The Custom Custom SH-11 bridge pup for metal ?

[ValHazard]

Hi guys, I'm looking into getting a Schecter C1 Custom, mahogany body, maple neck, ebony fingerboard , Custom Custom and '59 in the neck.
I think it's a beautiful guitar and it looks like it's pretty versatile and I'm sure it can pull off some 80's thrash and some heavy metal as well as rock and blues but what about more modern type metal.

How would the Custom Custom handle modern metal and downtuned chugga chugga chugga stuff...or some old school death metal ? The demo on the SD website is very short and pretty much useless and there's only a few Youtube videos showing this pup off and most of them are quite bad, sound quality wise.

I'll be running the guitar through an Orange Jim Root Terror head(awesome little amp by the way) and Orange 1x12 cab...and this thing has got loaaaads of gain if needed

I play all kinds of stuff, blues, classic rock, metal, country. Thing is I can't really afford two guitars; if I could I'd get something designed for that kind of thing and something else for my rock/blues needs but at the moment I'm just looking for versatility and a good tone.

Cheers

[Lake Placid Blues]

That's a vast difference in styles to ask of one guitar or one pickup. You will probably want to replace the A2 magnet with something like an alnico 8 or an un orintated A5 magnet for the modern stuff. The stock Custom Custom with an A2 is probably too soft for that. Great for mid 80's Van Halen shred though. An A8 or UOA5 Custom could still be able to handle the more eclectic stuff. There's also the 59/Custom hybrid with an A5 magnet for wide versatility.

[AudioWonderland]

I think the standard Custom would be a better fit for you.

I know mag swaps are all the range around here but if you are still deciding which pickup, you are not ready to worry about magnet swaps just yet. Working on learning what pickups work and which don't for your style. Once you have narrowed the list down a bit then start working on fine tuning with magnets etc

[Lake Placid Blues]

Yeah, but you can change the guitar's stock Custom Custom to a standard Custom by swapping in a ceramic magnet.

[AudioWonderland]

Yeah, but you can change the guitar's stock Custom Custom to a standard Custom by swapping in a ceramic magnet.

Not everyone who logs onto a computer has the skills or inclination to tear apart a pickup. It's the OP's first post here. Telling him he needs to try this, that and the other thing that all require modifications is probably not the best course of action. Not everyone requires a specialty magnet to get what they are looking for and the Custom IMO is more likely to be a good fit for what he wants stock than a CC will be.

If he wants to tear it apart later the Custom comes apart just as easily as a CC

[Lake Placid Blues]

Your right.

[Franknfilms]

I don't think the custom custom would be ideal for the downtuned chugga chugga at all, but I think you've selected a great guitar. If you go ahead with the guitar purchase, you should shop around for a pickup that really suits your needs and then trade the custom custom. We trade pickups on the forum all the time, I highly recommend checking out the trading post. Most guitars won't come stock with the pickups that you want, everyone has different tastes, so I wouldn't shop based on what pickups are already in the guitar.

[Empty Pockets]

You could plug a Danelectro with broken pickups into that amp and have plenty of gain for metal.

I used one for years in my SG for doom and sludge... My friend liked it so much he put one in his Jackson and sounded great. Google An Isle Ate Her, they put an album out a while back and it should all be CC...

There's no reason it wouldn't work. Your amp is a metal machine...

[vinta9e]

I'd say the Custom Custom could be Slash's favourite pickup if he used strats. But I would not recommend the SH-11 for metal and especially not for anything downtuned, unless you're into the doomy gloomy sludgy thing. The Distortion would be my first pick for modern tones. It's crazy hot, tight, edgy and compressed; packs a lot of punch in the low mids and sounds like Ola Englund. Versatility? what's that, a smart name for compromise?

Being a bit more serious - I think you should try something a notch or two cooler than the DD, if you want more touch sensitivity and liveliness in clean, breakup and crunch tones. I'd steer towards the other Custom variations or maybe the Screaming Demon.

[ValHazard]

thanks everyone for your replies ... yeah, I can't be bothered to start swapping magnets and whatnot, I wouldn't even know where to start.

