Looking for something different... been using JB/TB-4 and Custom TB-5 ... ???

WERNER1

WERNER1

New member
Hey guys,.. I've been using some variation of Duncan in my guitars for well over 20 years now,.. some times I love the JB,.. other times it sounds "thin" on my solo's,.. I switched to the TB-5's, and I think I like the thicker bottom end and different solo'ing tones vs. the JB,.. but still open to something else,...

I've tried a lot of pups over the years,.. '78, PATB2, TB-6, and so on...

I typically play a "Super Strat" style guitar for the most part in an H/S/S set up w/ Floyd,.. Musically I go from Bluesy to Classic Rock'ish,..to Hard Rock (80's Stuff),.. and some more modern tones (Little heavier Drop D stuff...) ... No crazy drop tunings here or thrashy metal type stuff..

I've got a LP with a JB in the bridge that just kills on hard driving Rock stuff,.. and an '86 Kramer with a HighOrder pup in it that has my favorite lead tone of all time,.. but where one succeeds,.. the other fails :(

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance,
Rick
 
Re: Looking for something different... been using JB/TB-4 and Custom TB-5 ... ???

Tell me more about the JB in the les paul. I have an LP and I want a JB in it but everyone gripes about them in les pauls
 
Re: Looking for something different... been using JB/TB-4 and Custom TB-5 ... ???

I personally like it a lot in the one I've got,.. it's got a Flame top on it and a Rosewood FB,.. Tight, cruchy,. good/present mids, and top end.. Bottom is a bit loose when doing some heaver drop D stuff IMO,.. Check out my Soundclick page and there's some clips of it there,.. That'll give you a bit of an idea of how they sound... (?)
 
Re: Looking for something different... been using JB/TB-4 and Custom TB-5 ... ???

thanks, which are the tracks done with the les paul?
 
Re: Looking for something different... been using JB/TB-4 and Custom TB-5 ... ???

The Custom Custom sounds great in a superstrat and is very versatile (great for blues, classic rock, hard rock, 80s metal...). It's also thicker and warmer than a JB. You can swap the magnet in your Custom to an alnico II and you'll have a CC.
 
Re: Looking for something different... been using JB/TB-4 and Custom TB-5 ... ???

Hmmm... never tried the Custom Custom yet,.. Guess I should just to say I've done it :) ...

I think it's like the first 4 tracks or so,.. it's listed in the description as a LP w/ JB .... I think one of them says a LP w/ SH-5,.. but that's a type "O",..it's a JB as well... I only have the SH/TB-5's in some of my Floyd based guitars..
 
Re: Looking for something different... been using JB/TB-4 and Custom TB-5 ... ???

Here's the LP in question :)

IMG_1355.jpgIMG_1357.jpg
 
Re: Looking for something different... been using JB/TB-4 and Custom TB-5 ... ???

I've been reading up on the "Custom" pickups,.. and I was wondering if there is a "Production" Custom 8 out now?... a lot of the threads I was reading go back quite a few years :)
 
Re: Looking for something different... been using JB/TB-4 and Custom TB-5 ... ???

No their is no Custom 8 as a production model its made by swapping out the mag and putting in a A8 mag or have the Custom shop make you one but making it yourself is the cheaper and easier option. I use one and love it in my superstrat. I originally had a Custom Custom but found it a bit to congested and not clear enough. People say the C8 gives you the best traits of the 3 variations.
 
Re: Looking for something different... been using JB/TB-4 and Custom TB-5 ... ???

Rockstar216 said:
I originally had a Custom Custom but found it a bit to congested and not clear enough.
Click to expand...

Exactly my thoughts on the CC. I think it would work best in a guitar that sounds tight and dry on its own, with a lot of spank, and a tendency towards sounding a bit scooped or thin.
 
Re: Looking for something different... been using JB/TB-4 and Custom TB-5 ... ???

vinta9e said:
Exactly my thoughts on the CC. I think it would work best in a guitar that sounds tight and dry on its own, with a lot of spank, and a tendency towards sounding a bit scooped or thin.
Click to expand...

I think It would work great in a PRS or Semi Hollow since those guitars seem to be exceedingly clear and bright to begin with.
 
Re: Looking for something different... been using JB/TB-4 and Custom TB-5 ... ???

To the OP what is it that you would like to hear from a pup? What qualities would you like a pup to have? Maybe you might want MJ to whip you up something special?
 
Re: Looking for something different... been using JB/TB-4 and Custom TB-5 ... ???

Well I sat down and really thought about what I was looking for in this new pickup,.. and I re-read my original statement about the JB being pretty much perfect in some cases but a bit too thin'ish in the Soloing vein of things,.... So maybe a JB'ish based pup with more girth and a tighter bottom end,.. and maybe not so shrill'ish highs...??? ------> Then I started researching Darths suggestion of the RTM and found this artical:

http://www.seymourduncan.com/blog/pickup-reviews/review-seymour-duncan-custom-shop-rtm-humbucker/

The sound clips of that are subtle,.. but you can defiantly hear a difference,.. in a good way too :) ...

So I think at this point I should try the RTM for sure.

I think I should also give the "C8" thing a try as well (?) .. My question about this is:

I spoke with SD yesterday,.. and they couldn't confirm or deny that the Custom, Custom Custom, and Custom 5 were all the same wind but with different Mag's,.... anyone care to pick me a good donor pup to try out the 8Mag's on? .... come to think of it I have ton's of those SH/TB-5's around ... :)
 
Re: Looking for something different... been using JB/TB-4 and Custom TB-5 ... ???

Rockstar216 said:
To the OP what is it that you would like to hear from a pup? What qualities would you like a pup to have? Maybe you might want MJ to whip you up something special?
Click to expand...
Who is this fabled "MJ" by the way...??? :)
 
Re: Looking for something different... been using JB/TB-4 and Custom TB-5 ... ???

Custom/59 hybrid or JB/Custom hybrid. (the first one you can buy from SD, the second you can make or get someone to make for you).
 
Re: Looking for something different... been using JB/TB-4 and Custom TB-5 ... ???

crusty philtrum said:
Custom/59 hybrid or JB/Custom hybrid. (the first one you can buy from SD, the second you can make or get someone to make for you).
Click to expand...

+1. People have experimented with different mags in the hybrids too with success, using polished A5, rough cast UO A5, A8, ceramic etc.
 
Re: Looking for something different... been using JB/TB-4 and Custom TB-5 ... ???

So what's a good source for the A8 Mags?... are there different grades of mag's out there?.... is there a thread that I should be reading that explains all of this,... :oo

Oh,. and is there different mag lengths for Reg. humbuckers and "F"/Trem spaced ones?
 
Re: Looking for something different... been using JB/TB-4 and Custom TB-5 ... ???

Uhm... everybody give up on me or what.....? :33:

:)
 
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