Full Shred vs Crunch Lab: My review...

[mustaine-who?]

First of all...no clips. Sorry...i don't have anything to record with.

Now...I've been a FS user for years. I love the articulation...I love the modern quality. I've disliked the "light" low-end, but I've used an EQ in the loop to address that. One think that has kinda grated on me is the open Wah sound from the PuP.

SO fast forward to today. I installed a CL into my other Basswood Super Strat. Articulate...check. Modern sounding...check. More beef in the low-end...check. No cocked-wah sound...check! Over-all I'm very pleased with the CL. I've got the bar towards the bridge with 11's in D standard. Very crunchy, but not PATB-3 crunchy, Great lead tone as well. I'd say about as open (or compressed) as a FS. Woody when you palm mute...very open when you back off the muting. Well potted with very little noise.

My other Super Strat has an EMG 85 in it, and I prefer the CL over the 85. More character...

FWIW I put a SD Distortion neck in the neck spot...and rotated it 180 as I heard this sweetens it up. Not bad on the top half of the neck...not very distinct in the lower end. I much prefer a FS bridge in the neck spot. I'd might try a Air Norton in the neck.

 

[surface54]

Re: Full Shred vs Crunch Lab: My review...

great review for the CL!

 

[daemon barbeque]

Re: Full Shred vs Crunch Lab: My review...

Thanx for the review! I am a big fan of the FS, and would like to have the character of the FS in a PATB body.

 

[Aceman]

Re: Full Shred vs Crunch Lab: My review...

Nice review. Lot of CL fans over on the Dean site. Can't ever trust them though, they would like stinky cheese if it were shaped like an ML.

But now i see why they dig the CL. Heck, I might even like it!

 

[marvelous_seven]

Re: Full Shred vs Crunch Lab: My review...

Thanx for the review! I am a big fan of the FS, and would like to have the character of the FS in a PATB body.

+1
Can we order it through custom shop?

 

[dr. ad]

Re: Full Shred vs Crunch Lab: My review...

Thanx for the review! I am a big fan of the FS, and would like to have the character of the FS in a PATB body.

now that's a very good idea; wonder how well the custom-type wind would translate...
:scratchch

 

[BloodRose]

Re: Full Shred vs Crunch Lab: My review...

Hmm.. I see a purple CL in my future..

 

[Despair]

Re: Full Shred vs Crunch Lab: My review...

now that's a very good idea; wonder how well the custom-type wind would translate...
:scratchch

I'd guess it'd be fairly close to the PATB-1b. That's the Parallel Axis (overwound but opened up by polepiece structure) take on the 14.4K of 43AWG, as best I can tell. Nobody at SD wants to talk about those sort of details on it, though. Which is a shame, a bit more info about those pickups might help get them some much-deserved attention.

Full shred is a bitier take on the Custom 5, according to some. Others argue the mids are more different than just changing polepieces accounts for, so maybe there's a difference in insulation or wind as well.

Still, general PATB trend seems to be hotter, but less compressed than you'd expect, with interesting volume/tone knob interactions. Less harsh bite, but more upper mids & harmonics. More sustain and definition than standard slug/poles build. Not sure how it compares to all hex screws for definition. Liable to have woollier lower mids than the original Full Shred, but not uncontrollably so.

I don't know what changes you'd make to the PATB-1b to wind up with a PA Full Shred. Different alloy on polepieces, maybe even laminated, might give it more bite & less bass/low-mids. Might be impossibly expensive, too. A shame the majority of guitarists are so reactionary, so hung up on form. There's a lot of interesting directions poorly explored because of that.

I'm just glad this forum is as adventurous as it is!

[If I haven't mentioned it before, my initial impressions of my PATB-1b were misleading, I had it too close, which isn't the best sound from the pickup. Too high is a fun punchy sound, but a little odd and inflexible. The bass & presence really mellow out when you get the height right, and it starts sounding somewhere between a Custom 5 and a Custom Custom, only more defined. Very sweet but flexible sound, and turns out to be what I like from the guitar, though it wasn't exactly what I was expecting. I still haven't gotten around to trying the A8 I got...]

 

[sosomething]

Re: Full Shred vs Crunch Lab: My review...

Just a reminder that it's pretty cool that we can discuss DiMarzio designs in such a positive light (when applicable) on forum that Seymour Duncan foots the bill for.