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Humbuckers:
Seymour Duncan:
SH-1 59: Bit harder sounding than a PAF. Has kind of a vintage sound is good for blues, classic rock, and hard rock. Most common in neck position but is found in the bridge also. Decent cleans but has better od then the jazz- versatile.
Pros: Versatile.
Cons: Jack of all trades.
Hint: great for neck position use with high output bridge humbucker- has good cleans but takes nicely to overdrive too.
SH-2 Jazz: Low output. Very clean sounding. Mainly used in the neck but I have seen it used in the bridge once or twice. Very commonly paired with SH-4 JBs, SH-6 distortions, and SH-5 Customs. Poor overdrive IMO but some like it.
Pros: good cleans.
Cons: poor overdrive for anything heavier than blues.
Hint: good in neck position if you only need good cleans.
SH-4 JB (Jeff Beck Signature): One of the most popular pickups. It has relatively high output. It’s great for heavy blues to grunge to metal. Very trebly. Better cleans than most high out put pickups.
Pros: Good hard rock/thrash tones, better cleans than you’d expect.
Cons: Hard to predict which wood it’ll work well in- although it’s very trebly, I’ve liked it in (some) alder guitars more than mahogany guitars. Can sound thin sometimes too.
Hint: Great choice on guitar with one humbucker. (fat strats, G&L Rampage, and such) Decent cleans with good Overdrive. Only down sound is it’s a bit eqed but set up properly its not much a problem
SH-5 Custom: Sounds like a beefed up PAF. It’s great for hard rock and I recommend it as a vintage-ish sounding metal pickup. Very commonly paired with a SH-1 in the neck. Pretty crappy cleans and can get a bit muddy is the down side.
Pros: Like the sound of your Gibson but need more gain
Cons: Pretty lousy cleans. Can get muddy if not eqed pretty perfectly.
Hint: Not very versatile but good for a beefed up classic tone.
SH-6 Distortion: It has high output, Good for metal, punk, and hard rock. Very commonly used with a SH-2 in the neck for versatility. Does not have great cleans. It also can get very muddy.
Pros: gives the amp a good kick for distortion. Works well in darker-voiced woods.
Cons: Very trebly but can get muddy too if you aren’t careful.
Hint: Avoid in alder guitars (especially with maple necks)- will be extremely bright! However some disagree.
SH-8 Invader: Like a SH-6 on steroids. Made for metal but can be used for Hard Rock, Punk, and other Aggressive styles. Usually only used for the bridge but can be used for neck. Terrible cleans in my opinion. It can be very muddy too. However I have been told it is good for beefing up the sound of a hollow body. But I don't really know why you would buy a hollow body to beef it up. But if you already have one, 70 dollars on a pickup is better than a few hundred on a guitar.
Pros: Lots of gain, and can be used to fatten out a thin or bright-sounding guitar.
cons: Extremely muddy with darker amp or guitar
hint: use it to beef up a really thin sounding guitar or amp
SH-10 Full Shred: Good for metal, hard rock, classic rock, and, well, shred. In-between a SH-5 and a SH-6 in the output but has a lot of presence. Great harmonics best on a Seymour Duncan pickup imo!!!
Pros: Great for classic rock, hard rock, or metal. I've liked it in both mahogany and alder guitars
Cons: Not great cleans but not too bad either
Hint: Really nice in the bridge position. Brings out good playing but devastating to poor.
SH-11 Custom Custom: Bright sounding, not as bright as JB though. It’s like a SH-5 except with alnico II magnets. Good for classic rock and blues. Can get a bit muddy with a high gain amp.
Pros: “Nice” bright, rather than piercing. Mature, expressive tone.
Con: gets a bit muddy with high gain, partly because of alnico II magnets. But with a high gain amp that is natrually very tight sounding its not muddy.
Hint: As it’s bright, works well in Mahogany guitars. great solution for more gain in your classic rock voiced guitar
SH-12 Screaming Demon: Moderate output. A lot like a PAF, but more in a rock vein. Good for classic rock and hard rock. Very nice harmonics.
Pros: not super hot, so quite versatile (or at least, more than you’d think).
Cons: You’re paying extra for the Lynch name.
Hint: great for an old-school superstrat tone.
SH-13 Dimebucker: It has seriously high output. I only recommend for metal. And is seriously trebly too, but can get muddy too.
Pros: I’m thinking hard here… High output?
Con: can be too trebly yet muddy at the same time. Seriously not recommended.
Hint: Avoid.
SH-14 Custom 5: Like custom custom except with alnico V magnet It’s great for blues, classic rock, and Hard rock.
Has a good deal of bottom end.
Pros: Better tone than the custom and better for high gain than the custom custom.
Cons: Doesn’t achieve the extremes the other customs do.
Hint: If your considering the custom custom and have a high gain amp I'd go for this instead
SH-55 Seth Lover: Well its pretty much a modern PAF. It was designed with the humbucker inventor Seth lover. Great for blues, country, and Classic Rock. However with gain it gets very muddy. It also feed backs like a mofo as it’s unpotted.
Pros: Gives that awesome classic rock tone
Cons: not meant to be used with any higher gained amp, or any high wattages either. A 50 watt plexi reissue is pushing it in both terms.
Hint: If your play primarily cleans and need a warm tone It's a pretty great sounding pickup. However if you're using any large amounts of gain or volume I'd avoid.
SH-PG1 Pearly Gates: Warm slightly hotter than normal vintage humbucker. It’s great for blues, country, classic rock, and hard rock. My favorite pickup of SD. I like it in the neck position.
Pros: Great for classic rock or a neck pickup paired with something higher gained
Cons: muddy with high gain. Not the greatest cleans but good cleans.
Hint: Neck position paired with a high gain pickup in the bridge. Or both if going for a classic rock tone. Much cheaper that say a Gibson pickup Great vintage soloing tone. Suprising amount of dynamics for a low gain pickup.
APH-1 Alnico II pro: Warm vintage sounding humbucker. It’s great for jazz, blues, hard rock, and classic rock.
Pros: very warm tone, great for jazz and similar stuff.
Cons: needs to be paired with a warm-sounding bridge humbucker (if fitted in the neck position) as you’ll struggle to EQ both pickups properly if you don’t.
Hint: Don’t pair with bright bridge pickup. |
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