Seymour Duncan Distortion for 80's hard rock?

[zeppelinpage4]

Re: Seymour Duncan Distortion for 80's hard rock?


The other one people might recommend for this tone would be the Custom, which is more along the lines of a SuperD with a bit less output, a bit less mids, and a lot more top-end. The old Carvin M22SD would probably be a great choice, if you can find one -- they've been discontinued, (which is unfortunate, it's one of my favorite bridge pickups ever). A dark-horse candidate might be the Pegasus -- dryer and clearer than you'd associate with the era, but good warmth with tons of clarity and enough push to get the job done, it might be my favorite pickup that Duncan currently makes.

Thanks for the recommendations! I've seen the custom come up in conversation with the distortion and JB. Will consider it again. The Pegasus sounds like it would be a good fit for me, I tend to prefer clearer and warmer tone. Will def check that one out!

 

[zeppelinpage4]

Re: Seymour Duncan Distortion for 80's hard rock?

to me the jb is the sound for 80s super shredder style guitars. for the ozzy stuff, randy used a distortion in some of his guitars, and while a different game altogether the distortion is similar to the emg81 zakk uses...jake used a jb. Mick Mars used super distortions but by dr feelgood i'm not sure, but either the distortion or the jb should get you close enough.

i would go for the guitar if you want it. the distortion and jb are similar enough that a few tweaks of the amp or eq pedal can compensate...and at worst trade the distortion for a jb and teach yourself to solder.

Thanks, that's what I wanted to know. I know the JB and distortion aren't identical, but if I can get all the same tones i want from the distortion, then I'd still be pretty happy with it.

 

[zeppelinpage4]

Re: Seymour Duncan Distortion for 80's hard rock?

The Distortion set is awesome. For the most part, JB players tend to like the Distortion and vice versa. While players do tend to gravitate toward one or the other out of personal preference, it doesn't make one better than the other.

Tons of guys played the Distortion in the '80s and that's definitely part of the sound in that era (George Lynch from Dokken is one of my personal Faves who used nothing but Distortions through the '80s).

Honestly, the Distortion and JB cover very similar ground with a little tweaking at the amp or slight roll of the tone/volume knobs.

Thanks! Another vote for sticking with the distortion then. That's good to know that it can also do 80's well. I hear so much about the JB, but I'm glad the distortion can cover similar ground and get those tones as well.

Re: Seymour Duncan Distortion for 80's hard rock?

I liked the Distortion actually better than both the JB and the Super D. I play more metal type stuff and I actually miss that pickup and think about it frequently.

Oh wow, thanks. I might give the Charvel and Distortion set a chance then. What did you like about the Distortion differentiated from the JB and Super Distortion?

Re: Seymour Duncan Distortion for 80's hard rock?


He had supposedly changed to an underwound Distortion, what is now sold as The Hunter, by the time of Back for the Attack (he mentions this in the REH video, so it has some credibility). But it doesn't matter too much: the Distortion will certainly do what the OP asks of it!

That's great to know! As long as it can get those tones as well as a JB, I'll be more than happy with it.

Thanks again for all the input everyone! I just went to a store and tried out both, a Kramer Baretta with a JB and a Charvel So Cal with Distortions and loved the sound of both. Truth be told, the difference between the two was quite minimal and as many said, I was able to get the same tones out of both. So I know I'd be just as happy with the Distortions as a JB. Will pick up the Charvel next week.

 

[BloodRose]

Late to the party, but the Distortion and Jb as said are both great for 80s metal. The Super D is a good choice too, but IMO, I think of it of it as more of a 70s pup. Ace Frehley used it, IIRC Tom Sholtz of Boston,, etc. Not that it isnt a great all rounder, but thats what comes to my lil mind. Ive only ever used one in a LP type guitar and never a super strat, so that may open a door others can prolly answer better there.

 

[zeppelinpage4]

Late to the party, but the Distortion and Jb as said are both great for 80s metal. The Super D is a good choice too, but IMO, I think of it of it as more of a 70s pup. Ace Frehley used it, IIRC Tom Sholtz of Boston,, etc. Not that it isnt a great all rounder, but thats what comes to my lil mind. Ive only ever used one in a LP type guitar and never a super strat, so that may open a door others can prolly answer better there.