Anyway, my second choice of guitar is the Schecter Blackjack SLS with active Blackouts ...and I know they can do metal hehe. The Blackjack is only about £100 more than the C1 Custom and has pretty much the same features. I dunno, I'm so bloody confused about all this crap, I just want to play a good guitar, all this tech talk gets me confused.
Now I'm thinking I should just get the SLS with Blackouts...or Full Shred/Jazz ( any quick opinions on the FullShred by the way ? ) and save up some more and get that Blonde Baja Telecaster I have my eye set on ... or a Washburn HB35 semi hollow for my blues.

By the way, my current guitar is an Ibanez ART120 with active IBZ LZ pups ... good build quality and looks ok but I've grown tired of it and those IBZ pickups are **** to my ears. All they're good for is chugga chugga and even that sounds lifeless, but as soon as I try and play anything else on it it sounds like crap.

[elelpe]

I'd say you get that Baja Tele (hurry up!) and upgrade your ART120 with Duncans. Alt8, Distortion, Custom and Full Shred are great for downtuned/chugga chugga with Screamin' Demon, Full Shred or Jazz in neck position. Fulfill your basic needs first. There's always another time for your wants/G.A.S. I have a LP for heavier rock/metal and a tele for the rests (classic rock, blues, funk, jazzy stuffs) myself.

[Jeff5]

I have used the CC and I play a ton of metal. The CC is a great sounding pick up, I just found it lacking for aggressive metal. It is too...nice...would be the word and the low end is too soft and undefined. Yes all of that can be cured by EQ, compressors, lots of stuff, but in my mind you're just fighting an uphill battle and still may not get the result you want. The stock Custom is your best bet. I've tried a C5 too and didn't really like it for metal. If you are comfortable with magnet swaps, the Custom with a big ceramic (awesome!) in it or a Custom or with an A8 are good choices too. But stock, the Custom would do a great job.

[JOLLY]

You can play metal with any pickup. It's all about the amp, and you have the amp.

[darthphineas]

Doesn't Michael Wilton of Queensryche use the CC? Of course metal and that new-fangled extreme down-tuned stuff isn't quite the same. Ultimately, there's just as much to be said for the amp being used and those knobs on the front that dial in the tone. If the CC is a pickup that you're interested in, then check it out.


Sent from my armored battle station using Tapatalk

[blueman335]

I would not recommend the SH-11 for metal and especially not for anything downtuned, unless you're into the doomy gloomy sludgy thing. The Distortion would be my first pick for modern tones. It's crazy hot, tight, edgy and compressed; packs a lot of punch in the low mids and sounds like Ola Englund. Versatility? what's that, a smart name for compromise?

Being a bit more serious - I think you should try something a notch or two cooler than the DD, if you want more touch sensitivity and liveliness in clean, breakup and crunch tones. I'd steer towards the other Custom variations or maybe the Screaming Demon.

+1.

[gman128]

Not true. Certain metal styles sound awful with low output pickups - so as much as you could use a PAF type or a tele's neck pup to play deathgrind through a high gain amp, it would sound awful.

[misterwhizzy]

Let me step out of character for a second and play the voice of reason. You love the guitar, right? Get it. See what it does and what it doesn't do. Also, "metal" isn't very specific these days. You could be talking about Megadeth or High on Fire or Black Sabbath, all of which have very different tones. You're not buying the guitar for the pickups. You're buying the guitar for the wood. Let's see if the pickups are a fit before anything else.

[misterwhizzy]

Not true. Certain metal styles sound awful with low output pickups - so as much as you could use a PAF type or a tele's neck pup to play deathgrind through a high gain amp, it would sound awful.

In his defense, that sounds awful with whatever they play it through.

[bloodswords]

I have a CC in my very budget Ibanez GIO GRGR010- I used to dislike it but after the CC in there, it's one of my go-to guitar for some simple inspiration. Metal? No problem...

[LatsMcGee]

A friend of mine lays down some very cool black metal stuff with the CC, think Dissection and Dawn type stuff....pretty cool....He's playing an EC1000....