Question from new forum member

happy raisin

happy raisin

New member
Hi everybody. I have been looking at this forum for quite a while, and have learned quite a bit from reading the things here. This forum seems like a great resource for information, and I am pretty excited to finally be a part of it.

The question I have is pretty simple. My main guitar has a set of Duncan Designed HB-102s in it, which I know are based on the JB bridge and Jazz neck. How close do the Duncan Designeds sound to the real thing? Although they seem to be pretty good to me, I have been contemplating putting the "real" Hot Rodded Humbucker set for a while, and I'm just wondering if they will sound like better versions of the pickups that are already in there. Thanks in advance for your help:)
 
Re: Question from new forum member

Welcome to the Forums.
In my opinion putting the "real" set in will be like taking cotton out of your ears. :)
 
Re: Question from new forum member

Thanks bluesbend. Would you consider this difference significant enough to justify the upgrade?
 
Re: Question from new forum member

bluesbend said:
Welcome to the Forums.
In my opinion putting the "real" set in will be like taking cotton out of your ears. :)
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And in my opinion, you might as well flush you money down the toilet.

I compared a DD102 and a real TB4 in very similar guitars and they sounded the same. I sold the TB4 and kept the DD.

I have a DD103 set in a Jackson Kelly and love the sound of it.

But lets face it. Some people have to have that fancy name on the front of their pickups. Placebo effect.
 
Re: Question from new forum member

DonP said:
And in my opinion, you might as well flush you money down the toilet.

I compared a DD102 and a real TB4 in very similar guitars and they sounded the same. I sold the TB4 and kept the DD.

I have a DD103 set in a Jackson Kelly and love the sound of it.

But lets face it. Some people have to have that fancy name on the front of their pickups. Placebo effect.
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Oh ok. The DD102 set seems to be a pretty good set in this guitar, I was just wondering how much better the pickups they were based on would sound. My friend has an sh4 in his guitar and it sounds very good.
 
Re: Question from new forum member

Hey welcome! (BTW you're not officially in until you have LL as your first freind so all is well!)

Having had a few of those tempest customs I'd say your money would be better spent on duncans for the squire(assuming you like the way it plays) It will definitely benefit more from the upgrade! Lotsa guys on here buy squires just to put duncans in!
 
Re: Question from new forum member

elscorcho said:
Hey welcome! (BTW you're not officially in until you have LL as your first freind so all is well!)

Having had a few of those tempest customs I'd say your money would be better spent on duncans for the squire(assuming you like the way it plays) It will definitely benefit more from the upgrade! Lotsa guys on here buy squires just to put duncans in!
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Hmm yeah that makes sense. I'm actually quite on the fence about the squier. It plays decently and I've thought about doing just what you suggest. However, I have been saving up to buy another tempest custom, which I would have set up for a different tuning. I was originally going to do this to the tempest I have now but I realized that I like this tempest quite a bit as it is in standard tuning. Getting another tempest custom for the other tuning would be like having two of the same guitar but in different tunings, which would be good because I like this one so much. I have been debating whether I should upgrade the squier or sell it to at least partially aid in getting the second tempest. I like the tempest quite a bit more than the squier, so I am currently leaning towards selling it, but I am open to suggestions towards either course of action.
 
Re: Question from new forum member

I've never owned Duncan Designed pickups in a guitar; they seem decent enough for what you pay for the guitar, though. I've bought guitars with OEM Seymour Duncans, and I've put them in as after-market upgrades. Worth it in all cases.
 
Re: Question from new forum member

Jessie Sammler said:
I've never owned Duncan Designed pickups in a guitar; they seem decent enough for what you pay for the guitar, though. I've bought guitars with OEM Seymour Duncans, and I've put them in as after-market upgrades. Worth it in all cases.
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This also makes sense. My friend who has the actual JB put it in a guitar that was not as good as mine that had ridiculously bad stock pickups in it, and it sounded much better afterwards. Then again, the pickup that he started out with was much worse than the DD102 that I have, so this might be why it sounded so much better. I don't really dislike the DD102, I'm just thinking whether or not i'll like the JB and the Jazz better.
 
Re: Question from new forum member

Also, when only the neck pickup is selected, it makes this kind of staticky noise that the bridge pickup doesn't. It's very subtle, but I can tell it's there. Is there a possibility that this pickup has gone microphonic?
 
Re: Question from new forum member

There's a reason why high quality PU's cost more. Better materials, better workmanship, and the clarity, depth, and definition is much better. If you play with tons of distortion and effects, you may not notice much difference. But play clean or with a moderate amount of overdrive, and there's a huge difefrence. I've had many cheap Asian PU's in the numerous mid-priced guitars I've bought over the years, including Duncan Designed, and none of them are like 'the real thing.' There is no substitute for quality. If you've only played cheap PU's, you don't know what you're missing (been thru this myself). If price is an issue, buy them used online, often for around half price.
 
