Mag Swapping the 59/Custom Hybrid...Has Anyone Tried A8?

[Masta' C]

Re: Mag Swapping the 59/Custom Hybrid...Has Anyone Tried A8?

This thread is a mess, ha ha!

1) Duncan did not design the '59 around the Schaller Golden 50s. In fact, I'm fairly certain it precedes the Schallers by a few years.

2) I don't care about how the A8 sounds in the 59 OR the Custom...only the 59/Custom hybrid

3) Thank you, Doc, for a reasonable answer featuring the actual pickup in question

:beerchug:

Any final thoughts people?

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Mag Swapping the 59/Custom Hybrid...Has Anyone Tried A8?

You're welcome.

Take it to the bank.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Mag Swapping the 59/Custom Hybrid...Has Anyone Tried A8?

I've never heard of that 'lore' either. Sources?

 

[Cdwillis]

Re: Mag Swapping the 59/Custom Hybrid...Has Anyone Tried A8?

I thought the 59 was Seymour's version of a humbucker he pulled and examined from one of Jeff Beck's Les Pauls. Of course I can't find the any source for it (good luck looking up Duncan and Jeff Beck without running into constant JB posts).

 

[Discharged]

Re: Mag Swapping the 59/Custom Hybrid...Has Anyone Tried A8?

It appears you can't reasonably answer any question!

If that's what you think, then forget I offered any help. My bad.

Don't worry, it won't happen again. :banned:

 

[Discharged]

Re: Mag Swapping the 59/Custom Hybrid...Has Anyone Tried A8?

Guys a dewshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Well... they say "it takes one to know one".

I agree. :dunce:

 

[Discharged]

Re: Mag Swapping the 59/Custom Hybrid...Has Anyone Tried A8?

The Duncan 59 according lore is based on the Schaller Golden 50.

Sure! And out-of-space aliens were involved as well... :lol:

 

[Masta' C]

Re: Mag Swapping the 59/Custom Hybrid...Has Anyone Tried A8?

If that's what you think, then forget I offered any help. My bad.

Don't worry, it won't happen again. :banned:

Sure, you offered help...then didn't provide any.

People called you out for lending nothing but unnecessary barriers to the conversation and you immediately got defensive

The loss of your input will be sorely missed. Oh wait, you didn't have any input...hmmm

 

[Masta' C]

Re: Mag Swapping the 59/Custom Hybrid...Has Anyone Tried A8?

By the way, despite Discharged polluting my thread far more than I have, I'm still interested in hearing additional thoughts and opinions on this!

I have a new 59/Custom that I'm debating selling or installing in a Super Strat and messing with. Not sure what I'm after, really. Trying to decide if it's worth the hassle of experimenting.

I go back and forth between EVH-style rock (which the stock A5 configuration seemed pretty good at based on my past experience with this pickup), '80s hair metal, Dream Theater-style progressive and some occasional thrash/metalcore.

I like bright pickups, but not brittle, and I'm addicted to squealies. So, easy, full-bodied harmonics are ideal. My biggest concern with an A8 is if the hybrid will develop an inherent "clankiness" that I've experienced in some other A8-based pickups.

Thoughts? ...Doc? ...Clint #2?

 

[Clint 55]

Re: Mag Swapping the 59/Custom Hybrid...Has Anyone Tried A8?

If you like bright, then A9 is worth a try. It has as much treble as A5 but I think ends up being the brightest Alnico because it has mids like A8 but not the clankiness. A6 has mids but isn't as aggressive.

 

[Discharged]

Re: Mag Swapping the 59/Custom Hybrid...Has Anyone Tried A8?

The loss of your input will be sorely missed.

Oh, don't worry about me... looking at the quality of the input received so far, I can already see you're in good company.

I'm sure all your doubts will be cleared up by good people with plenty personal experiences and authoritative voices.

/Peter

 

[Discharged]

Re: Mag Swapping the 59/Custom Hybrid...Has Anyone Tried A8?

I'm not looking for advice, just general input and impressions from people who have tried an A8 in the 59/Custom hybrid context.

Looks like the definition of the word "context" is different between you and me.

I have a new 59/Custom that I'm debating selling or installing in a Super Strat. I go back and forth between EVH-style rock (which the stock A5 configuration seemed pretty good at based on my past experience with this pickup), '80s hair metal, Dream Theater-style progressive and some occasional thrash/metalcore.

Man, you're a barrel of laughs! You first diss my offer of help, then you end up providing the requested necessary "context" anyway?

Thank you for the laugh. Much appreciated! :smack:

/Peter

 

[ToneFiddler]

Re: Mag Swapping the 59/Custom Hybrid...Has Anyone Tried A8?

I thought the 59 was Seymour's version of a humbucker he pulled and examined from one of Jeff Beck's Les Pauls. Of course I can't find the any source for it (good luck looking up Duncan and Jeff Beck without running into constant JB posts).

