Should i go with the Dimarzio breed set or the Duncan JB/Jazz set?

[Slashismahhero]

Alright, so this is my first post, and I was just looking for advice on what kind of pickups to purchase.

I play a Schecter C-1 Elite through a Line 6 Pod XT and a Fender Tube Amp which is like twenty years old (And it still kicks ass :bigok: )

Anyways, i was wondering what kind of pickups I should pick up (Haha :laughing: ). I want to be able to crank out some GnR and sound like slash while still able to pull out some mellow, warm tones like that of Joe Satriani. I would like a lot of sustain when i want it, I want pinch harmonics to sound guitargasmic, and I don't want ear-splitting treble when you get to the higher frets.

I've been looking at various Dimarzio and Duncan pickups, and I've finally narrowed it down to two:

~The Breed Dimarzio set
~The JB/Jazz Duncan Combo

Can anyone give any pointers or personal experience with these pickups? I would greatly appreciate it ^^

The only thing I'm worried about having too much midrange/bass. My guitar is mahogany so...I just want to make sure the midrange isn't too overpowering, yet at the same time, I don't want shrill highs either.

 

[sgman]

Re: Should i go with the Dimarzio breed set or the Duncan JB/Jazz set?

I love the jazz pup cause it is so clean...You can always dirty it up with your petals..........I use jazz (neck) 59 (bridge) in a SG..

 

[Rowan]

Re: Should i go with the Dimarzio breed set or the Duncan JB/Jazz set?

Is your guitar bright or dark? If its dark go with the JB/jazz. If bright go with the breeds.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Should i go with the Dimarzio breed set or the Duncan JB/Jazz set?

Does that have a Duncan Designed HB-102 or 103 set in it stock? If it's a 102, that's modeled after the Jazz/JB set. If it's the 103, that's the Distortion set.

 

[Slashismahhero]

Re: Should i go with the Dimarzio breed set or the Duncan JB/Jazz set?

It's got the 102's, which are modeled after the JB/Jazz combo

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Should i go with the Dimarzio breed set or the Duncan JB/Jazz set?

Well, if you dig that tone, go with the JB/Jazz. If you want a different sound, go with the Breeds.

 

[Slashismahhero]

Re: Should i go with the Dimarzio breed set or the Duncan JB/Jazz set?

My main question, which will also be the deciding factor, is whether or not the breed's high midrange when coupled with the mahogany wood of my guitar will produce an overpowering midrange. If anyone using breed pickups that is also using a mahogany guitar can give some input on this, I would greatly appreciate it. If there is no overpowering midrange, then I will go with the breeds. Otherwise, I'll fall back on the JD/Jazz set.

 

[Rowan]

Re: Should i go with the Dimarzio breed set or the Duncan JB/Jazz set?

The JB will have lots of high mids, and the breed will have more focus on the low mids. I've got a a tone zone in mahagony, its got a similar EQ to the breed and it works well.

 

[Fender_Punk]

Re: Should i go with the Dimarzio breed set or the Duncan JB/Jazz set?

JB/Jazz all the way. Forget about DiMarzios.

 

[jimlp]

Re: Should i go with the Dimarzio breed set or the Duncan JB/Jazz set?

JB/Jazz all the way. Forget about DiMarzios.

Considering the OP doesn't want overpowering midrange or piercing highs I don't see how you can recommend the JB, although it does have the "no overpowering bass" angle covered. Both companies have a return policy so you really have nothing to lose. I have a Dimarzio Super Distortion in my Dean ML and it nails the classic rock thing ala early Def Leppard/High n' Dry (sp?), but can still do more modern tones like Paul Gilbert. I almost picked the Breed over the Super Distortion but I went with what I know, if you try the Breed set I would be interested in a review.

 

[Slashismahhero]

Re: Should i go with the Dimarzio breed set or the Duncan JB/Jazz set?

Yeah, both Duncan and Dimarzio have great return policies, but the problem is that they will only let you swap for one of their pickups. So...I'd essentially have to choose what company I'd prefer. I'm still kinda leaning towards the breeds, I'm waiting on an email back on what would happen if you combine Mahogany guitars with a breed pickup.

Also...can you order pickups with covers? Seriously, a pickup without covers would look gay on my guitar. Here's mah axe:

 

[MrMars]

Re: Should i go with the Dimarzio breed set or the Duncan JB/Jazz set?

