What's going on with the Custom Shop?
- Thread starter Gabrielinconfident
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VHTJay
New member
Re: What's going on with the Custom Shop?
This right here is how you handle an issue: communicate openly and honestly. I have faith in the custom shop, so I will put some good vibes in ti this thread. Although I haven't ordered for awhile, every experience I have had with the custom shop has been exemplary. MJ has treated me like a rock star every time I have put in an order. Most importantly: every custom shop pickup I have tried has been tonal bliss!
This right here is how you handle an issue: communicate openly and honestly. I have faith in the custom shop, so I will put some good vibes in ti this thread. Although I haven't ordered for awhile, every experience I have had with the custom shop has been exemplary. MJ has treated me like a rock star every time I have put in an order. Most importantly: every custom shop pickup I have tried has been tonal bliss!
Ptolemaeus
New member
Re: What's going on with the Custom Shop?
I popped my custom shop cherry about a month ago. The humbucker got in about a week ago and I couldn't be happier. Literally the best pickup I've ever used, bar none. It sounds exactly how I described it; I'm beginning to think MJ is some sort of sorcerer because she took my words and turned it into the sound I had in my head.
That being said, that was the only custom wound pickup I've had made so far, so not a really good sample space if we're discussing continuing quality.
I popped my custom shop cherry about a month ago. The humbucker got in about a week ago and I couldn't be happier. Literally the best pickup I've ever used, bar none. It sounds exactly how I described it; I'm beginning to think MJ is some sort of sorcerer because she took my words and turned it into the sound I had in my head.
That being said, that was the only custom wound pickup I've had made so far, so not a really good sample space if we're discussing continuing quality.
aleclee
Major General GAS
Re: What's going on with the Custom Shop?
Isn't this pickup supposed to do that (among other things)?
GilmourD
Burritotoneologist
Re: What's going on with the Custom Shop?
Isn't this pickup supposed to do that (among other things)?
Gabrielinconfident
New member
Re: What's going on with the Custom Shop?
For some reason, I stopped receiving notifications on this thread. I didn't unsubscribe, it just turned quiet.
Anyway, thanks to Scott for the response, I've sent you a PM.
To everyone else, a quick (albeit slightly out of topic) question: how do I hook up a 3-conductor stack with a Liberator? Just follow the colour coding or do I have to do something else?
For some reason, I stopped receiving notifications on this thread. I didn't unsubscribe, it just turned quiet.
Anyway, thanks to Scott for the response, I've sent you a PM.
To everyone else, a quick (albeit slightly out of topic) question: how do I hook up a 3-conductor stack with a Liberator? Just follow the colour coding or do I have to do something else?
Swyse
New member
Re: What's going on with the Custom Shop?
The stacks are different than regular humbuckers incase you didn't know. I wasn't sure which color coding you were referencing so to be clear:
White is output, red is "split" and black and bare are ground. So just hook white to where black or hot would be for a normal humbucker, red to red (or white) terminal, and black to where white would have been and bare to ground
The stacks are different than regular humbuckers incase you didn't know. I wasn't sure which color coding you were referencing so to be clear:
White is output, red is "split" and black and bare are ground. So just hook white to where black or hot would be for a normal humbucker, red to red (or white) terminal, and black to where white would have been and bare to ground
Gabrielinconfident
New member
Re: What's going on with the Custom Shop?
If you're referring to the colour coding, I didn't. If you're referring to the construction, of course I did.
The Liberator has the standard humbucker colour coding. When hooking up a normal SD humbucker, one only has to match the colours of the pickup wires to those of the pot.
Thanks. Anyone else can confirm that? I'm trying to decide whether to get a Hot Stack (4-cond) or something else (3-cond), and I don't want to have to switch the Liberator out.
If you're referring to the colour coding, I didn't. If you're referring to the construction, of course I did.
The Liberator has the standard humbucker colour coding. When hooking up a normal SD humbucker, one only has to match the colours of the pickup wires to those of the pot.
Thanks. Anyone else can confirm that? I'm trying to decide whether to get a Hot Stack (4-cond) or something else (3-cond), and I don't want to have to switch the Liberator out.
Swyse
New member
Re: What's going on with the Custom Shop?
