Full shreds and pole pieces

[Juanhanglo]

Hey guys,

I was toying around with polepieces today on my full shred loaded ec256.

I'd been running all long slotted poles instead of the short hex ones for years.
And for years, I was scratching my head when everyone says theyre bright when my experience was anything but.

Its the polepieces.

Bridge:
The short hex ones are tighter sounding in that the attack feels faster.
The bottom end seems to be not as full sounding. Not frequency mind you, but thickness.
The long standard poles seem to make them sound not just a bit fatter/smoother, but also more even eq wise.

Neck: the same applies here. The change in attack is more apparent though.

With the standard poles, they feel like dimarzios, which is cool. Its just that I hate the sound of them that way.
Filisters offer a different Flavor.

***please keep in mind I used a pretty high gain to test this, as any attack changes become more apparent. Lower gain or clean tones will be more subtle. ***

Stock, they're ok
With pole change, they're my favorite duncan set.

Another trick is to bump up the bass at the amp. It fills out the bridge pickup, while the neck becomes even more fluid.
Very cool.



I kinda was around during the whole pole piece/mag swap and hybrid pickup building craze here.
Is it the length that is making the difference here? Or the hex? Or both?

 

[Rex_Rocker]

I believe it should mostly be the lenght and how that affects the magnetic field. Although, it might also have to do with the composition of the metals. I'm not sure what Duncan uses for both.

Man, I've wanted to try the Full Shred for a while, but I just haven't been around to. It's relation to the Custom line kinda keeps me from it since I didn't really gel with any of the Custom variations I tried. If you think the low-end thins out with the FS, though, it might be just what the Custom was missing (or had too much of, rather) for me.

 

[Juanhanglo]

I believe it should mostly be the lenght and how that affects the magnetic field. Although, it might also have to do with the composition of the metals. I'm not sure what Duncan uses for both.

Man, I've wanted to try the Full Shred for a while, but I just haven't been around to. It's relation to the Custom line kinda keeps me from it since I didn't really gel with any of the Custom variations I tried. If you think the low-end thins out with the FS, though, it might be just what the Custom was missing (or had too much of, rather) for me.

Eq some bass out with a high output humbucker for an idea.

They kinda pre set the eq for you in that respect.

All filister poles reminds me of dimarzios actually. Kinda Fred like? Id say 4, 5, 5.5, 5.5 if you went with dimarzio's eq rating system. Output wise, id say paf pro to norton.

the custom is hot ceramic paf, right?

 

[Rex_Rocker]

the custom is hot ceramic paf, right?

Yeah. Kinda. The wind itself is 14K with 43AWG and yeah, ceramic. Going by specs, it's just a high-output pickup, not very PAF-like. But the tone is open, dry, and not as compressed as the JB, for example, so it does have some PAF-ish vibe. I honestly would've probably loved the pickup if the low-end wasn't as huge.

The Custom is allegedly the same wind as the Full Shred, just with different poles and an A5 magnet. I can't say for sure, though. Never had a Full Shred, and I spent very little time with the Custom 5 because it just downright wasn't my thing.

 

[Mincer]

The EQ of the Custom is similar to PAFs (relationship between bass, mids, and treble), but it is louder.

 

[Sirion]

I believe it should mostly be the lenght and how that affects the magnetic field. Although, it might also have to do with the composition of the metals. I'm not sure what Duncan uses for both.

Man, I've wanted to try the Full Shred for a while, but I just haven't been around to. It's relation to the Custom line kinda keeps me from it since I didn't really gel with any of the Custom variations I tried. If you think the low-end thins out with the FS, though, it might be just what the Custom was missing (or had too much of, rather) for me.

The FS definitely thins out the low end, while adding a very nice upper-mid grind. For the kind of music that you would imagine playing with a FS, it is very sensibly voiced: a lot of 80s metal tones are all about the fine-tuning of the high end, while having preciously little bass.

 

[freefrog]

Bridge:
The short hex ones are tighter sounding in that the attack feels faster.
The bottom end seems to be not as full sounding. Not frequency mind you, but thickness.
The long standard poles seem to make them sound not just a bit fatter/smoother, but also more even eq wise.

Neck: the same applies here. The change in attack is more apparent though.

Totally logical to me... short hex poles = less inductance, less eddy currents. Does exactly what you describe.

Enjoy!

