# Seymour duncan SH-5 any good ?



## elkoki (Feb 4, 2017)

I've heard the Sh-5 can be pretty versatile for all kinds of rock including down tuned stuff. Anyone use one? I've been semi interested in the 7 string version.. Looking to replace my Nazgul in my Schecter, looking for a more controllable pickup that isn't all about brutal nasty distortion


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## bhakan (Feb 4, 2017)

I have an SH-5 in my seven string and love it. I can't compare it to a Nazgul but I've found it to sound great for all styles. For whatever it's worth, my guitar has a mahogany body and maple neck with a 27" scale.


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## elkoki (Feb 4, 2017)

bhakan said:


> I have an SH-5 in my seven string and love it. I can't compare it to a Nazgul but I've found it to sound great for all styles. For whatever it's worth, my guitar has a mahogany body and maple neck with a 27" scale.



Thr guitar I want it in is pretty similar . mahogany body with 26.5 scale . so how does it sound ? Is the tone scooped sounding ? Thick? Trebley? How would you describe it .


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## cardinal (Feb 4, 2017)

I have a Duncan Custom 7 in a mahogany body, maple neck Strat with a Floyd. It's not scooped at all. Very full. I'd say it's balanced. The low end does not track "fast." I wouldn't say its muddy, but it's not super tight and immediate. I'm very fond of it for what I play (rock, grungy metal).


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## Shask (Feb 5, 2017)

I have 6 string versions of the Custom and Nazgul. The Custom is much lower output and more dynamic. The Custom has a big chunky low end. It is not super tight, but just chugs along. I would say the lower mids are scooped allowing some space for that big low end, but then it has a ton of upper mids. It has a lot of crunchy upper mids and treble. It is actually pretty bright, and full of presence. I wouldn't put it in a bright guitar because it can sound grating and piercing.

I actually love the Custom, but dont have it in a guitar at the moment because I have brighter guitars, and it is not a good match in them. I will probably put it in the next Mahogany guitar I get.


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## mnemonic (Feb 5, 2017)

I have the seven string version in my Mayones Setius (all mahogany with maple top, 25.4" scale) and I think Shask's description is pretty good. Not super tight, not a 'djenty' pickup, but very chunky, big bottom, a bit scooped (based on a PAF, afterall). 

The guitar is very chunky with a ton of bottom end anyway, sometimes too much, so I always have to trim more bottom off the input of this guitar than any of my others. I may look for a brighter, more mid-punchy pickup one day, but for now I'm quite happy with how chunky the SH5 is. 

Never tried a Nazgul so I can't compare.


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## fps (Feb 5, 2017)

Shask said:


> I have 6 string versions of the Custom and Nazgul. The Custom is much lower output and more dynamic. The Custom has a big chunky low end. It is not super tight, but just chugs along. I would say the lower mids are scooped allowing some space for that big low end, but then it has a ton of upper mids. It has a lot of crunchy upper mids and treble. It is actually pretty bright, and full of presence. I wouldn't put it in a bright guitar because it can sound grating and piercing.
> 
> I actually love the Custom, but dont have it in a guitar at the moment because I have brighter guitars, and it is not a good match in them. I will probably put it in the next Mahogany guitar I get.



Nailed it, excellent description


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## Lordragnazzar (Feb 5, 2017)

I've had my fair share of tested SD pickups, and i find the Nazgul/Sentient to be the best IMO - but since you want to change them for something with better clarity, i'd go for Blackouts probably


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## Zhysick (Feb 5, 2017)

Harsh, piercing, boomy low end, scooped mids...

Sorry, can't hate that pup enough.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Feb 5, 2017)

Shask said:


> I have 6 string versions of the Custom and Nazgul. The Custom is much lower output and more dynamic. The Custom has a big chunky low end. It is not super tight, but just chugs along. I would say the lower mids are scooped allowing some space for that big low end, but then it has a ton of upper mids. It has a lot of crunchy upper mids and treble. It is actually pretty bright, and full of presence. I wouldn't put it in a bright guitar because it can sound grating and piercing.
> 
> I actually love the Custom, but dont have it in a guitar at the moment because I have brighter guitars, and it is not a good match in them. I will probably put it in the next Mahogany guitar I get.