I should have asked which stack you were after, as only the 3 conductor stacks(STK-S4 classic stack for example) are wired in this fashion, and the 4 conductors (STK-S2 hot stack for example) are wired in the typical humbucker fashion and hook straight up to your liberator color for color.
I should have asked which stack you were after, as only the 3 conductor stacks(STK-S4 classic stack for example) are wired in this fashion, and the 4 conductors (STK-S2 hot stack for example) are wired in the typical humbucker fashion and hook straight up to your liberator color for color.
Ptolemaeus
New member
Re: What's going on with the Custom Shop?
Very basically, a more powerful Pegasus, but I didn't mention that when I ordered. I wanted the power of the Duncan Distortion with more clarity and note separation on big, fretboard spanning chord voicings under a healthy amount of gain.
I was expecting something that sounded similar to the Distortion because I mentioned it, but I got a pickup that has a completely different voicing. The only similarities are the D.C. resistence and the presence of a ceramic mag.
Very basically, a more powerful Pegasus, but I didn't mention that when I ordered. I wanted the power of the Duncan Distortion with more clarity and note separation on big, fretboard spanning chord voicings under a healthy amount of gain.
I was expecting something that sounded similar to the Distortion because I mentioned it, but I got a pickup that has a completely different voicing. The only similarities are the D.C. resistence and the presence of a ceramic mag.
Detroitblues
New member
Re: What's going on with the Custom Shop?
This was a long thread to read through; angry disappointments, suggested alternatives, and a bit of hostility. It all will work out in the end I suppose....
But one thing I may have missed here... SRV sound in a humbucker? Well, has the idea of how SRV gets his tone come into play here? Did I miss what the guitar itself was being used? What amp?
SRV uses an Ash/Alder body Fender Stratocaster with a six-point vintage synchronize tremolo, maple neck, 25.5" scale rosewood fretboard, and thick, heavy strings. All of those components along with his unique heavy handed playing style contribute to his tone. Put that into a loud, overdriven Fender amp with some tube Reverb and there's your SRV tone. You won't get the same tones like SRV using a Mahogany Body/Neck 24.74", Stop-bar Tail-piece Les Paul style of guitar. It won't happen. I don't think any custom humbucker/single coil in a Les Paul or PRS will ever sound like a Stratocaster.
For what you're spending on a custom humbucker, why not just get a used Mexican or Classic Vibe Strat and retrofit it with Seymour Duncan APS-2's? You'll find every bit of the SRV sound right there. Especially in the 2 and 4 positions.
The best SRV tone I ever haParts-castertscaster with SD APS-2's tuned down 1/2 step into a Fender Bassman Clone. I never heard any Les Paul or PRS sound like that. I save the Les Paul for other blues-rock stuff. Hendrix and SRV get the Strat, which to me, is an essential component of their "sound".
However, its your money, you can do what you want. Good Luck!
This was a long thread to read through; angry disappointments, suggested alternatives, and a bit of hostility. It all will work out in the end I suppose....
But one thing I may have missed here... SRV sound in a humbucker? Well, has the idea of how SRV gets his tone come into play here? Did I miss what the guitar itself was being used? What amp?
SRV uses an Ash/Alder body Fender Stratocaster with a six-point vintage synchronize tremolo, maple neck, 25.5" scale rosewood fretboard, and thick, heavy strings. All of those components along with his unique heavy handed playing style contribute to his tone. Put that into a loud, overdriven Fender amp with some tube Reverb and there's your SRV tone. You won't get the same tones like SRV using a Mahogany Body/Neck 24.74", Stop-bar Tail-piece Les Paul style of guitar. It won't happen. I don't think any custom humbucker/single coil in a Les Paul or PRS will ever sound like a Stratocaster.
For what you're spending on a custom humbucker, why not just get a used Mexican or Classic Vibe Strat and retrofit it with Seymour Duncan APS-2's? You'll find every bit of the SRV sound right there. Especially in the 2 and 4 positions.
The best SRV tone I ever haParts-castertscaster with SD APS-2's tuned down 1/2 step into a Fender Bassman Clone. I never heard any Les Paul or PRS sound like that. I save the Les Paul for other blues-rock stuff. Hendrix and SRV get the Strat, which to me, is an essential component of their "sound".
However, its your money, you can do what you want. Good Luck!
Gabrielinconfident
New member
Re: What's going on with the Custom Shop?
