Duncan Distortion in an Alder body, with Maple Neck and Ebony Fretboard

[Mad-Max]

Re: Duncan Distortion in an Alder body, with Maple Neck and Ebony Fretboard

That's a really bright combination. Alder, maple and ebony are all very bright-sounding tonewoods, and now you're throwing in a treble-heavy, high-output humbucker set. Even with 250K pots this thing will screech; probably the only screechier you could get is a Screamin' Demon.

You can, indeed, get good clean tones with a Duncan Distortion. It uses a ceramic, so some of the tone connoisseurs on this board might disagree, but I've yet to hear a clean tone from an SD that's unusable for anything.

Like I said, just thought I'd ask. I kinda knew that maybe it would be an extremely bright bright pick-up to put in that guitar, but I just wanted to see if maybe my judgement was wrong.

 

[dvanburen]

Re: Duncan Distortion in an Alder body, with Maple Neck and Ebony Fretboard

custom/jb is a very nice pickup with a5. a8 and ceramic it may be too much for you. Use whichever screw coil you want to influence the sound more. its got nice low end and warmth from the custom but adds snarl, bite and midrange crunch from the jb. its a winner. it'll be hotter than the 59/custom

 

[Mad-Max]

Re: Duncan Distortion in an Alder body, with Maple Neck and Ebony Fretboard

custom/jb is a very nice pickup with a5. a8 and ceramic it may be too much for you. Use whichever screw coil you want to influence the sound more. its got nice low end and warmth from the custom but adds snarl, bite and midrange crunch from the jb. its a winner. it'll be hotter than the 59/custom

Sounds like what I'm trying to achieve, honestly haha.

I've also heard about a JB/Full Shred Hybrid too. That sounds really interesting as well.

 

[Falloffthebonetone]

Re: Duncan Distortion in an Alder body, with Maple Neck and Ebony Fretboard

Like I said, just thought I'd ask. I kinda knew that maybe it would be an extremely bright bright pick-up to put in that guitar, but I just wanted to see if maybe my judgement was wrong.

This is the last thing I'm gonna post.
Frankly I don't think alder is as bright as you're making it out to be. There are plenty brighter like ash which is slightly so and maple which is even more so. Alder in my opinion is not bright enough by any means to ruin a guitar's tone. It is a very neutral wood, leaning towards upper midrange slightly. Don't be afraid to put anything in it. Even with maple neck and ebony fretboard it's not going to be that bright. If you're that worried about brightness I would eliminate the Distortion, the Dimebucker, and the Black Winter first. Then you say you want good cleans which eliminates the Invader, the Alternative 8 and the active line, though their cleans are subjective. That leaves the JB, the Custom series, and the Full Shred. You want more output so that would eliminate the custom custom and probably the custom 5, also the screamin demon and the hybrid though not technically part of the custom series. So you have the Custom, the JB, and the Full Shred. FS and custom are almost equal output with a little more warmth from the custom. JB is the hottest and most aggressive sounding. Another thing you're overlooking is that you already have a JB. So I would even eliminate that, leaving the FS and Custom. FS has dynamic articulate singing highs and tight bass, custom has a slightly warmer bass and less focused but slightly brighter high end, even though the full shred is generally brighter in tone. Traditionally the custom is more of a rhythm pickup and the full shred is more of a lead. Either would work for you, JB would also work but you already have one in a basswood body correct? How about switching the JB over to the other guitar with the emgs and see what you think of it. Decide how you would change the tone if at all and order accordingly. The Jackson Rhoads has a neckthrough maple body with alder wings and ebony fretboard and has had a JB and Distortion in both and they have worked wonders.

 

[Mad-Max]

Re: Duncan Distortion in an Alder body, with Maple Neck and Ebony Fretboard

This is the last thing I'm gonna post.
Frankly I don't think alder is as bright as you're making it out to be. There are plenty brighter like ash which is slightly so and maple which is even more so. Alder in my opinion is not bright enough by any means to ruin a guitar's tone. It is a very neutral wood, leaning towards upper midrange slightly. Don't be afraid to put anything in it. Even with maple neck and ebony fretboard it's not going to be that bright. If you're that worried about brightness I would eliminate the Distortion, the Dimebucker, and the Black Winter first. Then you say you want good cleans which eliminates the Invader, the Alternative 8 and the active line, though their cleans are subjective. That leaves the JB, the Custom series, and the Full Shred. You want more output so that would eliminate the custom custom and probably the custom 5, also the screamin demon and the hybrid though not technically part of the custom series. So you have the Custom, the JB, and the Full Shred. FS and custom are almost equal output with a little more warmth from the custom. JB is the hottest and most aggressive sounding. Another thing you're overlooking is that you already have a JB. So I would even eliminate that, leaving the FS and Custom. FS has dynamic articulate singing highs and tight bass, custom has a slightly warmer bass and less focused but slightly brighter high end, even though the full shred is generally brighter in tone. Traditionally the custom is more of a rhythm pickup and the full shred is more of a lead. Either would work for you, JB would also work but you already have one in a basswood body correct? How about switching the JB over to the other guitar with the emgs and see what you think of it. Decide how you would change the tone if at all and order accordingly. The Jackson Rhoads has a neckthrough maple body with alder wings and ebony fretboard and has had a JB and Distortion in both and they have worked wonders.

