In Praise Of The Custom 8!!!

[MasterKtulu]

I have a Custom Custom that I found lacked bass/low-mids, and a lot of people in this forum advised me to change the Alnico 2 magnet to a Alnico 8 Magnet. And boy were they right! It added exactly the right amount of bass/low-mids, slightly reduced the high-mids that were abundant while making the highs more prominent for them to almost scream each note while never having the dreaded ice-picks. Now my bridge pickup can chug any heavy rhythm and scream any solo my fingers can play... It's a very aggressive, full sounding, balanced, distortion loving bridge pickup for any type of Hard Rock & Metal out there!

[blueman335]

+1. I play Chicago blues & think it's great too. Another benefit: It's got the warmth & power to balance well with neck HB's too.

[BloodRose]

Bravo!! C8 is my fav! I got my Explorer out of storage the other day and its absolutely addictive with this pup in it..

[Ascension]

I also love the Custom 8. I have several in several different guitars. I think in particular it is the ultimate Hairband tone pickup but it is much much more than that!
I use one most of the time I am onstage and that is 3 to 4 times a week.

[BloodRose]

Ascension,
The only guitar it doesnt have any of the Airiness in is the Salas.. It just thumps in that guit for some reason..
The first guitar I put one in is my Kramer Focus 6000 and yeah, that thing just ooozes aquanet..

[Andrew Lamprecht]

Yeah, with advice from blueman I changed the ceramic that came in my used guitar to an A8 and it made my guitar which used to be dull now sound like heaven. It has many tonal flavors which is all accessed through my volume knob. What I've been trying to do for some time with a ceramic and now I know what I was doing wrong.

[jhale667]

I also love the Custom 8. I have several in several different guitars. I think in particular it is the ultimate Hairband tone pickup but it is much much more than that!
I use one most of the time I am onstage and that is 3 to 4 times a week.

That was my next question - how does it hold up in a band context - but sounds like you've had good results?

[blueman335]

That was my next question - how does it hold up in a band context - but sounds like you've had good results?

It has a little more treble than an A2, so it has some cut for a band situation. And of course, the high output helps too.