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First, thanks to Stevo for it. Thanks a lot man!!!

1) This pickup kicks butt
2) Satan couldn't handle this pickup
3) YUM!!!!

1) this pickup focuses, to me, on power. It'll overdrive an amp if you want it to, but turning the volume pot down results in a very lovely, full of harmonics old school tone. It surprises me as usually Ceramic magnets turned down don't sound too good, but this one really sounded lovely. Full throttle, it really shines too. Enough bass for any applications, good tightness (though I was expecting more), a lot of mids (VERY smooth mids) but in my basswood guitar it's not amazingly bright. Enough treble for most things of course, don't worry. It's not much of a problem, I just need to find the proper EQ settings for it . The bass are fantastic. At first I didn't notice it much, but this is not a bass heavy pickup. It's just... perfect! Add bass and you get more attitude, take some out for thrash paradise. It'll never get muddy.
The pickup is quite smooth sounding. The FullShred I had was quite crunchy, the Miracle Man a little less, but not as smooth as the Custom. Is this a A5 vs Ceramic thing? I hear the JB is fairly crunchy too.
Harmonics come easily. Not as easy as the FullShred I'd say. But easy enough for me. Pinching sounds great too.
2) indeed. This thing handles drop tuning very well. No mushing out, not change in the tone, just sounds heavier. When I played my first open C power chord this pickup yelled 'I'll ****ing rip your balls off *****'. It's MEAN sounding if you want it to, and yet is capable of some very smooth sounds. PAF, yes. On steroids, HELL YEAH!!
3) Yum. Yep, it's that good. I'm really hesitating right now to take it off. I'll do some comparison clips between it, the FullShred and the Miracle Man soon. I'm guessing it'd sound better in a guitar with a maple cap (for which it was conceived I think) but it already kicks ass in my Charvel model 4! I'll then try a FS with ceramic magnet and I feel like it, a hybrid Custom/FullShred with Ceramic to try and gain brightness.

I have yet to try a Distortion (it's on my list though don't worry ) but I can see the Custom SHOULD be put in all those stock guitars instead of the JB. It really is a fantastic, underused pickup.
My 2 humbucker guitar, if I ever get one, most likely will have a Custom/Full Shred combo.

The Custom kicks ass!

I love playing quot;Miracle Manquot; on it... it show cases the best of this pickup... the highs on the intro, and the chug on the verse riff... kicks ass!
Custom bridge, APH1 neck!

Nice dude! Custom/APH-1 is a killer combo.

I'm thinking about switching back to it myself...


Originally Posted by wildstarNice dude! Custom/APH-1 is a killer combo.

I'm thinking about switching back to it myself...

Thanks Man! That combo is going to stay there forever! Rock on!

I recently took the custom custom out of my 57 goldtop reissue and put in a custom.I like the custom custom but my rig is pretty mids heavy already so I wanted to try something more even in the eq.The custom sounds great!By itself into my jcm 800 i get 70s rock,kick on my Barber Direct Drive and its hair city!Wasnt sure if I'd like a ceramic magnet, but i do now. Jason

Arrgh!!! My tb5 Custom still hasn't arrived yet!!! Thanks for the write up Pierre, it makes me really look forward to getting mine!

I'm calling the guitar shop right now...

the Custom sounds amazing in my Explorer! Maybe I should say Smokin!

If y'all like the custom, you owe it to yourself to try the DD. That is, if you use it mostly for OD.

You can't argue with the CUSTOM
And the APH1 is sweeter than sugar on buttered toast!

Man, you guys are making me miss my guitar with the Custom/Aph-1 setup...had it all set up and rocking last week but now its in the shop for repairs. It slipped of the stand and...
I busted my nut.
Who wants to make the first joke?

hmm... how's the palm mute chunk? I think I really want a custom now.

Is it less mushy (more open) than the DD?

slade

Very nice tight and crunchy pick-up... can't go wrong with that for heavier music... it also cleans up nicely if you roll off the tone and volume together... I just love it...


Originally Posted by fretburnerThe Custom kicks ass!

I love playing quot;Miracle Manquot; on it... it show cases the best of this pickup... the highs on the intro, and the chug on the verse riff... kicks ass!
Custom bridge, APH1 neck!

ah thix axe looks awesome

Is that an older Joe Perry sig. LP? Either way...it's pretty.
Do you think a Custom would be a good match with a '59 in the neck? I'm thinking of loading my LP Studio with some.


Originally Posted by danglybangerhmm... how's the palm mute chunk? I think I really want a custom now.

Is it less mushy (more open) than the DD?

slade

It's good. It's not an extremely bassy pickup but there's enough for chunk. Actually to be honest I can bring the bass on 5/10 and still get a decent chugging tone. As I said the bass on this pickup is very very good. It's got something different.
I don't find it mushy at all. Some people say it's less definied than the FullShred, but to be honest the definition has not been a problem at all for me.

Ok I figured out a favorable EQ for it:
Bass on 7, mids on 7 and treble on 8.
If I want a thrashier tone, I can back up the bass and scoop the mids a bit, but I love mids hehe...This is NOT an easy pickup to scoop on the mid level. It's very midrangy by itself.
Also, it's quite heavy on the low mids. So if you need more chunk, you can also dial even MORE mids, which of course I absolutely love Muahaha

I was quick to see its defaults and not fast to correct them, but now I have, I think it's a keeper. It responds well to most EQs.

The Custom is a great pickup. I have one in the bridge of my homebrew Les Paul. I had a JB in it before, but I couldn't get a good clean or even semi-clean out of the JB. The only thing I would like to be different with the Custom is if it had the bottom end more like the JB. It seemed to be more tight and punchy in my Les Paul, which can get muddy.


Originally Posted by danglybangerhmm... how's the palm mute chunk? I think I really want a custom now.

Is it less mushy (more open) than the DD?

slade

The Custom's palm mute chunk is good. The low end is tight and it has plenty of it in an LP style axe. Seymour's description of the Custom is accurate, even if some of those attributes do not hit you over the head when you first hear it. I haven't heard a DD live so I can't compare the two.

Custom kicks ass. Feel free to comment its goodness everyone, and thanks to those who commented

I'm glad you like it Pierre I think the Custom is my favorite hard rock pickup. I love the way it barks when you play heavy chords under distortion. It's agressive but it also cleans up nicely.


Originally Posted by danglybangerIs it less mushy (more open) than the DD?

Yes, and the different magnet sizes do make a difference in tone. The DD is more compressed. The Custom has more of an edge.