Pickup Change Dk2

[maiden666]

hi i have a dk2 with duncan designed pups in a hss.Iam thinking of a sd jeff beck in the bridge and a hotrails in the neck.(not botherd about middle as i dont use it)I like to play ted nugent,maiden.rainbow,priest,sabbath ect. Any ideas apart from this combo.Thanks dave.

[ADR]

Thats a good set,the neck pup is hot,volume of both should be same.
Why dont you go with this combo that my San Dimas has. . a Duncan Custom 5 with a Duncan cool rail.
You seem to like classic tone, the "JB" = Jazz Blues btw. Thats a great Pup best seller. It seems to be slighly more trebely than the Custom 5.
Go over to Duncans site and listen to the sound samples.

[thetroy]

Nice music choice. The JB is a solid choice, but any number of things can sound good. The hotrails is also popular though I personally didn't like it that much in my SL3 - I'd also choose cool rails first.

[Rich#6]

You are ready have the DD version of the JB in the guitar. The american made version does sound a little better. I would go with the SD distortion. Same pickup, but with ceramic magnets. I like the hot rails in the neck.

[Leveller]

JB = Jazz Blues? I'm pretty sure it's Jeff Beck. It's not very jazzy or bluesy.

My friend got a new dk2m the other day which now come stock with a JB/Jazz set, and it sounds great! But I like a brighter sound, some people might think it's too bright, and it can be a bit loose if you drop tune. If you want a darker sound the Dimarzio Super Distortion is never wrong (I'm pretty sure most of the guys you listed used it at some point). Or a Duncan Distorion. Lots of pickups that would sound great

As for the hot rails, listen to Daves tone since the reunion. One word: smooth. It sounds great for what he's doing. If you want something more versatile, if you play clean a lot or older rock a cool rails might be better.

[toejam]

JB = Jazz Blues? I'm pretty sure it's Jeff Beck. It's not very jazzy or bluesy.

It is for Jeff Beck, as he's the first one it was made for. He's not an endorser, so the Duncan people tell you it's Jazzy/Bluesy, which it sounds nothing like... unless you like a lot of treble and high mids in your Jazz and Blues tones.

[CharvelRocker]

Its hard to go wrong with a Jb/Hot Rails/Hot Rails combo. However I think the Distortion may be a better pickup choice, as it does have as much mid range or "presence" and doesn't get as much low end as the Distortion. But it all comes down to taste really, and neither is a bad pickup. You could also try a DiMarzio Super Distortion in the bridge and a set of Fast Track pickups, especially since you like Maiden and Judas Priest.

[jrnic]

I agree. The Duncan Distortion has a lot of low end, more than a Dimarzio Super Dist. I always felt that the Dimarzio Super Distortion sounded better than a Duncan Distortion. Much "smoother" EQ wise. I've had quite a few guitars with the Duncan and always seem to go back to the Dimarzio. JMHO.

[mhalsey]

+1 for the Distortion. Custom's a good choice also - well rounded pup and sounds great in the Dinky's alder body.

[KBRR]

You cant go wrong with the JB for rock its a great pup, it all depends on your ears i personally like the duncan distortion alittle better, its more aggressive and to me has more ballsy tone. The hot rail in the neck is the way to go.

[S.O.A.F]

replace bridge pickup for Dinky?
Dimarizo Superdistortion(DP-100) is good ,it get not only good dist sound but also have a nice clean.
Duncan TB-5 is great too!especially for drop tunings!

but
the music u play I think that JB may be better of Seymour duncan pickups

[DonP]

The Fender Iron Maiden strat came with a JB Jr. in the bridge and a pair of hot rails, so if a JB Jr. = JB you are on track for that.

Don't expect a JB to sound much different than your Duncan Designed JB in there right now. I compared the two once and couldn't really tell a difference, certainly not enough to waste the money and time on the upgrade.

[texasfury]

.

[toejam]

Don't expect a JB to sound much different than your Duncan Designed JB in there right now. I compared the two once and couldn't really tell a difference, certainly not enough to waste the money and time on the upgrade.

So the Duncan Designed version of the JB is also overrated and sucks as much as a normal JB? :ROTF:

[DonP]

For those interested, the Duncan Designed HB-102B (supposedly modeled after the JB) that comes in most DK2s puts out a paltry 8K of resistance, compared to the 16K a real JB has.

Strange. I'll measure mine when I get back to the US.

Now I have a stock SL2H with a real TB4 (Seymour Duncan trem spaced JB)to compare against.

The SL2H is brighter. No doubt this is due to the Maple neck-thru construction, ebony vs. rosewood fretboard, real OFR vs Lic FR Pro.

The DK2 with the "paltry" DC resistance has a much stronger bass attack. Bright, but no where nearly as bright as the SL2H.

When I first started playing the SL2H I though "Damn, this is bright and grinding on the ears". But then I through on some Megadeth, and damn if it doesn't nail the tone. Perfect for those biting leads and upper midrange chords.

I'm not sure what to do now. I hate having any two guitars having the same pickups, but the DK2 doesn't sound "exactly" like the SL2H. I have an F Spaced Custom Custom, but I think it will go into some other guitar.