SD ceramic neck pickups?

I

Inflames626

New member
Hey guys,
1) Does SD make a ceramic neck pickup similar to an EMG 60? The only one I can think of is the Distortion neck humbucker, which I've never tried.

The Jazz seems least warm of all the Duncan neck Alnicos to me, but it is still very warm compared to an EMG 60. I'm thinking anything warmer than a 59 (which I also haven't tried) wouldn't match well in a bridge Distortion equipped axe. So since I'm used to an EMG 60 (18 volt) bright neck kind of sound, I thought I would see if Seymour has any bright neck pups.

I am kind of split on neck humbucker sounds. As I play metal, I like a ceramic neck magnet for stereo chorus/Roland JC120 bright clean type stuff, but I like a PAF for warm cleans and Dave Murray (Iron Maiden) type solos (I'm aware that he has used DiMarzio PAFs and PAF Pros, among a lot of other stuff, for years).

Also, after years of EMGs, of what I've tried so far with Duncan passives, I love the Jazz more than any SD pickup that I have tried. I think it is much better neck pickup than the JB is a bridge pickup.

I love the Distortion too, but it's a bit brittle in the highs, so I'm thinking about trying the Alt 8s as people have suggested (I find Alnico 5s to be a bit too bassy for metal without dialing them in, although I'll often use them on the left side of the mix or as a rhythm guitar with a ceramic pup on the right and on the lead guitar).

2) Would a Jazz be a good match for the Alt 8, or do I need to go warmer (a 59, Lover, or Alnico Pro II) to offset the Alt 8's mellowed highs?

I'd much rather have to overdrive a mellow pickup than clean up an overwound one. This is why some of my choices are relatively low output, and also why I don't choose Invaders, which I find to be bassy and lacking clarity.

Guitars here are Japanese Jackson Floyd Rose imports--poplar/alder, rosewood, maple neck. Pretty neutral as far as tone wood.

Thanks.
 
Re: SD ceramic neck pickups?

My general thought....

#1 I'd go with a PAF/SuperDistortion; But since you are asking about Duncans

#2 I'd go with a 59/Distortion, and not be afraid to either;
- Use the tone knob, that's why it's there
- Install a 250k pot on the bridge tone

#3 The Duncan Custom is a great Ceramic pup, with a very PAF style curve/sound (on Steriods - lots of them)

#4 If you are willing to Swap magnets, I think the JB 8 may do what you want., A Jazz/JB8 combo may also work very well.

Jazz/Distortion, Jazz/Custom, Jazz/JB8 would all be good IMO. I just prefer the 59/PG in the neck.
 
Last edited:
Re: SD ceramic neck pickups?

Oh yeah

1) Don't know the 60 well enough to say, but I'm guessing no

2) I can't think of a pup the Jazz wouldn't go with, but would guess it would be good with any A8
 
Re: SD ceramic neck pickups?

I use a Distortion neck pickup (I beleive it used to be the Seymourizer II or something) in my Les Paul, and it is a very good, bright, and clear pickup. I can't really say how it compares to an EMG 60 since I've never tried one, but I don't think you'd be disappointed with the Sh-6n.
 
Re: SD ceramic neck pickups?

The hot rails neck is a bit like the EMG60, passive obviously.
 
Re: SD ceramic neck pickups?

Keep in mind that a beefy magnet in the neck will have a lot of string-pull which dampens sustain and may give you "Strat-itis".
 
Re: SD ceramic neck pickups?

Neck pickup non- ceramic suggestions:

Jazz bridge: more output with more warmth than the Jazz Neck.
Screamin' Demon more output / more bite (round off highs by using tone knob, may also want to swap out Cap value to tame highs as well)
 
Re: SD ceramic neck pickups?

Thanks for the advice everyone. Was glad to see Izzo reply to one of my threads. Almost all of his advice from other threads has been good, and anyone who has Booger as an avatar is a cool dude. :)

Some thoughts. I'll address these in reverse order. Sorry about the length. I want to address any questions anybody may raise without them having to ask.

1) Black Winter: I've yet to hear any samples of these that haven't been heavily processed in an SD promo. I've talked to Keith Merrow a few times and he seems like a very cool dude of the Dethklok generation. But he and Ola Englund also have surged to popularity more on their YouTube gear demonstrations than with their music. With all respect to them, I'd rather wait and see if BW stands the test of time, shall we say, and also to wait for the market to find more consensus. Way too many pickups are marketed because they have cool artwork and because they are "extreme," not because they sound right for the application.

I'm not the biggest black metal fan either. I find the tones to usually be thin, the guitars tuned higher than you would otherwise think, and the saturation to be dialed back to get a lo fi sound that has enough clarity to bring out the diminished chords often used in black metal. But this is coming from me, an old 90s Gothenburg death metal fan. It's going to take more than cool promos for me to believe in a new pickup line.

