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Category Archives: Pickup Reviews
The Kramer Chronicles Volume IV: The Custom
In the continuing saga of testing pickups in my 80s vintage Kramer rebuild, we’ve been through how the ’59, Pearly Gates, and Alternative 8 sound in the bridge position, and matched with the ‘59N in the neck. Since the Voyager’s … Continue reading
Posted in Pickup Reviews
Tagged Boogie Bodies, Floyd Rose, FU-Tone, Kramer, Seymour Duncan
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The Kramer Chronicles, Volume III: The Alternative 8
The Alt 8 is one of Seymour’s more-recent offerings and the first of their production humbucker line to be designed around the A8 magnet. The A8 has a unique flavor, one that seems to span the gap between Alnico and ceramic magnets in that it has Alnico sweetness in the highs and ample mids, but also has a tight low end similar to a ceramic. Continue reading
Posted in Pickup Reviews
Tagged Alnico 8, Alternative 8, Boogie Bodies, Floyd Rose, FU-Tone, Head Case, Kramer, SH-15, TB-15
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The Kramer Chronicles, Volume II: The Pearly Gates
When last we left off, I’d installed the ’59 set in my resurrected-mutant 80s Kramer Voyager. It sounded great, but the idea was to see how different combinations worked in the guitar, so we’ll be moving on to the next … Continue reading
Posted in Guitar Builders, Pickup Reviews
Tagged Boogie Bodies, Floyd Rose, FU-Tone, Kramer, Kramer Voyager, Pearly Gates
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The Kramer Chronicles, Volume I: The ’59 Set
When I was a kid first starting out on guitar, there was no widespread “DIY” market to speak of. That was just beginning. You basically took what you could get at your local music store, and liked it. Unless you … Continue reading
Posted in Guitar Builders, Pickup Reviews
Tagged Boogie Bodies, Charvel, Floyd Rose, FU-Tone, Kramer, PAF, StewMac, TB 59, The Bomber, trembucker
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Unleashing the Fury In Prewired Form
Yngwie Malmsteen is best known for introducing to the world his own brand of neoclassical shred. Many imitators followed, but Yngwie is still unleashing the fury around the world. His tone is built on an alder Stratocaster with scalloped maple … Continue reading
Posted in Pickup Reviews
Tagged Fender, no lube volume pot, pickguard, prewired, STK-S10B, STK-S10N, stratocaster, YJM Fury, Yngwie J. Malmsteen
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You Want Meaty? The Duncan Custom
Imagine the best PAF sound you could think of, juiced up and in the midst of a meltdown (and I mean this in the best possible sense of the term): more powerful and aggressive, with an added vibe of wild unpredictability – it might go nuts on you, but you’re pretty sure you’d like it -and you have the mighty Seymour Duncan Custom. Continue reading
Posted in Pickup Reviews
Tagged Charvel, custom, Esa Holopainen, Floyd Rose, line 6, Recabinet, sh-5, Superstrat, tb-5
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The Stealth Brutality of the Custom Custom
Varying on an already proven theme (the venerable Seymour Duncan Custom), the Custom Custom features the familiar Duncan Custom coil-wind with an Alnico 2 magnet as opposed to the standard ceramic magnet for a sweeter, more subtle yet no-less deadly variant on the Custom tone. Continue reading
Posted in Pickup Reviews
Tagged Alnico 2, Alnico 2 Pro, CC, Custom Custom, Pearly Gates, Sh-1, Superstrat, tb-11
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Jerry Donahue Lead and Alnico 2 Pro Rhythm Pickups for Telecaster
Previously, I told the story of my rosewood Tele. I love that guitar; it’s so clear and warm and chimey! But, it doesn’t have the boldness, rawness and raunchyness of what I consider to be the ‘real’ Telecaster sound. Continue reading
Posted in Pickup Reviews, Product News
Tagged alnico 2 pro telecaster, Billy Gibbons, donahue lead, Jerry Donahue, pickups, telecaster
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Seymour Duncan SSL-1 California Set for Stratocaster
I’m a hardcore Les Paul lover. For years I refused to play anything else but Les Pauls. I tried to get all the tones I wanted from them, but three years ago that started to change. I got myself a hollowbody Les Paul and saw myself using that guitar for ‘hollowbody tones.’ With that guitar as a stepping stone, a small urge developed inside me to get a Strat and a Tele. Continue reading
Posted in Pickup Reviews, Product News
Tagged alder, maple, Rosewood, SSL-1, strat, stratocaster, tele, telecaster
8 Comments
Review: Seymour Duncan Custom Shop RTM Humbucker
Let me first say this:
The Seymour Duncan Custom Shop RTM bridge humbucker is one of the coolest pickups you’ve probably never thought about trying.
When the good people at Seymour Duncan told me I could choose any Custom Shop model to review for this blog, I had no idea which one to pick. Generally, all of my guitars sound pretty good. There were no glaring weaknesses or trouble spots that really needed addressing, but I had my pick of some of the best custom-wound pickups in the business and I was absolutely not going to waste that opportunity. Continue reading
Posted in Pickup Reviews, Product News
Tagged 4-conductor, alnico II, Alnico V, custom shop, forum, G&L Legacy, JB, MJ, no logo, Ratt, review, RTM, SDUGF, Seymour Duncan, seymour duncan custom shop, Sh-4, trembucker, user group forum, warren demartini
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