duncan custom opinions?

[Kapo_Polenton]

Again it all depends on the guitar... i had an air zone (dimarzio version of a custom custom) in one of my strats and thought it was too flat and muddy. Threw that in the bright koa topped fat strat I had and it was perfect and VH enough for me. You have to tune the wood of your guitar to the pickup... as for early VH, the dimarzio super distortion in the right alder sounds very convincing to me. JB vs SH-5 custom, well the JB has this sometimes annoying mid thing going on but overall i find it heavier and hotter than the SH-5. Love alnico II pups though and obviously they warmup brighter instruments. Again, bright guitar - muddier pickup. fatter guitar- pickup with more cut.

 

[AmpliFIRE]

That just shows that some dont really know about the early VH1 sound.Some need to listen to the first Van halen album(VH1),its very crisp and bright also very aggressive.The custom custom will not be crisp and bright.MJ at duncan wasnt around back then(79 early 80s) working for seymour.Ive tried the custom custom because I listened to MJ.The custom custom has this muddiness to its tone.........

The amp and guitar are 95% of that tone...the pickup is just complimentary. I don't think it's a dead ringer for early VH, but it's better than the SH5...you have to adjust the pup height to dial in more high end.

 

[AmpliFIRE]

Again it all depends on the guitar... i had an air zone (dimarzio version of a custom custom) in one of my strats and thought it was too flat and muddy. Threw that in the bright koa topped fat strat I had and it was perfect and VH enough for me. You have to tune the wood of your guitar to the pickup... as for early VH, the dimarzio super distortion in the right alder sounds very convincing to me. JB vs SH-5 custom, well the JB has this sometimes annoying mid thing going on but overall i find it heavier and hotter than the SH-5. Love alnico II pups though and obviously they warmup brighter instruments. Again, bright guitar - muddier pickup. fatter guitar- pickup with more cut.

+1

 

[rupe]

It's a great pickup in the right guitar. My Les Paul Custom is not the right guitar I was shocked when I put one in it a few years back (I had loved it in anything that I had put it in up until that time). I plugged in and it wasn't bad but seemed a bit thin. I followed up by plugging in an H2+ loaded Rand and was shocked at how much bigger and thicker the Floyded guitar sounded...over a Les Paul!

 

[ledvedder]

I've been trying to decide which would be best in my Peavey Wolfgang, a Custom or a Custom 5.

 

[craftm1]

SH-5 Custom is my choice if the Jb is to hot!

 

[mchn13]

It's a great pickup in the right guitar. My Les Paul Custom is not the right guitar I was shocked when I put one in it a few years back (I had loved it in anything that I had put it in up until that time). I plugged in and it wasn't bad but seemed a bit thin. I followed up by plugging in an H2+ loaded Rand and was shocked at how much bigger and thicker the Floyded guitar sounded...over a Les Paul!

See I def need the fullness of the low end that the jb has. My sg has way more ass than the les paul with the 498t. Another reason I was leaning custom5, because it has more bass (at least on the tone chart)

 

[mchn13]

Ok almost a week later but don't wanna make another thread.. I took the nickle covers off of the 498t and the 490 and liked them so much better. Anyone else taken the covers off and loved the difference?
I tried my paul with the 498 vs my other guitarist' old ibanez artist with an sh-5, and liked the 498 way better........the custom had more high end, more gain,and was tighter, but the 498 was more raw and open, better imo...
I don't know what to do about a guitar I like the pups in. I'm so used to gutting them as soon as I get one and doing the whole pickup rat race. Also don't know when I started liking lower output pups more either...
Sorry for the story, one last question; whatg does anyone know about the 36th anni dimarzios? A friend has a set for a good price.....

 

[mchn13]

Call MJ at the Seymour Duncan custom shop, tell her what you want and she will wind it for you.

I got a 7 string set of '78 EVh pickups on their way in now.

Dude good call on the 78 evh pup. I bought one from rockstar nick from the forum classifieds, and its my favorite pickup now! I really got along with the jb in this guitar, but the 78 just crushes and its so more open. You don't know what the specs eq-wise are do you? Man I'm so down with low output pups and high-ish gain now. Now I gotta buy another one.....