That guitar would look dope with some zebras.:firedevil

And for the pickups I would personally recommend the breeds because they are less common.:butkick:

 

[AmirH]

Re: Should i go with the Dimarzio breed set or the Duncan JB/Jazz set?

I can actually vouch for zebra looking dope- I have the exact same guitar

I can also vouch for the jazz sounding fantastic in the neck. As for a bridge pup... man I've been through quite a few. The jb sounds very good in it actually but isn't quite tight enough in the bottom for me... but then again I'm a total metal head- if you don't do much chugging I'd recommend that set. The jazz bridge is currently working quite well for me and before that the fullshred sounded good too.

 

[Mr 9finger]

Re: Should i go with the Dimarzio breed set or the Duncan JB/Jazz set?

If you're looking for some Slash tone...Why are you not looking at the Alnico 2 pro humbuckers?

 

[Slashismahhero]

Re: Should i go with the Dimarzio breed set or the Duncan JB/Jazz set?

I was actually looking at the alnico IIs rather than the JBs.

However, I guess I've come to the crossroad of either duncans or dimarzios.

 

[shogunlegend]

Re: Should i go with the Dimarzio breed set or the Duncan JB/Jazz set?

can't go wrong with either a breed or a jb. the jb is loose though, so you might prefer the breed.

 

[devastone]

Re: Should i go with the Dimarzio breed set or the Duncan JB/Jazz set?

I've used both bridge pickups and both are great pickups, but are very different. The JB is "peaky" and has lots of high mids that some find harsh, but cuts through great. Tons of great recordings have been made with JBs.

The Breed bridge is very warm and polite with tight lows, kinda dark highs, lots of smooth low mids, but still has great harmonics. IMHO, it would be better for the Satch/Slash tones you are looking for.

The Jazz neck will be cleaner and brighter in the neck, the Breed will be warmer.

Satch also has a set of PGs in his chromeboy and has made lots of recordings with those.

 

[frankfalbo]

Re: Should i go with the Dimarzio breed set or the Duncan JB/Jazz set?

In the interest of transparency, the Dimarzio Breed Neck pickup is a really good neck pickup for 24 fret guitars. You will probably be happy with the Breeds, but they're a little bland in the top end. The Duncans will have a crisper attack and cut on the top end. Sometimes that's a good thing with digital modellers like the Pod, which can already serve to soften the attack in the A/D conversion. If you get the Breed set, you'll probably like the neck and if you had to use the exchange policy because the bridge was too middy, you could go for something like the Air Zone in the bridge.

An Alnico II set or the AIIPro with a Custom Custom bridge could be just what you're looking for. But the only reason I'm saying AIIPro is because of your Slash reference. The Jazz neck is also a great 24 fret neck pickup. So from Duncan I would be looking at the Custom Custom bridge with the Jazz or AIIPro neck, or the Pearly Gates Bridge pickup in the neck slot. If you do a search there are some guys that love the PGB in the neck.

 

[shogunlegend]

Re: Should i go with the Dimarzio breed set or the Duncan JB/Jazz set?

In the interest of transparency, the Dimarzio Breed Neck pickup is a really good neck pickup for 24 fret guitars. You will probably be happy with the Breeds, but they're a little bland in the top end. The Duncans will have a crisper attack and cut on the top end. Sometimes that's a good thing with digital modellers like the Pod, which can already serve to soften the attack in the A/D conversion. If you get the Breed set, you'll probably like the neck and if you had to use the exchange policy because the bridge was too middy, you could go for something like the Air Zone in the bridge.

An Alnico II set or the AIIPro with a Custom Custom bridge could be just what you're looking for. But the only reason I'm saying AIIPro is because of your Slash reference. The Jazz neck is also a great 24 fret neck pickup. So from Duncan I would be looking at the Custom Custom bridge with the Jazz or AIIPro neck, or the Pearly Gates Bridge pickup in the neck slot. If you do a search there are some guys that love the PGB in the neck.

i don't know about bland on the top end. dimarzios tend to have a good bite. don't get stuck on the breed. it's got some similarities to other pickups, so you might want to check out the moderate output line too. trust me, you won't be missing any output with their moderat pups.

 

[Slashismahhero]

Re: Should i go with the Dimarzio breed set or the Duncan JB/Jazz set?

Sweet guys, thanks. I think I'm going to order the dimarzio breeds. Besides, if i don't like them i can always swap them for something else or return them entirely.