Custom 5 pickup?

[53Crëw]

I was debating about trying a Duncan Custom 5 pickup in an Alder guitar in an attempt to get more low mids out of it, and a little less emphasis on the upper mids. Anyone have any experience with/opinions on this pickup?

Cheers.

 

[Metaltastic]

I had one briefly, I found it EXTREMELY dynamic, which meant that even with the gain really high on the amp I had to beat the shit out of the strings to get some good distortion, but also it was extremely warm and punchy as a result. I liked the tone it produced eq-wise, the dynamics were my only reservation!

 

[Exocaster]

I have a Custom 5 in the bridge of my EC1000. It's a great medium-output passive pickup; very thick and warm without being flubby or too dark on the top end.

Here's a clip through my Mesa Stiletto with a Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive as a boost doing some stoner rock riffage: Custom 5

 

[Exocaster]

I had one briefly, I found it EXTREMELY dynamic, which meant that even with the gain really high on the amp I had to beat the shit out of the strings to get some good distortion, but also it was extremely warm and punchy as a result. I liked the tone it produced eq-wise, the dynamics were my only reservation!

If you're used to EMGs- which the guitars in your sig would seem to indicate- something that's basically a hot PAF-flavored pickup is a big change in feel and response. I'm not surprised at all by your observations.

I actually prefer medium- to low-output passives even for high gain stuff myself, but I use stupidly thick picks and pick with a Neanderthal right hand. I'm not a light touch/uber gain guy- I like volume and brute force.

 

[JeffTD]

Really dynamic, great singing top end, and pretty tight on the bottom end. It is, however, a bit scooped, especially compared to most ceramic pickups.

 

[Metaltastic]

If you're used to EMGs- which the guitars in your sig would seem to indicate- something that's basically a hot PAF-flavored pickup is a big change in feel and response. I'm not surprised at all by your observations.

I actually prefer medium- to low-output passives even for high gain stuff myself, but I use stupidly thick picks and pick with a Neanderthal right hand. I'm not a light touch/uber gain guy- I like volume and brute force.

Hahahaha, well if you're calling me a wiener, then I'd refute it by saying that I've used plenty of guitars with passive pickups before that were less dynamic than this, and I'm not a gain maniac (and I use 1.14 mm picks) - but at the same time, I am a metalhead, through and through!

 

[K Odell]

Hahahaha, well if you're calling me a wiener, then I'd refute it by saying that I've used plenty of guitars with passive pickups before that were less dynamic than this, and I'm not a gain maniac (and I use 1.14 mm picks) - but at the same time, I am a metalhead, through and through!

Hahahaha str8 called you out brotha! kidding. I had a custom 5 for a while and I loved it, but I switched to a JB and was way happier.

 

[Exocaster]

Hahahaha, well if you're calling me a wiener, then I'd refute it by saying that I've used plenty of guitars with passive pickups before that were less dynamic than this, and I'm not a gain maniac (and I use 1.14 mm picks) - but at the same time, I am a metalhead, through and through!

Nah, no wiener implied. It is very dynamic for the amount of output it has. (I'm suspecting this probably applies to the Duncan Custom series across the board. They're the same except for the magnet.) It sounds great for lower gain/clean stuff, too. It's got a really good clean sound for a bridge humbucker.

To the OP: it will definitely deliver the low-mid goods. If I had to guess going from past experience (and it's been a while since I used either of these two pickups) it's definitely more low-mid focused than either a Duncan JB or Distortion. The Distortion especially had a big upper mid thing going on and a lot of output. It's neither the hottest nor tightest pickup out there, but it's enough of both to have delivered some pretty great metal tones for me for years now. It's a good all-around pickup if you want something a little more "vintage" than a hot ceramic magnet humbucker but with more balls and output than a straight PAF-type.

 

[53Crëw]

Thanks for the comments, guys.

 

[urinebath]

I have a custom5 in my bridge slot for an Schecter Omen-7. Sounds toight!!! Great clearity on the low end, keeps it crispy. Although my favorite is the SH-11 for the bridge. Not as bitey, but still has great clearity.