Review of Custom-4 humbucker in Strat

[StrangeDay]

***THIS REVIEW WILL COMPARE THE C-4 TO A CC IN A STRAT BRIDGE***

The Guitar: Fender fat Strat Texas Special w/ Maple Neck. Alder body (?)

The Amp: Fender Twin Reverb reissue (mid 90's ?)


Yesterday, I switched the magnet in my CC to an Alnico 4. Here are the things I noticed in this order:

1: Right when I plugged into my Twin Reverb, the cleans BLEW ME AWAY!
Man, they were so beautiful sounding! The sound (highs/mids/lows) was so well balanced.
The highs were more pronounced and very jangly with no harshness at all.
The mids, ofcourse, were not as apparent as they were in the CC. But there still seemed to be enough.
But the lows are what really stood out for me! The bass is much tighter than the CC. After hitting a chord, there was less "sloppyness" IT felt like the bass hit stronger, but ended faster responding to my hand better when I wanted to mute anything.

So after being stuck on the cleans for a while, I switched on the RAT distortion.
There was a little more Twanginess added, ofcourse, which I really liked. It gave the high notes a bit more of a vocal quality.
But when I played the A,D, and G strings, I really started to miss those MIDS! Man, that CC used to rip through much better on those lower strings for solos. But this A4 magnet sounded just a bit too scooped for me. It just didn't seem to cut through enough. But remember - I was used to the CC. You might prefer the A4 magnet over the A2.

After the RAT, I switched on the Vox Valve-tone overdrive. This pedal always seemed very mid-rangy to me (that's a good thing). But sometimes, since I was using a very middy pup, the mids seemed just a bit harsh. Now with the C-4, again, the sound was more balanced and made the Valve-tone sounds smoother, taking away just a bit of those mids.

I then switched on my boss Digital Delay (DD-5) and beleive it or not, the repeats sounded better because of the tight bass response.

In conclusion, I think that the A3 magnet will be the perfect match for the sound I want. I should receive it in the mail in about a week or so, then I'll compare again. Hope this review made sense to you.

-Greg

 

[Jeff_H]

Greg -

Great review. I have an A4 mag just taking up space on the frig right now until I decide where and when to use it....and when I find the time. I've thought about throwing it in my APH II bridge and making it an APH IV. I've also thought about converting the CC in my double fat strat to the C4.

You really didn't speak too much about the high frequency response. The harsh highs are the main reasons I've stayed away from A5's and Ceramic magnets....I don't like the in your face, icepicky highs. How does the change in these high notes differ...if any? I love the lead tone the CC has in my strat, but feel it would benefit from tighter lows.

Thanks again for the review

 

[jeremy]

sounds very interesting, especially since i have a twin and a valve tone. thanks for the review

 

[StrangeDay]

...You really didn't speak too much about the high frequency response. The harsh highs are the main reasons I've stayed away from A5's and Ceramic magnets....I don't like the in your face, icepicky highs. How does the change in these high notes differ...if any? I love the lead tone the CC has in my strat, but feel it would benefit from tighter lows.

Thanks again for the review

Yes, I wish the CC had tighter lows too. I actually put it in my Telecaster's bridge and have been playing it all afternoon until about 11 pm, comparing it to the C-4 in my Strat bridge.

Here is all I notice about the highs in the C-4 compared to the CC.
First, like I said, the CC cuts though more on the thicker gauge strings for solos. I used to love playing slow hand riffs on the D and G strings the best with the CC. The tone was so good because the notes really stood out.
Now, on those higher thinner gauge strings, I always felt that the CC could have sounded a little more agressive. By that I mean, I thought it could always use more squawk to accentuante the picking attack - especially on the high E string. Those high notes always seemed to maintain that "round" characteristic, so I had to boost the Valve-tone at the most trebly setting when I wanted to get those agressive highs and squawks for solos.

The C-4 is less middy than the CC, but not as scooped as the C-5. I used to have a C-5 in a Schecter, but that guitar is long gone now so unfortunately I cannnot compare side to side, but the C-4 does defifnitely have a little more mids than the C-5 from what I remember.

So, the C-4 added a little more twang, squawk, and vocal characteristic on the highs, but they are not too harsh (like that damned PG + )
Now, on the thicker gauge strings, the vocal squawk just isn't there like it was with the CC. But the C-4 still sounds good, not too scooped. Maybe you should try the Alnico 3? Still wouldn't hurt you to try the A 4. I think you should. You might really like it. I was starting to fall for it today
Hope that helps.

 

[Lewguitar]

I think that is a very accurate review. To my ears these are the tendencies I have observed:

a4 gives more mids than a5.
a2 give more mids than a4 or a5.

a4 gives more bass than a2
a4 gives tighter bass than a5
a5 give more bass than a2 or a4

a5 has the most extended and glassiest highs of the three
a2 has the least glassy highs
a4 is brighter than a2 but not quite as bright as a5

a5 gives superior note separation to a2.

a4 gives superior note separation to either a2 or a5.

This superior note separation from a4 can be a good thing if you're a single coil player looking for a clearer tone from a neck humbucker. Conversely, a4 can sound "harsh" and "stringy" to those players who are predominantly humbucker players and who prefer the slightly bassy, muddy tone of most neck humbuckers over single coils.

It hard for me to believe that these diffs are all just due to differant strengths of the magnetic field between the three types of magnets...but maybe. I'm not a scientist...just a 54 year old guitar player with worn out ears.

Lew

 

[StrangeDay]

Lew knows his stuff.

The only thing left to try is the A3.

I heard the A5 before in the bridge "Tex-mex" humbucker on the MIM Fat-Strat . I remember that being a great sounding pup. But I imagine the A5 would produce a glassier tone in a Seymour Duncan Custom pup. I absolutely hated the Pearly Gates Plus in the MIA Fat-Strat.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Review of Custom-4 humbucker in Strat

I think that is a very accurate review. To my ears these are the tendencies I have observed:

a4 gives more mids than a5.
a2 give more mids than a4 or a5.

a4 gives more bass than a2
a4 gives tighter bass than a5
a5 give more bass than a2 or a4

a5 has the most extended and glassiest highs of the three
a2 has the least glassy highs
a4 is brighter than a2 but not quite as bright as a5

a5 gives superior note separation to a2.

a4 gives superior note separation to either a2 or a5.

That's the best summary of the differences I've heard yet. We must have similar ears, cause I have now used all of those magnets in a Custom pickup,
and have to agree 100%. I think the Custom 5 is still my favorite, but
the Custom 4 sounds real good in my honeyflame LP's bridge position.
I'm done buying pickups, for now, but the next pickup I use will be the
Custom 3 (Alnico 3 mag).