right? ive had like 12 different SD models over the past 15 years and ive liked most of them, my favorite for the neck is a toss between 59 and pearly gates, for the bridge JB and black winter for sure.
@@thegoodfoke3606 I haven't tried them for nearly as long, unfortunately. The way they articulate sound even with a lot of distortion completely affects on what one plays. Wish I had found out this before. So far I only have Black Winters neck/bridge paired with a hot rails, JB/59 and Jazz/Distortion (my favorite) in my guitars. They're amazing. Hope to get either a set of Nazgul/Sentient for a 7 string or either a Duncan Distortion set
Great video, and it shows just what I felt like since before. I have had the JB in two different guitars, and I had the Custom Custom in another one. I really liked the CC with all the overtones, and I've always felt that the JB is too stiff for me.
I own both of these pickups. Multiple of each actually. And the custom custom is much tighter, and articulate. The JB can get boomy in the low end. For certain styles or songs, I'll pick the JB, but 90% of the time, I'll go for the custom custom
Same sweet tone! Only differences i see; the highs are much less harsh on the Custom, and it seems to have better bass, too. Both tone monsters, it only comes down to EQ preference with these two.
SH-11 wins for me, it has the Seymour Duncan throaty tone but with an insane amount of punch. Crunchier highs and more full lows. Definitely better for modern metal.
Both are great and I own both, been using them for years. It's all about matching the right guitar with the right pickup. The Custom Custom doesn't have the power of the JB, but it's not meant to. The Custom line is mean to sound like hot PAFs, rather than vintage PAFs. My favorite Custom is the ceramic SH-5, but I also love the SH-14 aka Custom-5. I think the SH-11 has the most nuance of the three. The 59/Custom Hybrid is also wonderful. They're all good. I'd say if you want a Pearly Gates with a bit more horsepower the SH-11 Custom Custom will do the job. The JB is a better all-around pickup for everything from jazz to thrash. It's a matter of preference.
Thank you so much! I have the pearly gates, love the tone but doesn't have the power that i need, so its good to hear that the cc can be what i am looking for
JB's chug sucks ass. Specially if you have lower tuning it becomes even more loose and boomy. I dont understand why some people use it in 7 string guitar. Had one Schecter with it and hated the JB sound on low B
The clarity of the metal tones in the SH-11 wins for me. The JB is great for a lot of things but not for the type of extreme metal I'm playing. Lots of picking of dissonant chords and tremolo picking. Thank you for this comparison.
Bit weird that the pickup with an alnico 2 magnet designed to have spongier bass , people think is tighter. An sh11 is essentially an sh5 but with the magnet swapped from a ceramic magnet into a alnico 2. So I guess the way its voiced makes it appear tighter. I have one in a Schecter and it's really not overly tight, a bit bright though
The custom custom picks up sounds off of the guitar you cannot hear with the JB if you listen very closely there is a lot of definition that is missed with the JB
These demos should include an amp with less distortion where the character of each pickup comes thru better and pushing the amp by the pickup output is also better demonstrated. I have watched several of these and using so much gain will make them sound too close.
A lot of us who use this category of pickup are playing with higher gain tones. We WANT to hear how it works and reacts with a dimed dirt pedal, or a super-hot preamp, etc. Granted, there is a virtual canyon of untouched low-to-mid gain territory in between this video's clean and dirt tones, but again, a large percentage of players using one of these two pickups are probably not hanging out in the lower-gain department for very long, if at all. It's also worth noting that if your ears are paying close enough attention, between the clean and dirt sounds shown here, you can still get a pretty close idea of what that pickup's harmonic character is going to be like at various gain levels. Just might have to mentally fill in some of those blanks.
After watching/listening to this video a few times I ordered the custom custom. To my ears it’s a fuller sound - more mids. The JB is great but too my treble for me; shrill.