Re: Question from new forum member

happy raisin said:
Also, when only the neck pickup is selected, it makes this kind of staticky noise that the bridge pickup doesn't. It's very subtle, but I can tell it's there. Is there a possibility that this pickup has gone microphonic?
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while i don't disagree that you'd quite likely hear a difference in a US-made seymour duncan set, this issue is much more likely to be caused by a crappy switch or connection outside the pickup.

how's your wiring skills..?
 
Re: Question from new forum member

blueman335 said:
There's a reason why high quality PU's cost more. Better materials, better workmanship, and the clarity, depth, and definition is much better. If you play with tons of distortion and effects, you may not notice much difference. But play clean or with a moderate amount of overdrive, and there's a huge difefrence. I've had many cheap Asian PU's in the numerous mid-priced guitars I've bought over the years, including Duncan Designed, and none of them are like 'the real thing.' There is no substitute for quality. If you've only played cheap PU's, you don't know what you're missing (been thru this myself). If price is an issue, buy them used online, often for around half price.
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Oh ok. Price is not really an issue because I could easily save up for the real JB or even the whole set. The DD set will be staying in for a while whether i decide to replace them or not, and for now they are good enough, but I will probably replace them sooner or later. Thanks for the suggestions so far guys:)
 
Re: Question from new forum member

dr. ad said:
while i don't disagree that you'd quite likely hear a difference in a US-made seymour duncan set, this issue is much more likely to be caused by a crappy switch or connection outside the pickup.

how's your wiring skills..?
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Oh ok. I haven't done any wiring myself, but from what I've read on here, it doesn't seem to be that hard, and my friend who installed his JB knows how to wire so I could either have him teach me or have him do it.
 
Re: Question from new forum member

DonP said:
And in my opinion, you might as well flush you money down the toilet.

I compared a DD102 and a real TB4 in very similar guitars and they sounded the same. I sold the TB4 and kept the DD.

I have a DD103 set in a Jackson Kelly and love the sound of it.

But lets face it. Some people have to have that fancy name on the front of their pickups. Placebo effect.
Click to expand...




I've bought and used Duncan Designed pickups in the past. (Buckshots & Great White Snarks) mY opinion of them is that they are on par with GFS stuff.
Your ears are the only ones that will answer your question.

You'll also find alot of varying opinions here. Like the one by the pinhead I quoted.
 
Re: Question from new forum member

WHATSUP HOMIE

I'm Glenn. In my opinion man, there's nothing like a set of duncans. If you can, purchase the JB Jazz set, or save up to.
 
Re: Question from new forum member

Normally I'd advise you to upgrade, however usually on the lower end guitars that those Duncan designed pickups come equipped with, theres really little to no point in doing so. You've got really crappy lumber, cruddy electronics and a POS bridge, along with usually a poorly fitting and badly finished neck. Might as well just scrap the whole thing and start all over. Nothing wrong with making due with what you have..Just keep your guitar for what it is, and look towards buying a better instrument in the long run..
You didn't actually say what guitar you have, but If you have a very good guitar to begin with,a then you'll benefit from a lot of upgrades, and you'll definitely you'll see a dramatic improvement in tone upgrading to good Duncans.
 
Re: Question from new forum member

happy raisin said:
My main guitar has a set of Duncan Designed HB-102s in it, which I know are based on the JB bridge and Jazz neck. How close do the Duncan Designeds sound to the real thing? Although they seem to be pretty good to me, I have been contemplating putting the "real" Hot Rodded Humbucker set for a while, and I'm just wondering if they will sound like better versions of the pickups that are already in there. Thanks in advance for your help:)
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You'll get a better result changing the harness with good quality wire/pots/caps than changing the p'ups using the same crappy parts. If that set sounds good enough already, start with changing the guts.

DD are good quality p'ups... they're good for magnet swapping. I bet they'll sound excellent with an A4 magnet for the neck and an A8 for the bridge, specially if you're into heavy rock and/or metal.

You didn't say anything 'bout the guitar they're in; we need that info to be able to make an educated guess.
 
Re: Question from new forum member

Oh ok well the guitar is a Schecter Tempest Custom that looks exactly like the one here. It's not a bad guitar at all. I will definitely look into the magnet swapping, as I have read on here that that isn't too hard to learn either, and the JB8 has recieved a bit of praise here, and i would assume that a DD102 bridge with an Alnico 8 would sound pretty similar. Is this true?
 
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