giving Sh-5 another go

surface54

surface54

New member
ever since i got the Custom Sh-5 i basically went immediately to the C8.
i only played with the Sh-5 for a couple days, i recorded one clip or so.
im not finding any faults in the C8, just wanna see if the Sh-5 can do metal a little better. i installed the ceramic mag yesterday and i can already tell the bass is tighter/boomy and the palm mutes are stiffer/sharper. the C8 has more give/open/loose to every aspect, doesnt sounds stiff in any way.
so i think the Sh-5 might be a nice change for metal. for open chord separation the C8 is def the best pickup. for targeted note individuality the Sh-5 already seems a little tighter but not as vibrant. really boils down to what you want get out of your pu's. if you want thunder dome chords C8 is a god. not sure what im going to eventually get out of the Sh-5 but im willing to play on it for a long time now, its comforting to know i can always go back to the C8 in about 10 mins.
ive been listening to my 90s metal cds from death (X2N), testament and cynic, i cant help to know that they all probably used ceramic mags to get the metal focus and tightness to there riffs. if they all had C8's back then i think it would of changed there sound alot, they would get more recordable tone by using more open chords than single noted palm mute to power chord combos that ceramics seem to shine at.

idk i think its great SD has been able to make one wind that can adapt to different mag types VERY well. saves me money and keeps me using SD products.

http://www.netmusicians.org/files/15-SurfaceX - The refinery.mp3

cheers!
 
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Re: giving Sh-5 another go

plus they put ceramics in EMGs and even though i dont know if id like owning EGMs i still think there metal tone if its done right is amazing. so ceramics at the heart of metal it seems.
 
Re: giving Sh-5 another go

Just put an SH-5 in my agile 3100 and it is pretty incredible. Bright and tight, but also very clean, a great alternative to the DD if you want metal and good cleans too. When I switch to the schecter with C8 it is noticeably darker and has thundering low mids. I totally get your predicament, it is going to be a least a month before I consider changing out the ceramic mag, I want to give it plenty of time to grow on me. Looking forward to a new recording from you rocking the ceramic, we know you're good for it so don't be shy.
 
Re: giving Sh-5 another go

surface54 said:
fill me in Franknfilms, i know you got both C8s and EMGs?
Click to expand...

Thats funny, I was already writing a reply before this. I'm going to take another stab at recording my guitar this weekend so I'll have a clip of the SH-5 as well, this time in proper stereo, hopefully.
 
Re: giving Sh-5 another go

FYI- I sold my ltd viper with emgs. Once I started playing with a drummer I quickly dismissed the emgs, just doesn't sound right for what we are doing, too mushy if you can believe that, the passives that I have just had a much better crunchy sound. Also, I hated how sensitive the actives were, they knew I was going to hit the string before my hand even moved ;)
 
Re: giving Sh-5 another go

whoa frankn i can totally see that being you in your avatar.. :)

you know its weird we did the same thing at the same time with the Custom.

how would you compare the Crunch lab Bridge to the Custom so far?
probably less bass in the CL and more articulate mids and high end voicing?

i can tell the Sh-5 is meant to be palm mute paradise. like ceramic stones of the ancient world being echoed through a high gain marshall. has that presence of truth upon the villagers, bringing down aggression to the local men and sending the women back in the huts to mash PO TA TOES

boil em, mash em, cook em in a stew


just watched LOTR yesterday...lol
 
Re: giving Sh-5 another go

Franknfilms said:
FYI- I sold my ltd viper with emgs. Once I started playing with a drummer I quickly dismissed the emgs, just doesn't sound right for what we are doing, too mushy if you can believe that, the passives that I have just had a much better crunchy sound. Also, I hated how sensitive the actives were, they knew I was going to hit the string before my hand even moved ;)
Click to expand...

thats a good analogy for me in the future.
i still find passive attractive to my ears, they have that fast subtle decay right after the strike of the sting no matter how highput put they are, they just sound real and alive like nature capturing nature in a single passive device, they never have as much sustain or gain but that is machine energy doing that stuff in the first place.
 
Re: giving Sh-5 another go

surface54 said:
whoa frankn i can totally see that being you in your avatar.. :)

you know its weird we did the same thing at the same time with the Custom.

how would you compare the Crunch lab Bridge to the Custom so far?
probably less bass in the CL and more articulate mids and high end voicing?

i can tell the Sh-5 is meant to be palm mute paradise. like ceramic stones of the ancient world being echoed through a high gain marshall. has that presence of truth upon the villagers, bringing down aggression to the local men and sending the women back in the huts to mash PO TA TOES

boil em, mash em, cook em in a stew


just watched LOTR yesterday...lol
Click to expand...

Yes, I agree the Custom does those things that you say, what with the women mashing the potatoes and all.

