Duncan Distortion or Nazgul?

[braintheory]

Dirty Fingers sound interesting... but I've always been under the impression those are a little Duncan Invader-y dark and bassy? Those are unpotted also, right? I don't know how usable that would make them.

They are nothing like I remember the invader being. They do have a huge low end and very thick sounding, scooped mids, but also a sharp, cutting high end and the low end is pretty tight (not super tight though). Unless you have a really bassy guitar, they shouldn’t get boomy IME. They are very big sounding and probably the most raw/organic sounding of what I mentioned

They are unpotted though, which can be an issue depending on setup and if you don’t have a good gate. Most of the others I mention aren’t problematic like that with noise

The Tone Nerd Psykes is a good modern take on the Dirty Fingers without the noise, but that raw, organic sound of the originals and that growl and harmonics seems like it’s just hard to replicate the same way with those great vintage pickups

 

[jbru91]

I love the Nazguls for drop tuning and ERGs, but feel like there are better options if those don't apply. They really tighten up in those circumstances like going from a four stroke to a two stroke thumper, but become overkill when mixed with standard tuning and/or modern tight amps. It's just my opinion based on what I'm rocking, of course.

What's you go-to when those don't apply?

 

[Rex Rocker]

I love the Nazguls for drop tuning and ERGs, but feel like there are better options if those don't apply. They really tighten up in those circumstances like going from a four stroke to a two stroke thumper, but become overkill when mixed with standard tuning and/or modern tight amps. It's just my opinion based on what I'm rocking, of course.

Well, I am tuning to C and using a Recto model on my Helix, so I guess I can benefit from the Nazgul.

But honestly, what I'd wished the D Activator had was 1. more high mid emphasis (which I guess the Nazgul would have) and 2. A tiny little bit more output (which I don't think the Nazgul would have?).

 

[Rex Rocker]

They are nothing like I remember the invader being. They do have a huge low end and very thick sounding, scooped mids, but also a sharp, cutting high end and the low end is pretty tight (not super tight though). Unless you have a really bassy guitar, they shouldn’t get boomy IME. They are very big sounding and probably the most raw/organic sounding of what I mentioned

They are unpotted though, which can be an issue depending on setup and if you don’t have a good gate. Most of the others I mention aren’t problematic like that with noise

The Tone Nerd Psykes is a good modern take on the Dirty Fingers without the noise, but that raw, organic sound of the originals and that growl and harmonics seems like it’s just hard to replicate the same way with those great vintage pickups

Ah, gonna research the Tone Nerd stuff too!

 

[braintheory]

Ah, gonna research the Tone Nerd stuff too!

Tone Nerd is made a member here Scottosan. I don’t know if he’s making pickups again currently since his move to Japan. If interested I have several extra vintage Dirty Fingers or Tone Nerd Psykes I can sell

 

[NowYou'rePlayingWithPower]

What's you go-to when those don't apply?

I usually just leave whatever is in the guitar as long as any issues are correctable through height adjustment/pots/caps/string gauge/magnet swaps/eq/chain until the guitar finds it's place among my others. If I were to narrow it down the Pegasus is really well rounded and fills in where the Nazgul doesn't shine (for me) when playing analog.

Otherwise, I seem to have drifted into using the fluence moderns for modeling/software/recording the past year or so. They're kind of boring and predictable, but that makes them pretty good for shaping(also taming) the tone in the rest of the chain while remaining fairly consistent from one guitar to the next. Outside of those I'm not a huge fan of redundancy, so I will always find a place for a pair of lofi maxons, pafs, emgs, or whatev. Kind of makes "go to" signal chain specific in my eyes(ears).

Well, I am tuning to C and using a Recto model on my Helix, so I guess I can benefit from the Nazgul.

But honestly, what I'd wished the D Activator had was 1. more high mid emphasis (which I guess the Nazgul would have) and 2. A tiny little bit more output (which I don't think the Nazgul would have?).

I don't think anyone I know who has them is displeased with the nazguls. They aren't 500Ts, but I doubt you would care after you play the first note.

 

[valve]

Yeah, they're like 95% the same level. The Fluence is very slightly more headroom-y, though. But not by much. I think the "OMG much moar dynamicz!" is an exaggeration. Sometimes people just follow the hype without actually taking the time to analize. You can really tell when recording DI's. I will say, though, when you strum hard on an EMG 81, you can hear it crunch up a bit. You don't on a Fluence. I don't know how their clipping works, honestly. Because the waveforms look as clipped/limited as each other, almost.

I like the Fluence Modern, but the passive voicing is definitely not the star of the show. It's kinda weak mid-output, and not very interesting tonally. Kinda bland/flat. The Adlers have a much more interesting passive voicing.

Thanks for the answer.
i like mid and low output. my main amp works best with them.
But i definitly need some metal guitars around although i don't play them that often.
I don't want to change my setup too much for a one trick pony high output ceramic PU though.
My lead channel needs the gain knob higher than say 8:30 or else it's a bit muddy and lifeless.
With high output PUs this is already pretty gainy for rythm(, so i would have to use the crunch channel, which is not as tight, so i would need a EQ/boost. But i want the EQ/boost for solos or bassy neck PUs.)

i have my mood wings and sometimes i like "bland"/even, sometimes i need something edgy. I had a love hate relationship with a dual rectifier that started in the 90s.
It also depends on the guitar itself, what's needed in a Pickup.
So "even" might be a good thing. But my nice and even might be somebody elses flat and boring, i totally get that.

 

[Rex Rocker]

Thanks for the answer.
i like mid and low output. my main amp works best with them.
But i definitly need some metal guitars around although i don't play them that often.
I don't want to change my setup too much for a one trick pony high output ceramic PU though.
My lead channel needs the gain knob higher than say 8:30 or else it's a bit muddy and lifeless.
With high output PUs this is already pretty gainy for rythm(, so i would have to use the crunch channel, which is not as tight, so i would need a EQ/boost. But i want the EQ/boost for solos or bassy neck PUs.)

i have my mood wings and sometimes i like "bland"/even, sometimes i need something edgy. I had a love hate relationship with a dual rectifier that started in the 90s.
It also depends on the guitar itself, what's needed in a Pickup.
So "even" might be a good thing. But my nice and even might be somebody elses flat and boring, i totally get that.

I'm usually kinda all-out for pickups. Either PAF-y (towards the hotter-end of the PAF spectrum, though), or all-out high-output passives, personally.

But yeah, I think the Fishmans are worth a try if you haven't. There is a lot of hype around them, but they are undoubtedly a solid product. To me, they kinda do the EMG thing better than EMG's, but that's just my opinion. On top of that, they've got more sounds to them built in. Win win, IMO.

 

[garey77]

Maybe check out the SD Jupiter? It’s a pretty aggressive sounding pickup.

 

[Rex Rocker]

Maybe check out the SD Jupiter? It’s a pretty aggressive sounding pickup.

I'm worried about the output, though. Like I said, part of the issue I have with the D Activator is it's slightly lower output than the 500T. So whenever I plug my Strat in, it's too dry compared to the Les Paul. I'd rather not adjust anything.

 

[Rex Rocker]

Alright... white Duncan Distortion ordered!

I was dubious about ordering a Trembucker or a regular-spaced hum. Went for regular spaced. The MIM Fender trem is actually the exact same spacing as my Graphtech Tune-O on the Gibson.