Duncan Custom, Custom Custom and JB

[Squealer]

Hi,

i want a fat Les Paul sound, with enough highs and a good attack!!! I heard that Steve Stevens plays the Custom custom and i love his livesound with a les paul but i also love Billy Idols livesound and they say he plays JB oder custom...

So whats the main difference between these 3 pickups?

i love fat sound, that cuts through, have enough highs and good attack and the pickups should also work with a little more again but not that Korn, Machine Head oder Slipknot gain! Just like the Steve Stevens (billy idol) or billy Duffy (the cult) sound!

[Metalblaze]

The JB is thick and full with tight low end and clear distortion, no fuzzy at all (very cool) think Whitesnake on "children of the night" (John Sykes' Les Paul with a JB). The Custom is sharper (ceramic magnet), even tighter and has a slightly compressed PAF tone. As for Custom Custom I haven't tryed it.

[Benjy_26]

The Custom has good, tight low end, great highs, and a pretty even mid response that does very well with a lot of gain. This is my fave in a LP out of the 3 you mentioned.

The JB has less highs than the Custom, looser lows, and a very pronounced high midrange boost. It's a good pickup for lead, but IMHO, it's lacking in authoriŒ

[Squealer]

and what about the custom custom? does anybody have experience with this one?

or which one will suite my imagination the best?

[Benjy_26]

The CC will be the warmest of the 3. It has full, round highs, lots of mids, and a spongey low end. It's excellent for big, fat leads and I personally like it better than the JB for rythm. My fave pickup to play in a 3 piece band, as it fills out a lot of space. It's great for old school rythm, but if you want tight, chunky palm mutes, stick to the Custom of C5.

[Squealer]

the problem is that my amp (old marshall head built 1973, 50 watt) sounds really warm and soft so i'm actually looking for a harder pu, because a soft pu will mush ou early. Am i right? So i need something tight, right?

the sh-5 should fit, right?

[Benjy_26]

A Custom in a LP sounds fantastic through an old Marshall. That's the one I would get.

[madguitar26]

A Custom in a LP sounds fantastic through an old Marshall. That's the one I would get.

i desagree .hated the custom in my LP.very fat indeed but once EQ was adjusted just slightly increasing treble it became very harsh.
bad clean tone as well.i would stay far from it,at least for a les paul.

[Squealer]

the thing is that my amp doesn't have many highs so i think a pu with many highs would fix that...

i had the JB but this one had not enough mids and i found it muddy...although you guys say it can be ice picky - that's not what my ears heard! i heard a bit muddy, not articulate!

i think i get the custom!

and if the custom isn't right for me can i upgrade the ceramik magnet to a alnico II? So can i made a Custom custom out of it? the wiring must be the same, right? just another magnet, am i right?

[OlinMusic]

I actually see the CC as a fatter, not as bitey JB

[fab.regnaut]

If your amp doesn't sound good you could change the EL34 tube for 6550 or 6CA7 .

[Leather Rebel]

The JB is thick and full with tight low end and clear distortion, no fuzzy at all (very cool) think Whitesnake on "children of the night" (John Sykes' Les Paul with a JB). The Custom is sharper (ceramic magnet), even tighter and has a slightly compressed PAF tone. As for Custom Custom I haven't tryed it.

I thought John Sykes used the Gibson Dirty Fingers pickups exclusively in his Les Pauls...

[Marcel]

the thing is that my amp doesn't have many highs so i think a pu with many highs would fix that...

i had the JB but this one had not enough mids and i found it muddy...although you guys say it can be ice picky - that's not what my ears heard! i heard a bit muddy, not articulate!

i think i get the custom!

and if the custom isn't right for me can i upgrade the ceramik magnet to a alnico II? So can i made a Custom custom out of it? the wiring must be the same, right? just another magnet, am i right?

JB has mids but more high mids ... I find the Custom more scooped with more highs and bass (or low mids not sure) ...
Play a bit with the JB polepieces... I like the pole pieces set very high...

[Tol]

Steve Stevens is a Bareknuckle user now!

[Sykes]

Of these pickups, I think the Custom is more just in your face, general paf, not a nitche pickup, of course you are going to get better cleans with the a2 and a5 mags. The Custom can be harsh, but sometimes I need that. I have an Alnico Pro II in the neck, which really smoothes out the harshness of the Custom when combined.
For me, the Custom is a better rhythm pickup than the JB(great leads though)and the CC is to spongy.
But hey, that's just me.

Happy Hunting!