The crunch lab is quite the curious case. Believe it or not, you've got it wrong (guitar type might make the difference) but what I hear is very heavy on the lows and mids. It is just bright enough to be clear, but doesn't have resounding highs like the Custom. The leads have a smooth vocal sound which is pretty awesome. The bar in the pickup really makes itself heard, when you palm mute you get this stiff metallic response, makes it sound tight but not very crunchy ironically. I would say it is the least crunchy of my 3 bridge pickups at the moment. It would really add some balls to a flloyd guitar though, which is probably the most suitable candidate for a CL.
 
Re: giving Sh-5 another go

surface54 said:
whoa frankn i can totally see that being you in your avatar.. :)
Click to expand...

I wish, I haven't done any slumber party massacres lately but if I was going to, I would use the guitar drill and hope that they were dressed like that (they weren't in the movie :(

PS.. best massacre movie is Sorority House Massacre 2: Nighty Nightmare. I know no one is asking, but I'm sitting on this great B-movie knowledge here so I might as well spread the word.
 
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Re: giving Sh-5 another go

CL lab sounds pretty fantastic in your description. that is about what i want the Sh-5 to turn out to be.
 
Re: giving Sh-5 another go

anyone heard Testament - Low lately?
just did this past weekend, super amazing rhythm tone imo. if that was a marshall they just about did it better then anyone else ive ever heard.

that was one of the factors to put the ceramic mag back in. i know my C8 isnt that sound, thought id have a closer change with the ceramic.
 
Re: giving Sh-5 another go

surface54 said:
ever since i got the Custom Sh-5 i basically went immediately to the C8.
i only played with the Sh-5 for a couple days, i recorded one clip or so.
im not finding any faults in the C8, just wanna see if the Sh-5 can do metal a little better. i installed the ceramic mag yesterday and i can already tell the bass is tighter/boomy and the palm mutes are stiffer/sharper. the C8 has more give/open/loose to every aspect, doesnt sounds stiff in any way.
so i think the Sh-5 might be a nice change for metal. for open chord separation the C8 is def the best pickup. for targeted note individuality the Sh-5 already seems a little tighter but not as vibrant. really boils down to what you want get out of your pu's. if you want thunder dome chords C8 is a god. not sure what im going to eventually get out of the Sh-5 but im willing to play on it for a long time now, its comforting to know i can always go back to the C8 in about 10 mins.
ive been listening to my 90s metal cds from death (X2N), testament and cynic, i cant help to know that they all probably used ceramic mags to get the metal focus and tightness to there riffs. if they all had C8's back then i think it would of changed there sound alot, they would get more recordable tone by using more open chords than single noted palm mute to power chord combos that ceramics seem to shine at.

idk i think its great SD has been able to make one wind that can adapt to different mag types VERY well. saves me money and keeps me using SD products.



cheers!
Click to expand...



I think I'm in the minority here in that I like the Custom better than the Custom 8. I tried the C8 because a lot of people were saying how great it was, saying it was better than the Custom. So I tried it, I got an A8 mag for my Custom loaded Ibanez SZ520. It sounded great but I liked the Custom better-just sounds tighter and better tone to my ears. I switched back to the Custom. I think a lot of people were just excited by the "newness" of the C8.
 
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Re: giving Sh-5 another go

Right now I've got my custom set up with 500T magnets (had to move the ground wire and reroute the leads). It's fun, super tight and chunky, chugs are pretty cool, not as shrill on the highs as the DD with the same mags. My problem is that I always enjoy super tight pickups at first, but then they start to annoy me and I end up going back to something else, El Diablo, Ironman, DD8. I still haven't tried the C8, that's next on the list, but I need a magnet.
 
Re: giving Sh-5 another go

i put this in my $300 used Schecter Blackhawk (good luck finding info on it lol)
im tuned to C# standard.

im so on the fence with wanting the SH5 or C8 in my guitar. but given the current success on this current track, i cant help but say ive already did a better job fine tuning the sound with the SH5. C8 is a monster! i think either are fine. maybe a couple more recordings ill hear exactly what i was looking for out of the pickups..its hard to say cause ive changed settings on my amp, and im only using the bad monkey now, so many factors are a part of the overall sound of this track.

maybe if i left all the setting the same (amp pedals etc), and redid the track with the C8 that not much would change other than a little more upper mid aggression and bigger low mids that i may have to eq out for the layers to match up better. that was the problem before, the low end was too big.

the SH5 with the ceramic mag in it seems not care if you want to beef it up, it will stay nice and stiff, C8 on the other hand can handle the added force of muscle and boosts resulting in a monster of the tone, exteremly amazing play live through my cab. SH5 sounds a little darker and quiter in the upper mids. sound right?
 
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