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Hatsubai « Custom with an Alnico 5 magnet »
Published on 03/29/11 at 16:48The Seymour Duncan Custom 5 is part of a line of pickups that shows the difference a magnet swap can make. The Custom 5 is a Custom but with an Alnico 5 magnet installed, hence it's name. It still has the same slugs on one coil, adjustable screws on the other and four conductor wiring.
Seymour Duncan made a series that shows how important a magnet can be in terms of the overall tone of the pickup. The Custom 5 is the model that contains the Alnico 5 – a magnet that’s fairly popular in the pickup world. The Alnico 5 gives this pickup a PAF-esque tone in overdrive. It has that great vintage quality that the original PAFs had, but it’s not so loose that it can’t do those tight metal riffs. The midrange is a little scooped, so it helps keep things a bit more clear than if it had a boosted midrange. The low end blooms nicely, and the high end has a good bite without getting too piercing. It responds nicely to volume knob adjustments, and it sounds great both split and in parallel.
The Custom 5 works in pretty much any wood, I’ve found. However, every piece of wood is different, so if your guitar has a certain hyped frequency, it might result in a bad tone. I’ve used this pickup in both alder and mahogany with no issues at all. It’s great for that 80s metal tone and sounds a little more “alive” in standard tuning than the Custom does. Compared to the Custom Custom, it’s more aggressive and a bit tighter.
If you’re looking for a bridge pickup in the Seymour Duncan line, this is one I’d recommend for those playing 80s style metal. It thickens up the guitar enough to sound fat but isn’t too flubby. It’s tight without sacrificing dynamics and just seems like one of those good all-around pickups. If you’re more into pure metal, I recommend the Custom more as it’ll handle the tighter riffing a bit better.
Seymour Duncan made a series that shows how important a magnet can be in terms of the overall tone of the pickup. The Custom 5 is the model that contains the Alnico 5 – a magnet that’s fairly popular in the pickup world. The Alnico 5 gives this pickup a PAF-esque tone in overdrive. It has that great vintage quality that the original PAFs had, but it’s not so loose that it can’t do those tight metal riffs. The midrange is a little scooped, so it helps keep things a bit more clear than if it had a boosted midrange. The low end blooms nicely, and the high end has a good bite without getting too piercing. It responds nicely to volume knob adjustments, and it sounds great both split and in parallel.
The Custom 5 works in pretty much any wood, I’ve found. However, every piece of wood is different, so if your guitar has a certain hyped frequency, it might result in a bad tone. I’ve used this pickup in both alder and mahogany with no issues at all. It’s great for that 80s metal tone and sounds a little more “alive” in standard tuning than the Custom does. Compared to the Custom Custom, it’s more aggressive and a bit tighter.
If you’re looking for a bridge pickup in the Seymour Duncan line, this is one I’d recommend for those playing 80s style metal. It thickens up the guitar enough to sound fat but isn’t too flubby. It’s tight without sacrificing dynamics and just seems like one of those good all-around pickups. If you’re more into pure metal, I recommend the Custom more as it’ll handle the tighter riffing a bit better.