Hunter]

Re: Duncan Design Pickups

I like the 103(DD) and the 102(JB) for metal but IF you are buying new DD's then i would say to go with used USA duncans then since the new DD's are $40 anyway

 

[Aoresteen]

Re: Duncan Design Pickups

I like the 103(DD) and the 102(JB) for metal but IF you are buying new DD's then i would say to go with used USA duncans then since the new DD's are $40 anyway

+1

Try the Dimebucker!

 

[Ephman]

Re: Duncan Design Pickups

I wasn't planning on buying used anything. This would be my first pup purchase and installation and I was wanting to buy new so I could get instructions with it and have like a warranty on it. Musiciansfriend has the HB108 for $30 w/ free shipping. Are the HB108 Bridge pups any good for metal?

 

[Masta' C]

Re: Duncan Design Pickups

EPHMAN-

You're killing me...

As has been previously noted, the HB108 is a great pickup for metal. So is the HB103. They are farily similar. Both should have a crisp, cutting sound in your guitar with good harmonics and palm muting abilities.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the Duncan Designed/Duncan Performer stuff for those on a budget. Hell, there's nothing wrong with them for those not on a budget!

The Entwistle stuff is good, the GFS stuff is good, the Artec stuff is good...most of these pickups are made in the same exact place by the same exact people. I think the Duncan Designed are generally the nicest of the bunch from a quality standpoint.


The HB-108 is $30 brand new! If you don't like it, sell it and try something else!

By the way, the place I directed you to in our PMs is most certainly a "trusted" site...I've used them for a long time through several orders and have never had an issue. Only downside is overseas shipping, which takes a few extra days, but really isn't bad at all considering the cost savings of the parts.

 

[Ephman]

Re: Duncan Design Pickups

Haha I am not just killing you. Me too. I hear good things and I hear bad things. The good outweighs the bad mostly on the cheaper stuff but there are people that say cheaper is cheaper quality and I hear people say save the money and buy some real pickups. I think I really want to go with the Duncan Design 108 though. I'm almost set on it. If they aren't what I'm looking for then $30 wasn't a waste really. Can always resale and get some of the money spent back. I was going for invaders or detonators and I hear for the price there's not too much of a difference. So, more than likely I will get them and end all my crazy repeat posts Thank you so so much for all the help and guidance though!! Very informative. And in the future I will probably give the site you pmd me a shot. They sound good and reputable. Now I just need a soldering iron.. Hahaha

 

[dominus]

Re: Duncan Design Pickups

There's a huge difference between the Detonator and the Invader. The Detonator is a Distortion with the look of the Invader.

The Detonator is a MUCH better pickup than the Invader, and will sound awesome in your Vendetta. Trust me.

 

[verbotenco]

Re: Duncan Design Pickups

Considering the miniscule difference between real deal SD and Duncan Designed, I would wait a few months and save money to get the real deal than going for copycat, if I were you.

 

[dominus]

Re: Duncan Design Pickups

Considering the miniscule difference between real deal SD and Duncan Designed, I would wait a few months and save money to get the real deal than going for copycat, if I were you.

That makes no sense whatsoever. If there was a huge difference, it'd make sense to wait and save money. Since they do sound so similar (I've compared the HB102s to Jazz and JB, and HB103s to 59n/Distortion, and HB108b to the Distortion and Invader - it's closer to the Distortion, and HB112 to the Demon and Distortion - it's closer to the Distortion), you might as well go for the Designed/Performer version to save money. It doesn't matter what the logo is on a pickup, it matters how it SOUNDS.

These are all Paulownia Dean Vendettas with different bridge humbuckers:

I have a pretty good idea of what pickups work in the bridge. The Duncan Designed HB103 and HB108 work great. If you replace the ceramic magnet in an HB108 with an AlNiCo 8, it makes it into one of the BEST sounding pickups around.

 

[Ephman]

Thanks for the help guys! Would it be fairly difficult to replace the ceramic with an alnico?

 

[dominus]

Re: Duncan Design Pickups

Thanks for the help guys! Would it be fairly difficult to replace the ceramic with an alnico?

Not at all. Loosen the screws on the bottom, carefully push the old one out, and then slide the new one in and tighten the screws again.

 

[Khriss Bliss]

Re: Duncan Design Pickups

Probably not. I was worried about my DD being oversized, but it wasnt, so i replaced it with an Alnico 5.

And when i find where i put it, im gonna put the ceramic back in.

( in fact, i just put an object, like a bottle cap, behind the trem springs in the back of the guitar to loosen the strings, turned some screws on the pkup, tucked the tape outa the way, slid the magnet out {kinda stuck in wax}, popped the new one in, put the spring & screws back, and when i took out the bottle cap, it was almost in tune still!)

 

[Ephman]

Re: Duncan Design Pickups

Cool.

 

[Aceman]

Re: Duncan Design Pickups

Hey - The Duncan Designed / Performer are either real Duncans for other companies, or the foreign models which are NOT the same as the 'based on' versions.

That said, let's consider a few things: Quality - it's a mag, some wire, and a bobbin or two. How different do you REALLY think one wound here vs there is? Let's get over that.

