A theoretical possibility and SD Pickup comparison. Distortion vs Custom.

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

I had a set of Full Shreds in my old The Paul II and they are... A little thin/bright. They did OK in Mahogany but it sounded thinner than the stock pickups. I would not want them with ash/alder/a Floyd, UNLESS you are looking for a fairly bright neck pickup that won't have a lot of bass like neck pickups usually do - of the two I really kinda liked the Full Shred neck for that reason - if you typically find that soloing on the neck pickup leaves you wishing for less darkness and bottom end, it would be a good pickup to try.

I'm one of the Custom lovers, so you know how I feel about that. I have not had a Duncan Distortion since the 80's so I have no relevant experience with that, that I can remember.

[Grim]

To be honest, Jazz, I normally feel that way.

I have very bass-heavy settings usually, so unless I am using a dif. channel for soloing, I usually have a bass heavy sound that gets annoying.

That's why I prefer the Jazz to the '59.

How does the FS compare to the Jazz?

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

I am not sure, really. According to Duncan it should be slightly higher output with a little more mids and a little less bass. That SOUNDS like it would be a good thing.

Unfortunately, I simply don't believe the pickup descriptions or EQ specifications that Seymour Duncan quotes... Sometimes they completely contradict each other (like the Custom Custom, for "bright guitars" - which according to the tone chart has less bass than a Duncan JB, slightly more mids, and almost as much highs. :think: )

[Grim]

I too am skeptical about tone charts.

If the FS is a high-output Jazz I will be all over it.

I would just need a bridge pickup.

Which is at point of writing, either the Custom or the Distortion.

As nobody here other than Sully has experience with both, and I can't in good conscience base my decision entirely on one person's, I remain undecided.

[sully]

I too am skeptical about tone charts.

If the FS is a high-output Jazz I will be all over it.

I would just need a bridge pickup.

Which is at point of writing, either the Custom or the Distortion.

As nobody here other than Sully has experience with both, and I can't in good conscience base my decision entirely on one person's, I remain undecided.

Hopefully I can help; I made a custom demo mp3 a while back. I'll do a similar one for the distortion. Gimme a little bit and I'll post it.

Sully

[sully]

recording clips now....funny thing is that through the same amp settings (okay, my line 6 settings), there's hardly if any difference so far.

[Grim]

Hopefully I can help; I made a custom demo mp3 a while back. I'll do a similar one for the distortion. Gimme a little bit and I'll post it.

Sully

That would be wonderful.

Mind providing a guitar description as well so I can get a basis as to what you've got it in?

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

Noob magnet swapper here... Over the weekend I took a Custom Custom and swapped the magnet with a broken Custom and made a regular Custom out of it because I didn't like the Custom Custom's sound but, it was a nice Reverse Zebra trembucker and why waste it, and I had the magnet...

So, I had this beat white Custom I replaced with the RVZ Custom, so I pulled the ceramic magnet out of it and put it in a JB and put it in my Soloist. It's similar to a Duncan Distortion, though the magnet is a tad smaller.

So now I have the SL1 with the Duncan Custom bridge, and my black SL2H has the JB with the ceramic magnet (JBC, or Duncan Distortion Lite, whatever.)

I'd have to say the JB + ceramic magnet has a good deal of low mids (like a JB) over the Custom, but it's not twangy or loose sounding like I find the JB to be, and I think I'm digging the lead tone a lot. It's not a Duncan Distortion but it should be fairly similar. :dunno:

[Grim]

I have had a Distortion before and I really liked it... Especially for the direction my band is going, I don't need crazy low end.

I really just want to know how it compares to the custom... Sully's clips should help a thousand fold.

[sully]

Not too much of a difference between them, but here's the side by side comparison. It's not as "apples to apples" as I'd like, but here you go:

http://sullyville.net/music/cd.mp3

In each sample, the custom is first, the distortion is second.

Custom: Charvel strat - Alder body, bolt on maple neck, ebony freboard.

Distortion: Jackson Rhoads LTD - Maple neck thru, maple wings, ebony fretboard.

Guitar tone courtesy of Line6 TonePort UX1 on an SLO100 setting.

I hope this helps somewhat.

Sully

[sully]

...I guess it wasn't as helpful as I'd hoped! D'oh!

[Grim]

Actually, those were very helpful. I've been travelling for the past little while and hadn't been able to get to a PC until now

I'm almost leaning towards the Distortion... Sounds like there is more definition from those clips compared to the Custom... As this is a shredder, this is likely a good thing.

Now I just need to get a FS/Jazz/59 comparison

[K.Dee]

Full Shred is a really nice pickup,not for the neck position though,its tight and fluid with enough gain and trully great definition.Overall its a better pickup than the Distortion both for leads and fast riffs.

Duncan Distortion sounds thin,it lacks of bottom end and its a bit spiky too..I dont like it at all.
Try a DiMarzio Super Distortion if you want something old school,its like 2 times better pickup than the Duncan.

The Custom is a really heavy pickup,it sounds very contemporary not old school at all.Imho it has the fuller tone of all the Duncan pickups,great harmonics too almost like an active.
You just need to push those mids from your amps EQ in order to gain a bit more definition,pay attention to that.

I have the EQ at 3 on the 5150 with the FShred(Kramer NightSwan) and at 5 with the Custom TB-5(Charvel GX Bullseye)

If you compare FShred with the Custom think it like that - FShred is late 80's Hard Rock and the Duncan Custom is Annihilator..I think its simpler that way.

I like'em both.

[JACKSONFREAK]

I like the fullshred, They sound greta n theright guitar. I put one in the bridge of an RG550 i had and it sounded dead and lifeless. But in an alder body it sounds fuller and has great harmonics and good push to the sound. I have the fullshred in the neck of my WR1 and a Invader in the bridge. It's a good combo and fairly evenly matched all considered. I have a duncan distirtin from the 80s and its kiiler. full fat articulate and plenty of bottom end. distortion FS may sound cool together. Giveit a shot and let us know.
Gil

[sully]

Actually, those were very helpful. I've been travelling for the past little while and hadn't been able to get to a PC until now

I'm almost leaning towards the Distortion... Sounds like there is more definition from those clips compared to the Custom... As this is a shredder, this is likely a good thing.

Now I just need to get a FS/Jazz/59 comparison

I'm glad that it was helpful; I have to admit that when I was recording the clips, I was surprised at how similar (if not identical) the sounds were. Can't help you on the 59/Jazz/Full Shred comparison, but I've had guitars with a 59 in the neck and a Jazz in the neck, and I don't know why, but I've always preferred the Jazz. It's kinda my default neck pickup. Good luck!

Sully