Who here is a duncan custom(sh-5) user and expert on it's tone?

[RG 2570]

by expert i meant somene who has played on one for a good amount of time?
I need to know a few things before i buy one
does it have a super tight tone?
like when you play fast stacato does it track the notes very precise and seperate?
how ballsy is it? i want a powerful pup but not a super distortion monster.
i want a clean powerful driving tone that will do the thumping rhythms and articulate leads ?
i am guessing it has a not so great clean tone? how bout split in conjunction with a single in the middle?

 

[frankencat]

Re: Who here is a duncan custom(sh-5) user and expert on it's tone?

Man, it sounds like the Custom is exactly what you want. I have one in a Jackson with an SSL-2 in the middle and a Cool Rails in the neck and it is everything you described and extremely versatile. I am slowly starting to think it is my favorite Duncan. I have tried a ton of different pickups including all of the popular Duncans and currently have:

Custom
Custom 5
'59 PAF
Pearly Gates
HB102
SC101
SSL-2
SSL-6
Cool Rails
Hot Rails

The above pickups are in one guitar or another around here (Jackson, Fender Strat, Gibson LP) and they all serve thier pupose.

Sounds like you have done the research. Nothing left to do now but go for it and let your ears make the final decision.

Peace

 

[RG 2570]

Re: Who here is a duncan custom(sh-5) user and expert on it's tone?

Man, it sounds like the Custom is exactly what you want. I have one in a Jackson with an SSL-2 in the middle and a Cool Rails in the neck and it is everything you described and extremely versatile. I am slowly starting to think it is my favorite Duncan. I have tried a ton of different pickups including all of the popular Duncans and currently have:

Custom
Custom 5
'59 PAF
Pearly Gates
HB102
SC101
SSL-2
SSL-6
Cool Rails
Hot Rails

The above pickups are in one guitar or another around here (Jackson, Fender Strat, Gibson LP) and they all serve thier pupose.

Sounds like you have done the research. Nothing left to do now but go for it and let your ears make the final decision.

Peace

well to be honest the custom seems to be the ONLY one that does these thing from what i hear?
I do not like a lot of sag to the notes? i want them purcusssive and sharp and no damn wha in the middle tone to them :laugh2:
I got a demon before and was sadly dissapointed :smack:

 

[\m/(00)\m/]

Re: Who here is a duncan custom(sh-5) user and expert on it's tone?

do yourself a favor and just go buy a damn custom!!!

 

[Zerberus]

Re: Who here is a duncan custom(sh-5) user and expert on it's tone?

by expert i meant somene who has played on one for a good amount of time?
I need to know a few things before i buy one
does it have a super tight tone?
like when you play fast stacato does it track the notes very precise and seperate?
how ballsy is it? i want a powerful pup but not a super distortion monster.
i want a clean powerful driving tone that will do the thumping rhythms and articulate leads ?
i am guessing it has a not so great clean tone? how bout split in conjunction with a single in the middle?

You´re the first person to post a spot on review before he bought the pickup

 

[nuntius]

Re: Who here is a duncan custom(sh-5) user and expert on it's tone?

yes to all your questions, the cleans arent poor at all, they just arent as warm and sparkly as you'd want - but hey its a powerful pup!

split with a single in the middle it sounds great too

i think you'd be very happy with one

 

[Simon_F]

Re: Who here is a duncan custom(sh-5) user and expert on it's tone?

The Custom fits the bill for all the things you're asking. It really is an excellent rock/metal pickup. Regarding the cleans, I find it sounds great as long as you're prepared to experiment with your guitar volume and tone knobs a bit.

The SH-5 is the pickup that puts a big smile on your face.

Which reminds me, I should update my sig - I'm running the Custom/'59 combo in my LP again. Couldn't resist! :smack: :dance:

 

[korovamilkdud]

Re: Who here is a duncan custom(sh-5) user and expert on it's tone?

I love it. I actually like the cleans more than the 59's. 59 sounded a bit "honk" than I would have liked. I guess my ultimate PAF would be the Seth, but a Custom is potted and has more punch and bottom, and will still clean up and be articulate.

 

[Metalman_666]

Re: Who here is a duncan custom(sh-5) user and expert on it's tone?

In my opinion, you can't do much better than the Custom for what you want. Based on clips, and reviews, it sounds like it would the perfect compliment to a rock and metal guitar player's arsenal

 

[morroow]

Re: Who here is a duncan custom(sh-5) user and expert on it's tone?

well i have a custom in my Ibanez SZ now and it's ****ing awesome!

yesterday i played with a band and the other guitarplayer had a gibson les paul custom and my guitar sounded better then his!

reason: the ibanez SZ is almost like a les paul with a strat-ish influence on his looks only the stock pup's suck!
and the SH-5 has an awesome sound.

