Is there good reviews of the CUSTOM 4 ?

[gripweed]

Re: Is there good reviews of the CUSTOM 4 ?

Normally, you'll hear people singing the praises of A3 and A4 in neck humbuckers, and they really are a great magnet for necks. I still think that A5 and A2 sound the best in bridge humbuckers, where you want more bass or warmth. I think Seymour probably thinks he's got most tones nailed by doing what he's doing. If you're looking for a magnet swapped pickup, maybe you should just keep searching through the Duncan line till you get what you're looking for. I find it amazing that everyone overlooks the Jazz Bridge, because it's not even listed as a low output vintage pickup....it's listed under progressive! Jolly uses the Jazz set in his Pauls, and his tone is closest to Jerry Cantrell's....go figure! I put a Jazz Bridge in my strat, and it's one of the few humbuckers that mates perfectly with a strat neck/middle. The Jazz is articulate and punchy, so it may be the pickup for the guy looking at A4 magnets.

I have a Jazz neck in my LP and it reminds me of the Fralin. It is a little different in the bass and the mids, and it does have a Duncan sound to it, but it is quite similar. Lew is dead on when he says that the Jazz reminds him of the '59. The Fralin and the Jazz are both great pickups!

I think the Jazz bridge would be a little too bright for me however. I have a '59 in the bridge and that is about as bright as I think I want to get in the bridge. They have a Jazz bridge at the local guitar shop and I may pick it up just to have one on hand . I may have MJ make me an overwound Jazz someday. Something in the vintage range since that is what I prefer.

 

[fab.regnaut]

Re: Is there good reviews of the CUSTOM 4 ?

Oh i am very hungry now for alnico4 because i begin to think that when you say that it is sharp or harsh it means that it is extremly articulate like the Jazz and the Demon that i love .
So i expect now with alnico4 in the Custom and 59'neck :
less power and more definition-pick attack
a flatter EQ curve
and it is all i want of the tb5 and the 59' : long live HI-FI pickups !!!!
:beerchug: :beerchug: :beerchug: :beerchug: :beerchug:

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: Is there good reviews of the CUSTOM 4 ?

I don't get this bit about Alnico 4 being 'sharp and harsh'. Maybe compared to Alnico 2 or 3, but compared to Alnico 5, it's extremely smooth to my ear.

 

[BloodRose]

Re: Is there good reviews of the CUSTOM 4 ?

I realize I left that out of my post. The definition is better with the C4.

 

[ParameterMan]

Re: Is there good reviews of the CUSTOM 4 ?

I tried an A4 in assorted places, and it had an addictive 'smack' to it. It also seemed very one-dimensional and compressed- I couldn't live with it because digging in didn't do anything. I found it like an A2 on steriods- more bite, harmonics, mids, compression, etc. What I guess I'm looking for is a weaker version of the A5. (Between the a4 and a5 there's a change in construction- A5+ are sintered and A 1,2,3,4- are not. I think. Anyway, they sound much different.)

And the point? Try it. I hope my thoughts are helpful.

 

[fab.regnaut]

Re: Is there good reviews of the CUSTOM 4 ?

What "sintered" means and what difference does it make ?

 

[dr.barlo]

Re: Is there good reviews of the CUSTOM 4 ?

I don't get this bit about Alnico 4 being 'sharp and harsh'. Maybe compared to Alnico 2 or 3, but compared to Alnico 5, it's extremely smooth to my ear.

I think the jump from a3 to a4 is wider than the ones between a2-a3 and a4-a5. The second distant difference I'd say is between a4 and a5.

With my experience I somehow associate a4's with bridge positions. Generally, I use them in PAF clones for guitars which already sound bright and alive. On the other hand, for guitars that aren't that bright I settle with a5's in PAF clones.

For SD-Custom(Custom) I think the best results are either with a2's or a3's. The reason is that I am not a big fan of the scooped tone of c5's. And C4's to me sound quite similar although the bass gets a little sorfter and highs a little rounder. But still I think it would essentially be a c5. On the other hand, I love CC's especially because I associate them with tremolo guitars. I think an a2 or a3 helps to wash away the metallic tone due to the steel block of tremolo bridges.

B

 

[dr.barlo]

Re: Is there good reviews of the CUSTOM 4 ?

What "sintered" means and what difference does it make ?

If I remember right (correct me if I am wrong) that term refers to the cooling process of the magnets. A5's unlike the lower alnico grades feature a different cooling process. Let me see if I can find the thread were tim white was talking about it on the LPF. Here:

http://www.lespaulforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=69741

In particular:

The different alnico grades each have there own formulae, meaning that they each have different precentages of aluminum, nickel, and cobalt. Alnico 3 has no cobalt and alnico 5 has the most (in the lower grades anyway). They each have their own characteristic demag curve as well. Also alnico 1-4 are cooled outside of any magnetic fields which allows the magnet material to be magnetized in any direction. Alnico 5 is cooled inside of a magnet field and it's molecules want to keep that orientation when later magnetized (typically, sometimes it can be unoriented).

Moreover, Duncan's q&a #226 has more information on that subject about the alnico grades, density and pull values and alnico magnets' compositions:

Magnet material
Nominal Chemical Composition
Gauss
Oersteds Nominal
Maxim-um Energy
Alnico 1 12 Al, 21 Ni, 5 Co, 3 Cu, Bal. Fe 7200 470 1.40
Alnico 2 10 Al, 19 Ni, 13 Co, 3 Cu, Bal. Fe 7500 560 1.70
Alnico 3 12 Al, 25 Ni, 3 Cu, Bal. Fe 7000 480 1.35
Alnico 4 12 Al, 27 Ni, 5 Co, Bal. Fe 5600 720 1.35
Alnico 5 8 Al, 14 Ni, 24 Co, 3 Cu, Bal. Fe 12800 640 5.50
Alnico 5DG 8 Al, 14 Ni, 24 Co, 3 Cu, Bal. Fe 13300 670 6.50
Alnico 5 col. 8 Al, 14 Ni, 24 Co, 3 Cu, Bal. Fe 13500 740 7.55
Alnico 6 8 Al, 16 Ni, 24 Co, 3 Cu, 1 Ti, Bal. Fe 10500 780 3.90
Alnico 8 7 Al, 15 Ni, 35 Co, 4 Cu, 5 Ti, Bal. Fe 8200 1650 5.30
Alnico 8 HC 8 Al, 14 Ni, 38 Co, 3 Cu, 8 Ti, Bal. Fe 7200 1900 5.00
Alnico 9 7 Al, 15 Ni, 35 Co, 4 Cu, 5 Ti, Bal. Fe 10500 1500 9.00

http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/seymours_q_and_a_4.shtml#226

I love them q&a's!

And for another old thread on magnets check

http://www.lespaulforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=83716

BTW my nick over there is turkish.

B

 

[Majestic]

Re: Is there good reviews of the CUSTOM 4 ?

I found it like an A2 on steriods- more bite, harmonics, mids, compression, etc. What I guess I'm looking for is a weaker version of the A5.

Isn't that the highly acclaimed "Hybrid"???

A 59/C5 Hybrid? Seems like a no-brainer to me.