Opinions, info wanted

Re: Opinions, info wanted

My single coils are by the Fender Custom Shop, Seymour Duncan, and Lindy Fralin. So can the magnets be changed in those?
 
Re: Opinions, info wanted

My single coils are by the Fender Custom Shop, Seymour Duncan, and Lindy Fralin. So can the magnets be changed in those?

I would not suggest it. you would have to push the magnets out of the bobbins and replace them. Im sure it could be done. i just wouldnt do it.
 
Re: Opinions, info wanted

We were mainly talking about humbuckers. I haven't read anything yet about single coils.
 
Re: Opinions, info wanted

We were mainly talking about humbuckers. I haven't read anything yet about single coils.

..you really want a Custom 5 my friend. IMO, a C5 is like a higher output Jazz bridge. Should give you more of what you want for high gain and still have good cleans. Now, if you still have that custom, swap the magnet to an A5 magnet and bam, you got a Custom 5.
 
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Re: Opinions, info wanted

Have you given the screaming demon a try? It will have better cleans than the JB but still sound pretty rocking under distortion and it is bright enough for your darker guitar.

To alot of folks, that pickup is as harsh as anything. It is good in the right guitar but, horribly bright and harsh in most guitars.
 
Re: Opinions, info wanted

hmmm I tried a jazz bridge in my guitar and I didn't like it with distortion. Clean it sounded amazing, but with distortion it sounded weird to me. It had great articulation - it felt great to play and for some reason it felt easier. But the power chords sounded bad to me, like synthetic or something. Hard to describe, but it just didn't work for me.

BUT - when I took the A5 out of my JB I did put it in the Custom, and I am going to try it out. I'll be sure to report back.

I'm thinking lately that I want lower output pickups though. But I will be trying the C5 very soon. I was going to try the C8 but everyone says it's like the ultimate hairband pickup and that's what I don't want anymore. I'm guessing the C2 (Custom Custom) will be too loose and bassy for my guitar.

Maybe this guitar is just a dud and nothing it really going to work right. I have considered this. I'm hoping some lower output pickups will be the way to go - when I get some to try.
 
Re: Opinions, info wanted

I would like to hear your unbiased opinion on the differences you find between a JB8 and a C8 if you were so inclined to try the A8 in your custom. I don't care for the JB and when I tried a JB8 I liked it but, I tried the C8 first and fell in love with it.

I don't listen to or play anything I consider "hairband" and while I can certainly get those sounds with my C8, I choose not to. :)
 
Re: Opinions, info wanted

I tried the C8 first and fell in love with it.

As I can see. :)

I'm not super crazy about the JB8 - that's why I'm still searching (plus I'm having fun seeing what all these combinations sound like). But I think it's very usable and I think it's an improvement on the original.

I'll try the C8 and see what's it's like in my guitar and post back in this thread.

What kind of guitar(s) do you have the C8 in?
 
Re: Opinions, info wanted

Well maybe I'll like the C8 since my guitar is all mahogany. I hope I do.
 
Re: Opinions, info wanted

Well just dropped the C5 in and my first impression is that it's a massive improvement - over all JB flavors and the original Custom (in this guitar of course - I still think the JB, JB2 and JB8 could be great in the right guitar). I think if I had gotten a C5 when I first did this build I never would have touched it. Of course I can't know that for sure hehehe. But it definitely clears up just about everything I didn't like about the Custom. It sounds a lot more like what I expected the guitar to sound like in the first place. Bright and clear but smooth like I imagine when I think of a Les Paul.

Now I'm just going to leave this in for a while. I did kind of want to try the C8 but I don't think more power is what I'm looking for. This seems plenty powerful enough. I'm actually starting to think that the C5/59 hybrid is the way to go.
 
Re: Opinions, info wanted

I read that first link super rad ska posted,

http://www.projectguitar.com/tut/barmagswap.htm

and I guess I didn't pay enough attention... doh!

And I don't feel like I'm completely shooting in the dark. I know I need something fairly bright for an all mahogany guitar. I'm fairly happy with the JB. I enjoy playing this guitar a lot more now. I just feel like the JB is so generic sounding so I'm just looking for other ideas.