If you have a mahogany body guitar like a Les Paul or an SG I think it's heavy midrange sound really benefits by the JB cuz that pickup fills in the high and low end of that tone very well. I have a high end Alder Strat with a maple neck and Floyd. It's got enough high end already and needs some midrange. I have the JB in in now but with the floyd it's now got too much upper midrange and can sound kinda nasally and piercing. The JB splits nice on cleans. It's a good pickup but too much high end with the floyd and maple neck. I'm going for the custom custom to increase and fatten up the midrange cuz I've got enough highs already. I'm thinking the 4x12 cab will already fill in the low end as I'm dialing it back now anyway.
Thanks, was looking for a demo of these two specific pickups over a variety of genre snippets, from clean to wild. I've been a longtime user of the JB, but I think I've found a better bridge to be paired with my 59 4-wire neck humbucker or even with the Vintage Stack Tele on one of my Squier Contemporary Telecaster HH soon to become a HS by trading out the JB/59 4wire for a Custom Custom/Vintage Stack Tele. I'll put the JB with a Jazz into one of my Les Pauls. And put the 59 together with a Hot Stack Tele in another Telecaster with basswood body that need more brightening to its rather dark tones. My other Squier Contemporary Telecaster HH is SSS with a Vintage Stack Tele neck, a custom ordered Stacked Strat middle and Hot Stack Tele bridge.
Has this custom custom been customized or is it just a custom with an A2 mag? Will it clear customs if I sell the guitar the custom custom resides in? I need help
Yup, I know exactly what you mean regarding the "boomy" sound on Marshalls (Marshall JMP 2203 / 2204 here). Reason I returned to this vid and the comments sections is because I'm about to have another one of my guitars installed with a Custom Custom to compare with my other with a JB
Sh11 sound fuller and more aggressive, sh4 is more delicate. So to me sh4 wins in clean, but with heavy distortion sh11 is better. The best choice depends what genre do you play...
I had CC in my SG (which I regret selling) by far the best. Not saying the SH4 isn't good but the CC has better clarity, better distortion and cuts through. Both are very good but for me the CC wins
Also I have to say man...These demos..I appreciate the idea, but the clean tones are just trash. And the gain tones are just so saturated that the harmonics and nuances of the pickups dont really convey well. consider some more in between tones?
I have a vintage 80s MJ wound JB, and it sounds fine with saturated gain; lots of mids like a JB should, doesn't blow me away. Its the cleans though, that make it virtually unusable. absolutely lifeless clinical cleans. Just...nothing, nobody home.
The JB sounds a little darker and fatter than the Custom Custom. The Custom Custom has a bit more brightness and is cleaner with gain. But this is a Strat guitar, on something like the old Schecter Tempest Classic, the Custom Custom gave a great singing lead tone, with a lot of fat, on a Jet City Soldano style amp.
At this point I have to say, it seems as tough Seymour Duncan doesn't make a single pickup that I don't like. Love both pickups
right? ive had like 12 different SD models over the past 15 years and ive liked most of them, my favorite for the neck is a toss between 59 and pearly gates, for the bridge JB and black winter for sure.
@@thegoodfoke3606 I haven't tried them for nearly as long, unfortunately. The way they articulate sound even with a lot of distortion completely affects on what one plays. Wish I had found out this before. So far I only have Black Winters neck/bridge paired with a hot rails, JB/59 and Jazz/Distortion (my favorite) in my guitars. They're amazing. Hope to get either a set of Nazgul/Sentient for a 7 string or either a Duncan Distortion set
I love the SD CC !!!
Believe it or not , it sounds great in the bridge of a Les Paul !
You should do the custom custom vs the 59 custom hybrid!
Yup, really wanna see this comparison!
Great video, and it shows just what I felt like since before. I have had the JB in two different guitars, and I had the Custom Custom in another one. I really liked the CC with all the overtones, and I've always felt that the JB is too stiff for me.
I own both of these pickups. Multiple of each actually. And the custom custom is much tighter, and articulate. The JB can get boomy in the low end. For certain styles or songs, I'll pick the JB, but 90% of the time, I'll go for the custom custom
Its interesting and weird that an alnico 2 pickup would be tighter than an alnico 5 ...
Same sweet tone! Only differences i see; the highs are much less harsh on the Custom, and it seems to have better bass, too. Both tone monsters, it only comes down to EQ preference with these two.