Also, for my extreme metal/scooping, I'm finding that standard Blackouts are my go to pups. I've tried the Mick Thomson's too, but they're a little bit shrill to my ears. I have them in a C standard axe, which is probably a little high for their intended purpose, and a lower tuning would balance them out more, since they're designed to clean up low tunings. I would like to try Blackout Metals, but I'm afraid they'd just be active Invaders.

2) Audiocheck, I've thought about trying out a Demon, which sounds a lot like a Full Shred to me based on the samples. I didn't know they made a Jazz for the bridge?

3) Zhangliqun, spot on advice on neck magnets. I have been going vintage lately and put in a set of Gibson 57s/57s+. I was surprised at how well do metal in Pod Farm 2.5, although the harmonics are a bit tough to get on the bridge. The neck pup has a lot of sustain due to the weaker magnets and vintage windings. Those bends on the Classic always "woo," but it also seems very bright, almost Tele-ish split. I wish it had more overtones like the Jazz.

I'm *definitely* going vintage on bass tones, as I tend to prefer a warm, fat, clear Fender type sound to offset active guitars with a lot of attack. I was much happier with the Fender 62 P Bass reissue than the Basslines SPB3s.

4) Nacho, I was a bit concerned that a Distortion in the neck would be a little too hot and shrill in the highs, I guess.

5) Rand, I've thought about using a JB in the neck. Unfortunately, it's trem spaced. I'm considering putting my JB into a Dinky with SSLs so I can get a Les Paul type sound (which I consider the JB to be due to the flabby bottom) and a vintage Strat from the same axe. Also preferring vintage true singles, as I find hum cancelling ones to be too sterile with no dynamics.

6) Aceman, I think I'll like the SD too once I get around to trying it. It seems more aggressive in the mids than the JB with a lot of pick dynamics (I think Khriss Bliss called it a "chewy sound") in the upper registers.

I mainly make choices depending upon the number of holes in the guitar body. Actives usually go in single pot guitars since they don't need fancy wiring.

With passives, I almost always get rid of the tone knob because I never use it (hard to dial in an exact sound on a tone knob when recording vs. dialing in an amp) and I want to be able to split each pickup independently. I usually get a parallel split sound without having to wire them in parallel by wiring them up like a Jazz bass. I can then put them into parallel by flicking the toggle in the middle, splitting the pup, and turning down the pup I don't want.

Combinations I've thought about that you've mentioned: 59/JB, 59/Custom 5 (Custom would seem a bit bright and overwound in the bridge, maybe?). Ultimately, I need to decide how much I truly like a PAF type sound. Sometimes they seem really clean, bright, and biting, and other times they're very warm, even muddy.

Not brave enough yet to do magnet swaps, guys.

Still love the EMGs in 18 volts, btw. Just branching out and I don't want to get rid of my old stuff. A lot of it is block lettered and hardwired--relatively vintage. And, so many pickup swaps begin to use up your wire length you have left. And most of my guitars have Floyds. Very time consuming to do swaps.

I often look at pickup EQ curves in my DAW, which creates some interesting results. A lot of people think EMGs sound good because they're supposed to be hot and cut through a mix. But the reality is they're pretty quiet, the highs and lows are rolled off to an extreme, and the EQ is bumped up around 2-2.5k, which gives them that crunch so many people love. They sit nicely in the mix because they're all mids. But it also limits dynamics and puts in that EMG color that isn't always desired. Hence my going to Blackouts with their wider response and fuller bottom for anything lower than D standard.

Thanks for the help. :)
 
Last edited:
Re: SD ceramic neck pickups?

Inflames626 said:
2) Audiocheck, I've thought about trying out a Demon, which sounds a lot like a Full Shred to me based on the samples. I didn't know they made a Jazz for the bridge?
Click to expand...

Full Shred Bridge compared to Screamin' Demon: I have had both of these in the bridge of Les Pauls. The FS is Stiffer (more compressed) and Fatter sounding than the SD. The SD is way more open sounding with an upper midrange grind. SD is very much on par with a PAF in feel and dynamics, just EQ'd a bit brighter. The Full shred Bridge in the neck position, I am not sure of. I did have a FS Neck in the Neck position and that was a decent sounding Neck Pickup. Think 59 with much more fat mids, less scooped. The Jazz neck is a much more exciting Neck PU to me.
 
Re: SD ceramic neck pickups?

Also, when getting magnets for switching out to make a JB8, is there anything I should be aware of besides getting an Alnico 8? Any certain brand or magnet or size?
 
Re: SD ceramic neck pickups?

I'd say a Black Winter bridge and Pearly Gates Bridge model in the neck.

The Black Winter should be pretty balanced, similar in power to the Distortion but more balanced in the EQ I'd say. You should have no problem playing Death Metal with it, and if you buy it new, there is the SD 21-day exchange policy if you're not too sure about it. The Pearly Gates Bridge model is plenty bright and has both great cleans and drive sounds.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top