Newbie..Need help matching neck pup to Duncan Distortion bridge

D

dehanson1

New member
Newbie here.

Hoping to go to school on some of you more experienced pick up experimenters.

I am putting a Duncan Distortion in a Gibson SG Standard all mahogany. I am looking to match a neck pick up for it. Playing through a tube amp that gets good classic rock/blues distortion and will be using a pedal to get heavier distortion for the metal stuff. I am trying to get a variety of sounds through my set up from old school 80s metal to hard rock, blues, and would love to get some beautiful cleans too.

Ive been pondering a few neck pups such as. 1.) Pearly gates neck 2.) Jazz sh2 neck 3.) 59 sh1 neck

Which neck pup would you prefer with the Duncan Distortion bridge and why. Id appreciate any and all input from your experience with these combos and if there are any other neck pups to recommend please share...

Thanks to all!

DH
 
Re: Newbie..Need help matching neck pup to Duncan Distortion bridge

Depends on your preferences. Do you want a warm, fat neck tone (PG) or a brighter, scooped sound ('59 and Jazz)? If you're using a lot of distortion with your Distortion(!), you may want a brighter, clearer neck tone that doesn't get muddy as quickly.
 
Re: Newbie..Need help matching neck pup to Duncan Distortion bridge

I do like the JB in the neck, wired with a push-pull to put it in parallel for cleans. I have one in a couple of my JacksonStars NASLs, which are all-mahogany Superlight Soloists with rosewood boards, similar in weight to the two '70s SGs I've had.

You may also consider a P-Rail in the neck, with a TripleShot to handle the switching/splitting. I had a set of those in a Jackson SLS3 and really liked them in it.
Cleans could get very jangly when split to the rail.
 
Re: Newbie..Need help matching neck pup to Duncan Distortion bridge

dehanson1 said:
Thanks, yeah that sounds like a good route...will the distortion neck do clean? Blues?

Thanks
Click to expand...

It can do clean, and does blues pretty well. It's not voiced like most neck humbuckers I've heard. It's got more highs, less mids and bass, and its kind of compressed. You won't get a very convincing "woman" tone, but it does cut through a mix really well, and it does really well as an actual rhythm pickup. I have been using one in my Les Paul for about two years, and it's served me well playing mostly hard rock, and metal. For less aggressive music, I might want something like a PG, 59, or APH-2.
 
Re: Newbie..Need help matching neck pup to Duncan Distortion bridge

Nacho8807 said:
It can do clean, and does blues pretty well. It's not voiced like most neck humbuckers I've heard. It's got more highs, less mids and bass, and its kind of compressed. You won't get a very convincing "woman" tone, but it does cut through a mix really well, and it does really well as an actual rhythm pickup. I have been using one in my Les Paul for about two years, and it's served me well playing mostly hard rock, and metal. For less aggressive music, I might want something like a PG, 59, or APH-2.
Click to expand...

Pardon my ignorance but what is a "woman" tone??....
 
Re: Newbie..Need help matching neck pup to Duncan Distortion bridge

Well, I play a bit of older metal..80s stuff, I also play some electric delta blues type stuff, along with a little classic rock and Id like to get some good clean tones as well. My amp has a good clean sound, good blues distortion and good classic rock distortion. Ill be getting heavier distortion out of a distortion box.

Ive read that the pearly gates pup is for "brighter" guitars...I wouldn't call the sg a bright guitar. What is a pearly gates neck pup gonna sound like in sg classic?

Thanks
 
Re: Newbie..Need help matching neck pup to Duncan Distortion bridge

The Distortion neck works great for nearly anything. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend putting it in anything besides my particular Les Paul, for some reason. It just didn't work there regardless of what magnet I tried. In my PRS, though, it's magical and splits beautifully.
 
Re: Newbie..Need help matching neck pup to Duncan Distortion bridge

I agree with Dr. Newcenstein that a JB/Distortion combo would be interesting. I like the JB better in the neck than in the bridge. It also sounds neat split.

Here are some sound samples of a TB 4 (JB) in the neck. My only complaint is the wider spacing made the high E a little quiet.

https://soundcloud.com/devolve1980/jb-neck

The Jazz is a better match for the Distortion, IMO, unless you deliberately want two pickups that are far apart tonally. The 59n didn't impress me much relative to other contenders like the PGB, which I only took out because it wouldn't clean up completely in the neck for me.
 
Re: Newbie..Need help matching neck pup to Duncan Distortion bridge

Inflames626 said:
I agree with Dr. Newcenstein that a JB/Distortion combo would be interesting. I like the JB better in the neck than in the bridge. It also sounds neat split.

Here are some sound samples of a TB 4 (JB) in the neck. My only complaint is the wider spacing made the high E a little quiet.

https://soundcloud.com/devolve1980/jb-neck

The Jazz is a better match for the Distortion, IMO, unless you deliberately want two pickups that are far apart tonally. The 59n didn't impress me much relative to other contenders like the PGB, which I only took out because it wouldn't clean up completely in the neck for me.
Click to expand...