Thanks! Yeah, I think even Mick Mars used the Super D in the early years with his Les Paul if I'm remebering right. Glad to get another vote for both JB and Distortion being good, I'm glad I can't go wrong.

I ended up LOVING the new 2020 Kramer Baretta Vintage, it's made in Indonesia but has the JB humbucker, and a solid 1000 series Floyd rose, and the neck felt AMAZING. Will compare it to the Charvel with the Distortion pickups once it arrives.

 

[deathbytinnitus]

Thanks! Another vote for sticking with the distortion then. That's good to know that it can also do 80's well. I hear so much about the JB, but I'm glad the distortion can cover similar ground and get those tones as well.




Oh wow, thanks. I might give the Charvel and Distortion set a chance then. What did you like about the Distortion differentiated from the JB and Super Distortion?


That's great to know! As long as it can get those tones as well as a JB, I'll be more than happy with it.

Thanks again for all the input everyone! I just went to a store and tried out both, a Kramer Baretta with a JB and a Charvel So Cal with Distortions and loved the sound of both. Truth be told, the difference between the two was quite minimal and as many said, I was able to get the same tones out of both. So I know I'd be just as happy with the Distortions as a JB. Will pick up the Charvel next week.

Well, its going to sound odd but to me the super D was not as aggressive it was a smoother creamier pickup. The JB is weird because its like Mid output I think but it is still like really heavy sounding but, I feel like its a BIT too familiar, the Distortion had this hateful tone this midrange going for it and it was really aggressive but NOT like an Invader or something. Hope that helps lol. It just has its own character.

 

[Cynical]

The Super D is a good choice too, but IMO, I think of it of it as more of a 70s pup. Ace Frehley used it, IIRC Tom Sholtz of Boston,, etc.

The Super D may have been introduced in the '70s, but it was used by a ton of metal guys in the '80s; nearly everyone playing BC Rich back then kept the stock SuperD in the bridge.

If it's aggressive enough for Slayer to use on Reign In Blood, it's plenty aggressive for anything the OP wants to play...

 

[GuitarDoc]

I don't find that the Dist. and JB sound similar. I've got a bunch of both pups in several different types of guitars and have tried every kind of magnet in all of them.

The JB has an interesting sound that is very recognizable and has been a very popular pup. If you like that nasally upper mid hump of the JB you'll be happy with it. I tried everything I could think of to get rid of that unique sound (different guitars, different magnets, different amps, different speakers, etc) but couldn't. It always sounded like a JB, no matter what I did, and that's why I can't think of it as a very versatile pup.

The Distortion, however, sounds very different with an A2, A5, A8, or the stock ceramic, and can take on dramatically different flavors of tone with not just the one recognizable footprint like the JB.

For the most versatility and the ability to reproduce all of the tones the OP wants, my vote would go to the Custom though. BUT...he admits that he can't even change pups without a tech, so forget about even suggesting mag swaps. So my advice to the OP is:

Get the guitar with the Distortion pups. Don't worry about changing pups or mags. That guitar with that pup will do what he wants if he's got the chops to do it.

 

[BloodRose]

The Super D may have been introduced in the '70s, but it was used by a ton of metal guys in the '80s; nearly everyone playing BC Rich back then kept the stock SuperD in the bridge.

If it's aggressive enough for Slayer to use on Reign In Blood, it's plenty aggressive for anything the OP wants to play...

Oh yeah Bro! I was not saying, nor implying that it was 70s only,, And has def been used on bunches of recordings . And yes, the BC Rich ref was a good one. IMO, tho... the 80s (heavier stuff) was Kramers with JBs, Charvels with Jbs or.... Later, like with Warrant, cc deville, Bc Rich gunslingers popped up. Many of those had Dimarzios. Maybe I was alil limiting in my assessment... haha.. Thanks for showing me the error of my ways,..

 

[zeppelinpage4]

Hi guys, sorry I just logged in and saw the responses. I went ahead and bought the Charvel with the duncan distortions and I got the new Kramer Baretta with JB to compare, got a good enough deal on the Charvel that I could keep the Kramer too. Having had both for several weeks now, I do notice a small difference, but debating if it’s enough of a difference to justify keeping both guitars or returning the Kramer and sticking just with my Charvel. As many people have mentioned the Charvel/Duncan distortions are very versatile and should get me all the tones I want with the right amp/dialing in.

