Inform me on the Blues Saraceno!

Re: Inform me on the Blues Saraceno!

Whats your style?

Its 10k, just a bit hotter that PAF and tone wise its PAF like but a bit fuller in the low end. I play one in the bridge slot of my Warmoth EB musicman style hardtail. Sounds fantastic.
 
Re: Inform me on the Blues Saraceno!

I think it's the best bridge pickup in the entire Duncan lineup. As Architect mentioned, it's just slightly hotter than a typical PAF clone. What I like most about it is that it has more midrange than most alnico 5 pickups. The bass is nice and strong without being overbearing like the C5, and the highs are bright enough to cut through, without being shrill or harsh. It's a really good choice for guitars with Floyds, and it can cover a wide variety of sounds. Classic rock, blues, and even metal with the right amp.

Ryan
 
Re: Inform me on the Blues Saraceno!

I don't really know what to call my style. My most recent clips show that :). However, I DO know what I look for in a bridge pickup:

1. Response to touch (touch-sensitivity): I am a huge fan of single-coils, so the responsiveness has to be rather exaggerated. This is as important to me as a serious blues-soloist, to give you an idea.

2. Clear, sweet, fairly accurate PAF tone. Must respond well to volume knob. Good split sound is also nice, but not completely necessary.

3. Not tonally wimpy! It's got to breath life into a Floyded guitar. Solid but not boomy lows. I NEED clarity without icepick-brightness.
 
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Re: Inform me on the Blues Saraceno!

Biu said:
I don't really know what to call my style. My most recent clips show that :). However, I DO know what I look for in a bridge pickup:

1. Response to touch (touch-sensitivity): I am a huge fan of single-coils, so the responsiveness has to be rather exaggerated. This is as important to me as a serious blues-soloist, to give you an idea.

2. Clear, sweet, fairly accurate PAF tone. Must respond well to volume knob. Good split sound is also nice, but not completely necessary.

3. Not tonally wimpy! It's got to breath life into a Floyded guitar. Solid but not boomy lows. I NEED clarity without icepick-brightness.

It sounds like the Blues would be a good choice for you, based on the above requirements.

Ryan
 
Re: Inform me on the Blues Saraceno!

rspst14 said:
I think it's the best bridge pickup in the entire Duncan lineup. As Architect mentioned, it's just slightly hotter than a typical PAF clone. What I like most about it is that it has more midrange than most alnico 5 pickups. The bass is nice and strong without being overbearing like the C5, and the highs are bright enough to cut through, without being shrill or harsh. It's a really good choice for guitars with Floyds, and it can cover a wide variety of sounds. Classic rock, blues, and even metal with the right amp.

Ryan

I had a '59 trembucker in the bridge of a Strat which I thought was very nice. My only complaint was that the output could've been slightly hotter, and it needed a bit more mids. I assume that there's a 4 conductor Trembucker version of the Blues Saraceno? Would I still get a decent quack when it's split with the middle pup? How would it match up output-wise with American Series stock single coils in the neck and middle? Thanks!
 
Re: Inform me on the Blues Saraceno!

Stratfan said:
I had a '59 trembucker in the bridge of a Strat which I thought was very nice. My only complaint was that the output could've been slightly hotter, and it needed a bit more mids. I assume that there's a 4 conductor Trembucker version of the Blues Saraceno? Would I still get a decent quack when it's split with the middle pup? How would it match up output-wise with American Series stock single coils in the neck and middle? Thanks!

The Blues is available with 4 conductors only. It does have a pretty nice split sound, so I imagine it would sound pretty good with the stock single coils. Think of it as a '59 with a bit less bass and treble, a bit more midrange, and a bit more output.

Ryan
 
Re: Inform me on the Blues Saraceno!

Stratfan said:
Is there a single coil sized pup with a similar sound?

Not that I'm aware of. I haven't come across another humbucker that sounds quite like the Blues, I doubt you'd find a single coil that sounds like it.

Ryan
 
Re: Inform me on the Blues Saraceno!

The Blues Trembucker is my pup of choice. It's clear, sounds good cleaned up, and solid when it comes time for rocking. I have one in two of my guitars and I'm completely tonally happy with them. And just suggestion here.... The Blues Trembucker sounds pretty good in the neck position too. I've got that setup in my Saraceno TV 20, and it's a killer neck pup. Thick and creamy.

