Which Duncans Are The Same Pickup But With Different Magnets?

Re: Which Duncans Are The Same Pickup But With Different Magnets?

On the subject of the Full Shred and Jazz, both utilize the same magnet, so if it were true that they used the same coils, and that it's openly on the Duncan website that they both use A5's then they would be the identical pickup.
Well the Jazz has one slug coil and one screw coil with long fillisters, whereas the the FS has two screw coils with short hexes.

They sound significantly different from one another.
 
Re: Which Duncans Are The Same Pickup But With Different Magnets?

It'd be impractical, basically my point.
Impossible with just a meter. There are really very few options outside of unwinding each coil to determine how they're constructed.
 
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Re: Which Duncans Are The Same Pickup But With Different Magnets?

Well the Jazz has one slug coil and one screw coil with long fillisters, whereas the the FS has two screw coils with short hexes.

They sound significantly different from one another.

I don't think that those would make that large of an impact on tone. I would think that the materials the screws are made from would be far more important that shape.
 
Re: Which Duncans Are The Same Pickup But With Different Magnets?

Regarding screw coils, length is also going to make a significant difference. I've read some unpleasant arguments over the whether the shape of the head makes a difference and trust what Frank had to say about it, though I believe it may have only been in regards to the hex caps used on the Invaders vs. regular fillisters.

Regarding screw vs slug, I am under the impression that there is also a difference, though I haven't tried to verify this objectively.
 
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Re: Which Duncans Are The Same Pickup But With Different Magnets?

I don't think that those would make that large of an impact on tone. I would think that the materials the screws are made from would be far more important that shape.

No not true. The shape of the magnetic field, and the inductance shift from a keeper bar vs slugs, for example, it all makes a significant difference. It all makes a difference, really. For example you can take a PAF style construction pickup, and hear very quickly what happens if you cut the 6 poles off flush with the baseplate.
 
Re: Which Duncans Are The Same Pickup But With Different Magnets?

No not true. The shape of the magnetic field, and the inductance shift from a keeper bar vs slugs, for example, it all makes a significant difference. It all makes a difference, really. For example you can take a PAF style construction pickup, and hear very quickly what happens if you cut the 6 poles off flush with the baseplate.

That makes a lot of sense. I just never thought about it. I've said in a recent thread that I am not a pickup expert by any means. I'm more of a pedal guru than a pickup expert.
 
Re: Which Duncans Are The Same Pickup But With Different Magnets?

What do the slugs accomplish, though?

Also, afair, the Detonator/Performer/HB-108b is an UNPOTTED distortion with slugs... not sure what the neck is, besides also unpotted and slugged
 
Re: Which Duncans Are The Same Pickup But With Different Magnets?

Regarding screw coils, length is also going to make a significant difference. I've read some unpleasant arguments over the whether the shape of the head makes a difference and trust what Frank had to say about it, though I believe it may have only been in regards to the hex caps used on the Invaders vs. regular fillisters.

Regarding screw vs slug, I am under the impression that there is also a difference, though I haven't tried to verify this objectively.

Screws and slugs are often different alloy....and maybe a different technique of construction - but also they are different dimension in every way. Screws are long most often.....even in hex head form. They sit a long way below the pickup almost every time, meaning the magnetic field is not centered on the bobbin but somewhat below it. Slugs are wide all the way down, and barely go below the bobbin, let alone below the baseplate like screws. So the field is shaped differently. In this way there can be tonal shifts with identical winds but with the magnetic element being conducted by screws or slugs. It can be that you can get a tonal shift with physical flipping of the pickup 180 deg, even despite the wire part of the pickup being functionally identical.
 
Re: Which Duncans Are The Same Pickup But With Different Magnets?

Nah it's pretty sweet sounding with good treble with an A2. Seymour uses it like that often, and although the Custom Shop JB Concept model can be ordered with either, in Seymour's guitars and the 35th it was Alnico II.

I'm not a fan of the JB in general. It sounds ok distorted, but it's too muddy clean. I prefer a bright snappy tone. I have a tone control if I want to lose the high end.


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Re: Which Duncans Are The Same Pickup But With Different Magnets?

Good luck measuring wind pattern and tension with a meter.

True. That's why you have to unwind a coil.

However, I've developed the opinion that those factors aren't as important as people think. I came to this realization by the fact that when you hand wind, no matter how careful you are, you can't wind two identical coils. There's always some randomness. Yet the two pickups will sound the same with all other factors being equal.




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Re: Which Duncans Are The Same Pickup But With Different Magnets?

The JB is the same wind as the distortion but A5 vs ceramic.
Close, but not quite... there's more turns of wire in the Distortion than in the JB.

I didn't get the TPL of both, so I neither can confirm nor deny if they're exactly the same wind or not.

HTH,
 
Re: Which Duncans Are The Same Pickup But With Different Magnets?

BTW way, I tried a JB2 in my Brian Moore, and still didn't like it. There sis something about the JB's wind I don't like, no matter what magnet I've tried. My guess is the power of it, but I haven't done enough experiments to confirm- I just use other great pickups.
 
Re: Which Duncans Are The Same Pickup But With Different Magnets?

I'm not a fan of the JB in general. It sounds ok distorted, but it's too muddy clean. I prefer a bright snappy tone.
I know it won't get you that as a series hunbucker, but have you tried one split?
 
Re: Which Duncans Are The Same Pickup But With Different Magnets?

I know it won't get you that as a series hunbucker, but have you tried one split?

I never split humbuckers or use single coils. I hate noise. I do switch humbuckers into parallel though.

It's just too overwound for my taste. I don't mind DiMarzio Super Distortions though. Because it's a brighter pickup. But I generally stop at about 10k for bridge pickups.

Lots of guitarists seem to like dark humbuckers. I like them almost as bright as single coils, kind of like how real PAFs are, or some of Bill Lawrence's pickups. That's because I use a lot of different guitar tones.


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Re: Which Duncans Are The Same Pickup But With Different Magnets?

I feel the same way that you do, but I'm OK with a hotter wind of 43AWG.

Dark humbuckers are good for high gain. Let the amp create all the highs in the way of harmonics. If you look at the topology of a SLO 100 you'll see the input to the gain stage that saturates has a cap to ground.
 
Re: Which Duncans Are The Same Pickup But With Different Magnets?

I love how the internet can't decide if the JB is icepicky bright or muddy.

I think it can be both of those things depending on the guitar. The way I see it the JB, with correct electronics, in an ash or alder strat is basically perfect. It has a smooth, vocal, lead tone that just feels so good to play.

That being said that pickup can sound realllyyyyyyy bad in a lot of guitars. Which is why it's criticisms seem so contradictory. It's a finicky pickup. It's older than I am! This pickup should not be expected to do it all in the same way that a '59 cherry sunburst Les Paul should not be expected to do it all.

It's just really ****ing good at being itself.
 
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