As for the sound, we all have our little peculiarities. So even if it does sound a touch better, you may like the Duncan Performer better than the USA version. Whatever pup has the sound you like best and need is the one to get. Don't worry about where it was made or who made it.

As for used - if it works it works. You can get better instructions here than in the box. Cheaper is better. Done.

Now, the Duncan Detonator: It is a Distortion with Invader poles. How do I know this, Evan Skopp told me. I want one.

And as for the Duncan Performer Distortion, I'm currently shopping for one for the neck position.

All things to consider - just my opinions.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Duncan Design Pickups

Quality - it's a mag, some wire, and a bobbin or two. How different do you REALLY think one wound here vs there is? Let's get over that.

Think about it. When it comes to winding techniques that have taken Duncan decades to learn and perfect (patterns, tensions, etc), no, I don't think those are shared overseas. There's a lot more to it than just getting the same resistance. Once the genie's oit of the bottle, those overseas winders can sell that info to any of Duncan's competitors. It'd be a poor business decision to let that info out. I don't think it's happened.

Yes, some DD's may work well in some guitar and woods, but I don't think they're the same quality as SD's. You're free to think otherwise. For marketing reasons, Duncan has to say they're the same. There's boutique winders who have delved heavily into winding techniques, and I'm sure some are in Asia too, but they're not going to be selling their stuff cheap. It's an art, and good PU winders are highly skilled.

 

[Masta' C]

Re: Duncan Design Pickups

Duncan says "wind this with this for this many turns at this tension and finish off with these pole pieces, this magnet and this baseplate with this connecting wire"...

The Asian manufacturer isn't just out there winding pickups at random tensions with miscellaneous parts and hoping they get it "close". Those "decades" of working with pickups has given Duncan the ability to find alternative winds and combinatons that offer similar tonal characteristics, without giving away the exact trade secrets of their most profitable formulas. However, the formulas they DO use in the Duncan Designed stuff is close enough to satiate many players' appetites and give just about anyone looking for better tone what they want, without hurting their wallets.

As for quality, there IS a difference. Even though a pickup is "only" bits of metal, wire and plastic, I've seen extremely cheap plastic bobbins, low quality wire, cut rate shielding, cost-cutting waxes used (and no wax at all in the cheapest stuff), poor quality leads and crappy solder used in many pickups. That's just the materials. Then you have to put it all together and things like crooked covers, stripped pole pieces and poor quality solder joints come into play.

Duncan's Asian manufacturer is a proven producer of quality pickups and they are given their own quality restrictions to meet with the Duncan Designed stuff. For the most part, the DD pickups I've had experience with (which is every humbucker in the line) has been as consistent as the U.S. made stuff and held up nearly as well. In fact, from a "quality" standpoint, I think the Duncan Designed series is among the nicest "budget" line to be found anywhere!

Do I prefer U.S. over Asian Duncans? At times, certainly. Due largely in part to the greater selection when fine-tuning a sound. However, there has been more than one occassion when the Asian counterpart has given me exactly what I wanted when the U.S. version didn't! And that goes for other players I've helped find pickups for, as well!

EPHMAN- For $30, you can't go wrong with a brand new HB108 for what you're looking for. There is nothing else quite like it, though it does resemble a Distortion/HB-103 type sound in most respects. Get it, figure out where it lacks (if it does at all) and we can better direct you where to go from there! Chances are, it'll give you what you want and you'll still have money leftover to eat!

 

[blueman335]

Re: Duncan Design Pickups

Do I prefer U.S. over Asian Duncans? At times, certainly. Due largely in part to the greater selection when fine-tuning a sound. However, there has been more than one occassion when the Asian counterpart has given me exactly what I wanted when the U.S. version didn't! And that goes for other players I've helped find pickups for, as well!

- For $30, you can't go wrong with a brand new HB108.

The thing is, there's a thriving market in used PU's online, and you can get used Duncans, DMz's, Gibsons, etc often for around half price. So why not spend $35 or $40 on a used SD, versus $30 on a DD? You can get used Carvin and Schaller HB's for around $20 or so. High quality PU's are out there for very reasonable prices.

 

[surface54]

Re: Duncan Design Pickups

the detonator is pretty awesome
the bass mids and treble are all in the right spot and when you press the gain the integrity of the sound doesnt change, it just gets fatter and stays tight.

 

[Ephman]

Re: Duncan Design Pickups

Got the Detonator today for the bridge and it's pretty awesome. There's not a huge difference in the sound of these and the stock pups i had already but it is a noticable difference. Also I am using a very basic practice amp so that will effect the sound as well. Not to mention the pups i had in it had a white and black wire and the new one had white and red, green and bare, and black. Through a little guesswork I soldered the white and red together and taped them and then soldered the bare and green where the white was and the black where the bare was on the former. I believe that green and bare on the new pup was ground and the black was hot. If not, well whatever I did produced a sound so I'm good with it. Now I just need a good amp and effects pedal. Probably will be looking for a used one at a pawn shop. and I am also planning on buying some ernie ball strings the next time i need some to try them out. all in all i am very satisfied with my dd pups though.