Yes, it's a long thread, and you missed all the key points. This is what we brazilians refer to as "hopping on a moving train" ("pegar o bonde andando"). It's not a SRV sound in a humbucker, it's SRV-like NECK sound (easy reference, not exact replication) in a humbucker ROUTE. With 24 frets. And floyd rose. In a alder-maple-rosewood guitar. Not strat-shaped (it's uncomfortable to me). With a standard humbucker in the bridge.
Most importantly, the discussion is not how I'd get the sound, but why the Custom Shop was being dismissive, which was answered by Scott Olsen. Thanks for joining, anyway, haha. I'm sorry if this reads a bit rude, not my intention.
Yes, it's a long thread, and you missed all the key points. This is what we brazilians refer to as "hopping on a moving train" ("pegar o bonde andando"). It's not a SRV sound in a humbucker, it's SRV-like NECK sound (easy reference, not exact replication) in a humbucker ROUTE. With 24 frets. And floyd rose. In a alder-maple-rosewood guitar. Not strat-shaped (it's uncomfortable to me). With a standard humbucker in the bridge.
Most importantly, the discussion is not how I'd get the sound, but why the Custom Shop was being dismissive, which was answered by Scott Olsen. Thanks for joining, anyway, haha. I'm sorry if this reads a bit rude, not my intention.
Detroitblues
New member
Re: What's going on with the Custom Shop?
I didn't find the part that described your guitar other than the very beginning that said you had HH setup guitars. SRV didn't use the neck pickup alone on many of his recordings. Having a SSS setup is something your current guitars simply don't have.
The root of your problem is how to sound like SRV in the neck. I'm saying, you'll waste your time and money waiting for a magical pickup to give you the SRV tone that just isn't there. Yes, I know the point of the whole thread is a gripe against the SD Custom Shop. Personally, there are plenty of stock model pickups out there that have the tones I want. Custom Shop pickups are a waste of money.
Don't buy a Custom Shop pickup, just buy a guitar that has the tones you want. I don't have a Stratocaster anymore either, I have gravitated to Reverends. I play a Buckshot most of the time and I use it for my SRV Bluesy tone but it has a Revtron in the neck. But the body is Korina and the neck is 25.5" scale maple neck. It still has that tone I love. I'm an SRV nut. Love his stuff. He's the inspiration for me to play the blues. I think you're looking for an answer out of the wrong question.
I didn't find the part that described your guitar other than the very beginning that said you had HH setup guitars. SRV didn't use the neck pickup alone on many of his recordings. Having a SSS setup is something your current guitars simply don't have.
The root of your problem is how to sound like SRV in the neck. I'm saying, you'll waste your time and money waiting for a magical pickup to give you the SRV tone that just isn't there. Yes, I know the point of the whole thread is a gripe against the SD Custom Shop. Personally, there are plenty of stock model pickups out there that have the tones I want. Custom Shop pickups are a waste of money.
Don't buy a Custom Shop pickup, just buy a guitar that has the tones you want. I don't have a Stratocaster anymore either, I have gravitated to Reverends. I play a Buckshot most of the time and I use it for my SRV Bluesy tone but it has a Revtron in the neck. But the body is Korina and the neck is 25.5" scale maple neck. It still has that tone I love. I'm an SRV nut. Love his stuff. He's the inspiration for me to play the blues. I think you're looking for an answer out of the wrong question.
Detroitblues
New member
Re: What's going on with the Custom Shop?
And the originator of the thread doesn't care about anyone's advice. He just wants to vent his anger, no matter how many of us are trying to help.
And the originator of the thread doesn't care about anyone's advice. He just wants to vent his anger, no matter how many of us are trying to help.
GilmourD
Burritotoneologist
Re: What's going on with the Custom Shop?
Regardless of the actual request, which I don't think is beyond the reach of the Custom Shop's skills by any stretch, the point was that he was never actually speaking directly to the Custom Shop, but rather a middleman that didn't want to do the extra legwork.
I do agree with you that a different guitar (SSS or even SSH) would be a better option for what he wants. However, how many times have different needs and working outside of what's readily available changed what we can get? Les Paul wanted a solidbody guitar, so he created The Log. Eddie Van Halen put a humbucker in a Strat and basically created the Super Strat movement. Floyd Rose wasn't happy with tuning stability of Strat trems and created his own locking trem. For all we know, a pickup that fits in a humbucker mounting but sounds like a Strat single coil could be the next big seller.
