Super D: Please tell me about it...

[dr.barlo]

Hi all,

Somehow I cannot get rid of the idea to get a Super D soapbar for my 76 deluxe... I have used one in the '90s along with an X2N and a Megadrive. I don't remember it that well. I was young, had a dual recto and was playing it with lotsa gain.



So how would it compare say with a c5? Or a CC? Is its bass side tighter? It'll have less highs, and that'll be a good fit because this deluxe has a maple neck and has already a snappy tone anyways. How about uppermids? I hate excessive uppermids that make everything sound like Angus you know. The thing is I kinda remember that SuperD was a bit "present" in the uppermids register and that kinda scares me on this guitar. But it could have my pedals and how I set the amp and rest of the gear. In those days, I was going for that uppermid heavy tone, which I kinda am trying to stay away from now.

Ideally, I would go custom shop and ask for a WLH or PATB-3 in a soapbar form this guitar. But it's pricey.

I appreciate the feedback. Thanks in advance.

B

 

[Aceman]

Re: Super D: Please tell me about it...

Bass tighter than the CC for sure, Similar to C5, but thicker. Mid mids, and lower mids. Upper mids less. Good highs.

Maple neck will make it very flexible and more or less bright as per tone knob use.

P90 size may vary. I’m talking HB.

 

[Dave Locher]

Re: Super D: Please tell me about it...

Excess upper mids is not a characteristic of the Super D. It has a ton of low mids.
Soap bar vs. standard size Super is a little tighter, a little brighter, but still very much the same pickup.

 

[dr.barlo]

Re: Super D: Please tell me about it...

Bass tighter than the CC for sure, Similar to C5, but thicker. Mid mids, and lower mids. Upper mids less. Good highs.

Maple neck will make it very flexible and more or less bright as per tone knob use.

P90 size may vary. I’m talking HB.

Excess upper mids is not a characteristic of the Super D. It has a ton of low mids.
Soap bar vs. standard size Super is a little tighter, a little brighter, but still very much the same pickup.

Cool! I think I am gonna go for one.

B :yourock:

 

[Hank-]

Re: Super D: Please tell me about it...

Its nice, i find it a little closer to sh5 with more mids & different treble, more compressed ovrrall & more output

superD
https://youtu.be/zO2JRT73ZKw

Sh5
https://youtu.be/FLsktp3h-Us

 

[Aceman]

Re: Super D: Please tell me about it...

I'd say it is kind of like a not as hot invader with good highs.

Again - classic description: Bass, Mids, Thick, medium-hot, nice highs. Not too bright.

Everyone should have one. Far more flexible than most think, cleans are reasonable. But why would you...

 

[Aceman]

Re: Super D: Please tell me about it...

Also - Custom 5 vs Custom Custom - those are bout as opposite as you get with a mag swap!

C5: Lots of Tight Bass, super mid scooped, Nice sharp highs
CC: Loose bass, Ultramega mids, low fat highs

The Super D kinda rides the middle of those. Bass closer to C5, Mids closer (but not even close to) CC, highs thicker than C5, but not quite as present.


It's an epic great pickup for a reason.

 

[dr.barlo]

Re: Super D: Please tell me about it...

I think it'll be a good fit for this deluxe, which already has that snappy maple neck tone you know. It's alive tho, so won't get dull results I think.

:beerchug:

How about the neck? Did anybody try that DiMarzio DLX Soapbar? I can keep on using the stock mini, which is quite a good pickup. Still if that DLX Soapbar would be a good fit, I could look into it as well.

B

 

[hamerfan]

Re: Super D: Please tell me about it...

How about the neck? Did anybody try that DiMarzio DLX Soapbar? I can keep on using the stock mini, which is quite a good pickup. Still if that DLX Soapbar would be a good fit, I could look into it as well.

B

Aren't they ceramic?

 

[ErikH]

Re: Super D: Please tell me about it...

Aceman covered it pretty good. The SuperD is a great pickup. The magic is the double-thick ceramic magnet with a wind that is closer to that of medium output pickups. It doesn't have the wind count of a JB or Invader and is different wire actually. It makes it powerful but ridiculously diverse as well. It's great split and usable in parallel mode. IMO, it is THE staple of the classic rock / metal pickups. I know that says a lot but I think it's the truth.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Super D: Please tell me about it...

ive never tried the p90 size but i keep a super distortion around just cause it kicks ass

 

[dr.barlo]

Re: Super D: Please tell me about it...

Aren't they ceramic?

Yeah...

Magnet Ceramic
Resistance 13.8 Kohm

The bridge is like 17.2K. So the wire is #44?

I guess I just will get the super d for the bridge and keep on using the mini hb. In fact, I like it. I think it'll keep up with the bridge.

B

 

[Aceman]

Re: Super D: Please tell me about it...

I have two Maple neck Les Pauls with Super D's, and one with a Duncan Distortion.

 

[dr.barlo]

Re: Super D: Please tell me about it...

Cool!

Are you running any one of those super d's parallel? I am thinking about it.

B

 

[Aceman]

Re: Super D: Please tell me about it...

F%$#$ no!!! What the hell is wrong with you????

I'm running full-tilt effing rock and roll!!! :headbang:

 

[dr.barlo]

Re: Super D: Please tell me about it...



For 80's hard rock ballads man... For arpeggios with chorus and all, right before cranking it up and going full-tilt.

B :beerchug:

 

[Aceman]

Re: Super D: Please tell me about it...

People duo do that - DP104 is what you want I believe.

Bah - just turn down the volume.

 

[allstarrme]

Re: Super D: Please tell me about it...

There’s a set on sale over on the gear page for a good price:

https://www.thegearpage.net/board/i...d-dlx-plus-humbucking-p90-pickup-set.2135684/

I’d pick them up if I didn’t already have one.

 

[freefrog]

Re: Super D: Please tell me about it...

Somehow I cannot get rid of the idea to get a Super D soapbar for my 76 deluxe...

I have a soapbar SD among various P90 sized DiMarzio HB's and FWIW, it doesn't sound EXACTLY like a full size one.
The resistance is the same.
The inductance is slightly lower.
The coupling between coils is different (and this difference is made more obvious by the 4 wires conductor).

It has still the Super Dist signature albeit a lil' brighter / tighter as Dave Locher said, but I also find it less lively and more polite than the regular sized one.

A relative advantage (for me) is that a the P90 sized Super Dist is factually a Dual-Sound: it has the related 4 wires cables. And yes, it works well in parallel or split - I have it in an "experimental" Super Strat with 25 pickup positions and it covers A LOT of ground.

Wired in parallel, it should be close enough to your stock mini-HB to allow a tone-matching thx to a few added components (might require a low value cap tuning down the resonant peak but should work anyway).

Good luck in your tone quest.

 

[ErikH]

Re: Super D: Please tell me about it...

The SuperD in parallel is great in the neck position. In the bridge you definitely want to run it in series, or use a push/pull to switch between series/split or series/parallel.

FWIW, Paul Gilbert ran a SuperD in parallel back in the early Racer X days.