All this talk about the custom shop...

[youngthrasher9]

I just want to get some info on the El Diablo. What woods does it work best in? What tonal qualities does it possess? Is it tight? Is it bright? Is it warm, crunchy, smooth? What kind of eq does it have? Thanks.

[youngthrasher9]

Someone has to know something about it!

[grumptruck]

Its a very powerful scooped EQ'd pickup. Big bass big treble.

It was supposed to be Iommi's pup for his non Gibby guitars. Gibson gave him more money. He went with them.*

Scott Ian got it.

Based on forum reading not RL experience.

*That may not be 100 percent accurate.

[grumptruck]

Its a very powerful scooped EQ'd pickup. Big bass big treble.

It was supposed to be Iommi's pup for his non Gibby guitars. Gibson gave him more money. He went with them.*

Scott Ian got it.

Based on forum reading not RL experience.

*That may not be 100 percent accurate.

The information above is 90% accurate. 10%.... uh... nevermind.

The Silverbird (and Hawkbucker blade bass pickup) pre-dated the Seymour Duncan Iommi. The Seymour Duncan Iommi debuted in the mid-90s as an exclusive for Patrick Eggle Guitars' Tony Iommi model (both Tony and Patrick Eggle were from Birmingham). The guitar and the pickup were short-lived. When Gibson found out about it, they offered Tony a better deal for a guitar and pickup as long as he terminated the Patrick Eggle and Seymour Duncan deals. Which he did. (BTW, he was a complete gentleman about it).

One of the things that makes this pickup unique is that the blades are the actual magnets. So in this sense, it's quite a bit different from the Dimebucker and the rails pickups. Also, the bobbin that's used on this pickup is the same as the STK-S2 Hot Stack for Strat. That means it's quite a bit wider than a traditional humbucker, and it won't fit easily into a traditional mounting ring.

One of the first people to use this pickup after Mr. Iommi, was Mike Tempesta, who was Scott Ian's tech, and then went on to play guitar in Human Waste Project and Powerman 5000. (Nowadays, he's head of artist relations for Yamaha guitars).

There was a Duncan Designed pickup, the HB-104, that also had blades, but it was based on an HB-103 and (IIRC) it used a single ceramic magnet mounted traditionally and the blades were not magnets. It was used by a few Duncan Designed customers, including Schecter in the 5-string Mike Tempesta model.

Nowadays, you can find the pickup, re-dubed as the Scott Ian model, in Scott's new Washburn signature guitar.



And, you can get it from the custom shop as the Scott Ian Signature Model, blade-version. Also, we've tooled up a custom-made mounting ring that fits the wider bobbins.

I hope that helps.

Here

[King IzzO)))]

It's not scooped at all, quite the opposite, I have no idea where grump got that from. It's overall fairly balanced, not bright, but not overly dark either, and doesn't quite have the low end of the Warpig for instance. Good crunch, pretty compressed, has similar qualities of the JB, the PATB-2, and the Super3, kind of a mish mash of those pickups. Leads are thick and on the smoother side, and it can be really dynamic when you mess around with the volume knob, and can be used for a lot of different styles, but what it does best is chunky rhythm stuff. Plenty tight enough for old school thrash with a Marshall or another tightish amp, dudes playing Meshuggah stuff will probably want to look elsewhere.

I gave one to a buddy of mine and he plays instrumental post rock stuff, he calls it "super expressive" and told me it saved his ass a couple times on their last recording. So it's not just for metal.

I like it best in alder and poplar with rosewood boards and floyds, so far. It sounded good in mahogany with a bolt on and a TOM, but in a neck through mahogany/maple neck guitar it was kinda dark. When I tested the KGC brass block on a Heartfield RR49 (mahogany set neck) it was dark, but not with the stock steel block. No where was it bad though. It's a really good pickup.

[LatsMcGee]

How tight the pup sounds all depends on your rig, it sounds plenty tight through my friend's knucklehead in his Jacksons.....If you have a modern high gain amp it will be more that precise enough....Maybe not the best Choice if you're rocking an old One channel flame thrower.....

It's an amazing pickup IMO....

[King IzzO)))]

+1 to the Jackson, can't think of a better pickup for them.

[Empty Pockets]

Sounded really good in my old Jaguar. Heavy, growly, mean. I prefer lower output but it was good.

[darthphineas]

Someone has to know something about it!

yes. SD does. have you called cust serv / tech support to ask them?

