Is this a case for Custom Shop?

M

MrFlexx

New member
I'm looking to replace my bridge humbucker on one of my Suhr Custom Moderns and have something special in mind. To start here's some info about the guitar:

Body: Basswood with maple top
Neck: Maple
Fretboard: Rosewood
Bridge: Gotoh Floyd

The pickups from Seymour Duncan I love the most are:

Parallel Axis Distortion for it's "in-your-face" attack and string definition
JB for it's raw 80's hardrock sound that also can sound smooth
SNS for it's less compressed, crunchy and even tone

To summarize I want a Bridge HB with great attack and string definition, raw and less compressed and even tone. Think of a pickup that can do George Lynch, Warren Demartini, Steve Vai "Eat Em & Smile album"", Satriani "Extremist album" Doug Rappoport & Petrucci...all in one pickup.

Is there any HB out there that has a combination of these characters or is this a case for the Custom Shop?

Been thinking a lot about the Custom 5. Could that be it?
 
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Re: Is this a case for Custom Shop?

I'd say the Custom 5 doesn't quite have the mids to do the Satriani or Lynch stuff. It certainly has the power for everything on your list, though. I'd say for anyone's special guitar, it deserves Custom Shop pickups, but the only ones I can think of that come sort of close might be the Full Shred.
 
Re: Is this a case for Custom Shop?

Mincer said:
I'd say the Custom 5 doesn't quite have the mids to do the Satriani or Lynch stuff. It certainly has the power for everything on your list, though. I'd say for anyone's special guitar, it deserves Custom Shop pickups, but the only ones I can think of that come sort of close might be the Full Shred.
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Sounds like a job for a UOA5 in the Custom instead of a regular A5.

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Re: Is this a case for Custom Shop?

Demanic said:
Sounds like a job for a UOA5 in the Custom instead of a regular A5.

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I have this and am finally happy. Went through many pups and magnets first. I like Vai and Satch and this does them very well

Had a custom, then did c5, then this. Liked the c5 but it was lacking mids as everyone else reports. The uoa5 gave it those mids as well as added a bit extra depth to it. It can do solos very well and can crunch for metal too. It cannot do cleans.
 
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Re: Is this a case for Custom Shop?

Un-Oriented A5 magnet.

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Re: Is this a case for Custom Shop?

Nagisa said:
I have this and am finally happy. Went through many pups and magnets first. I like Vai and Satch and this does them very well

Had a custom, then did c5, then this. Liked the c5 but it was lacking mids as everyone else reports. The uoa5 gave it those mids as well as added a bit extra depth to it. It can do solos very well and can crunch for metal too. It cannot do cleans.
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If you wired it up with a series/parallel switch, I'll bet that cleans would sound just fine in the parallel mode.

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Re: Is this a case for Custom Shop?

Demanic said:
If you wired it up with a series/parallel switch, I'll bet that cleans would sound just fine in the parallel mode.

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I would if I needed bridge cleans on my LP, but the pearly gates neck covers it for me. Plus I have an HSS that does all the cleans I need. It is striking how weak cleans sound on uoa5 yet the distortion is thick and heavy
 
Re: Is this a case for Custom Shop?

de perpetual burn is great, but a bit 'honky' in the mids to my ears (slightly nasal, imho). The highs can be sharp. so, no perpetual burn for me for this guitar.

The 59/custom is a great contender. it has the power, the tightness, the smoothness but is also very open.

The Alternative 8 is its more powerful, aggressive sibling.

However, the PatB3 is also a great choice, like the 59/custom but a bit sweeter. great for 80ies tones, though.

But my all time favorite is one SD doesn't make: The JB/Fullshred Hybrid. It has the fluid lead tones of the JB but not the sharp upper mid spike. It has the tightness of the fullshred, but not the icepicky highs. It's open, organic, tight yet fluid.

SD just doesn't feel there's a market for these pickups. I disagree.




(OR get a set of Fluence Classics and be done with it. )
 
Re: Is this a case for Custom Shop?

PATB-1b Parallel Axis Original, maybe? Great string definition, terrific harmonics, but smoother than a JB. It's fairly similar to the Custom 5, but it's mids seem more even, and it has the extra-tubey dynamics, increased sustain and improved harmonics of the Parallel Axis design. Ridiculously responsive. Not as much hotter (or nearly as much more compressed) than the C5 as the PATB-2 is than the TB-6. I never found the volume or tone knob useful in my Ibanez RG570 with the JB, but the PATB-1b can produce a ridiculous variety of tones with subtle knob adjustments. JB was pretty much awful in the guitar, PATB-1b does the few things I liked about the JB, and incredibly much more.

Custom 8 is another favorite, has a weirdly modern but subtly vintage tone. Punchy bass like a ceramic, but slightly less output, and rolled off high end, particularly without the harsh attack of ceramic. [Though the ceramic Custom is one of the least offensive ceramic pickups to my ear.]

I haven't heard much of the Jason Becker Perpetual Burn, though it has been claimed as a less spiky, lower output, more flexible alternative to the JB. Seems a touch bright for my tastes in the demos I've heard, I'd be uneasy about it in a maple top. [Though if it's a veneer, those don't necessarily impact tone noticably...]
 
Re: Is this a case for Custom Shop?

I haven't tried a PB but it certainly sounds like it would get you in the neighborhood. I seem to recall someone dropping an A2 in one of them and that may work for you as well. If you do decide to go custom shop, the original El Diablo would probably work pretty well.
 
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