# Duncan SH6 vs. DiMarzio Crunch Lab



## Seventary (Sep 21, 2011)

Hi, duders!

I'm not happy with my pickup. My main guitar is an Ibanez Universe(UV777Pbk) equipped with a Duncan Distortion in the bridge position. In the neck position i have a Duncan Jazz, but that one sounds good. The problem is the bridge pickup. When playing thru my Engl Powerball it just sounds over distorted, almost like it's dist pedal in front of the signal. I know the Engl is a high gain amp and combined with the ultra-angry Duncan Distortion its just overkill. Not happy with the sound.

Therfore i'm thinking about changing to the Cruch Lab/Liquifire combo, since i know a lot of you guys here favour that combination. But how's the crunch lab compared to the Duncan Distortion ?? I fear it's just as hot and will leave me stuck at the same place. Your comments and opinons would be appreciated. (Plus, the crunch lab looks cool.  )


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## AwakenNoMore (Sep 21, 2011)

I'm biased towards Duncan, I have the SH-6 set in 3 of my guitars. In the end its about what you like though. everyone's going to try and tell you what they think is best. I say buy them both and return the one you don't like. Only true way to find out. Also just an FYI, Seymour Duncan offers a solder-less connection system for use with any pickup.


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## sell2792 (Sep 21, 2011)

DiMarzio has a 30-day return/exchange policy if I'm not mistaken, so it couldn't hurt to try em' out. I think the CL should solve your problems, and if you like the Jazz I'm fairly positive you'll love the LiquiFire.


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## Quitty (Sep 21, 2011)

Personally, i'd take Duncans over Dimarzios any day.
Have you had any experience with Dimarzios? There's something common to all of them - to me they all sound 'processed' in a way which may or may not be what you're after, while Duncans tend to sound significantly more 'raw' - it makes it a tad harder to play but they sound more natural, IMO.

Mind you, i've always thought the Duncan Distortion (And Dimarzio super-distortion, for that matter) were somewhat 'tasteless' - too oldschool for me. They are quite different than the Distortion, though - less harsh.
If you're looking for something more controlled out of your ENGL, why not try a lower-output pup? Might surprise you.


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## Seventary (Sep 21, 2011)

Quitty said:


> Personally, i'd take Duncans over Dimarzios any day.
> Have you had any experience with Dimarzios? There's something common to all of them - to me they all sound 'processed' in a way which may or may not be what you're after, while Duncans tend to sound significantly more 'raw' - it makes it a tad harder to play but they sound more natural, IMO.
> 
> Mind you, i've always thought the Duncan Distortion (And Dimarzio super-distortion, for that matter) were somewhat 'tasteless' - too oldschool for me. They are quite different than the Distortion, though - less harsh.
> If you're looking for something more controlled out of your ENGL, why not try a lower-output pup? Might surprise you.



I completly agree that they sound oldschool, especially with the Engl. Like old swedish deathmetal.  I've had some experience with DiMarzio's yes. I used to play with the stock Blaze's in the Universe but i thought they were way too muddy. I've also tried the D-Activators, didn't like them either. Sounded, i don't know, muffeled and dead in lack of a better description. The D-Activators i tried were in a mahogany V-body guitar, the Ibanez XPT700, and not in a basswood body like on the Uni. I'm sure that makes some difference. 

But now it seems like everybody favors the Duncans' here.  Hmm.... what to do. Maybe get that solder-less connector thing and try different lower output pickups like you said ??


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## NeglectedField (Sep 21, 2011)

I love my Duncan Distortion in my S320 but haven't ran it through a proper valve amp. 

If it's too harsh, thought of killing the gain on the amp settings a bit?


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## Quitty (Sep 21, 2011)

Actually, you probably just landed a good day. 
Typically, this was Dimarzio-land until they found out about BKP 

You can try the Duncan Full-shreds, they seem to be getting a lot of good rep as far as 7-string pups go and are medium gain.
Then there's BKP...


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## Mordacain (Sep 21, 2011)

Personally I am not a fan of Duncan's in Basswood. In Mahogany or Ash, I love a good JB(SH5) or Custom (SH6). The 59 is also right on par with an Air Norton for my favorite neck pickup, lovely tone. The 59 actually sounds fine in Basswood.

I'm partial to the Dimarzio ToneZone, but that's mainly because of its low-mid focus and over tight sound. I think I'd prefer a scatter wound version of the same version for a little more airiness, and apparently a WolfeTone reqound JB gives something like that.


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## beneharris (Sep 21, 2011)

i'll throw a nod towards the crunchlab. i loved mine. it was a pretty high output, but it cleaned up really well, and it never felt like it was driving the amplifier to much like you say your distortion is doing. its super tight too; if that is what you are going for. 

heck, if you do end up buying those and dont' like them, and you dont want more dimarzios i know you will have no problem unloading them on here. seems like they get scooped up real fast.


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## yellowv (Sep 21, 2011)

Duncan's sound bad in basswood. It's as simple as that. You could go to a crunchlab, D-Sonic, Dactivator, blaze, etc. and all will sound worlds better than a Duncan Distortion in that guitar.


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## Dead Undead (Sep 22, 2011)

Generally DiMarzios work best for basswood or ash and Seymour Duncans work best in mahogany or korina. Seymour Duncans tend to sound like shit in basswood. DiMarzio makes some pickups that work really well in mahogany, but most of their pickups work best in Basswood or brighter woods.


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## Captastic (Sep 22, 2011)

CL and SD Dis are really very different PuPs. I think you'll like the CL. Modern...tight...not overly compressed...very even voice...polished. I call it everything the Full Shred should have been.


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## Seventary (Sep 23, 2011)

Ok. Guess i'm going for the CrunchLab/Liquifire combo. Considering the D-Sonic aswell. Well, let's get to ordering some pups part.  Thanx for your opinions!


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