Custom 5 in a basswood bodied guitar

Will a Custom 5 sound good on a basswood bodied guitar? I play 80's metal and quot;shredquot; type music ala MacAlpine, Moore, Vai, etc. I'm looking for string definition at high gain levels, good low end response and not too much brightness. What do you think?

i need to knwo that too i have a c5 nickel cover comming from KLINKDETROIT

Quote of :Will a Custom 5 sound good on a basswood bodied guitar? I play 80's metal and quot;shredquot; type music ala MacAlpine, Moore, Vai, etc. I'm looking for string definition at high gain levels, good low end response and not too much brightness. What do you think?[/QUOTE]

String definition ( clarity ) in chords and picks good and tights lows , enhanced highs but not harsh , that's what you will have and because the basswood is rich in mids an resonnant you won't be short in mids and ouput .

Actually i cant thinks of a better wood than basswood for this C5 !!!

I have a C5 in the bridge of my basswood Genny. It's one of the few guitars that I'll play bridge-only. Nice and smooth, but still retains some snap and twang.

Basswood is a midrangey toned wood and the c5 has backed off mids so the combo of this would and have good clarity and compliment one another

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Since the C5 is probably my favorite Duncan humbucker, I've used it in all my guitars at some point, including my basswood/flamed maple veneer Gamp;L Legacy Deluxe.

Since the C-5 is voiced almost like a natural soft U on a graphic equalizer, it works best in woods with their own nice midrange, especially mahogany or mahogany/maple.
It's really the perfect bridge humbucker for LP's or PRS guitars.

In basswood, it really depends. In my Gamp;L, I'm using a nickel C5 that's fairly close to the strings and it sounds very good. However, I'm not sure it's the 'be all end all' pickup for that guitar. The CC was a little soft on the bottom end. The JB is what came stock, but like usual, it sounds better for soloing than rhythm. My next move will be to try a 59B and Seth Lover. The Seth is always overlooked by rock/metal players, and it's unfortunate because it's got such a great tone, it often sounds better than pickups designed for higher gain.

I guess what I'm getting at is that for basswood I'd probably steer toward the C-5, 59, Seth Lover, Custom, or JB. I'm sure many Duncans would sound good too, but I'd start with those models.

I had a C-5 in a basswood guitar with 500K pots I got some OK tones on my TSL with the presence all the way down, but it was way too bright and it had way too much treble with my mesa that I took it out an put it in my alder MIA Strat w/250K pots. It was conciderably better, but I'd call it more of a classic rock pup and I find I have to turn the amp's gain up higher with that pup to get the same amount of gain that other pups get. A fellow forum member suggested that it's probably because of the scooped mid eq of the pup, and I tend to agree.

I'd say try it anyway, and if you don't like it turn it into a CC. Although I don't own a CC, it seems to me that that is more of an 80's style pup (soundclips, artists list, ect).


Originally Posted by NapsI had a C-5 in a basswood guitar with 500K pots I got some OK tones on my TSL with the presence all the way down, but it was way too bright and it had way too much treble with my mesa that I took it out an put it in my alder MIA Strat w/250K pots.

Thanks for the reminder. I should point out that I use 250k pots in my basswood Genny.


Originally Posted by ArtieTooThe world hangs on our every word.