SH-5 Duncan Custom vs. SH-10 Full Shred vs. SH-13 Dimebucker vs. SH-6 Distortion

[Christopher Caruana]

Thanks for the advice! Sounds great to me. Too great to be true... In Switzerland, there's absolutely no chance to get the Suhr Aldrich Pickups so I'll have to stay with Duncans.

you could also try these guys for the aldrich pickup

http://www.acmeguitarworks.com/Aldri...__P1897C67.cfm

[Chuck_Norris]

Aceman, thanks for your advice. As I said at the beginning, I already have a guitar whith a Duncan Distortion in it but i don't like it as much as my Dimebucker because the low end is too loose for my needs. It is a great pickup for downtuning/chugging stuff (that's why I use it) but it's just not what I want for standard tuning/staccato/shredding stuff. The Dimebucker on the other hand is nice but I'm not satisfied whith it's lead tone. And I also think that there are some pickups from Seymour Duncan that are more articulated on the lows. Thats why I thought of the Full Shred and the Duncan Custom. The official description says that the Full Shred is even more articulated than the Custom so I think it may be the better choice for me... But im still not 100% sure...

[mustaine-who?]

O-k..I'm gonna throw 2 wild cards in here...the PATB-3 and the Screamen Demon. Both have articulate low end. The PATB-3 is much fuller than then the FS...it really does turn a trem guitar into a "les paul"...but for me it was just not modern enough. The SD stays tight under high gain like mad...it has a different attack tho. Its hard to describe tho. But man does it sing for leads.

The only other PuPs that spring to mind (which I'm also looking at) are the Anderson H3 and H3+, and the Dimarzio Evolution 1 and 2. I'm also 8/10 sold on trying the new Dimarzio Crunch Lab/Liquifire in my basswood Jackson. Love Petrucci's tone!

[daemon barbeque]

You can get a Custom and replaces the screws with allen screws.
This will ad the custom a bit more tightness and bring it close to the full shred (same coil anyway). You will still have more output than the FS, more balls indeed but enough tightness.
If you think in time you would prefer more tightness, swap the Ceramic to Alnico 5 and you have a Full Shred. I think that's a good plan!

[Christopher Caruana]

You can get a Custom and replaces the screws with allen screws.
This will ad the custom a bit more tightness and bring it close to the full shred (same coil anyway). You will still have more output than the FS, more balls indeed but enough tightness.
If you think in time you would prefer more tightness, swap the Ceramic to Alnico 5 and you have a Full Shred. I think that's a good plan!

or he can get a FS and just put a ceramic mag in it and not have to worry about going through the trouble of changing the screws on a Custom. Just 2 different roads that will take you to the same place.

[Aceman]

The distortion is not a tight enough bottom? You sir like some very tight bottom. I do not think of the Custome as being "articulate" per se...but it does have some booty to it.

I think the two posts above may be what o really need...good solutions gentlemen!

[Chuck_Norris]

I want to thank you all for your advice! You've helped me a lot. So should I try the SH-10 Full Shred and if I didn't like it, I can simply change the magnets from Alnico 5 to Ceramic? You say that it would add heaviness and some aggression to the tone?

But there are two problems:

1. I don't have any experience with magnet swapping.

2. I don't even know where I could buy the right magnets here in Switzerland

[misterwhizzy]

As I said at the beginning, I already have a guitar whith a Duncan Distortion in it but i don't like it as much as my Dimebucker because the low end is too loose for my needs.

The low end of a Distortion is too loose? Seriously? I found it much too tight. I swapped in an Alnico 8 because of the too-tight low end and the too immediate (and harsh) high end. Hearing the DD described as too loose in the low end does not compute.

[Marshall_Abuser]

Hearing the DD described as too loose in the low end does not compute.

+1
When I think "tight humbucker made for tight rhythm playing", I think of the DD.
I'm not so fond of it for leads though...

The only thing tighter than the DD (besides the XL-500 derivatives, such as the Dimebucker) is a Suhr Aldrich IMO.

[orpheo]

the dd/fs hybrid is also tighter than the dd or fs or even the dimebucker... strangely enough

[Grindspine]

Granted, this is an old thread, but I want to know how it ended!

Did the Full Shred work well?

I am surprised that no one suggested just changing the volume pots to 300k to smooth out the high end for a smoother lead sound while retaining tightness on a Duncan Distortion.