Duncan Designed?
- Thread starter formula73
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Evan Skopp
SDUGF Founder
Re: Duncan Designed?
That's basically true. And the Seymour Duncan SH-8 Invader has three (count 'em) ceramic magnets.
barbarianbrute
New member
Re: Duncan Designed?
i'm curious, why even have a "duncan designed" line? why not just have duncan pickups and that's it, or just make another brand?
i'm curious, why even have a "duncan designed" line? why not just have duncan pickups and that's it, or just make another brand?
mrturtle_91
New member
Re: Duncan Designed?
I believe the Duncan Designed are made in Korea, I believe they use the same specs as real duncans, but are made cheaper to use on cheaper guitars.
I believe the Duncan Designed are made in Korea, I believe they use the same specs as real duncans, but are made cheaper to use on cheaper guitars.
blueman335
Mojo's Minions
Re: Duncan Designed?
Cheap parts, cheap labor, and the typical muddy Asian PU sound. No better than the other Asians. A big part of the aftermarket of American-made PU's are the ones upgrading Asian guitars. There's no substitute for American-made PU's.
Cheap parts, cheap labor, and the typical muddy Asian PU sound. No better than the other Asians. A big part of the aftermarket of American-made PU's are the ones upgrading Asian guitars. There's no substitute for American-made PU's.
danglybanger
ReelItInologist
Re: Duncan Designed?
Dare you to call Jap fender SCs muddy :laugh2:
way to lump a continent together, hmm...
Dare you to call Jap fender SCs muddy :laugh2:
way to lump a continent together, hmm...
blueman335
Mojo's Minions
Re: Duncan Designed?
Japan is a colelction of islands, not a continent. Sorry, but I don't play Fenders (the "F" word), so I may have overlooked Japanese SC's. My apologies.
Japan is a colelction of islands, not a continent. Sorry, but I don't play Fenders (the "F" word), so I may have overlooked Japanese SC's. My apologies.
danglybanger
ReelItInologist
Re: Duncan Designed?
So it's best just not to take geographical location into account when evaluating a pickup
So it's best just not to take geographical location into account when evaluating a pickup
blueman335
Mojo's Minions
Re: Duncan Designed?
And learn about continents and islands at the same time. Ha!
My reference was about Korean, Chinese, and Malaysian PU's, which I hope you aren't going to claim sound good. I should have said "mainland" Asia. So yes, geography plays a part. Never seen Japanese PU's discussed here, and did not mean to step on your toes.
So it's best just not to take geographical location into account when evaluating a pickup
And learn about continents and islands at the same time. Ha!
My reference was about Korean, Chinese, and Malaysian PU's, which I hope you aren't going to claim sound good. I should have said "mainland" Asia. So yes, geography plays a part. Never seen Japanese PU's discussed here, and did not mean to step on your toes.
danglybanger
ReelItInologist
Re: Duncan Designed?
...some might.
I think the only thing that SDs offer is consistency.
With a chinese pickup it's just more luck of the draw whether you get the desired level of output, winds and whatnot, but there's nothing inherently wrong with them. It's just wires, magnets, and taste.
Plenty of Jap pickups are discussed here. Ibanez Fender etc.
Nitpicking the definition of what constitute Asia is not what I come here for
...some might.
I think the only thing that SDs offer is consistency.
With a chinese pickup it's just more luck of the draw whether you get the desired level of output, winds and whatnot, but there's nothing inherently wrong with them. It's just wires, magnets, and taste.
Plenty of Jap pickups are discussed here. Ibanez Fender etc.
Nitpicking the definition of what constitute Asia is not what I come here for
Evan Skopp
SDUGF Founder
Re: Duncan Designed?
Here's the deal. We had a bunch of OEM customers who asked us for a lower-priced Duncan-branded pickup that they could put in their guitars in the $250 to $850 price range. Seymour Duncans don't work for that range. So we had to go offshore to produce a pickup that would make sense for a guitar in that range.
We visited a lot of factories in Korea and, in 1992 or 93, made the decision to go with a small factory located in Incheon. They make pickups by hand in small batches the same way we make them here in Santa Barbara. And that factory has been making Duncan Designed pickups since the beginning.
While the materials are not exactly the same as Seymour Duncans (gauges are metric instead of SAE, some humbucker bottom plates are brass, and single coil bobbins are molded plastic), for the most part, they use the same materials as Seymour Duncan. I know it's easy to give these pickups a bad rap because their not made in USA. But if you listen to them with an honest ear, you'll agree that they're pretty good sounding pickups.
Maybe not as good as Seymour Duncans. At least I hope not. But they're good. And we've put them up against a lot of "other" USA-made brands in terms of materials, build-quality, and tone.
They're good.
Well, actually, Duncan Designed pickups are real Duncans. They're just not USA-made.
Here's the deal. We had a bunch of OEM customers who asked us for a lower-priced Duncan-branded pickup that they could put in their guitars in the $250 to $850 price range. Seymour Duncans don't work for that range. So we had to go offshore to produce a pickup that would make sense for a guitar in that range.
We visited a lot of factories in Korea and, in 1992 or 93, made the decision to go with a small factory located in Incheon. They make pickups by hand in small batches the same way we make them here in Santa Barbara. And that factory has been making Duncan Designed pickups since the beginning.
While the materials are not exactly the same as Seymour Duncans (gauges are metric instead of SAE, some humbucker bottom plates are brass, and single coil bobbins are molded plastic), for the most part, they use the same materials as Seymour Duncan. I know it's easy to give these pickups a bad rap because their not made in USA. But if you listen to them with an honest ear, you'll agree that they're pretty good sounding pickups.
Maybe not as good as Seymour Duncans. At least I hope not. But they're good. And we've put them up against a lot of "other" USA-made brands in terms of materials, build-quality, and tone.
They're good.
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