Duncan for Jackson Soloist

[bryanljohnson]

I have a Newer Jackson USA Soloist that has a Duncan JB in the bridge. This pickup sounds kind of muddy to me. I like passive pickups overall.
I'm thinking of putting in a Duncan Custom Custom.
Anyone else have any experience with these? Or advice.....Thanks....

[NextInLine]

What style of music are you going to play? And try to describe the tone you like. If you only like it to be clear and tight I guess lots of people will suggest the duncan tb-5 custom. Custom custom is also a nice pup though

[rocksoldier]

I think a custom custom could be considered even more "muddy" than the jb, even though i have not used it myself.
The tb-5 custom is very good though, and i really like the dimarzio evolution as well.

[SweetPete]

I'll be replacing the JB in my Soloist with a Blues Saraceno trembucker this weekend. I'll report back with the results...

[jrnic]

Try either a Duncan Distortion or a Dimarzio Super Dist., I have used both and really like them the best. Like you said, one of my guitars used to have a JB in it and I didn't like the tone either, a little muddy and also not as much output as I wanted. That is....depending on the sound you are looking for. For me it's old school metal, late 70's, 80's etc.

Right now I have a Duncan Dist. in my RR3 and it cranks. I'm also going to put a Dimarzio Super Dist. in a Charvel 375 I have, I can't wait. Just waiting for the custom pickup ring I ordered from a fellow JCF'er.

Hope this helps!

[Inazone]

I replaced a Duncan Custom in my Soloist Pro with a Full Shred, and it was a vast improvement. No mud at all, and although the FS doesn't have as much low end, it is just a tighter-sounding pickup, so what low end it does have is percussive and great for metal...if you're playing metal.

[daemon barbeque]

Full Shred is the tightest SD Pu for high-gain use.But it lacks on Bass and it's better for dark sounding guitars .
The Custom is a good choice for a Jackson Neck-Thru.But remeber ,it will "not" sing ,and scream like a Distortion or JB.
if you have a PU booster go with a '59 or Pearly gates.'59 is tight as hell!
And not to forget Scream Demon!Great PU with perfect articulation.!

[Dave L]

Yeah, we need some pointers as to what you´re looking for more specifically. If all you´re looking for is a tighter low-end, without any other factors specified, there are a gazillion options ranging from A to Z.

But I´m guessing the mud you hear is loose low-end and strong mids... so, focused bass with a bit of scoop should do the trick. I´m thinking the DiMarzio MegaDrive... I don´t use mine that much, but it´s pretty clear and clean on the rare occasions I need "metal" tones.

+1 on the Screamin´Demon also. It´s very precise.

[bryanljohnson]

The guitar is a neck thru and I play old school metal and hard rock. I guess I'd say there is a certain openness and clarity missing. I'm using a Budda SD II 80 with my humbucking guitars and an Orange Rocker with my Strats. When I plug in my YJM Strat or Les Paul the tone is much better with a crisper high end and tighter low end. They don't drive very hard though nor do I want those guitars to do that.....that's what the Soloist is for! The JB has a good amount of sustain and drive but sounds "muddy" I think in the low mids. I need the guitar of have a touch of sparkle with chunky ballsy low-end and articulate mids!

[chrisolson]

Another vote for the Full Shred - it is NOT, however, a suer high gain pickup as it's name might suggest. I would call it a mid-high, but certainly not in the league of the JB, Distortion, or Custom. It's a very good sounding pickup however, and has terrific clarity.

[bryanljohnson]

Thanks Guys! The Full Shred was the ticket! Nice open but powerful sound, great articulation and clarity.

[Lazarus]

I placed a Seymour Duncan Livewire Metal. Its sounds killer.

[JACKSONFREAK]

The full shred is a great pup. I just put one in my 275 and it warmed it up quite a bit from the J90C that was in it. Much smoother and still has the clearity and tone. Altho i was gonna suggest try lowering the JB away from the strings a bit first. Sometimes if a pickup is too close to the strings it gets boomy and muddy, losing articulation. But since you already swapped it for the Full Shred. I iwont bother mentioning it.
Gil