Witch Duncan???

[Michael_1882]

Hi everyone this is my first post, and ive been advised of this board and the valueable knowledge you guys have.

Anyway to the point the guitar i play

http://www.maton.com.au/electrics/ms500.asp

has a humbucker in the rear and a single coil in the front. Now after speaking on an austrlian gear board, ive been told that the pickups on this guitar are its weekest link, i feel that changing generic stock pickups to Seymour Duncans is my best choice.

The reason i say Seymour's is becuase most my favourtie guitarist seem to use them. Ive started looking into them and there are that many different types??? Im jsut so confused.

Basiclly i play mostly punk/rock, how ever you want to GENREerlize it (lol is that a word) stuff like Green Day, Blink 182, NOFX, etc....
Im after advice what would be the pickups you recoment for me to #1 reasonably fit my guitar (if i have to buy a new scrath plate so be it, i think those open cute humbuckers look better anyway) #2 proberly give me the tone im looking towards. #3 i guess i want to keep this guitar with a bridge and neck pickup, i don't want just a rear humbucker.

Sould i replace a single coild in the front and a humbucker in teh back, or should i go all out buckers??? My guitar is actully released these days with a humbucker front and back option?

Someone said somthing about a p90, ??? im just don't know that much about pickups so thats why im here hopeing someone can help me, i still want to be able to get sparkley cleans through the front single coil, like fendery strat cleans? even thought i don't get them now, and then rocky/punky humbucker distorsion???


I'm after advice, so any help is greatly apricated. thanks guys if you read all of this LOL

Michael

 

[jeremy]

Re: Witch Duncan???

welcome to the forum!!


is the guitar naturally bright?? seems like it might be?

 

[dani]

Re: Witch Duncan???

welcome michael.

firstly, you have to check the dimensions of your pickups and cavities. they don't look like standard size humbuckers. they look more like mini-humbuckers. maton's pickup mounting screws goes directly through the pickup unlike any aftermarket pickups including duncan.

 

[yeti]

Re: Witch Duncan???

Hiya and welcome Michael,
I just got done reading thru this link:
http://www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/Data4/Maton/MS500_Mastersound-1.html
Sounds like you can switch out your pickups, but some re-drilling of the pup holders might be in order. I would SERIOUSLY consider taking it into a guitar shop and having them take a look at what your options would be...and how much $$$ it would take for them to do it.
That being said, it sounds like a pretty bright guitar, so you might not want to go the JB or Pearly Gates route on your bridge. Maybe an Alnico II Pro? That would probably split well, and blend with your neck for cleans, but still have the balls to rock out in its own right.
The neck is trickier...not sure what kind of routing they have going on under that coverplate. Maybe do a little investigating with your screwdriver and let us know some rough dimensions (like Dani said)?

 

[Michael_1882]

Re: Witch Duncan???

Hi guys, thanks all of your for your feed back, i know of a guy that said to give him a call when i have the pickups or (he can order them in cheaply) to install them, so if minour work is needed then thats ok, he builds guitars so routing out a little guitar shouldnt' be a problem, he said sothing about P-90's and ive had it mentioned to me before?

First of all.... Yeah the guitar is naturall bright when your switch to the single coil, no so much fendery but still bright and twangy. Cleans atm arn't that important i play a recterfire so the cleans on the mesa are great, and i can put a clean boost in front, but saying that the guitar still brings an element of bright crisp clean sound to the mix allready. I'm sure with a proper pickup in the neck the cleans will be improved significantly, i just don't really wanna drop a bucker in the neck and bridge.

As i said someone mentioned somthign abotu a p-90 or p-100 in the brigde, and said it''l give u thouse punk/rock sounds your after, i dunno if that means ne thing to you, i really don't know much about pickups, but if anyone needs help with a mesa boogie msg me and i might be able to give someone here some advice LOL

As for the deminsions, the guts arn't that much of a problem as the guy (guitar builder) can make any pickup fit, so basiclly i want to think what your guys feel woudl be the best bridge and neck pup to suit this music i play?
The actully demision of the pickup its self, relating back to the ~mini humbuck~ thought, is 10cm X 5cm for both pups, thats the demisions of the plate that holds them in, so for you amerinca thats i think 4" x 2" (i think i have that right)

I wrote ages ago on an australian gear forum abotu ppl who had customized these guitars, and the one guy who through SD pups in it said he put a Duncan (59) in the neck and a JB in the bridge??? As i said i'm learnign abotu pickups i don't know much so thats just whats someones done and said its really good, however he said the coil tap switch he wired to the 59 and not the bucker??? ne way u guys might have an oppinion about the matter, ive herd alot of ppl say JB in the back, so i looked on the products section on this site, sorry if i sound stupid but i couldn't find them :smack:

I lookfoward to reading your thoughts, once again thank you to everyone who has allready helped me.

Michael

 

[Tux789]

Re: Witch Duncan???

well it looks like the sell a similar model on the website with a JB/59 combo so that should work out

 

[Michael_1882]

Re: Witch Duncan???

Yeah i noticed that, but i wasn't sure if thats the pickup combo most sutied for my style. Alot of punk/rock bands have a similar tone, usully by
PRS/Gibson LP ---> Duncans--->Mesa Boogie/Marshal/Soldano

I started looking around and saw there are that many differn't duncans, and wondered witch combo would suit me more, would the JB and 59 do it????

Is the 59 a single coil??
Thanks again everyone for yoru comments

Michael

 

[Rainmaker]

Re: Witch Duncan???

Hey Michael, and welcome to the forum fellow Aussie!

I don't think there is much advice I can give you. I'm unfamiliar with Maton guitars (blasphemy... lol).

Pickup advice for your style of music will be pretty broad... you might want to tell us who your favourite guitarist is first

 

[OlinMusic]

Re: Witch Duncan???

From the specs the no brain choice for you is the 59/Custom 5, unless you wanna play some real leads. the bands you mentioned are more about chunky rhythm and brught cutting tone than they are about leads.

Otherwise, I have found the A2Pro/CC to worl well, also the DIMARZIO Virtual PAF/AirZone combo will play ANY style of music and ANY amount of gain.