SH-11 wins for me, it has the Seymour Duncan throaty tone but with an insane amount of punch. Crunchier highs and more full lows. Definitely better for modern metal.
Both are great and I own both, been using them for years. It's all about matching the right guitar with the right pickup. The Custom Custom doesn't have the power of the JB, but it's not meant to. The Custom line is mean to sound like hot PAFs, rather than vintage PAFs. My favorite Custom is the ceramic SH-5, but I also love the SH-14 aka Custom-5. I think the SH-11 has the most nuance of the three. The 59/Custom Hybrid is also wonderful. They're all good. I'd say if you want a Pearly Gates with a bit more horsepower the SH-11 Custom Custom will do the job. The JB is a better all-around pickup for everything from jazz to thrash. It's a matter of preference.
Thank you so much! I have the pearly gates, love the tone but doesn't have the power that i need, so its good to hear that the cc can be what i am looking for
I'm definitely feeling the JB more. Could you do an SH-5 vs SH-6 sometime? Thanks!
To my ears, the CC SH-11 is better volume balanced and articulate across all strings than the JB SH-4.
Custom Custom has more of a vintage tone whereas the JB is more compressed and will get you some chug. I like the Custom Custom…Edward did too!
JB's chug sucks ass. Specially if you have lower tuning it becomes even more loose and boomy. I dont understand why some people use it in 7 string guitar. Had one Schecter with it and hated the JB sound on low B
Excellent demo
The clarity of the metal tones in the SH-11 wins for me. The JB is great for a lot of things but not for the type of extreme metal I'm playing. Lots of picking of dissonant chords and tremolo picking. Thank you for this comparison.
Clean, these pickups sound VERY close. Distorted, the JB has more high end "edge" - the Custom Custom is warmer, smoother, and richer.
Holy crap, the custom sounds like they fused thr jb with the sh6 and tightened everything up
I liked the custom custom better. Wider spectrum. Nice growly low end.
Bit weird that the pickup with an alnico 2 magnet designed to have spongier bass , people think is tighter. An sh11 is essentially an sh5 but with the magnet swapped from a ceramic magnet into a alnico 2. So I guess the way its voiced makes it appear tighter. I have one in a Schecter and it's really not overly tight, a bit bright though
Custom custom has more smoothness but JB is more tight
The custom custom picks up sounds off of the guitar you cannot hear with the JB if you listen very closely there is a lot of definition that is missed with the JB
These demos should include an amp with less distortion where the character of each pickup comes thru better and pushing the amp by the pickup output is also better demonstrated. I have watched several of these and using so much gain will make them sound too close.
If you feel that way maybe you should make your own and show us how it's done!
A lot of us who use this category of pickup are playing with higher gain tones. We WANT to hear how it works and reacts with a dimed dirt pedal, or a super-hot preamp, etc.
Granted, there is a virtual canyon of untouched low-to-mid gain territory in between this video's clean and dirt tones, but again, a large percentage of players using one of these two pickups are probably not hanging out in the lower-gain department for very long, if at all.
It's also worth noting that if your ears are paying close enough attention, between the clean and dirt sounds shown here, you can still get a pretty close idea of what that pickup's harmonic character is going to be like at various gain levels. Just might have to mentally fill in some of those blanks.
After watching/listening to this video a few times I ordered the custom custom. To my ears it’s a fuller sound - more mids. The JB is great but too my treble for me; shrill.
*too much treble
Same for me. I was shocked because he so many people love these I have 3 SH-11's
Maybe the JB in the neck position.
Its basically the amp. Too bright, too metal, and too much gain, that's why it works better with the SH-11.
Great vid! JB all the way
If you have a mahogany body guitar like a Les Paul or an SG I think it's heavy midrange sound really benefits by the JB cuz that pickup fills in the high and low end of that tone very well.
I have a high end Alder Strat with a maple neck and Floyd. It's got enough high end already and needs some midrange. I have the JB in in now but with the floyd it's now got too much upper midrange and can sound kinda nasally and piercing. The JB splits nice on cleans. It's a good pickup but too much high end with the floyd and maple neck. I'm going for the custom custom to increase and fatten up the midrange cuz I've got enough highs already. I'm thinking the 4x12 cab will already fill in the low end as I'm dialing it back now anyway.