Regardless of the actual request, which I don't think is beyond the reach of the Custom Shop's skills by any stretch, the point was that he was never actually speaking directly to the Custom Shop, but rather a middleman that didn't want to do the extra legwork.
I do agree with you that a different guitar (SSS or even SSH) would be a better option for what he wants. However, how many times have different needs and working outside of what's readily available changed what we can get? Les Paul wanted a solidbody guitar, so he created The Log. Eddie Van Halen put a humbucker in a Strat and basically created the Super Strat movement. Floyd Rose wasn't happy with tuning stability of Strat trems and created his own locking trem. For all we know, a pickup that fits in a humbucker mounting but sounds like a Strat single coil could be the next big seller.
Falloffthebonetone
New member
Re: What's going on with the Custom Shop?
Oh come on now. He didn't want it EXACTLY SRV, he knew what it was going into and even wanted it NOISELESS. I am positive a pickup exists that can give him this. I still just stand by getting the single coil pickup mounting ring and throwing a Vintage Hot Stack Plus or a Classic Stack Plus or a Dimarzio VV Blues. Win.
If somebody came up and said he wanted single coil like sounds out of his humbucker, you wouldn't tell him to just buy a guitar with single coils, you'd advise him to try coil splitting. This isn't an all or nothing job, just a "close enough" one. And if you can get the custom shop working with you? It's done.
Oh come on now. He didn't want it EXACTLY SRV, he knew what it was going into and even wanted it NOISELESS. I am positive a pickup exists that can give him this. I still just stand by getting the single coil pickup mounting ring and throwing a Vintage Hot Stack Plus or a Classic Stack Plus or a Dimarzio VV Blues. Win.
If somebody came up and said he wanted single coil like sounds out of his humbucker, you wouldn't tell him to just buy a guitar with single coils, you'd advise him to try coil splitting. This isn't an all or nothing job, just a "close enough" one. And if you can get the custom shop working with you? It's done.
Gabrielinconfident
New member
Re: What's going on with the Custom Shop?
I wasn't venting anger, I wanted to know if anyone else had a similar experience, and possibly get a response from SD themselves (which I got). The problem is that you're trying to help solve the wrong problem. In fact, my problem has been solved. I'm adapting a stack with a special ring, which is already with me, and the only thing left to do is actually order the pickup. I had another thread asking for suggestions and that's where/who I got the ring idea from. You just didn't see that one. My point here was simply to understand what was going on with customer service. Maybe this issue will make SD change european distributors or at least have a serious talk with the current one. Or start selling CS pickups directly to europe, as they do everywhere else. Or nothing will change, but at least I'm now talking directly to them.
Well, they've created the single-coil-sized humbucker, and now strat owners can spend $76 on a new pickup instead of $1500 on a new guitar. Why not the reverse process?
Thank you for being one of the very few who understood SRV was an abbreviation of "beefed up, noiseless single coil tone". And about the ring, I did get one. Just deciding on which stack to get.
Final considerations, people. I'll wait for a response to this message, then close the thread. As I mentioned above, the problem is now solved. No point on more moving-train hopping.
I wasn't venting anger, I wanted to know if anyone else had a similar experience, and possibly get a response from SD themselves (which I got). The problem is that you're trying to help solve the wrong problem. In fact, my problem has been solved. I'm adapting a stack with a special ring, which is already with me, and the only thing left to do is actually order the pickup. I had another thread asking for suggestions and that's where/who I got the ring idea from. You just didn't see that one. My point here was simply to understand what was going on with customer service. Maybe this issue will make SD change european distributors or at least have a serious talk with the current one. Or start selling CS pickups directly to europe, as they do everywhere else. Or nothing will change, but at least I'm now talking directly to them.
Well, they've created the single-coil-sized humbucker, and now strat owners can spend $76 on a new pickup instead of $1500 on a new guitar. Why not the reverse process?
Thank you for being one of the very few who understood SRV was an abbreviation of "beefed up, noiseless single coil tone". And about the ring, I did get one. Just deciding on which stack to get.
Final considerations, people. I'll wait for a response to this message, then close the thread. As I mentioned above, the problem is now solved. No point on more moving-train hopping.
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