What Makes Duncan Designed Pups Cheaper?

[LJ King]

Consider just the wire. We know that #42 awg produces a different tone than #43 awg. The wire that Duncan uses may be drawn to a much tighter spec, with a more consistent diameter, while the Korean one may be inconsistent, with the diameter and roundness all over the place.

I don't know that for sure. Its just an example.

Yeah, you're dreaming.

LABOR.

[LJ King]

I know they sound better.. The question was why they sound better.

Only if you know which is which.

Do you really think they could stand up to a double blind test?

[emilio]

This is true.


This is not.

i heard it from one of the members in this forum, don't remember who, but he or she said that there is a chance that a duncan designed can saound as good as the real thing, but most of the time no.

[Evan Skopp]

There's a difference between sounding as good and being inconsistent.

I agree that Duncan Designeds don't sound at good as Seymour Duncans. But I disagree that Duncan Designeds are inconsistent.

[ArtieToo]

Yeah, you're dreaming.

LABOR.

It was a shot in the dark.

[JeffB]

I dont think the DD designs sound bad at all...not as complex, but in a good piece of wood, they sound good enough.

Quite frankly, I think the DD Jazz neck and the IBZ/Duncan distortions (SZ series) sounds better than the "real" thing :shrug:

[emilio]

There's a difference between sounding as good and being inconsistent.

I agree that Duncan Designeds don't sound at good as Seymour Duncans. But I disagree that Duncan Designeds are inconsistent.

i meant that even two pups with the same name could vary in quality. for the record, i believe you man i'm just saying that is what i was told. now i know that that person was wrong.

[LooseCannon]

There's a difference between sounding as good and being inconsistent.

I agree that Duncan Designeds don't sound at good as Seymour Duncans. But I disagree that Duncan Designeds are inconsistent.

Evan, so what makes the tone difference between the two?

[WGTP]

I think we need a DD '78... If most of you use as much distortion as I do, it's hard to hear much in the way of subtleties...

[ryan_1934]

Here's something interesting from the Schecter site:

Q: What are DUNCAN DESIGNED humbuckers?

A: Duncan Design pickups are manufactured by an outside factory to the exact specifications and manufacturing methods of Seymour Duncan. Unlike some ´import´ pickups, the DUNCAN DESIGNED pickups use Alnico magnets (for warmth & tone) and are 4-conductor, which means that ANY Diamond Series guitar can have an ´after-market´ mini toggle or push-pull pot added for ´splitting´ the humbucker for a cleaner, single-coil tone. Note: If this is done by a qualified repair technician, it will NOT void your warranty! As far as the sound, let your ears decide, but the models we use are 95% identical to the JB and ´59 !

From my own personal experience, I doubt this: I had an ESP viper 301 a couple years ago with a duncan designed whatever in the neck and a JB bridge. The DD was completely unusable clean or distorted (so bassy that they were beyond muddy and so forth). The JB was, well, the JB...which is awesome. This was before I really knew the difference between the two (they came stock), so power of suggestion was not a factor.

I'm sure personal preference has a lot to do with this and perhaps it was just a bad model (maybe there are good duncan designed pups out there), but in my case there was a clear qualitative difference. There must be some larger differences in materials and so forth outside of just labor, I'd assume.

On the other hand, a friend of mine has a Squier Vintage Modified p-bass with a DD pickup, and it sounds light years better than any stock Fender pup I've heard.

[JB_From_Hell]

Quite frankly, I think the DD Jazz neck and the IBZ/Duncan distortions (SZ series) sounds better than the "real" thing :shrug:

The SZ pickups are the DD versions of the Distortion and '59. I like the neck pickup way better than the real '59 I had, the bridge is on par with the Distortions I've used, and the middle, split/parallel tone is fantastic.

[ratherdashing]

The missing ingredient is LOVE!

<3

Let's all hold hands and sing!

[Diego]

I had a Jackson KE3 with some DDs on it. Strung with 10-52 strings, I didn't even think of switching the pickups! Good chunk of wood, good tone.

[Mephis]

I have a duncan performer scorcher in the middle position on my carvin. It's suposidly a hotrails neck model copy. Measures 10.7k and sounds pretty darn good to me... Best of all it was only $20 new. Was really just an experiment to see how I would like a middle position humbucker. It's a lot more useful than a middle position single.

[WGTP]

Toyota just past GM as the largest Auto manufacturer in the world. They must be doing something right over there.

[Dave Z]

LOL I work with the Toyota guys some times - they are rather obssessive-compulsive. But their cars are still boring.

The DD buckers are MIK or MIC I'll wager. Japan would be too expensive.

[JacksonMIA]

Toyota just past GM as the largest Auto manufacturer in the world. They must be doing something right over there.

You mean like making their cars in the US?





I'd take a Duncan Designed over some of the other pups out there any day of the week, but I do prefer the MIA Duncans. Part of it is the tone, part of it is that I will buy American (even having to pay a premium that sometimes comes with it) as much as I can.

If I found a British pup that met my needs better than a Duncan I would probably buy it, though.

[tonedeaf1]

I have a Duncan Performer "Buck Shot" bridge. It's based on a Distortion, sounds excellent. As good as a "real" Distortion? I don't know, but it's a hot p'up, and on sale for $25 it was a steal. It has an HB-103 sticker on the bottom of it, so it's the same as the Duncan Designed Distortion-based Bridge.