Both are fine pickups. I've owned both. The Custom 5 is WAY hotter than the Fred. Both have great harmonics and what I'd call a hot PAF kind of tone. Whereas the C5 is an alnico 5 iteration of the Duncan Custom SH-5 the Fred is built from the DNA of the PAF Pro. The Fred is a lot different from a PAF Pro in tone than a Custom 5 is from a Custom SH-5 ceramic or Custom Custom SH-11 alnico 2. The Fred is much tighter and a bit meaner than a PAF Pro. They pair well together with a PAF Pro in the neck and Fred in the bridge but are otherwise very different animals built from the same DNA. The Fred has a bit more clarity with high gain than the Custom 5, but the Custom 5 is not an unusually muddy pickup. It has more clarity than a JB, but not as much as a Custom SH-5 Ceramic. It's definitely meaner than an alnico 2 Custom Cutom. Don't get the Fred if you want to sound like Satch. For one, his signal chain and his playing style are what make Satch sound like Satch. The pickups are a part of the ingredient, but only because they help him target his tone. If you want a pickup that is more open sounding I say go for the Custom 5. If you want something tighter with less output that can still retain clarity with ultra-high gain, then the Fred will be more to your liking. Just one thing. It's not as warm as the PAF Pro or Custom 5. Yes, it's alnico 5, but that doesn't' always necessarily mean a pickup is warm. The winding and other factors determine the warmth of a pickup.
Fred is an underrated pickup.
You are "Holy Diver".
How many guitarists' wallets have you saved?
It must easily exceed 10% of a small country's national budget.
Fred wins! :D im 100% a dimarzio guy
Both are fine pickups. I've owned both. The Custom 5 is WAY hotter than the Fred. Both have great harmonics and what I'd call a hot PAF kind of tone. Whereas the C5 is an alnico 5 iteration of the Duncan Custom SH-5 the Fred is built from the DNA of the PAF Pro. The Fred is a lot different from a PAF Pro in tone than a Custom 5 is from a Custom SH-5 ceramic or Custom Custom SH-11 alnico 2. The Fred is much tighter and a bit meaner than a PAF Pro. They pair well together with a PAF Pro in the neck and Fred in the bridge but are otherwise very different animals built from the same DNA. The Fred has a bit more clarity with high gain than the Custom 5, but the Custom 5 is not an unusually muddy pickup. It has more clarity than a JB, but not as much as a Custom SH-5 Ceramic. It's definitely meaner than an alnico 2 Custom Cutom. Don't get the Fred if you want to sound like Satch. For one, his signal chain and his playing style are what make Satch sound like Satch. The pickups are a part of the ingredient, but only because they help him target his tone. If you want a pickup that is more open sounding I say go for the Custom 5. If you want something tighter with less output that can still retain clarity with ultra-high gain, then the Fred will be more to your liking. Just one thing. It's not as warm as the PAF Pro or Custom 5. Yes, it's alnico 5, but that doesn't' always necessarily mean a pickup is warm. The winding and other factors determine the warmth of a pickup.
How did you know that these are the pickups I'm considdering?
I
Know
Everything
:)