[grumptruck]

It's not scooped at all, quite the opposite, I have no idea where grump got that from

From Mr. Jiggles:

I had one like that but I believe the model number was HB-104. I didn't like it much. It nailed the rhythm tone on Eternal Idol and the leads as described sound like the leads on Born Again. The EQ curve was pretty much BB_________________________TTT. It was heavy but with so much of the EQ spectrum attenuated it got lost in the mix really easily.

[King IzzO)))]

Yeah, that's the ceramic magnet/steel blade Duncan designed thing, not the same pickup.

[Natman]

From Mr. Jiggles:

Here's my recent thread on the set; NOT scooped. To me, they sound like a full, modern humbucker with plenty of output but not insane like an Invader, and a whole lot more organic than I expected... A LOT more! I can only assume it's because of the A2 mags. They're a *wee* bit dark in this Les Paul, I keep wondering how they would sound in my (much better) Hamer Newport. I'll probably try it some day.

http://www.seymourduncan.com/forum/s...hlight=diablos

[VHTJay]

It's not scooped at all, quite the opposite, I have no idea where grump got that from. It's overall fairly balanced, not bright, but not overly dark either, and doesn't quite have the low end of the Warpig for instance. Good crunch, pretty compressed, has similar qualities of the JB, the PATB-2, and the Super3, kind of a mish mash of those pickups. Leads are thick and on the smoother side, and it can be really dynamic when you mess around with the volume knob, and can be used for a lot of different styles, but what it does best is chunky rhythm stuff. Plenty tight enough for old school thrash with a Marshall or another tightish amp, dudes playing Meshuggah stuff will probably want to look elsewhere.

I gave one to a buddy of mine and he plays instrumental post rock stuff, he calls it "super expressive" and told me it saved his ass a couple times on their last recording. So it's not just for metal.

I like it best in alder and poplar with rosewood boards and floyds, so far. It sounded good in mahogany with a bolt on and a TOM, but in a neck through mahogany/maple neck guitar it was kinda dark. When I tested the KGC brass block on a Heartfield RR49 (mahogany set neck) it was dark, but not with the stock steel block. No where was it bad though. It's a really good pickup.

This description is pretty much dead on! Balanced for sure. More warm and smooth as opposed to bright and punchy. I never had any problem with it being tight, but I think it matches better in a brighter guitar.

[youngthrasher9]

I was thinking of putting one in a maple neck thru guitar with mahogany wings and an ebony fingerboard. My PRS Torero to be exact. The 59/custom hybrid with an A8 is tad bright. I might try something entirely different if someone can suggest something better to try first.

[VHTJay]

I was thinking of putting one in a maple neck thru guitar with mahogany wings and an ebony fingerboard. My PRS Torero to be exact. The 59/custom hybrid with an A8 is tad bright. I might try something entirely different if someone can suggest something better to try first.

Hmm....I have a PRS Torero as well (trans black) and I have an el diablo sitting around homeless. I think I am going to pull the EMG's and put the 'diablo in there.....then I can tell you how it sounds!

[youngthrasher9]

Hmm....I have a PRS Torero as well (trans black) and I have an el diablo sitting around homeless. I think I am going to pull the EMG's and put the 'diablo in there.....then I can tell you how it sounds!

Warning: you will have to drill a hole in the guitar going from the electonic cavity to the trem cavity for the ground wire if you do make the swap.

But if you do it, please let me know. I love my torero, I have the trans blue version.

[VHTJay]

Hey man,

I installed the El Diablo in my Torero....WIN! Tight and percussive with a nice warm top end.

[Dark Order Lord]

Hey man,

I installed the El Diablo in my Torero....WIN! Tight and percussive with a nice warm top end.

Hmmmm... I still have mine, and Izzo even sent me a pickup mount for it, but I'm still scared of trying it cause I'm a ceramic nut......

[youngthrasher9]

Hey man,

I installed the El Diablo in my Torero....WIN! Tight and percussive with a nice warm top end.

Thanks for making the change! I think I might try this with a SDUGF neck model.

[StratFreak]

All I know is that Dan Donegan from Disturbed uses an El Diablo in the bridge of hi Schecter signature guitar. They have some down-tuned stuff, hard hitting riffs. Listen to their newer, I would say, 2010-present. I'm guessing he used it in the studio cause thats what he uses live.