First time using a SH5 Custom. Finger lickin' good!

Diego

Diego

New member
Dropped a A2 Pro/Custom combo in my Ibanez SZ, which had an Invader set which is just too much for my low-wattage, low headroom, dark sounding rig.
I needed some clarity back in this guitar, and the Invader neck is surprisingly clear but the bridge is just too much, regardless of height adjustments.

I'm already familar with the A2 Pro neck in this guitar and it sounds killer, smokey and bluesy with an attitude, but man, the Custom is killer! First time ever using it. This is a bright, fast attacking guitar and the Custom brings out the best from it.

Compared to the JB in this guitar, it's not as squishy, middy or warm. I hated the JB in this guitar, actually. The output is kinda similar, but the Custom attacks faster and it's got a crisp high-end that the JB doesn't. Way tighter.

Compared to the Demon... well, there's not much in common on paper. Opposite ends of the output spectrum. But there's something about the Custom that reminds of the Demon. Maybe it's the EQ which is very even across the range in both. However, the Demon is way brighter, it clanks and pounds while the Custom is a bit punchier in the mids and wants to riff all day long. The Custom is way better for leads IMO, the Demon can be a bit too stiff for solos, which is why I took it off. For pure clarity the Demon is better, though! Overdriven chords are insane with it.

I also had a Super Distortion in this guitar and they're kinda similar. The Super D is fatter though. The Custom is a bit more precise and accurate. I dig it.

I'm not feeling much of the ceramic downsides yet. I've got an A8 magnet around and I couldn't be less inclined to try it out!
The SH5 is great as it is. :D
 
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Re: First time using a SH5 Custom. Finger lickin' good!

I have have a couple of pickups with ceramic magnets and I don’t hear any harshness in them. I think they sound killer.
 
Re: First time using a SH5 Custom. Finger lickin' good!

The Custom works well only in very specific guitars for me. I like the Custom Custom a lot better, though.
 
Re: First time using a SH5 Custom. Finger lickin' good!

Glad to hear it's so great in your rig Diego. I recently splurged on an old double cream Custom from the 80's. It only reads 13.31, which is quite a bit cooler than the 14.1 it's spec'd at now, so I thought it might be cool to try one with some age on it. I like your description about it's eq being even across the spectrum and about it being so punchy in the mids. I'm going to try it soon in one of my Dean Hardtail's soon.

Like Mincer, my favorite Custom has always been the CC, as I'm really an A2 guy. I usually avoid even A5 humbuckers and I've only played the Custom years ago as it came in a guitar I bought. I was in a big GnR phase them, so I didn't give it the chance it deserved really. I'm genuinely afraid of ceramic magnets.... ever since I tried a Super Distortion on my basswood Alvarez Dana Scoop. They did not mesh well.

Great review and it gives me hope for when I try mine. Cheers from the northern hemisphere. I'd love to visit your neck of the woods in my life.
 
Re: First time using a SH5 Custom. Finger lickin' good!

I can tell you that it doesn't feel like a ceramic pickup. It is not a sweet sounding pickup, it hits hard but it's not stiff like a DiMarzio Evolution, the HB103 or something. It's more dynamic than that, but it's no A2 pickup and the difference in detail, sweetness and bloom with the A2P neck I have it paired with is really evident.

I'll test it further and louder today.
 
Re: First time using a SH5 Custom. Finger lickin' good!

The Sh5 rocks. I prefer it over the SuperD in an LP, I dont like the custom all that much in a hss strat though, there i dig a CC the most.
 
Re: First time using a SH5 Custom. Finger lickin' good!

As of now I've only tried it in this guitar. So far it's been great but I thought it would be a bit more scooped. Plenty of mids on this thing, they're a bit more narrow and focused than in a JB for example but they're there for sure.

Tonight I'll try it out the way it's meant to be played. Loud!
 
Re: First time using a SH5 Custom. Finger lickin' good!

Every time you talk about it, I want to get up and put it into my Hardtail to give it a test drive. Damn you Diego.
 
Re: First time using a SH5 Custom. Finger lickin' good!

I have been thinking about a Custom in one of my guitars too, Thank you for the review. The comparison between the demon and the custom was what I needed to hear, the low end on the Demon is so tight and doesn't break up with gain I was curious about the ceramic low end.
 
Re: First time using a SH5 Custom. Finger lickin' good!

Everyone should have the pleasure of playing the Duncan Custom. I can't see anyone not finding something to like about it.
 
Re: First time using a SH5 Custom. Finger lickin' good!

Love mine as well...been very tempted to try the A2 in there tho
 
Re: First time using a SH5 Custom. Finger lickin' good!

:bigok:

images
 
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Re: First time using a SH5 Custom. Finger lickin' good!

What are you talking about, nothing beats the Custom UORCA5 in my PRS SE custom 22! :D
 
Re: First time using a SH5 Custom. Finger lickin' good!

Ever so often I am tempted to try a "Big" Custom in something.
For those who don't know, that's a Custom with a double thick ceramic.

Sent from my Alcatel_5044C using Tapatalk
 
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