duncan distortion ! not impressed at all

rombola

New member
i just intalled a duncan distortion in my paul and im not impressed at all , i dont know im changing strings later to thicker ones , damn even the stock pickups on my ibanez iceman sound better dude , im very dissapointed , lets see what happens with the thicker strings im gonna try the pup height too , it sounds too trebbly it doesnt have bottom end sounds thin its not bassy at all

any suggestions?
 
Re: duncan distortion ! not impressed at all

Get a JB. I didn't like the Distortion in my paul style guitar either, I prefer the JB, but in strat style guitars or bolt on neck style guitars I prefer the Distortion.
 
Re: duncan distortion ! not impressed at all

rombola said:
i just intalled a duncan distortion in my paul and im not impressed at all , i dont know im changing strings later to thicker ones , damn even the stock pickups on my ibanez iceman sound better dude , im very dissapointed , lets see what happens with the thicker strings im gonna try the pup height too , it sounds too trebbly it doesnt have bottom end sounds thin its not bassy at all

any suggestions?

I'd double check the set up and install. Maybe adjust the polepieces almost flat and then move the pickup closer to the strings. The Distortion is not my choice for a bridge humbucker but regardless: it should have plenty of bass and the highs and mids should sound nice and thick. It's a ceramic magnet pickup and even Seymour notes that he hears a little more sizzle to the treble from a ceramic magnet pickup....so maybe that's the excess treble you are experiencing. Still, the Distortion has strong mids and that will usually thicken up the treble in most ceramic pickups. I'd play with the ht. adjustment and make sure you have it wired right if it sounds like it's lacking bass. Maybe you don't have it wired it series? You should have red & white soldered together, black to the volume pot or switch and green to ground. Lew
 
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Re: duncan distortion ! not impressed at all

The DD is not my cup of tea really, but I did enjoy it while I had one. I wouldnot say that it has a weak bottom...in fact, set up correctly in a set neck Gibson guitar it can have enough bottom to shake the walls!!!
 
Re: duncan distortion ! not impressed at all

That sounds about right for the Distortion, if you've got it in the bridge. Never have liked it there, though I think it's a good neck pickup.
 
Re: duncan distortion ! not impressed at all

I had a Distortion set in a LP for quite awhile and it sounded big, fat and brutal through my 100 watt JCM 800. If stock Ibanez pickups sound better you might have install or set-up issues. I've never known the Distortion to sound like your description.
 
Re: duncan distortion ! not impressed at all

You should have red & white soldered together, black to the volume pot or switch and green to ground. Lew[/QUOTE]


what abotu the bare wire? i have it together with the green soldered to ground , maybe i have something wired wrong dude but when i cant get it right i get mad man thank s for the help lew

also something must be wrong 'cause i dotn think that the stock ibanez iceman pickups should sound better than a duncan ? right?
 
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Re: duncan distortion ! not impressed at all

rombola said:
You should have red & white soldered together, black to the volume pot or switch and green to ground. Lew


what abotu the bare wire? i have it together with the green soldered to ground , maybe i have something wired wrong dude but when i cant get it right i get mad man thank s for the help lew[/QUOTE]

The bare wire goes to ground. Usually I solder the green and bare wire to the back of the volume control.
 
Re: duncan distortion ! not impressed at all

can someone post the wiring diagram i cant find the right one there s no 2 humbuckers 2 tone 2 volume diagram 3 way toggle swich ?
 
Re: duncan distortion ! not impressed at all

rombola said:
i just intalled a duncan distortion in my paul and im not impressed at all , i dont know im changing strings later to thicker ones , damn even the stock pickups on my ibanez iceman sound better dude , im very dissapointed , lets see what happens with the thicker strings im gonna try the pup height too , it sounds too trebbly it doesnt have bottom end sounds thin its not bassy at all

any suggestions?

dude, set the DD pretty close to the strings.
it sounds best this way trust me.
the DD is a great friggin pup for metal as i found out after doing a metal pup shootout over the weekend.
:)
 
Re: duncan distortion ! not impressed at all

SABOTAGE said:
dude, set the DD pretty close to the strings.
it sounds best this way trust me.
the DD is a great friggin pup for metal as i found out after doing a metal pup shootout over the weekend.
:)


im gonna try that later when i get out of work
 
Re: duncan distortion ! not impressed at all

rombola said:
im gonna try that later when i get out of work
I think you will hear a BIG difference :)
the DD really come ALIVE when set close :burnout:
 
Re: duncan distortion ! not impressed at all

rombola said:
also something must be wrong 'cause i dotn think that the stock ibanez iceman pickups should sound better than a duncan ? right?

I'm inclined to say yes, I find Duncans better than any but the most high end stock pick ups. But remember sound is extremely subjective. If you have it set and wired right and just don't like it, then you just don't like it. If the Ibanez sounds like what you want then use that.
 
Re: duncan distortion ! not impressed at all

Jeff5 said:
I'm inclined to say yes, I find Duncans better than any but the most high end stock pick ups. But remember sound is extremely subjective. If you have it set and wired right and just don't like it, then you just don't like it. If the Ibanez sounds like what you want then use that.


i know that but its not that i love the stock ibanez pickups is just that they sound better , and its not the tone its like the quality lets say the stock ibanez sounds like a cd and the duncan like a cassete (tape) so something must be wrong its not that i dont like it its like stock lespaul pickups sound terrible but thats the way they sound its not that something 's wrong , well the duncan sounds like its a cheap pickup like a stock epiphone would sound
 
Re: duncan distortion ! not impressed at all

rombola said:
i know that but its not that i love the stock ibanez pickups is just that they sound better , and its not the tone its like the quality lets say the stock ibanez sounds like a cd and the duncan like a cassete (tape) so something must be wrong its not that i dont like it its like stock lespaul pickups sound terrible but thats the way they sound its not that something 's wrong , well the duncan sounds like its a cheap pickup like a stock epiphone would sound

If that is what you are hearing then you've definitely got a wiring problem. My guess is that the coils are either (A) out of series or (B) something is grounding out. You check all of your continuity with a meter.

Luke
 
Re: duncan distortion ! not impressed at all

ArtieToo said:
Its this one. Just omit the switch on the bridge 'bucker. (But do short the red and white wires together.)

http://www.seymourduncan.com/website/support/schematics/2hum_2vol_2tone_3way-w-spl.html


yeah on the regular LP wiring just twist the white/red together and tape them back.
the black goes to hot and the green and bare are ground.
IF you go to the middle postion of the switch and it sounds weak and thin it is out of phase with the other pup, if this happens make the green duncan wire the hot one and the black ground :burnout:
 
Re: duncan distortion ! not impressed at all

Hey, my new Distortion Mayhem set is arriving today. They are for my gibson V. I will let you know how I like it. Cheers.
 
Re: duncan distortion ! not impressed at all

rombola said:
can someone post the wiring diagram i cant find the right one there s no 2 humbuckers 2 tone 2 volume diagram 3 way toggle swich ?

Check the backside of the installation sheet. My last JB I bought had a special LP wiring diagram on the back. I never look at those, but just happened to be digging around the other day and bumped into it. When I opened to back of my guitar, guess what? The red and the white had come apart somehow (operator error I'm sure), and I was wondering why my JB sound so shrill.

-Matt
 
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