Duncan Performer Detonator ... the secret?

Re: Duncan Performer Detonator ... the secret?

super rad ska said:
necro-hijack!

do ya think it'd sound like a JB with an a5 in there?:naughty:
Click to expand...

omfg i only just realised it's dual-screw

i see a a 20 buck ebay purchase, allens/fillisters transplant and possibly a mag swap in my near future

excellent thread necromancy bro
:beerchug:
 
Re: Duncan Performer Detonator ... the secret?

panamang said:
That's a mind blower! It seems to me much more like an Invader tone than it does my SH-6 tone. I thought the HB-103 was much closer to a DD tone. Does that mean that both the HB-108 and HB-103 are based on the SH-6? I'm cornfused.
Click to expand...

well i can see 3 differences between them

1 double screw coils
2 button top screws (invader poles)
3 HB-103 has reg size ceramic and HB-108 has oversized ceramic
 
Re: Duncan Performer Detonator ... the secret?

NoOnesFang13 said:
well i can see 3 differences between them

1 double screw coils
2 button top screws (invader poles)
3 HB-103 has reg size ceramic and HB-108 has oversized ceramic
Click to expand...

these are good points; i'd hazard a guess that the distortion copy doesn't have the smaller ceramic mags in the sides as well.
 
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Re: Duncan Performer Detonator ... the secret?

viva_360 said:
Hi people, just wanted to ask how is the Detonator? How is it tone wise? How is the output?

Are the Duncan Performers and Duncan Designed made in the same factory? Does anyone know any insights about this?

Is it true that it has an invader feature on the outside and in the inside it has the Duncan distortion features?

Thanks! and cheers!! :bowdown:
Click to expand...

Don't know about the Performers or the Detonators, but my Japanese made Jackson King V came with Duncan Designed HB-103B Bridge & HB-102N Neck & they are the absolute worste sounding pickups.
I have a George Lynch cheaper LTD version of the ESP Tiger, which is just made in China *cringe*, that initially anyone would think is rubbish after knowing that (guilty), but the stock ESP pickup in that sounds amazing for a cheap stock pickup, ESPECIALLY compared to the Duncan Designed. First thing i did after i bought the King V was changed the pickups ASAP, because the Duncan Designed made me not wanna play the guitar at all.
I got a tone 1000 times better than that from a $300 Squier Telecaster which was my first electric guitar many years ago. Dunno what pickups that thing had, but it sounded better than the more expensive Jackson guitars all my friends had at the time. And that was back when Jackson was putting better stock pickups in their mid range guitars.
My point is, try before you buy & trust your ears. Don't listen to what other people tell you, or worry about where it's made or what name is stamped on it. Go with what feels right for you.
Oh by the way, best way to try pickups if you don't have a lot of money like me to experiment, is go into a guitar shop & act as if though your looking to buy a guitar & then try out all the ones that already have the pickups you are interested in. They will probably think you're annoying, but f**k them, it's your money & you wanna make the right decision.
 
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Re: Duncan Performer Detonator ... the secret?

^:lmao:

maybe i should look for a detonator used. that'd be a pretty cool pickup to experiment with:scratchch
 
Re: Duncan Performer Detonator ... the secret?

viva_360 said:
what type of guitar body wood suits the Detonator? or ... maybe the Invader?
Click to expand...
Both pickups work well in a variety of guitars, especially warm woods like mahogany and rosewood fingerboards. Also, FWIW, the Duncan Designed HB-108 Detonator and the Duncan Performer Detonator are the same pickup -- just a different logo.
 
Re: Duncan Performer Detonator ... the secret?

Are these things really that much cheaper than a used, genuine Duncan? I've had both models of the Detonator type and although they're not bad, they're not really in the same league as real Duncans. Let's face it, why would Duncan design a cheap pickup as good as the more expensive versions? It would be commercial suicide.
 
Re: Duncan Performer Detonator ... the secret?

Duncan Designed pickups and Duncan Performer pickups are genuine Duncans, I can assure you. They're just not built in the same Santa Barbara factory that makes Seymour Duncan, Basslines, Antiquity, and Benedetto pickups.

Furthermore, you can put Duncan Designed pickups up against many (non-Seymour Duncan) USA-made pickups and the Duncan Designed pickups will come out on top. The humbuckers largely use Alnico magnets, polycarbonate bobbins, high-quality hookup cable. The single-coils uses Alnico pole piece magnets. The active HB-105 humbuckers use balanced inputs going into a differential preamp and will reduce noise and hum more effectively than other (non-Seymour Duncan) USA-made active pickups.

Yes, they're made in Korea. But that doesn't necessarily mean they are anything less than genuine Duncans. They're just not "Seymour Duncans."
 
Re: Duncan Performer Detonator ... the secret?

i've not yet played any of the humbuckers but the soapbars in my squier were beasts.

i'm thinking of shielding the pickguard and cavities and putting ceramic mags in the bridge and A2s in the neck, it's just way more time-consuming than putting humbuckers in my other scratchplate ; ]

after reading this thread, i'm also trawling ebay for a duncan designed/performer invader to put smaller allens in/make hybrids with/swap an A2 into...
 
Re: Duncan Performer Detonator ... the secret?

I recently read that the Duncan Designed HB-108 Detonator (though looking identical to an SD Invader, save the logo) has exactly the same magnets, poles and wiring as the SD SH-6 Distortion! It certainly sounds more like the Distortion than the Invader. Now, I know for a fact that the DD HB-103 is based on the SD SH-6 so am surprised that this Detonator is also virtually identical (under the hood so to speak) save the BIG screw tops on the poles! I do love the sound of it though and I'm just putting mine in my Epiphone Firebird Studio (Custom Shop Ltd Ed) :)

Here's a link showing that the DD HB-108 Detonator has the same innards as the SD SH-6; LINK
 
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Re: Duncan Performer Detonator ... the secret?

Sound-wise, it is closer to the Distortion. Looks-wise, it is closer to the Invader. It is not wound exactly the same as either.
 
Re: Duncan Performer Detonator ... the secret?

Mincer said:
Sound-wise, it is closer to the Distortion. Looks-wise, it is closer to the Invader. It is not wound exactly the same as either.
Click to expand...

Quote from the link I posted; "Hey guys, this is Scott with Seymour Duncan. The HB-108 is close to the HB-103 with the addition of the cap screw pole pieces. The HB-103 is based on the SH-6..." Without wishing to start an argument, that suggests (to me) that the Detonator is wound to the same spec' as an SH-6...
 
Re: Duncan Performer Detonator ... the secret?

I was under the impression that none of the overseas pickups had exactly the same winding as the US counterparts.
 
Re: Duncan Performer Detonator ... the secret?

I don't get how anyone can say that with certainty when the DD's are made in Korea and the SD's are made in the US. Scott from Seymour Duncan already said the Detonator is virtually the same as the HB-103 (which is based on the SD SH-6 Distortion). That to me says it's wound the same without him actually stating that fact. Anyway, that's not important to me. The Detonator is now in my Epi Firebird Studio and it sounds great :)
 
Re: Duncan Performer Detonator ... the secret?

The fact that you think it sounds great in your guitar is the only thing that matters.

Sent from my MotoE2(4G-LTE) using Tapatalk
 
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