Gibson 500T vs. Duncan Custom
- Thread starter Inflames626
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ItsaBass
New member
Gibson 500T vs. Duncan Custom
I have no hearing problems, and that is verified by people who actually know what they're talking about, not some guitar guy on the Internet.
Additionally, your point is conceptually flawed anyhow. If I couldn't hear treble frequencies, then every pickup on earth would sound like it didn't have much treble to me.
It is also not a single coil versus humbucker thing. Frequencies are frequencies, period.
The thing is, many people here, yourself included, it seems, confuse output with brightness. The 500T is a loud and aggressive pickup. But it is not a particularly trebly one compared to most guitar pickups. The aggression you hear in these pickups - the "SCREAM[ING]" you speak of - is really just an extremely loud midrange that hits an amp really hard. It's not really treble in the grand scheme of guitar tones.
Most of the treble - the true brightness - that the pick up actually does put out is obscured by the overwhelming mid range and output. It isn't a matter of perception or opinion either. This can be tested. Throw it, followed by any number of lighter pickups, into the same guitar in a properly controlled test, and most of those other pick ups will have more distinct treble than the 500T, by blind audio testing or by measuring the intensities of the various frequencies produced.
I never said that the 500T is not an aggressive pick up. I didn't say that it sounds like a wet fart either. I simply said that it does not have a lot of treble to speak of, meaning in the grand scheme of guitar tones. That statement cannot reasonably be argued with.
I have no hearing problems, and that is verified by people who actually know what they're talking about, not some guitar guy on the Internet.
Additionally, your point is conceptually flawed anyhow. If I couldn't hear treble frequencies, then every pickup on earth would sound like it didn't have much treble to me.
It is also not a single coil versus humbucker thing. Frequencies are frequencies, period.
The thing is, many people here, yourself included, it seems, confuse output with brightness. The 500T is a loud and aggressive pickup. But it is not a particularly trebly one compared to most guitar pickups. The aggression you hear in these pickups - the "SCREAM[ING]" you speak of - is really just an extremely loud midrange that hits an amp really hard. It's not really treble in the grand scheme of guitar tones.
Most of the treble - the true brightness - that the pick up actually does put out is obscured by the overwhelming mid range and output. It isn't a matter of perception or opinion either. This can be tested. Throw it, followed by any number of lighter pickups, into the same guitar in a properly controlled test, and most of those other pick ups will have more distinct treble than the 500T, by blind audio testing or by measuring the intensities of the various frequencies produced.
I never said that the 500T is not an aggressive pick up. I didn't say that it sounds like a wet fart either. I simply said that it does not have a lot of treble to speak of, meaning in the grand scheme of guitar tones. That statement cannot reasonably be argued with.
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bluesdisciple69
New member
Re: Gibson 500T vs. Duncan Custom
Maybe a "please" would help?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Maybe a "please" would help?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Inflames626
New member
Re: Gibson 500T vs. Duncan Custom
With all this "please" talk, there seems to be a lot of snark among the natives today.
The disagreement about what constitutes lows vs. mids vs. highs is something common that I find here. I very nearly posted on it this morning, but this will do the trick as well.
When I listen to a pickup, I think of it in a mix with a very wide frequency range, much like a drum set.
When people say "It has tons of mids" the first thing I think is, "What kind of mids?" If you're down near the 400hz or so mark, you need to get rid of a lot of that because of boxiness. Even around 1-1.6 kHz is a problem (1.6khz is the octave of 800 hz, where a lot of bass lives, and also the home of a lot of snare snap around 1khz). The problem I've found with a lot of Duncan pickups is a lot of "JB-ness"--boxiness, darkness, or flabbiness in the low mids. Some people hear this as tone. I don't. The 59 is also a culprit. That isn't to say Duncans are bad. It's to say that I don't like their most popular stock models. I think a Full Shred bridge pickup is much more useful, for example, than a JB.
As far as what I consider real mids, I think upper mids, about 2-2.5khz, which provides much of the trademark color in EMG 81 territory. To my knowledge, about 2khz is the most easily audible frequency for the human ear. Some people might think of this as highs when they only think of the relatively narrow frequency range of a guitar alone, but it isn't once you consider it in the context of an entire mix, especially cymbal sizzle.