 

[xxxplorer]

So adding standard fillisters essentially makes it a double row Custom 5?

 

[jeremy]

sorta, yeah

 

[weepingminotaur]

I've got a direct-mount Full Shred in the bridge of my Charvel Dinky and it's great. Excellent articulation for lead work but not grating or shrill. I did have to adjust my amp settings to get the requisite crunch I needed for palm-muted riffing, but it wasn't too onerous. EQ a bit of bass back in toward the end of the chain and you're good to go.

 

[STLMTLHD79]

It seems the Full Shred has a love/hate relationship for most people. I usually really like this pickup. I had a Charvel DK24FR that sounded a tad thin, so i added a row of Phillips screws to the pickup. If you want a bigger low end and take a way a touch of the brightness of this pickup, this is the trick to use.

 

[Mincer]

The Full Shred was never for me, but I do understand people who go after that sound. It is a good alternative to a JB, too.

 

[SweetClyde99]

The Full Shred may not be my go-to pickup, but it has saved a couple of naturally dark sounding guitars for me. I just installed a set in a PRS S2 that I love but that hasn’t been doing it for me tone-wise, and it finally sounds as good as it looks and plays. It and the Tone Zone are kind of remedial pickups for me. If the guitar is voiced too bright, throw in a Tone Zone. If it’s voiced too dark, throw in a Full Shred. I may have to try swapping out the hex screws and see how that affects things.

 

[Teleplayer]

The magnetic flux should be higher with the shorter screws, because it directs a greater proportion of the mag field towards the strings and less over the back plate.

I read that hex screws have higher carbon steel, so it can reduce eddy currents. That’s my second theory.

 

[uOpt]

Shouldn't that thing be call the "Full Crunch"?

 

[Coma]

It seems the Full Shred has a love/hate relationship for most people. I usually really like this pickup. I had a Charvel DK24FR that sounded a tad thin, so i added a row of Phillips screws to the pickup. If you want a bigger low end and take a way a touch of the brightness of this pickup, this is the trick to use.

Had that guitar for a while. Never got along with the Full Shred, it just sounded soft and weak (though there were A LOT of things wrong with that guitar that never should be passed QC, so maybe the pickup wasn't entirely to blame).
The A2Pro in the neck with hex poles was amazing though. Loved that thing for cleans.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

I always wondered what a Full Shred with the magnet swapped to ceramic would sound like.

 

[jeremy]

i think the fs is already too plinky for me, a ceramic isnt gonna help that at all

 

[Mincer]

Yeah, it would take a sound I don't really like and make it worse.

 

[nienturi]

Hey guys,

I was toying around with polepieces today on my full shred loaded ec256.

I'd been running all long slotted poles instead of the short hex ones for years.
And for years, I was scratching my head when everyone says theyre bright when my experience was anything but.

Its the polepieces.

Bridge:
The short hex ones are tighter sounding in that the attack feels faster.
The bottom end seems to be not as full sounding. Not frequency mind you, but thickness.
The long standard poles seem to make them sound not just a bit fatter/smoother, but also more even eq wise.

Neck: the same applies here. The change in attack is more apparent though.

With the standard poles, they feel like dimarzios, which is cool. Its just that I hate the sound of them that way.
Filisters offer a different Flavor.

***please keep in mind I used a pretty high gain to test this, as any attack changes become more apparent. Lower gain or clean tones will be more subtle. ***

Stock, they're ok
With pole change, they're my favorite duncan set.

Another trick is to bump up the bass at the amp. It fills out the bridge pickup, while the neck becomes even more fluid.
Very cool.

View attachment 6325515

I kinda was around during the whole pole piece/mag swap and hybrid pickup building craze here.
Is it the length that is making the difference here? Or the hex? Or both?

Yesterday i made en experiment with my Duncan Full Shred. I measured the top of a one sample pole piece which was ~300G. I replaced it with another hex that's longer and the final magnetic flux density decreased ~260G. Then i cut that pole piece and make it shorter than the original full shred hex and saw it increased to ~340G.

With shorter pole peices inductance decreases, magnetic flux on top of the pole pieces increases. That's why what you have mentioned are true.

BTW, the manufacturer of Seymour Duncan pole pieces is Fang Sheng Screw (YFS) from Taiwan. So if you like to find replacements, the brand you must find is YFS