OK - so I'm thinking if I buy an A2 I can swap that out and take the A5 and put it in the Custom for a different guitar. Worth a try.

Still open to other pickup ideas.

I dont think you told us what kind of neck this guitar has. That can make a huge difference in the tone, as well as the chambered body. Is it Maple or Mahogony? Bolted on or bound?

I think Im familliar with what you are describing here, and I think the clarity under distortion thing you are hearing on this paul copy is actually more of a mid-range thing... These guitars like mid-range heavy microphones...err..pickups.... because the guitars themselves put out quite a bit of mirange due to the wood thickness and the response of the mahogony. I personally like the Custom for distorted chords in my SG but the fact that this guitar is chambered might explain why the bottom end wasnt as snappy/crunchy as you would like. It also could have definatly been an issue where the pickup was not close enough to the strings. I personally set em as close as I can without the pole pieces touching the strings when I fret the last fret on the board before I get to the neck pickup. Think of it like a microphone. Your going to hear more nuances of your voice the closer you put the mic to your mouth. Pickups work the same way.

If the Custom was too much for you but your looking for a bit more punch than a jazz, you might consider a Pearly Gates bridge or a Screamin Demon. Both have a hotter vintage type character with plenty of top end, but enough mid-range to keep your chords tight. The PG is definatly hot vintage, but the Screamin Demon is starting to come out of vintage and head in the progressive HB direction. It's definatly cooler than a Custom series wind and still a vintagey character.

Remember there is compromise in every pickup. You have to decide what you can live with and what you can live without. Then find a pickup that can do what you cant live without.

Also, it might not be found in a humbucker.... Just a thought. I recently discovered the glorious tone of P90's. A super fat gibson designed single coil that its jangly clean and tightens ou the more gain you feed it. Its got twice the magnet power and is hotter a hotter sound than most traditional gibson PAF's. But, there is a trade off....they hum... Also, the cleans are not the best Ive heard but they do what I want them to for heavier, raw, rock and roll. Crunchy, punchy, grinding mids that doesnt flub out and jangles when you back the volume off. I love em.
 
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Re: Opinions, info wanted

I would be doing it with single coils. Is there an article that deals with single coils?

Hey Three fifty Sev- I understand there was an article on here a while back and the concensus was that because the windings are wrapped directly around the magnet poles, it would be too risky to do this on true Fender Single Coils without breaking a winding in the process.
 
Re: Opinions, info wanted

I dont think you told us what kind of neck this guitar has. That can make a huge difference in the tone, as well as the chambered body. Is it Maple or Mahogony? Bolted on or bound?

well I did say that it was all mahogany - -and it's a Warmoth, so it's a bolt on neck.

not sure if you stopped reading after the post you quoted - but I found a great pickup for the guitar - one that I can be very happy with. The C5. It cures all the problems of the Custom for me, for this guitar. Of course, I'm not through experimenting, but I know if nothing else sounds better I can go back to the C5 and be very happy with it. I think I might like something less hot, so I'm heading in that direction.
 
Re: Opinions, info wanted

for giggles, i'd be curious how a PG set sounds in that guitar ... also, a 59 in the neck will mate up with the C5 bridge with EXCELLENT results
 
Re: Opinions, info wanted

well I'm pretty happy with the Jazz neck - so I have no plans to mess with that. It's just been the bridge position that never sounded good to me.

I'm not sure that pickups with A2 magnets are what I want. Seems to make the low end too spongy - but I haven't tried a PG so I don't how it would be. I'm sure I'll acquire one someday.

I want to try a '59 next and a 59/C5 hybrid - just for the fun of doing it.
 
Re: Opinions, info wanted

Last night I made a '59/C5 hybrid and put it in the LP. I think this is the one I'm going to keep in. Played a little bit with it today and I'm pretty impressed. It seems like it has all the characteristics of the C5 that I like, but with some added flavor that's hard to describe. So far I really like it. It sounds great no matter what kind of amp type settings I try (I have a Fender Cyber Deluxe). I think it may just be the perfect LP bridge pickup - at least for this guitar and my ears.

Now I have another hybrid sitting around - what should I do with that one? hehehe.
 
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