most versatile pup

[fingerace]

you have been really helpful so far... i hope you are not tired of my many questions!

ok, straight to the subject:
BRIDGE
1. Custom
2. Custom 5
3. JB

which of the 3 pups best suit ALL these styles:
1. classic rock
2. harder rock
3. Blues (not in any particular order)

the guitar is All mahogany, with vintage trem... i know i have been asking for AC DC tone and blues... but i was also thinking of Led Zep, or bon jovi hard stuff...

I know most of you proposed the Custom 5 ! well, i am thinking of that also... but... the SD website gives it 3 out 10 in mids and the other 2 pups have 6/10...

thank you for once again...

EDIT: LEW HELP.... I will have the AIIpro in the neck as you suggested!

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: most versatile pup

you have been really helpful so far... i hope you are not tired of my many questions!

ok, straight to the subject:
BRIDGE
1. Custom
2. Custom 5
3. JB

which of the 3 pups best suit ALL these styles:
1. classic rock
2. harder rock
3. Blues (not in any particular order)

the guitar is All mahogany, with vintage trem... i know i have been asking for AC DC tone and blues... but i was also thinking of Led Zep, or bon jovi hard stuff...

I know most of you proposed the Custom 5 ! well, i am thinking of that also... but... the SD website gives it 3 out 10 in mids and the other 2 pups have 6/10...

thank you for once again...

EDIT: LEW HELP.... I will have the AIIpro in the neck as you suggested!

Honestly, I think any of those three can do what you want and that it just comes down to what you want to hear and what will let you forget about gear and play some music.

I'm not a huge fan of the Custom 5...not enough mids for me.

I like the Custom, Custom Custom or the JB better.

I don't know anyone who doesn't like the Custom but I do know a few people who don't like the JB...though not many.

The JB is Seymour's favorite, BTW, but he uses it with 250K pots which tame some of the treble of the JB. I think the Alnico 2 Pro neck HB would sound darker than I would like with 250K pots...

So go for the Custom...I guess! :smack: :laugh2: It'd probably be the safest place to start and if you don't love it you can use the 21 day exchange.

If you don't like it, try the JB...or the Custom 5.

I do have all three of those in stock, BTW: $69.95 each.


Lew

 

[OlinMusic]

Re: most versatile pup

Custom 5 HANDS DOWN - can play any style. Can be clean when backed off from volume, screams on leads, and can be very sweet for pop/rock etc

 

[fab.regnaut]

Re: most versatile pup

If yo want more even EQ from the Custom5 , change the magnet for a
* alnico 4: little more vintage feel ( less bass and highs , less power bit more mids and precision )
*alnico 8: more modern feel ( more midrange , more power , more beef )

 

[SIXX]

Re: most versatile pup

Custom should do the trick, but allways the JB is the standerd for grunt & grind !

 

[fingerace]

Re: most versatile pup

the bad thing is that the 21 day return policy is difficult for me because i dont live in the usa !

EDIT: hey, this morning while i was at shcool, i was thinking that i could get the C-5 and when i want it to be harder-heavier i could overdrive-distort it using a GOOD pedal... that way i could have both... Could I ?

what i mean is that: there is a way to make something vintage sound hard and heavy, but there isn't a way to make something hard sound vintage...

am i thinking right?

 

[fab.regnaut]

Re: most versatile pup

With a distortion pedal the Custom5 will still sound thin in the high string and heavy in the lows .
It is always better to have a pickup witch is as closest as possible of your expectation .
What you could do is ordering a Custom ( ceramic) and with it a bunch of magnet (alnico 2 , 5 , 4 , 3 , 8 ) then you would fine tune your pickup at your will . I think Lew can provide pickup and magnets .

 

[Nightburst]

Re: most versatile pup

IMHO the C5 is a great vintage/modern pickup. It really is the most versatile of the ones you mentioned.
I wouldn't exactly call the JB 'vintage' and it lacks a bit in the chunky chunk departement. Also it needs a 250K pot to smoothen the highs and high mids (again IMHO, but this is how Seymour designed the JB) It is an exelent pickup though with a great grind to the sound.
The C5 is much more blunt and brutal, it sounds like a PAF with higher output. It could use some more mids but I've never had trouble eq'ing to compensate that. (and I use a TS-9 anyway which boosts the mids just right)
Cleans are nice (but the JB cleans are better) and the leads just sing, what else could you want from a pickup? Well other than the mids...

The Custom had a bit harsh highs IMHO, and the cleans were not so good.

 

[fingerace]

Re: most versatile pup

you know... this is keeping me from sleeping at nights... :laugh2:

i guess the best thing i can do is buy the ceramic and experiment with the magnets if i really don't like it... maybe i can think about it as having the bridge for hard stuff only (custom) and the neck (AIIpro) for the bluesy stuff only...

