FourT6and2":1it9mrvm said:
SavageRiffer":1it9mrvm said:
FourT6and2":1it9mrvm said:
I've heard good things about the Nazgul, Pegasus, and Sentient neck. I have the Nazgul/Sentient in one guitar and a Pegasus/Sentient going into another. I haven't spent much time with the Nazgul yet so I can really say. But the little time I did have with it so far, I like it a lot. More so than any Barenknuckle pickups I've tried. It has the articulation and clarity of BKP, but it also has a bit of that saturation BKP lacks sometimes. Sort of easier to play if that makes sense.
No experience with the Black Winter.
The Pegasus is my favorite Duncan, and I like the Nazgul too, but can't say the same nice things about the Sentient. I find it rather dull and disappointing. It's very articulate for a neck pickup but must be because it's sterile. It's one of the highest output alnico neck pickups from Duncan, but it doesn't feel like it. You have to work your pick a little more to get the fast notes because it tries to bee too dynamic. It has no bite or balls. Maybe people who play DJENT with modeling amps like it. I just think it is lackluster. It doesn't suck, but Seymour could have done better. It doesn't pair well with either the Pegasus or Nazgul in my opinion as it has an entirely different feel with a bland midrange.
The Pegasus however is really good and I like it as much as my favorite Dimarzios like my Air Zone and Norton. To me it sounds like a modern EVH playing progressive or something. It has a cool brightness about it that's never too much edge, and it screams in the midrange with awesome harmonics. It's articulate and punchy enough to have a great feel for shredding and chording.
The Nazgul is pretty much a badass pickup, but nowhere near as versatile as the Pegasus. It does metal and it sounds great. Cleans actually aren't bad at all in a hi-fi progressive kind of way, but nothing classic about it. It saves you the effort of trying to dial in a metal tone. Either pickup would probably pair better with a Full Shred neck.
Sentient: 7.8k
59: 7.6k.
Jazz: 7.5k.
So yeah, the Sentient is higher output than the other two but really... 7.5k - 8k is pretty standard for lower-output pickups from PAFs all the way to T-Tops to Tim Shaws to Lindy Fralin, isn't it? Also, the Sentient isn't at the top of the list of higher output Alnico 5 neck pickups from Duncan (6 string
Bendetto B7: 14.1k
Bendetto PAF: 8.3k
Bendetto A6: 11.9k
Slash Neck: 8.3k
Bendetto B6: 12.1k
Antiquity: 7.7k (0.1k less than Sentient)
Parallel Axis: 8k
Whole Lotta: 8.2k
P-Rails: 13k
The Sentient is also typically paired with both the Pegasus and Nazgul and comes that way from Duncan, as well as in many factory guitars. So it's weird to hear someone say it doesn't pair well with either. I continually hear from people that it combines the best attributes of the Jazz and '59 neck pickups. But I can't say at the moment. That guitar is in the shop getting a setup done and I only had about an hour with it. Should have it back this weekend and I'll see. My other guitar has Distortion/Jazz. I've been using that a lot. The Jazz is nice. I don't like it for high-gain. But I do like it split with the volume rolled off a bit. Has a nice chime and very piano-like on the low notes.
I didn't like the Distortion at first. But I'm actually warming up to it more and more. How does the Pegasus compare?
Well it's an honest evaluation from someone who owns them all. The point is not how much output it has but that the *feel* of it doesn't seem to match the relative output. Among the other standard line pickups such as the 59 neck, Jazz, Seth Lover, etc..., the Sentient is relatively higher output. However, it doesn't match well with the liquid feel of the Pegasus or the power of the Nazgul. Those pickups have real character and stand out in a mix, but the Sentient doesn't really have anything special going for it. It's like a Jazz player's pickup, so I don't really care for it as far as playing rock or metal.
The Pegasus compared to the Duncan Distortion is kind of apples and oranges. The Distortion is hot, ceramic, and with a strong crunch in every register. It might be a bit more versatile than the Nazgul, but the way guys are dialing in their amps and modelers these days, versatility is apparently in the hands of the beholder. To me the Pegasus is kind of a like a modern brown sound or something. It's bright in the way the PATB-1 is, and resembles the output of a PATB-1, but a tighter feel because the PATB-1 feels rather loose. The Duncan Distortion is very different and hits your amp harder. The Pegasus has a lot of great mids and the Distortion does too, but the Distortion mids are more up-front ceramic mids. If you like the Distortion, you may like the A8 or Alt8 which have kind of the ceramic EQ and power, but with the alnico flavor. It's hard to explain, but you will know if you ever have a chance to try alnico 8.
If you're not that satisfied with the Distortion now, then order an A2, UOA5, A8, and A4 magnets before you get rid of it. Less strong magnets will give you kind of an overwound sound that's a little more balanced. A lot of guys are taking apart and mismatching pickup coils these days. You could probably take a coil from the distortion and one from the Jazz, and have a whole new pickup. It's not that hard to do. In fact, a couple of Duncan pickups like the 59 Hybrid is made that way. Several of the Duncan standard line are also the same pickup with different magnets such as the Custom, Custom 5, Custom Custom, and Custom 8.
Anyway, like I said, the Pegasus and Distortion are very different. You might be better off comparing the Distortion and Nazgul. As for the Sentient, Jazz, and 59, well, I don't really care that much for any of them. The Jazz is kind of lifeless but at least has some nice highs and handles distortion pretty well. The 5 is too bassy and sometimes leaves you wanting the mids it leaves out. The Sentient is like a sterilized 59. In my opinion, Dimarzio generally has better neck pickups, but Duncan's Full Shred is kind of like a Dimarzio PAF Pro and makes a fantastic neck pickup for higher output pickups. I have swapped a5 in my Full Shred with an a2 and uoa5 with good results both ways to match with medium output and PAF type bridge pickups.