Hey man, didn't mean to be of annoyance. I know it may seem like I'm just like "uh uh uh, okay uh uh yeah, maybe this, maybe that... etc." but it's for the mere fact that I'm trying to get a variety of different answers so then that way I can make a more solid decision based on what I like from different pick-ups, and by what information I am given by asking questions. So, I apologize if it seems as if I'm just beating around the bush, there's a method to my madness here.

On a different note, this post really helped narrow it down for me. To be honest, I had it in my head, but I just couldn't put it to words, and this post helped me a ton, so thanks for that. Looks like I might pull the trigger on a Full Shred and see how it goes. But, if we were to rule out the High output factor, I could try a 59/Custom as well, because for some reason that one just keeps popping up, and it was one of the first pickups that interested me when it came to what I was gonna put in this guitar, plus I've been growing kinda fond of moderate output pups, mainly because they just have this smooth sound to them that I like, while being more than capable of being in your face.

 

[dvanburen]

Re: Duncan Distortion in an Alder body, with Maple Neck and Ebony Fretboard

duncan return policy if you dont like it

 

[Falloffthebonetone]

Re: Duncan Distortion in an Alder body, with Maple Neck and Ebony Fretboard

Hey man, didn't mean to be of annoyance. I know it may seem like I'm just like "uh uh uh, okay uh uh yeah, maybe this, maybe that... etc." but it's for the mere fact that I'm trying to get a variety of different answers so then that way I can make a more solid decision based on what I like from different pick-ups, and by what information I am given by asking questions. So, I apologize if it seems as if I'm just beating around the bush, there's a method to my madness here.

On a different note, this post really helped narrow it down for me. To be honest, I had it in my head, but I just couldn't put it to words, and this post helped me a ton, so thanks for that. Looks like I might pull the trigger on a Full Shred and see how it goes. But, if we were to rule out the High output factor, I could try a 59/Custom as well, because for some reason that one just keeps popping up, and it was one of the first pickups that interested me when it came to what I was gonna put in this guitar, plus I've been growing kinda fond of moderate output pups, mainly because they just have this smooth sound to them that I like, while being more than capable of being in your face.

Didn't mean to make you feel like an annoyance. If anything I felt annoying dude, that's why it's the last thing I wanted to say. I was in your exact shoes like 2-3 months ago.

 

[Mad-Max]

Re: Duncan Distortion in an Alder body, with Maple Neck and Ebony Fretboard

Didn't mean to make you feel like an annoyance. If anything I felt annoying dude, that's why it's the last thing I wanted to say. I was in your exact shoes like 2-3 months ago.

Good! I was worried there for a moment :smokin:

 

[darthphineas]

Re: Duncan Distortion in an Alder body, with Maple Neck and Ebony Fretboard

custom/jb is a very nice pickup with a5. a8 and ceramic it may be too much for you. Use whichever screw coil you want to influence the sound more. its got nice low end and warmth from the custom but adds snarl, bite and midrange crunch from the jb. its a winner. it'll be hotter than the 59/custom

did I get that C/JB from you, or was it the DD/JB?

I still haven't installed that DD/JB yet, but that C/JB (Custom slug, JB screw, A5 mag) was in a mahogany super strat with a maple neck and it's a nice little hybrid. just took it out yesterday to put a BKP Rebel Yell in that guitar. your description of the C/JB is pretty accurate. the 59/C hybrid is good, but I always find that I need a little more sustain in the highs from the 59/C for what I do. that's not the case with the C/JB.

 

[dvanburen]

Re: Duncan Distortion in an Alder body, with Maple Neck and Ebony Fretboard

did I get that C/JB from you, or was it the DD/JB?

nah. didnt get it from me. But We were chatting about them a while ago. you were one that was using jb/custom and 59/jazz neck a4. Good combo. I really like the custom/jb. I love the custom and the jb adds some snarl and bite to it which i like better than the stock jb. the custom adds warmth and a nice bottom end that the jb lacks. I did take it out tho cause i like the c8 better. but im still using the 59/jazz a4 neck which is badass

 

[Dr.K]

Re: Duncan Distortion in an Alder body, with Maple Neck and Ebony Fretboard

I've got a late 80's MJ wound Full Shred that I've been trying to sell. PM me if you're interested. Thanks man!