 

[fingerace]

Re: most versatile pup

ok... well, can i do this: play blues only with the AIIpro and rock or hard rock only with the custom... ?

 

[fab.regnaut]

Re: most versatile pup

you have been really helpful so far... i hope you are not tired of my many questions!

the guitar is All mahogany, with vintage trem... i know i have been asking for AC DC tone and blues... but i was also thinking of Led Zep, or bon jovi hard stuff...

I know most of you proposed the Custom 5 ! well, i am thinking of that also... but... the SD website gives it 3 out 10 in mids and the other 2 pups have 6/10...

thank you for once again...

Sorry i didn't pay attention to you guitar wood and your music style : for what you want to do a Custom5 will be just right especcially in a mahogany guitar with a vintage trem ( not short in mids ).
Anyway you know that you can still swap the magnet to have a wide range of p-u available from this one .

 

[fingerace]

Re: most versatile pup

at this point it would be wise to state that the guitar is THIN mahogany, not a big block like a LP... its kind of a strat sized mahogany guitar...

thank you guys for once again...

 

[Frebnedzo]

Re: most versatile pup

I think you should get the Custom Custom and some extra magnets.
Then you can dial up the amount of highs you need to C5 or
Custom.

CC might EQ more naturally with the APH-II neck. But the main
reson I say CC rather than start in the middle with C5 is that
it sounds like the guitar is "wants to be dark but cane out plinky",
like a melody maker or SG. Those guitars can get great blues and
rock tones if you can get rid of the plinkiness.

I would probably split the neck humbucker, but I just like that sort
of tone, especially for blues playing.

 

[fingerace]

Re: most versatile pup

i will actually split the pickups... i plan to do so... the hard part is that i want to get away with the modifications in the pickups... i read about hybrids and them being the ultimate pickups...

but i cannot afford this (testings) since shipping is expensive here... i am leaning towards a C-5 ... it has been proposed many times...

in a way i know that i will have to compromise so i would like to find the "near perfect" pup for me...

I have already posted a request for C-5 clips...

 

[DI_IORIO]

Re: most versatile pup

I would go with the Custom

 

[fingerace]

Re: most versatile pup

i just listened to the PEARLY GATES bridge... that was exactly what i wanted.. i fell in love with it... now this very important question:

Is the sound that i heard from the Duncan website (sound clip) the SAME as in a THIN mahogany guitar with a vintage trem ? or not? :fingersx:

if the answer is yes i am going to buy the guy who told me first a beer! :laugh2:

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: most versatile pup

i just listened to the PEARLY GATES bridge... that was exactly what i wanted.. i fell in love with it... now this very important question:

Is the sound that i heard from the Duncan website (sound clip) the SAME as in a THIN mahogany guitar with a vintage trem ? or not? :fingersx:

if the answer is yes i am going to buy the guy who told me first a beer! :laugh2:

I can only say that my own guitar tone sounds very differant from the tone I hear on the sound clips when I play the exact same pickup. I think the sound clips are useful in pointing out the differences between the various Duncan pickups but I do not think the sound clips should be used for predicting what a pickup will sound like in your guitar.

That said, the PGB would be a nice vintage paf style pickup combined with the Alnico II Pro neck pickup you are thinking of using it with.

But maybe better still would be a set of PG's if you like that tone.

Basically, the PG's have a 50's Gibson alnico 2 PAF tone...and they sound dynamite in most Les Pauls...especially if you already like Billy Gibbons tone.

The PG's are not hot pickups like the Custom, Custom 5 or JB though.

Lew

 

[fingerace]

Re: most versatile pup

i like that tone... alot actually... Tush tone ! Lew, what can you tell me about the distorted tone of a PGB ? how heavy can it get ?

oh, by the way... you won yourself a beer ! :laugh2:

 

[ErikH]

Re: most versatile pup

i like that tone... alot actually... Tush tone ! Lew, what can you tell me about the distorted tone of a PGB ? how heavy can it get ?

oh, by the way... you won yourself a beer ! :laugh2:

In case Lew is offline, I'll chime in.

The PGB can do pretty heavy. IT itself isn't heavy, it's an overwound PAF. But plug it in to a high gain amp and it will sound really nice. The lower output pickups, like the PGB are just hitting the amp lighter than a JB or Custom would, but the difference is, the PGB will be more open, less compressed.

My new rule (it's not new at all really, but one I'm following a bit myself): Use low output pickups and let the amp do the work.

JOLLY has some clips on his Soundclick page of the PGB doing heavy. Very impressive.

 

[Guitar Toad]

Re: most versatile pup

My new rule (it's not new at all really, but one I'm following a bit myself): Use low output pickups and let the amp do the work.

Great rule, Erik.

I've been considering adopting that rule also.