Duncan Distortion in RG770DX

[nsabino]

Hi, I'm considering changing my bridge pickup for a Duncan Distortion (STB-6). The guitar is a RG770DX ('91) it has a basswood body and maple neck/fretboard. Does anyone use this pickup in the bridge position of a guitar similar or like mine? What are your opiniions about the tone with this setup.


Thanks and regards,
Nelson

[deathmetal_mx]

Hi,

Well..., on my side, the only thing I can tell u about that pick up is that it's really good for Metal. One of my favorite players (Chris Malmstrom from Darkane) use that pick up set (bridge and neck), so I bought that set for an Ibanez RG321 (as he's also an Ibanez player and collector). The pick ups are hot and loud. Great for heavy distortions without getting that muddy and dirty (not defined) tone. I always play in D tuning with some heavy strings (gauge .11 - .52). However, I recently bought a Dimarzio D-Activator X (bridge) and I can honestly say that it's louder, hotter and heavier than the Duncan Distortion. But there's 2 things u have to keep in mind :

1. My guitars are all Mahogany, but I've tried a Basswood guitar (ESP) with that same pick ups (Duncans) and they sound awesome.

2. It also depends on the genre u want to use them for. I think this pick ups are great for Metal, but they're not that good for clean tones. So if u will put a Duncan Distortion on the Bridge and u don't want to play only Metal, put another Mid Output pick on the neck.

Cheers

[nsabino]

hi deatmetal, thanks for the info but just one last question. How are the lows? Good for some crunchy palm muting?


Thanks,
Nelson

[deathmetal_mx]

Hi,

They're really good for palm muting, better than the invaders or any other Duncan pick ups IMHO. The Lo Pro Edge tremolo make the pick up sounds even great than a fix bridge. If u do a lot of palm muting (more into the Rhythm guitar) this pick up will give u the crunch u need. I'm more into breakdowns and fast picking with palm muting, and the Duncans do the job. I will strongly suggest u to try the D-Activator X for the bridge also. But if u're more into Duncans, the Duncan Distortion is the way to go for a Death/Thrash sound.

Cheers

[nsabino]

Originally Posted by deathmetal_mx

Hi,

They're really good for palm muting, better than the invaders or any other Duncan pick ups IMHO. The Lo Pro Edge tremolo make the pick up sounds even great than a fix bridge. If u do a lot of palm muting (more into the Rhythm guitar) this pick up will give u the crunch u need. I'm more into breakdowns and fast picking with palm muting, and the Duncans do the job. I will strongly suggest u to try the D-Activator X for the bridge also. But if u're more into Duncans, the Duncan Distortion is the way to go for a Death/Thrash sound.

Cheers

Once again thanks for your help and cool info, it was I was looking to know about the pup. I play rythm and leads, I'm the only guitarist in our band, I usually build up a rythm and send it to a looper so that when I solo I usually engage a thicker louder sound to sound over. I'm not a death/thtrash player, my band usually plays covers ranging from AC/DC to Metallica. I have a Screamin' Demon in the bridge but I really don't think the pup has enough output for my taste, I read somewhere that changing the Alnico V magnet for a ceramic would bring out extra output and a tighter overall sound but I still haven't tried this. Any opinion about doing this type of mod before aquiring a duncan distortion?

Thanks very much and keep up your playing,
Nelson

[deathmetal_mx]

Hey,

I might be the only one posting replies here, so...,I'll give you my opinion about this:

I wanted to modify an ESP stock pick up 3 months ago, as it was build with Alnico V, and I did some research and found that ceramic will give the pick up more output...., long story short, it was a mess..., it was a lengthy process, a waste of time and money, I threw it away.

I have 1 ESP/LTC EC-400 with EMGs 81/85, 1 Ibanez S320 with Dimarzio D-Activator X (B) and D-Activator (n) and 1 Ibanez RG321 with the Seymour Duncan Sh-6 Set (b & n)

I think it's always good to play around with your gear, you might end up getting a personal sound. So bottom line..., my personal recommendation is to play around with some cheap gear u might not use anymore. If u want a specific pro sound, go to a guitar center, test all the guitars they have, buy a couple of picks or a cable (so they won't get upset) and buy the pick ups u want/need for your style.

In the other hand, I'm not saying the modifications are bad, I've changed a few things to my guitars (knobs, pots, etc...) to get more output, but playing around with something that will affect the design and the defined sound of the pick ups, that's something I don't recommend u to do, unless u're sure that's the way you want to go.

Cheers

[_FR0D0]

but, custom 5 was born form people at seymour duncan forum swapping the ceramic magnet of the SD custom with alnico 5, also SD custom custom is the same as those two but with a alnico 2 magnet.
Another example is the seymour duncan Super Distortion and the JB differs only in the magnet.

So this examples can give you an idea of what do you get if you play around with the magnets of your pickups.

I have a lot of fun that way, I had done coil inter-changes, magnet swapping, airbucking, virtual vintage mods to some pickups with very interesting results.

[nsabino]

Originally Posted by _FR0D0

but, custom 5 was born form people at seymour duncan forum swapping the ceramic magnet of the SD custom with alnico 5, also SD custom custom is the same as those two but with a alnico 2 magnet.
Another example is the seymour duncan Super Distortion and the JB differs only in the magnet.

So this examples can give you an idea of what do you get if you play around with the magnets of your pickups.

I have a lot of fun that way, I had done coil inter-changes, magnet swapping, airbucking, virtual vintage mods to some pickups with very interesting results.

Hi, thanks for that info, I didn't know that. From what you said and after looking at the tone charts on the SD website, I understand that changing magnets won't actually change the output but basically change it's tonal caracter. Thanks guys it's always a dilema when you want to make a change like this one and aren't able to try the pickups before purchasing them. I just want a pickup to get me as close to the sound I'm after and not ending up with spomething that doesn't suit my guitar or that I simply don't like. When I bought the Sreamin' Demon about 12 years ago, I thought I would be getting a pickup that sounded like what Lynch used when he was with Dokken, something like the 'Back fo the Attack' sound but the pickup I got is a lot mellower, kind of a dissapointment to be honest. That is why I was thinking that if I swapped the Alnico V with a a ceramic magnet, I'd get more output a tighter sound and not running the risk of spending money on something I didn't like and who knows with a little luck nailing the sound I'm after. Thanks to both of you guys,

Regards,
Neslon

[deathmetal_mx]

Hi,

I know what u're saying, I just bought a D-Activator (neck) thinking that it will sound almost like the D-Activator X (the one I have on the bridge) but with less volume (like a regular neck pick up), and when I tried it, it's a loud pick up, but it different from what I expected, so now I'm thinking on selling it and buy the D-Activator X (neck). Too bad I don't live in the US to change it with Dimarzio.

Cheers.

[_FR0D0]

Originally Posted by deathmetal_mx

Hi,

I know what u're saying, I just bought a D-Activator (neck) thinking that it will sound almost like the D-Activator X (the one I have on the bridge) but with less volume (like a regular neck pick up), and when I tried it, it's a loud pick up, but it different from what I expected, so now I'm thinking on selling it and buy the D-Activator X (neck). Too bad I don't live in the US to change it with Dimarzio.

Cheers.

Actually if you read the output and tone charts of D-Activator (neck) and D-Activator X (neck) you can see they are very different pickups. the DAXN is a mid output balanced/dark pickup and the DAN is a hight output very bright pickup. That's why I recommended you serveral other pickups to replace the DAXN, but you end trying with the DAN.