If you want a good example of how the Blues Trembucker sounds, hunt down a copy of the instructional video Blues did back in the 90's. Talk about tone! Oh my!!!!
 
Re: Inform me on the Blues Saraceno!

Thanks for that info Shnook. I was just wondering, in another thread, how a Blues Saraceno would sound in the neck position. :)
 
Re: Inform me on the Blues Saraceno!

Your welcome Artietoo.

And Biu, I too use a 5150 Combo and the Blues Trembucker is an excellent match for that amp. Really warm solid sound.
 
Re: Inform me on the Blues Saraceno!

I can vouch that the Blues sounds fantastic in the neck. Nice and creamy, not boomy or muddy.
 
Re: Inform me on the Blues Saraceno!

For those of you who have tried it in the neck, did you have any problems due to the wider string spacing at the neck? I've never tried it in the neck spot, but I can imagine it would sound great. You'd probably need a slightly hotter bridge pickup for it to balance properly, as the Blues is wound hotter than the other PAF-style neck pickups in the Duncan lineup.

I've said all along that Duncan needs to make this pickup in a standard-spaced, standard polepiece version. They have separate versions of the distortion, I don't know why they couldn't do the same with the Blues. I really think it would be a huge seller, and a lot of the guys who use a '59, Demon, or C5 would probably be interested.
Not to mention all the people who want to try it, but are put off by the different look and the lack of a standard spaced version.

Ryan
 
Re: Inform me on the Blues Saraceno!

rspst14 said:
For those of you who have tried it in the neck, did you have any problems due to the wider string spacing at the neck? I've never tried it in the neck spot, but I can imagine it would sound great. You'd probably need a slightly hotter bridge pickup for it to balance properly, as the Blues is wound hotter than the other PAF-style neck pickups in the Duncan lineup.

I've said all along that Duncan needs to make this pickup in a standard-spaced, standard polepiece version. They have separate versions of the distortion, I don't know why they couldn't do the same with the Blues. I really think it would be a huge seller, and a lot of the guys who use a '59, Demon, or C5 would probably be interested.
Not to mention all the people who want to try it, but are put off by the different look and the lack of a standard spaced version.

Ryan

This is one of the things that interests me about putting a Distortion Trembucker in the bridge, mated to a Blues Saraceno in the neck of my Patriot. It has an unusually wide hardtail bridge. String spacing at the neck is 52.5mm. The Blues pole-peice spacing is 52.578 - almost perfect.

My bridge spacing extends that out a bit to 55mm. So the Distortion Trembucker will work great. (Not to be confused with the trem-spaced Distortion.

The Blues is 9.8k with an A5, and the Distortion is 21.3k (Yowsa), with a ceramic. I'm hoping those two will go together well. I was thinking that a bridge version of the Original Trembucker might work good too, at 15.7k A5.

Either way, they'ld all have the same pole-oeice style and would look great.
Hopefully - would sound killer too. I should be finding out fairly soon. ;)
 
Re: Inform me on the Blues Saraceno!

I don't remember having any problems with string spacing in the neck. I don't have it permanently installed in any of my guitars. When I built my swamp ash strat, I bought a second pickguard routed for humbuckers so that I could do a little experimenting. From what I remember:

(1) The Blues sounds great in the neck
(2) The 59b sounds awful in the neck
(3) The Blues and an A2 59 sound great in the bridge
(4) An A2 Blues in the brtidge is too dark
(5) An A2 Blues/59 hybrid gets really close to that brown sound (an A5 was too bright and thin)
 
Re: Inform me on the Blues Saraceno!

Shnook said:
Your welcome Artietoo.

And Biu, I too use a 5150 Combo and the Blues Trembucker is an excellent match for that amp. Really warm solid sound.
Sweet! That was my main concern, if it would sound good under high-gain like that of a 5150. I'm assuming it excels in cleaner blues environments, yeah? That would be nice too because my guitar teacher is against aftermarket pups, and it would be sweet victory if I could blues it up with the Blues Saraceno and show him the ways of the Duncans :smoker:

Well, looks like that's another pup to add to the wishlist :)
 
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