Guitar Gear Forum

I forgot how much I love this pickup. All of a sudden everything sounds "right" again I used to use the C5 until 2009 then I decided to try a bunch of other pickups and none of them were as good as the C5 IMHO. Glad to be back to it.

T minus 2 weeks til Billy is back on t3h EMGz.

_ej_ wrote:T minus 2 weeks til Billy is back on t3h EMGz.

The EMGs are in my Hamer

I need at least one guitar with them.

Nice one Billy! I love the SH5 in the bridge of my SG.

The SH-5 is the regular Custom, right? How does it compare to the Custom 5?

guitarbilly wrote:The SH-5 is the regular Custom, right? How does it compare to the Custom 5?

I've never tried them side by side or in the same guitar. As far as I am aware the custom 5 has an Alnico magnet and the SH5 is ceramic. Both sound good in mahogany. I know a lot of people use 250K pots with the C5.

Duncan chart for reference:

SH-14 Custom Five Four Con. Bridge: 14.4 k
Bridge: 5.4 KHz Alnico V Bar 6 / 3 / 8


SH-5 Duncan Custom Four Con. Bridge: 14.1 k
Bridge: 6 KHz Ceramic Bar 7 / 6 / 9

EDIT: If I had the cash I'd buy a C5 and do a before and after in the same guitar, although this may exist on youtube... I haven't looked.

I think I would probably like that pickup a lot, but Im too much of a fan of the dominion to try anything else.

Yeah I'd like to try the C5 at some point. I don't really have a guitar to put it in though (apart from the SG, but I love it how it is). I'm getting Bare knuckle Crawlers put in my custom MJT Jag (ash body so it'd be way too bright with a C5).

The Bare Knuckle Cold Sweat is meant to be similar to the SH5. I have a cold sweat in the neck of my Ibby and I love that pup, I need to try the cold sweat in a bridge!

Elessar [Sly] wrote:Yeah I'd like to try the C5 at some point. I don't really have a guitar to put it in though (apart from the SG, but I love it how it is). I'm getting Bare knuckle Crawlers put in my custom MJT Jag (ash body so it'd be way too bright with a C5).

The Bare Knuckle Cold Sweat is meant to be similar to the SH5. I have a cold sweat in the neck of my Ibby and I love that pup, I need to try the cold sweat in a bridge!

Word. After my painkiller experience, I probably wont do BKPs again. I like MCP general voicing/character much better, and I like the thickness and clarity that Ive found in dimarzios and BG stuff.

Yeah BKP's are way too expensive for me.... I will stick with regular Duncan, DiMarzio etc...

custom 5 is a great pu, i tried it in a few guitars.

I am interested in the Custom 8 that folks seem to be raving about. Honestly I have the SH5 in 2 guitars and I really like it.

I had a Custom 5 in the bridge of my LPC for a couple of years, with a Pearly Gates in the neck. That was a fantastically versatile and toneful combo.

I keep feeling the itch to go back to the C5...

Word. After my painkiller experience, I probably wont do BKPs again. I like MCP general voicing/character much better, and I like the thickness and clarity that Ive found in dimarzios and BG stuff.

From what you said in the other thread it sounds more like you chose the wrong pup for your needs, if you looked elsewhere in the line you probably would have found something more suitable. BKP's are currently the pups to beat for me at the moment, but it is always subjective

benjamin801 wrote:I had a Custom 5 in the bridge of my LPC for a couple of years, with a Pearly Gates in the neck. That was a fantastically versatile and toneful combo.

I keep feeling the itch to go back to the C5...

Oh I can only imagine. I may go with this combo for my SG Special.

Elessar [Sly] wrote:
From what you said in the other thread it sounds more like you chose the wrong pup for your needs, if you looked elsewhere in the line you probably would have found something more suitable. BKP's are currently the pups to beat for me at the moment, but it is always subjective

I liked it at first, but over time it started to grate on my ears. After getting MCP hellbabies, I never even considered BKP again because the character in those pups fit me way better. Realistically, though, Im getting everything I want out of a 75 dollar stock dimarzio, so Ill stick with those for a while. I talked to Tim before buying anything, and he recommended the painkillers. I was debating between a set of those and a set of the warpigs, but he thought the WPs would have too much low end. I think those would have been a better fit for me.

I liked it at first, but over time it started to grate on my ears. After getting MCP hellbabies, I never even considered BKP again because the character in those pups fit me way better. Realistically, though, Im getting everything I want out of a 75 dollar stock dimarzio, so Ill stick with those for a while. I talked to Tim before buying anything, and he recommended the painkillers. I was debating between a set of those and a set of the warpigs, but he thought the WPs would have too much low end. I think those would have been a better fit for me.

Yeah not to speak against Tim, but I haven't gone with what he recommended me the last two times, and I have been spot on so far. He can only work with what people give him though, and usually I think we tend to lean towards things we think make sense to someone else when explaining, rather than saying exactly what we want (which usually can't be explained with words lol). This aside... I tend to use equipment differently than intended, and rarely get a demo of how I use stuff online. It's all down to research, but most of all taking that leap of faith.

I was told just by swapping it's magnet to a C5 makes it a Duncan Custom. Seeing how Elyssar's chart shows a slight difference, I'm wondering if the magnet has a lot to do with it.

Jer: Just swap the SH-5/SH-14's magnet to a C8 and you'd have a Custom 8. :mrgreen:

soundgardener75 wrote:I was told just by swapping it's magnet to a C5 makes it a Duncan Custom. Seeing how Elyssar's chart shows a slight difference, I'm wondering if the magnet has a lot to do with it.

Jer: Just swap the SH-5/SH-14's magnet to a C8 and you'd have a Custom 8. :mrgreeen:

It makes sense.

soundgardener75 wrote:I was told just by swapping it's magnet to a C5 makes it a Duncan Custom. Seeing how Elyssar's chart shows a slight difference, I'm wondering if the magnet has a lot to do with it.

Jer: Just swap the SH-5/SH-14's magnet to a C8 and you'd have a Custom 8. :mrgreen:

I think that the SD chart is way off TBH.. it shows the custom 5 with almost no mids and that's certainly NOT the case.

Great pickup. I was quite surprised how much bass punch the pickup had when I first put it in.

I turned mine into a Custom 8 and love it. The C5 wasn't something I could bond with.

The only experience I have so far with the Alnico 8 is the Alternative 8 pickup and damn that pickup sounds thick as hell. Too thick for the type of guitar I play, but I think it could be cool on a bright guitar.

would like to try the C5 in my explorer.

I tried a Custom 5 in an SG Special years ago. I never liked it, but I have Custom Customs in an LP and a Hamer and I love that pickup.