 

[rockstah]

I'm looking for a pickup combo for a les paul..I have searched, but wanted opinins on a custm, custom5, or a custom custom.?
I have an sg with a jb in it and love it for just rockin out, but has a lot of honk in the mids and is a bit raw for cleans..I'm leaning towards a custom 5, thinking it might be a bit better for cleans, and maybe smoother under distortion.?
Thanks for any info, and or suggestions. Also, are there any motor city pups that are close to this?

Rig is: studio lp, jcm800, maxon 808, drop d, or standard tuning.

Ask Wade over at motor city pups.
I have his Detroiter set in my Les Paul.
Beefed up PAF with tons of tone.
Cleans up nice and gets mean when i want it.
Nice open tonal goodness.
Mark

 

[chunktone]

I personally prefer the Custom5 or Custom Custom over the Custom. I find the high's kind of harsh, gritty or grainy with ceramic magnets. YMMV.

 

[mchn13]

I'm looking for a pickup combo for a les paul..I have searched, but wanted opinins on a custm, custom5, or a custom custom.?
I have an sg with a jb in it and love it for just rockin out, but has a lot of honk in the mids and is a bit raw for cleans..I'm leaning towards a custom 5, thinking it might be a bit better for cleans, and maybe smoother under distortion.?
Thanks for any info, and or suggestions. Also, are there any motor city pups that are close to this?

Rig is: studio lp, jcm800, maxon 808, drop d, or standard tuning.

Ask Wade over at motor city pups.
I have his Detroiter set in my Les Paul.
Beefed up PAF with tons of tone.
Cleans up nice and gets mean when i want it.
Nice open tonal goodness.
Mark

I've been wanting to try those as well. Right now I'm sold on this 78, but id like to find another like it for my SG. Do you know the output of the detroiter?

 

[Anonymous]

a trick i use with the sh-5 custom, or regular old duncan custom, when i want sounds like this, i crank my gain and mids, and back down the volume on the guitar....these pickups are really versatile. yet, with everything these days, if the instant gratification doesnt jump out and punch most ppl in the face, they're not willing to give things a shot. all the better for me..i've been using sh-5s for years in my LPs, and they're a natural match to those guitars and either a 59 or alnico. im used to them, and know what i need to do to get the results i want out of them....which, not surprisingly, can also be applied to all the rest of the gear i own. i think this is where gear flippers miss out...not using something long enough to devolop a relationship so to speak with their gear...think about what eddie did...had something he liked with his original pickups, and kept tweaking that, his amps, etc to get what he wanted...volume and sustain, minimum distortion. he had a relationship with his gear. unlike a lot of gear you see being sold even here, in the very classifieds we all love to peruse every day.

food for though. YMMV. YOLO.....etc etc etc....

 

[SFW]

The Custom is a great pickup. I have one in my Les Paul right now. The mids are very reminiscent of P90 mids- they have a certain growl that is extremely fun to play with. Sounds outstanding under gain, and cleans up very well.

 

[Schaf]

I've been trying to decide which would be best in my Peavey Wolfgang, a Custom or a Custom 5.

Man, I love the stock peavey pickups.

 

[rockstah]

I'm looking for a pickup combo for a les paul..I have searched, but wanted opinins on a custm, custom5, or a custom custom.?
I have an sg with a jb in it and love it for just rockin out, but has a lot of honk in the mids and is a bit raw for cleans..I'm leaning towards a custom 5, thinking it might be a bit better for cleans, and maybe smoother under distortion.?
Thanks for any info, and or suggestions. Also, are there any motor city pups that are close to this?

Rig is: studio lp, jcm800, maxon 808, drop d, or standard tuning.

Ask Wade over at motor city pups.
I have his Detroiter set in my Les Paul.
Beefed up PAF with tons of tone.
Cleans up nice and gets mean when i want it.
Nice open tonal goodness.
Mark

I've been wanting to try those as well. Right now I'm sold on this 78, but id like to find another like it for my SG. Do you know the output of the detroiter?

i believe when i measured it it was like 8.7k or 8.9k but again ask Wade.