Source:
https://www.seymourduncan.com/vintage

The ’59 Model is one of our most popular pickups – a versatile ’50s-style humbucker with classic tone and attitude. Seymour based this pickup’s coil wind on the humbuckers in Jeff Beck’s 1959 Les Paul. When we started out as a company in the late 70s, more and more guitarists were playing .009 and .010 gauge strings which tended to sound thin and weak with Alnico 2 magnets. So to meet the demands and adapt to modern times, Alnico 5 magnets were used to compensate for the lighter string gauges. But the coil wind itself is straight from Jeff Beck’s ’59 Les Paul.

sorry for hijacking the thread.

i created an extra thread:
https://forum.seymourduncan.com/sho...e-Low-Output-HUmbuckers&p=4370549#post4370549
so this post may be deleted

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Mag Swapping the 59/Custom Hybrid...Has Anyone Tried A8?

The Duncan 59 according lore is based on the Schaller Golden 50.

Those chasing the tone of the hard to find Ibanez Maxon super 70 ( EVH used these as well as V2s) often swapped the A5 mag in a golden 50 for a roughcast oversized A8.

I’ve taken a super 58 clone ( not far off a Seymour Duncan 59 but A3 instead of A5) and got a very pleasing result. So much so that the APH pros in that guitar were sold as I loved the super 70 clones that these super 58 clones became.

How will it sound? Like an A2 PAF on steroids. Very vocal in the upper mids. Slightly soft top end but still bright, tight bass and lots more output. Will drive like a super distortion without being muddy. Will have the clarity and bite of a DiMarzio super 2 without being shrill or clanky.

Oversized Ceramic 8 is similar but less bass and more clanky - sounds good though. I’d bet it would Dimarzio super 2 like

Try it


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

LORE?!!

Lore is about as dependable as 90% of what you can find on the internet!

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Mag Swapping the 59/Custom Hybrid...Has Anyone Tried A8?

I'm not entirely sure what you mean by "clanky". But my impression of what it might mean does not fit my experience with A8. To my ears the A8 is a smoother sound that A5, probably due to the increased mids. The highs are still there but they are not at all "clanky" to my ears...they are present and bright, but smooth. Not at all like the "clanky", brittle, piercing highs of a ceramic.

I would definitely keep the hybrid. It's a great sounding pup which accepts mag swaps and other mods with ease and even enthusiasm, and is indeed worth fiddling/experimenting with.

 

[Gtrjunior]

Mag Swapping the 59/Custom Hybrid...Has Anyone Tried A8?

I was wondering exactly what clanky means as well. I have a few pickups that I have put an A8 in too and I find the high end smooth and pleasing. Plenty of present mids and output. It’s my favorite magnet.

 

[Masta' C]

Re: Mag Swapping the 59/Custom Hybrid...Has Anyone Tried A8?

Looks like the definition of the word "context" is different between you and me.

Man, you're a barrel of laughs! You first diss my offer of help, then you end up providing the requested necessary "context" anyway?

Thank you for the laugh. Much appreciated! :smack:

/Peter

There's a stone somewhere with your name on it. Feel free to crawl back under it at any time troll.

Oh, don't worry about me... looking at the quality of the input received so far, I can already see you're in good company.

I'm sure all your doubts will be cleared up by good people with plenty personal experiences and authoritative voices.

/Peter

P.S. - Attacking me is one thing, but attacking the forum bros trying to help? You, sir, are clearly an arse.

 

[Masta' C]

Re: Mag Swapping the 59/Custom Hybrid...Has Anyone Tried A8?

The "clank" I'm referring to isn't apparent in all A8 pickups I've tried. The Alt 8 certainly doesn't have it. But, some swaps I've tried with lower output winds develop this odd quality in the midrange that I (and others in the past) have only been able to describe as a sort of "clankiness" to the response. It's a quality of the attack and pick response. Hard to explain.

My curiosity was whether or not the 59/Custom, being a hybrid with such a difference between the two coils, exhibited something like this.

If eyebrows raise and question marks appear above your heads, then I can safely assume "no", LOL!

 

[Masta' C]

Re: Mag Swapping the 59/Custom Hybrid...Has Anyone Tried A8?

If you like bright, then A9 is worth a try. It has as much treble as A5 but I think ends up being the brightest Alnico because it has mids like A8 but not the clankiness. A6 has mids but isn't as aggressive.

I don't have any first-hand experience with A9. Does the top end get thin/brittle?

Glad you understand the A8 "clank" thing. Not every pickup is affected, in my experience, but when it happens, it grates on you after a while...

A6 is an interesting one, as well. Hmm...

 

[Clint 55]

Re: Mag Swapping the 59/Custom Hybrid...Has Anyone Tried A8?

I don't know if A9 would end up sounding brittle in the 59/C but it is a step more aggressive and harsh than A5 and A8 while not quite as harsh as ceramic. Since you mentioned you play metal and like a bright sound I thought it could be a good option. The oriented mags I think take well to modern styles while the unoriented mags sound more vintagey to me. If you want just a slight rounding of the treble, A6 works well for that.