 

[Dills]

Re: Who here is a duncan custom(sh-5) user and expert on it's tone?

To me a custom sounds like the tone of "The Darkness" i.e growing on me
The bass response is growly (like a dog) rather than smooth. There is enough mids to give it a creamy sort of sound, there is enough trebles to cut through for soloing without being too shrill, or brittle. It is chunky with palm muting. It definelty suits hard rock styles because of its aggressiveness but it also can be quite versatile. It sounds good split and combined with the neck pickup for a jangly sound rhymthm sound that has enough thickness. I definetly like it in the bridge of my PRS.

 

[papersoul]

Re: Who here is a duncan custom(sh-5) user and expert on it's tone?

You could also look at the Duncan JB or the Rio BBQ which I find to be like a combination of the Custom and the JB. I think the JB is a little sweeter and warmer than the Custom, but the JB seems a tad thicker with more bottom.

 

[RG 2570]

Re: Who here is a duncan custom(sh-5) user and expert on it's tone?

You could also look at the Duncan JB or the Rio BBQ which I find to be like a combination of the Custom and the JB. I think the JB is a little sweeter and warmer than the Custom, but the JB seems a tad thicker with more bottom.

already had the JB for a brief time. no likey !
too upper middy as is the BBQ from what i hear?
everyone says the custom is very balanced tonally which is what i want.

 

[papersoul]

Re: Who here is a duncan custom(sh-5) user and expert on it's tone?

already had the JB for a brief time. no likey !
too upper middy as is the BBQ from what i hear?
everyone says the custom is very balanced tonally which is what i want.

The Custom is balanced but I find it somewhat hard and not as rich and juicy as the other two. I don't find the BBQ as upper midrangy as the JB. Maybe the thicker lower mids and bass of the BBQ balance it out so the upper mids are not very prominant.

 

[papersoul]

Re: Who here is a duncan custom(sh-5) user and expert on it's tone?

The Custom is balanced but I find it somewhat hard and not as rich and juicy as the other two. I don't find the BBQ as upper midrangy as the JB. Maybe the thicker lower mids and bass of the BBQ balance it out so the upper mids are not very prominant.

 

[keano12]

Re: Who here is a duncan custom(sh-5) user and expert on it's tone?

Nuntius I like your clips man. good stuff. what pickups you using on those clips?

 

[GoDrex]

Re: Who here is a duncan custom(sh-5) user and expert on it's tone?

I used the Custom for nearly a year - I found it to be too compressed and harsh. Also the highs didn't really sing. I've found I really just don't like ceramic magnet humbuckers all that much.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Who here is a duncan custom(sh-5) user and expert on it's tone?

First of all, this thing needs a large slab of mahogany to drive it. A Les Paul (full thickness), a flying V, an Explorer. Everything else is pretty much out.

Comparing the DC and the C5 at light play and light volume (fingerpicking etc.) you find they are pretty close, but things change when you play harder. The C5 never compresses, it just gets shrill and loud, relying on rig compression. The DC starts getting into a compressed scream.

Now, either way you want one of the two compressions, and that's why people have to different option on the C5. If you have the rig to add appropriate compression to the C5 it can sound great. The same rig will probably be too compressed with the DC (double compression so to speak).

The DC is more for the people who have a heavy pig Gibson and go into a very light effects chain into a Marshall. The C5 is more for people who have whatever guitar (probably not tremolo guitars, though) and a rig with lots of opportunity to add the required compression, both clean and crunch.

Like all ceramic pickups the cleans of the DC are cold. However, I think this is more a feature than a problem if you already have an alnico neck pickup. If you have a warm neck pickup for fingerpicking, why also have a warm bridge pickup? A cold bridge pickup will add variety for that flanger-driven dark song intro or whatever.

Anyway, the DC is guitar-driven. Don't put it into a SG or something.

 

[Zerberus]

Re: Who here is a duncan custom(sh-5) user and expert on it's tone?

^^ Interesting, I have one of my Customs in an ash strat and the other in an alder superstrat... I´ve never found the lack of mahogany to be an issue with either....

 

[DrNewcenstein]

Re: Who here is a duncan custom(sh-5) user and expert on it's tone?

I've got a C5 in an all-mahogany guitar, but it's thin like an SG. Sounds killer to me. Tons of punch and beef through my ADA MP-1.
I've got a CC in an identical guitar (same model), tuned to C# for old Sabbath and it nails the tones, again, through the ADA MP-1.

Yes, they're both Floyded.