This is where something like the Distortion comes in, which often competes with cymbals and synths on the high end. I don't think anyone could argue that it doesn't have a ton of high end, to the point of causing ear fatigue. I love it for tracking leads, but unless the rhythm is detuned, I prefer to use it sparingly for rhythm.
My hunch is that the 500t is to the 498t what the Distortion is to the JB. I wanted to make sure I wasn't getting an ice pick pickup.
As far as what "output" means, that's a whole other can of worms.
With all this "please" talk, there seems to be a lot of snark among the natives today.
The disagreement about what constitutes lows vs. mids vs. highs is something common that I find here. I very nearly posted on it this morning, but this will do the trick as well.
When I listen to a pickup, I think of it in a mix with a very wide frequency range, much like a drum set.
When people say "It has tons of mids" the first thing I think is, "What kind of mids?" If you're down near the 400hz or so mark, you need to get rid of a lot of that because of boxiness. Even around 1-1.6 kHz is a problem (1.6khz is the octave of 800 hz, where a lot of bass lives, and also the home of a lot of snare snap around 1khz). The problem I've found with a lot of Duncan pickups is a lot of "JB-ness"--boxiness, darkness, or flabbiness in the low mids. Some people hear this as tone. I don't. The 59 is also a culprit. That isn't to say Duncans are bad. It's to say that I don't like their most popular stock models. I think a Full Shred bridge pickup is much more useful, for example, than a JB.
As far as what I consider real mids, I think upper mids, about 2-2.5khz, which provides much of the trademark color in EMG 81 territory. To my knowledge, about 2khz is the most easily audible frequency for the human ear. Some people might think of this as highs when they only think of the relatively narrow frequency range of a guitar alone, but it isn't once you consider it in the context of an entire mix, especially cymbal sizzle.
This is where something like the Distortion comes in, which often competes with cymbals and synths on the high end. I don't think anyone could argue that it doesn't have a ton of high end, to the point of causing ear fatigue. I love it for tracking leads, but unless the rhythm is detuned, I prefer to use it sparingly for rhythm.
My hunch is that the 500t is to the 498t what the Distortion is to the JB. I wanted to make sure I wasn't getting an ice pick pickup.
As far as what "output" means, that's a whole other can of worms.
treyhaislip
Well-known member
Re: Gibson 500T vs. Duncan Custom
:smack:
I did not see your request as a demand...don't see the need for a please in that situation (really, any situation for that matter...)
Definitely a lot of snarky talk going on lol
:smack:
I did not see your request as a demand...don't see the need for a please in that situation (really, any situation for that matter...)
With all this "please" talk, there seems to be a lot of snark among the natives today.
Definitely a lot of snarky talk going on lol
80's_Metal
Underglazed Hair Metalologist
Re: Gibson 500T vs. Duncan Custom
I'll chime in with my 2 cents worth.
I'm a huge lover fanboi of the sh6, but my gibby flying v holds a 500t in that beautiful bridge spot, and I can't tell you how in love with that pickup I am. It just sounds so "correct" for certain things I play.... I hear earlier def lep, Gary Moore, some Randy Rhoads type tones in it. It can have enough grit for Slayer, Anthrax, and pure evil metal too. Definitely bright and clear, yet it has a smoothness that just sounds "right" (for lack of a better word) a lot of times. Not sure how exactly much the guitar has to do with it, I'm sure some of it could be that. Bottom line is that I really love it.
And I love it more and more each day.
I have used the duncan custom in a couple different axes over the years, and both times I traded it off in favor of the sh6 or dimebucker. It's good, but in my ears and styles, there is better.
I'll chime in with my 2 cents worth.
I'm a huge lover fanboi of the sh6, but my gibby flying v holds a 500t in that beautiful bridge spot, and I can't tell you how in love with that pickup I am. It just sounds so "correct" for certain things I play.... I hear earlier def lep, Gary Moore, some Randy Rhoads type tones in it. It can have enough grit for Slayer, Anthrax, and pure evil metal too. Definitely bright and clear, yet it has a smoothness that just sounds "right" (for lack of a better word) a lot of times. Not sure how exactly much the guitar has to do with it, I'm sure some of it could be that. Bottom line is that I really love it.
And I love it more and more each day.
I have used the duncan custom in a couple different axes over the years, and both times I traded it off in favor of the sh6 or dimebucker. It's good, but in my ears and styles, there is better.
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