Duncan heads – why do you choose SD over anything else?

[robo]

Duncan heads – why do you choose SD over anything else?

Most of us here are Duncan heads, I guess.

I buy Duncans because of the first custom PU I ever got was a Duncan 59, way back in 1987. I liked it. Then I bought some more pickups and since I liked the 59 I bought other PU's form SD. I play Seth Lovers in my semi hollow. 59 neck and 59/Custom bridge in my Les Paul and a SD Jerry Donahue bridge and a Vintage for Tele in my tele. Love all those pickups.

But that's me – how about you? Why do you choose Duncans?

- - - -

Our new album – I play all guitars and co-wrote it!

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Duncan heads – why do you choose SD over anything else?

Re: Duncan heads – why do you choose SD over anything else?

I choose them because they work for the sounds I hear in my head.

With that said, I don't use Duncans exclusively. One of my favorite pickup sets in the world is the Paul Bunyan setup in my MIJ 69 Thinline RI. I also like some Dimarzios, EMG's, and Rio Grandes as well as Fender and Carvin single coils.

 

[Lucius Paisley]

Re: Duncan heads – why do you choose SD over anything else?

Re: Duncan heads – why do you choose SD over anything else?

Originally, I came here for the wiring diagrams... but I figured, "since I'm here".

 

[Discharged]

Re: Duncan heads – why do you choose SD over anything else?

Re: Duncan heads – why do you choose SD over anything else?

With just a few tweaks and in certain cases a magnet change, most Duncan p'ups offer the best tone for the asking price, and a real bargain if you buy second-hand.

/Peter

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Duncan heads – why do you choose SD over anything else?

Re: Duncan heads – why do you choose SD over anything else?

I've been happy with all the SD pickups I've tried.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Duncan heads – why do you choose SD over anything else?

Re: Duncan heads – why do you choose SD over anything else?

They have a huge variety of products, from pedals to pickups, and I can usually find my tone in there easily. Any they are really nice people.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Duncan heads – why do you choose SD over anything else?

Re: Duncan heads – why do you choose SD over anything else?

Huge variety...you can really find anything you're looking for. With mag swaps the possibilities are endless.

Compared to many other brands (and esp. no-name brands) the clarity is beyond compare.

My first Duncan was a replacement for an Epi stock pup that, at the time, I didn't think was all that bad, but I wanted something different. Wow, the difference was night and day!! "All that bad"? Yes, the Epis were way all that bad. I just didn't realize it until I heard the difference.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: Duncan heads – why do you choose SD over anything else?

Re: Duncan heads – why do you choose SD over anything else?

Basically, because there is a Duncan dealer in town and no DiMarzio/EMG/BKP/whatever dealers, lol.

Honestly, I have not tried any DiMarzio I've loved. I can make the Dominion, PAF 36th Anni, and PAF Pro work, but they're not my favorite. I am very curious about the X2N and D Activator, though.

On the other hand, Duncan make the Distortion, JB, and Black Winter which I love (both neck and bridge models). I have tried several Duncans which I've not liked, though. In particular, I'm not a fan of their 7K-ish neck pickup offerings.

EMG's I dig, but these days, passives are more my thing.

I wouldn't really say I'm a "Duncan guy". I'm more of a "Black Winter/Distortion/JB guy".

 

[Demanic]

Re: Duncan heads – why do you choose SD over anything else?

Re: Duncan heads – why do you choose SD over anything else?

I like Duncan's because of how they sound. Of course that is also why I like Dimarzio's and Lace's.

Sent from my Alcatel_5044C using Tapatalk

 

[Blille]

Re: Duncan heads – why do you choose SD over anything else?

Re: Duncan heads – why do you choose SD over anything else?

In the 90s I started asking what pickups people were using when I liked their tone. While I was a fan of Vai and Satriani, most were Duncan.

I put my first JB/Jazz set and was sold from then on. Now I’ve played so many different Duncans that I know much better how to pick the right pickup for a sound I have in my head.

 

[Jr_vw2]

Re: Duncan heads – why do you choose SD over anything else?