In Summary:
The Charvel/Duncan Distortions have much tighter and better low end. It also has better cleans. The gain sounds pretty good and does the 80’s stuff pretty well, but is a bit darker, heavier, modern and crackly sounding relative to the JB in the Kramer.

The Kramer with JB has cleans that are okay but not great, low end is loose and a bit flubby. BUT the gain sounds are exactly what I want, it nails those 80’s tones to a tee. It’s bright and cuts through, almost nasally, but isn’t fizzy or crackly and it sounds a bit smoother than the Distortions. It’s a one trick pony but the one sound it gets is just right.

Difference enough to justify keeping both JB and Distortion equipped guitrs? Or return the Kramer since the Duncan Distortions can get pretty close to the JB tone (not exact but close) and possibly change pickups on the Charvel in future if I want.

 

[zeppelinpage4]

Late to the party, but the Distortion and Jb as said are both great for 80s metal. The Super D is a good choice too, but IMO, I think of it of it as more of a 70s pup. Ace Frehley used it, IIRC Tom Sholtz of Boston,, etc. Not that it isnt a great all rounder, but thats what comes to my lil mind. Ive only ever used one in a LP type guitar and never a super strat, so that may open a door others can prolly answer better there.

Thanks! I would love to try the Super D. If I every got an RG550 or modded my old Les Paul, super D is my first choice to try.

Well, its going to sound odd but to me the super D was not as aggressive it was a smoother creamier pickup. The JB is weird because its like Mid output I think but it is still like really heavy sounding but, I feel like its a BIT too familiar, the Distortion had this hateful tone this midrange going for it and it was really aggressive but NOT like an Invader or something. Hope that helps lol. It just has its own character.

Thanks! That definitely helps. I finally have both with me to try out now and I definitely notice a distinct difference between the JB and Distortion. I can dial them in two sound similar to each other but I can’t exactly replicate the JB tone with the Distortion or vice versa. I might need to play with an EQ pedal.

I don't find that the Dist. and JB sound similar. I've got a bunch of both pups in several different types of guitars and have tried every kind of magnet in all of them.

The JB has an interesting sound that is very recognizable and has been a very popular pup. If you like that nasally upper mid hump of the JB you'll be happy with it. I tried everything I could think of to get rid of that unique sound (different guitars, different magnets, different amps, different speakers, etc) but couldn't. It always sounded like a JB, no matter what I did, and that's why I can't think of it as a very versatile pup.

The Distortion, however, sounds very different with an A2, A5, A8, or the stock ceramic, and can take on dramatically different flavors of tone with not just the one recognizable footprint like the JB.

For the most versatility and the ability to reproduce all of the tones the OP wants, my vote would go to the Custom though. BUT...he admits that he can't even change pups without a tech, so forget about even suggesting mag swaps. So my advice to the OP is:

Get the guitar with the Distortion pups. Don't worry about changing pups or mags. That guitar with that pup will do what he wants if he's got the chops to do it.

Thank you! I am glad I’m not crazy in hearing the difference as well. I got to try both JB and Distortion now and spend time comparing them side by side. I genuinely enjoy both for what they are, though I definitely preferred that nasally upper mid hump of the JB for the tones I'm going for. I felt like the JB just nailed those 80’s gain tones I mentioned.

BUT, the distortion is amazing in it’s own right, I liked the cleans more and the gain sounds were awesome when I wanted to play heavier stuff.

And YES you’re right, I hope to learn to change pickups and solder when I have some more free time but it’s not happening anytime soon. So whatever pickups come stock, that’s what I’m keeping for the foreseeable future.

I am definitely keeping my Charvel/Duncan Distortions and from your post it seems that will cover all I need. Question is should I keep the JB equipped Kramer also. The Distortion is way more versatile and I’ve been able to dial it in to be similar to the JB in the Kramer but I can’t get the Distortions to replicate that mid hump sound exactly. If an EQ pedal and some more amp tweaking will do it, I’ll return the Kramer/JB and save the money.

I hope I have the chops haha, still practicing but def motivated to play.