Thanks, was looking for a demo of these two specific pickups over a variety of genre snippets, from clean to wild.
I've been a longtime user of the JB, but I think I've found a better bridge to be paired with my 59 4-wire neck humbucker or even with the Vintage Stack Tele on one of my Squier Contemporary Telecaster HH soon to become a HS by trading out the JB/59 4wire for a Custom Custom/Vintage Stack Tele.
I'll put the JB with a Jazz into one of my Les Pauls. And put the 59 together with a Hot Stack Tele in another Telecaster with basswood body that need more brightening to its rather dark tones.
My other Squier Contemporary Telecaster HH is SSS with a Vintage Stack Tele neck, a custom ordered Stacked Strat middle and Hot Stack Tele bridge.
JB for me! 👍🏼
Has this custom custom been customized or is it just a custom with an A2 mag? Will it clear customs if I sell the guitar the custom custom resides in? I need help
Usually it is not the custom to sell a custom guitar with the custom custom to an non customer. (Customarily speaking )
I use SD SH 11b in my Les Paul guitars. I feel SH 11b its similar tone like APH 1b
Can you compare sh-5 and sh-4?
Wow, I've never considered the CC for metal but it smokes the JB which I like a lot.
The low end is tight af on the cc. I have a JB and I love the sound but it gets a bit boomy sometimes especially because I play cranked Marshalls.
Yup, I know exactly what you mean regarding the "boomy" sound on Marshalls (Marshall JMP 2203 / 2204 here). Reason I returned to this vid and the comments sections is because I'm about to have another one of my guitars installed with a Custom Custom to compare with my other with a JB
Sh11 sound fuller and more aggressive, sh4 is more delicate. So to me sh4 wins in clean, but with heavy distortion sh11 is better. The best choice depends what genre do you play...
The body wood of the guitar, the magnets of the pickups, and ur fingers: have the most effect on ur amplified tone
Ahhhh im looking something like the bright of the CC, but the fatter tone of the jb its so powerful, still cant find a balance of those 2 pickups in 1
They're both pretty bright for my taste, but the CC is rounder than the JB, so I'd prefer that one!
Compared to the Custom Custom, the JB sounds like it's playing under a blanket.
lol
Completely agree 👍
sh 11 have more mids, jb is more scoop, I prefer sh 11 for me
Agreed, definitely like the sh11 more. The alinco 5's on the jb4 scoop the mids too much
Scooped? What? Maybe the low mids a little
La diferencia es mínima
I had CC in my SG (which I regret selling) by far the best. Not saying the SH4 isn't good but the CC has better clarity, better distortion and cuts through. Both are very good but for me the CC wins
How about emg hz vs sh-4jb
11 sounds brighter, I put one on my 94 SG, put a 4 in my 98 Les Paul
Sh 11 ' ✔️🤙
.
👍
These are so close it won't make a difference.
3:06 3:18 3:30 3:43 3:55 4:06 - Just me, there's not much between them on Metal I find. It's with decent headphones on too.
Man.... they sound the exact same on the overdrive.
3:06 3:18 3:30 3:43 3:55 4:06
Jb sounds slightly better in the first test
CUSTOM CUSTOM
Also I have to say man...These demos..I appreciate the idea, but the clean tones are just trash. And the gain tones are just so saturated that the harmonics and nuances of the pickups dont really convey well. consider some more in between tones?
I have a vintage 80s MJ wound JB, and it sounds fine with saturated gain; lots of mids like a JB should, doesn't blow me away. Its the cleans though, that make it virtually unusable. absolutely lifeless clinical cleans. Just...nothing, nobody home.
3:12
3:23
I literally hear no difference…. But great video
The JB sounds a little darker and fatter than the Custom Custom. The Custom Custom has a bit more brightness and is cleaner with gain. But this is a Strat guitar, on something like the old Schecter Tempest Classic, the Custom Custom gave a great singing lead tone, with a lot of fat, on a Jet City Soldano style amp.
Like ' 396 ✔️🤙
.