Re: Duncan heads – why do you choose SD over anything else?

blind brand loyalty

 

[Ascension]

Re: Duncan heads – why do you choose SD over anything else?

Re: Duncan heads – why do you choose SD over anything else?

Have Duncans, PRS, Carvins, Dimarzios and EMG's in guitars now. Different tones for different situations but use Duncan's the most. I know the line up know what to expect tone wise and use Duncan's most of the time as a result.

 

[robo]

Re: Duncan heads – why do you choose SD over anything else?

Re: Duncan heads – why do you choose SD over anything else?

Thanks for you stories, a fun read. I guess some of us also like the idea of a narrowed down palette of pickups. There are a crazy amount of winders out there. I don't wanna open up that Pandoras Box of GAS. So to keep me sane I check out Duncan.com when I want a new pickup, and start there. They still have a freaking lot to choose from.

 

[TVFV]

Re: Duncan heads – why do you choose SD over anything else?

Re: Duncan heads – why do you choose SD over anything else?

I’ve had little issue finding decent demos of their pickups. Even if I can’t find a demo they’re always someone on here who has tried something I want to do. Also they’re quite affordable.

 

[bloughlin16]

Re: Duncan heads – why do you choose SD over anything else?

Re: Duncan heads – why do you choose SD over anything else?

I first became a fan because they came stock in so many guitars, and I just thought they (usually) sounded so much better than what I was hearing from guitars that didn't have them. As time went on, I definitely found some that I didn't like, but minus those few exceptions, I always found them easy to work with and very versatile. When the Alpha/Omega set first came along, I thought they seemed perfect for me and was thrilled to find that was the case when I got one of the original Custom Shop sets. I've found pickups from other companies that I've liked over the years, but I haven't been as consistently impressed by any of them as much as SD.

 

[Thundermtn]

Re: Duncan heads – why do you choose SD over anything else?

Re: Duncan heads – why do you choose SD over anything else?

Originally because they make the pickups in my guitar hero's guitar, then on the high reputation of the Pearly Gates.

Then I got to play a Seth Lover in a routed Tele neck.

Really great tone and affordability, once I got into making my guitars sound like me instead of an influence I could get the tone I wanted without much fuss.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Duncan heads – why do you choose SD over anything else?

Re: Duncan heads – why do you choose SD over anything else?

i used dimarzios for years, then emgs, and now mostly duncans. tastes change and im very much in the paf, overwound paf arena for buckers and vintagey single coils. duncan makes great stuff but i do have other brands in a few guitars

 

[freefrog]

Re: Duncan heads – why do you choose SD over anything else?

Re: Duncan heads – why do you choose SD over anything else?

Almost 4 decades ago, I DID choose Duncan because with DiMarzio, it was the only aftermarket brand available in my country...

... then I've kept using the brand because of the classic tones delivered by its classic models... and because I've found very elegant how Seymour did behave with Seth Lover.

I've used and still use transducers from many other brands... but Duncan stays among the "first" ones in my book for the reasons above.

 

[JamesPaul]

Re: Duncan heads – why do you choose SD over anything else?

Re: Duncan heads – why do you choose SD over anything else?

Back in the early 80's, I was playing Fenders thru a Marshall but still wasn't getting the tones that my guitar hero's were getting. I read something about one of them using SD pickups and gave some a go. After that I was always able to find a SD pickup to resolve any tone issues in my guitars. I will confess I have one DiMarzio in an Ibanez Destroyer I got from a forum Bro and the tone is fine. ...otherwise I would have replaced it with a SD.

 

[Aceman]

Re: Duncan heads – why do you choose SD over anything else?

Re: Duncan heads – why do you choose SD over anything else?

I started with Duncans because the best description of the sounds I was looking for was PG and a Custom Custom. Based on that very positive experience, I tried a Distortion, and really really loved it.

After that I tried a lot of Duncans and DiMarzio’s. Some pups I have are stock. Some pups I mag swap. I’ll use whatever works.

I think, in generally, Larry and Seymour have certain ears and hear things certain ways. I hear thing similar to Seymour, thus I generally offer them.