Seymour Duncan The Mag SH3 on a Dot ?

cadm

New member
Hello,

Everybody talks about a 59' or a Seth on a dot, but what do you think of a mag (sh3) ? The sound could be more "fender", no ?

By the way, i have to change my switch... any suggestion ?

Thanks !
 
Re: Seymour Duncan The Mag SH3 on a Dot ?

It depends on what you are after... I have tried the Stag Mag in neck and bridge of two guitars and I only liked it split. In series it's too brigt and not so deep, kind of flat sounding. Split has a great clear, sharp tone with a very punchy overdrive. Main concern about ussing it in a Archtop it's that it won't capture, as good as a humbucker, the deepness of the tone of that type of guitars.

But I'll sound great for sure. In split mode I think the results would be something close to a Gretch but more on the strat side with more quack and twang. I don't know in series...
 
Re: Seymour Duncan The Mag SH3 on a Dot ?

A stupid question : what's the split mode ? (sorry :()

I look after a clean bright sound (i use delay and reverb in clean mode ) and in distortion a huge sound. I use only my epiphone bridge pickup for that two sounds, but the clean sounds flat and the dirty sounds too dirty :( (i don't know if what i say is understandable) :)
 
Re: Seymour Duncan The Mag SH3 on a Dot ?

cadm said:
A stupid question : what's the split mode ? (sorry :()

No at all!!! :) A humbucker it's made by two coils. One of them it's reverse winding and reverse polarity (RW/RP) respect to the other. This allows the bucker to cancel hum. It's posible to wire a humbucker (with a push/pull pot or a mini switch) to only use one of the coils. The pickup won't be humcancelling but it will deliver a bighter, cleaner tone with lower output. Some humbucker have a useable split tone and some others don't it much depends on personal taste. In the case of the SM the stratty tone only comes out in split mode. But that's only my opinion...


cadm said:
A stupid question : what's the split mode ? (sorry :()

I look after a clean bright sound (i use delay and reverb in clean mode ) and in distortion a huge sound. I use only my epiphone bridge pickup for that two sounds, but the clean sounds flat and the dirty sounds too dirty :( (i don't know if what i say is understandable) :)

If you look for that type of tone you could check the Phat Cat set... Thoose are suposed so sound like a P-90 which is half-way between a humbucker and a fender single coil... And would be amazing for clear and distorted tones.
 
Re: Seymour Duncan The Mag SH3 on a Dot ?

I would agree pretty much, with Breogan. I had a pair of Stag Mags in a guitar, with switches so that I could select any combination of singles or 'buckers. Even though the SM is designed as a bridge pup, it really works best as a neck. Neck humbuckers tend to have a reputation as being "rythm" pups, with more bass, but the SM stays fairly bright and clear in that position. Switch to split mode, and you have true single-coil sound.

And there's a reason for that - the SM is, in fact, made by mounting two single-coils on a common baseplate.

Its really a nice pup if used properly. A great application would be to use it in the neck of a dual-humbucker guitar. Then split it to get a Cyclone-esque type sound/configuration.
 
Re: Seymour Duncan The Mag SH3 on a Dot ?

I have a Stag Mag in neck position of an H-S-H guitar, and I agree with Artie's assessment. I like the clear neck bucker sound, and it splits very well. TERRIBLE pup for the bridge, IMO, unless your guitar is REALLY dark.

The original Mag used A5 mags, where the stag uses A2, so they will sound a little different - if the coils are the same the older one might be brighter yet. But I would prefer the original's flat poles to the newer staggered ones.
 
Re: Seymour Duncan The Mag SH3 on a Dot ?

Has anyone tried it in parallel?
 
Re: Seymour Duncan The Mag SH3 on a Dot ?

Thanks for all the advices !

It's very friendly in here !
 
Re: Seymour Duncan The Mag SH3 on a Dot ?

Jester700 said:
The original Mag used A5 mags, where the stag uses A2, so they will sound a little different - if the coils are the same the older one might be brighter yet. But I would prefer the original's flat poles to the newer staggered ones.

Someone can sell me a "mag" not "stag mag" (bought in the 80's).

So it could be better that the new one (use on bridge) ?
 
Re: Seymour Duncan The Mag SH3 on a Dot ?

If you don't like the Stag Mag on the brigde, the "Mag" might be even brighter!
I have an old "Mag", but it has ni logo on the baseplate, and the baseplate doesn#t look like Duncan, so i don't know if it#s a real "Mag"
I think it's a very underrated pickup, i don't undersatnd why it is recommended for the bridge pos.
It sounds so great as a neck humbucker!
 
Re: Seymour Duncan The Mag SH3 on a Dot ?

Well...
Now i have two choice for my bridge :
1. The stag mag (for the "fender sound" when split)
2. THe JB because it's a classic and the clean sound seems bright enough.

Could you help?
 
Re: Seymour Duncan The Mag SH3 on a Dot ?

I've used a combination of "the Mag" in the neck with either a Custom trembucker or regular SH-5 Custom. Excellent combination. The Custom is bright and well defined, has a great classic-rock sound and can do metal and pop to.
Now, the Alnico 5 "the Mag" is non-staggered and has Alnico 5 slugs. I've had one for the past 4 years. It's very clear and sorta bright. It's too bright for a bridge pickup, but is perfect in the neck. I'll warn you, it's LOUD. It's not a distortion-type pickup, it's just really loud. It's got a "spanky" clean tone and when distorted, get's very smooth (perfect for Slash or Santana tones). I've picked up a few on ebay for between $20-$40, in fact one ended yesterday for about $39. I've seen several in the past few weeks on ebay. As a humbucker, it's sorta-Strat-like, but when split, it's a true single coil.
Wiring is a pain on 335's, I used to have one loaded with '59's and redid the wiring. You have to take all the wiring out of the guitar, make a cardboard template like the control layout. Rewire everything outside the guitar, make sure all the controls work (OUTSIDE the guitar) and then put the whole harness back in the f-holes. Using some forceps (or tweezers) helps to line it up, then hold the guitar upside down and shake it a bit until the pots and switch fall into place. It's not fun, but can be done.
 
Re: Seymour Duncan The Mag SH3 on a Dot ?

Thanks for the advices.
For all i can read, the stag is better in neck position. But my priority is the bridge
So by now, i hesitate with the jb or the custom for the bridge.it's really difficult to choose only with the audio sample... i don't particularly like the Custom sample...
Phat cat seems good too... and seth lovers are too expensive for me...
Arghhhhhhhhhhh :)
 
Re: Seymour Duncan The Mag SH3 on a Dot ?

I Highly recommend the Phat Cats and the Seth's for a semi. I've had both in my Sheraton and they both sound great. The Seth's will be a bit warmer than the Phat Cats.

If you like the Seth's clips, you can get close by getting a pair of 59's and replacing the Alnico V magnets with Alnico II units. It won't be the exact same thing, but it will be in the ballpark. :)
 
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