Interesting, yes the jazz sounds like I may like the clean part of it but I wonder if its heavy/dirty enough for blues and metal?

So sounds like its between the distortion neck, jazz neck and the 59 neck.....that's interesting about the jb in the neck Ill investigate that further...

Thanks
 
Re: Newbie..Need help matching neck pup to Duncan Distortion bridge

dehanson1 said:
Interesting, yes the jazz sounds like I may like the clean part of it but I wonder if its heavy/dirty enough for blues and metal?

So sounds like its between the distortion neck, jazz neck and the 59 neck.....that's interesting about the jb in the neck Ill investigate that further...

Thanks
Click to expand...

Yes it is. I used a Jazz in the neck before I switched to a 59 for my own reasons. With a good dirt pedal, it can get the blues part done right. As for the metal...

 
Re: Newbie..Need help matching neck pup to Duncan Distortion bridge

I don't think there's a problem with a Jazz pickup sound not being hot enough in metal. It's more important that you get the insane bridge/crystal clean neck contrast done traditionally so well by the Jazz/JB and EMG 60/81 combos.

My main complaint against the 59 is that it is very bass heavy and does not cut through on the top end like the Jazz. But, a lot of people don't like the Jazz because they find it too bland and flat.

Something else to consider is what you plan to do with your neck pickup. Most guys in metal, me included, prefer to solo from the bridge and use the neck for cleans.

Where it gets more complicated is if you want to play warm cleans and solo from the neck. In that case you'll need a bit higher output neck pickup. But, a warm, "pushed" neck sound for distorted leads may not clean up as well as a less hot pickup. Getting this without getting muddy is key. Dave Murray's solo tones in Iron Maiden come to mind as far as a "hot" neck sound, but to my knowledge he's used stuff more along vintage lines (at various times Duncans and also DiMarzio vintage PAF and PAF Pro models).

My most important concern is clarity and definition. So I always try shoot for a slightly less hot pickup than what I think I'll need, and then use the amp if I need to dial in more of something. It would be easier for me to get more warmth from a Jazz with the amp, for example, than to make a 59 more articulate.

In these modern times of almost endless tone shaping in plugins and gear that alters tone later in the signal chain, I'd rather not be put into a straitjacket by a pickup voicing that I don't like. For that reason, I prefer a very flat, articulate pickup as a base line for tone and to add in color with the amp. You may disagree and, as always, your mileage may vary.
 
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Re: Newbie..Need help matching neck pup to Duncan Distortion bridge

Inflames626 said:
I don't think there's a problem with a Jazz pickup sound in metal. It's more important that you get the insane bridge/crystal clean neck contrast done traditionally so well by the Jazz/JB and EMG 60/81 combos.

A lot of people don't like the Jazz because they find it too bland and flat.

Where it gets more complicated is if you want a warm, "pushed" neck sound like a hot neck sound for distortion that may not clean up as well as a less hot pickup. Getting this without getting muddy is key. Dave Murray's solo tones in Iron Maiden come to mind as far as a "hot" neck sound, but to my knowledge he's used stuff more along vintage lines (at various times Duncans and also DiMarzio vintage PAF and PAF Pro models).

My most important concern is clarity and definition. So I always try shoot for a slightly less hot pickup than what I think I'll need, and then use the amp if I need to dial in more of something. It would be easier for me to get more warmth from a Jazz with the amp, for example, than to make a 59 more articulate.
Click to expand...

Yes, but the EQ curve of the pickup itself has a lot to do with the sound. I was very happy with the Jazz neck in my Ibanez; it was articulate, clean, clear, and it could yield warm tones when eq'ed right. However, the *character* is still flat. You can play with your effects and your amp to fatten up the jazz, but it will still sound flat and bland.

Funny thing is that flatness and blandness works great for cleans.
 
Re: Newbie..Need help matching neck pup to Duncan Distortion bridge

A lot of "character" is about touch and pick attack that an amp, true, can't always supply. If the pickup doesn't react in a way you expect, it will actually affect your playing.

I played the 59n for about 5 mins and I knew it wasn't for me. I played with a Full Shred set for about 2 hours.

Sometimes the magic just happens like that.
 
Re: Newbie..Need help matching neck pup to Duncan Distortion bridge

Inflames626 said:
A lot of "character" is about touch and pick attack that an amp, true, can't always supply. If the pickup doesn't react in a way you expect, it will actually affect your playing.

I played the 59n for about 5 mins and I knew it wasn't for me. I played with a Full Shred set for about 2 hours.

Sometimes the magic just happens like that.
Click to expand...

Exactly. And what's funny is that the same combos we like don't always react the same way in similar guitars. It's as if the character of that pickup and the tone it produces partly depends on our expectation of the guitar.
 
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