Anything like a Duncan '59 in the neck, just hotter?

Rex Rocker

Rex Rocker

Well-known member
I have an LTD EC that I put a Duncan Custom in the bridge in that I like a lot. It has a '59 in the neck. I like it for the most part, I just wished it was hotter so that when switching pickups on a clean sound, there isn't a volume jump and on distorted sounds, it didn't feel as dry and plinky.

I do like it, though. And yes, I've played with height. I've got it pretty much at the same distance from the strings as I have the Custom in the bridge, but I feel the more I raise, the boomier it becomes, and the less I like it.

So I want something that resembles it, just higher output.

I was thinking maybe '59B, Whole Lotta Humbucker, or something else?

Thanks! :)
 
Custom 5 is like a 59 but hotter. Not sure if Duncan has a neck Custom 5.

Btw, if a bridge humbucker is put in the neck position don't you have to turn it "upside down" so the screws poles face the neck?
 
Is the Duncan '59B noticeably higher output, or is it mildly higher output?

Also... is it fatter than the '59N? Would running higher value pots offset the extra fatness/warmth from overwinding it?
 
Frehley12 said:
Where do you see that the Custom 5 is bassier than the 59? The eq charts look the same. Thanks.
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I thought it was on the site. It's not anymore, but I could swear they used to describe as "a '59 but hotter and with more low-end".

Either way, the regular Custom (not the 5) is pretty bass-heavy. I've had the '59B in the bridge before, and it certainly wasn't like that.
 
Rex Rocker said:
I have an LTD EC that I put a Duncan Custom in the bridge in that I like a lot. It has a '59 in the neck. I like it for the most part, I just wished it was hotter so that when switching pickups on a clean sound, there isn't a volume jump and on distorted sounds, it didn't feel as dry and plinky.

I do like it, though. And yes, I've played with height. I've got it pretty much at the same distance from the strings as I have the Custom in the bridge, but I feel the more I raise, the boomier it becomes, and the less I like it.

So I want something that resembles it, just higher output.

I was thinking maybe '59B, Whole Lotta Humbucker, or something else?

Thanks! :)
Click to expand...
You’re not going to get a volume jump on the neck pickup, since it’s position is typically for rhythm playing and thus more bassy. Contrast that with the bridge that for all intents is classified as the treble or lead and perceptibly boosts but only because it’s in a default position that picks up higher frequencies. Even with a hotter pickup in the neck its gonna still be bassier and what’s perceived as slightly quieter not because of what it is - but because of where it is.
 
TheBiggestJerk said:
You’re not going to get a volume jump on the neck pickup, since it’s position is typically for rhythm playing and thus more bassy. Contrast that with the bridge that for all intents is classified as the treble or lead and perceptibly boosts but only because it’s in a default position that picks up higher frequencies. Even with a hotter pickup in the neck its gonna still be bassier and what’s perceived as slightly quieter not because of what it is - but because of where it is.
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I don't have a problem balancing out the bridge (500T) and neck (Duncan Distortion Neck) pickups on my Les Paul, though.
 
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napalmdeath said:
Maybe a Pearly Gates?
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Slightly hotter yes, but more mids and kerrang in the tone than a 59N.

Compared to a PGn, the 59n comes across as more scooped and more polite.

Here's a curve ball that might do the trick:
DiMarzio Breed neck.
It's also intended as a slightly hotter PAF type, very wide/big EQ with less mids than the PGn.
 
I have a 59/Custom hybrid in the neck of a guitar that has a Custom 5 in the bridge, and to me it delivers what you're looking for--59 plus a bit more; more cut and not so boomy.
 
Rex Rocker said:
I don't have a problem balancing out the bridge (500T) and neck (Duncan Distortion Neck) pickups on my Les Paul, though.
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Maybe try the Duncan SH-6N which is the Distortion neck pickup. It's 12.5-13K so the output isn't far off from the Custom at 14K so it will be well matched outputwise and since you like it with your 500T it may be your solution with your Custom which also has a ceramic magnet, Seymour describes the Custom as a PAF on steriods so the SH-6N falls into that category as well.

The SH-6N has ceramic magnet but it will grind alot like your Custom but be more balanced with less mids and compression more hot PAF like but with a ceramic magnet.... but you were asking about a 59 like pickup and the SH-6N is not a PAF, it still will have clarity a bit of PAF clank but alot more grind and output than a 9K 59B.

The SH-6N used to be called the Seymourizer II which were 12.5.-12.8K ohms resitance in the late 70's early 80's and was his hot cermaic pickup before the Custom came out and more than likely was the predecessor to the SH-5 Custom. I have a bunch of them and use them as a bridge pickup since the 80's, I like them alot more than a SH-5 Custom since they are more balanced with less mids but they grind like a MOFO in the bridge position.
 
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