Exactly this.

Basically a tamer, more dynamic version of the Duncan Distortion, I find. If you feel the Duncan Distortion is too extreme, give the SH-5 a try.


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## bhakan (Feb 5, 2017)

elkoki said:


> Thr guitar I want it in is pretty similar . mahogany body with 26.5 scale . so how does it sound ? Is the tone scooped sounding ? Thick? Trebley? How would you describe it .


I realize now my response wasn't remotely helpful . As other have said, Shask nailed the description of it. I think if you have a super tight amp and a darker guitar it's a great option because IME it can still be tightened up but also allows you to ease off into a more "classic" sound, but it may not be ideal if you don't have tightness to spare from your rig.

I play into a Mesa .50 Caliber which is entirely too tight at times, so it works great to allow me to get tight percussive metal tones while also getting good rock sounds. By comparison my deactivator and crunch lab loaded guitars are kind of "stuck" sounding very modern through my setup. It sounds like you're looking for a similar thing so depending on your amp I think it could work very well.


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## MetalThrasher (Feb 5, 2017)

I have an SH 5 in both my Jackson soloist's and I love them. Sask description is very good


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## DudeManBrother (Feb 5, 2017)

I have one in my Caparison TAT and I think it sounds fantastic. Brings a little bit of "roundness/fullness" to some of my dry and tight Kemper profiles.


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## TheWarAgainstTime (Feb 6, 2017)

I've had the Custom in several guitars and really like it. As others have said, it's not a brutal, djent pickup, but handles low tunings and chugs really well. Sort of a "hard rock" sound like Alter Bridge vs a modern sound like Parkway Drive


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## laxu (Feb 7, 2017)

The SH-14 aka Custom 5 is IMO a much better pickup than the SH-5. That said, it ultimately depends on what guitar you are putting it in if it will complement it well.


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## Thewicked6 (Sep 28, 2019)

laxu said:


> The SH-14 aka Custom 5 is IMO a much better pickup than the SH-5. That said, it ultimately depends on what guitar you are putting it in if it will complement it well.


Is the 7 string version sh14 or sh5 alnico?


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## laxu (Sep 28, 2019)

Thewicked6 said:


> Is the 7 string version sh14 or sh5 alnico?


No idea.


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## Choop (Sep 28, 2019)

Thewicked6 said:


> Is the 7 string version sh14 or sh5 alnico?



The SH14 has an alnico magnet, and the SH5 has a ceramic magnet. I don't think it is different than the 6 string models--they're essentially the same pickup with different magnets.


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## akinari (Sep 29, 2019)

Try the SD Pegasus.


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## elkoki (Sep 29, 2019)

akinari said:


> Try the SD Pegasus.



This post is 2 years old


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## Quiet Coil (Sep 29, 2019)

elkoki said:


> This post is 2 years old


What did you end up doing anyway?


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## elkoki (Sep 30, 2019)

Noisy Humbucker said:


> What did you end up doing anyway?



I tried the SH-5 for a little while and really enjoyed it. It was probably my favorite pickup in that particular guitar. Truthfully I took it out for aesthetic reasons. The one I bought was used and in sort of bad shape. The guitar was basically new and I couldn't live with seeing an old pickup in it... Eventually the guitar was ruined by a tech and he bought it off me to make things "right" ...

The guitar was bright & thin sounding to me so the SH-5 was a better choice for me... It sounded thick and had more of a traditional humbucker sound... It's not super tight but with an overdrive it was more than tight enough..... the Nazgul sounded gross in this guitar. Made me want to quit guitar playing all together with how awful it sounded. I'm positive in the right guitar it would sound great, but in this guitar it sounded worse than a Squier with cheap humbuckers..


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## Quiet Coil (Oct 1, 2019)

Dang. Well, thanks for sharing! That’s what is going into the bridge of my wonky Warmoth build and I’ve been agonizing over it since I started planning 6 months ago!


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## Themistocles (Oct 13, 2020)

Looking for the right bridge pickup replacement for this ash bodied Samick skn-700 I just picked up and the sh-5 is on my radar. Can anyone compare it to the Tone Zone 7? Not certain if I want to SH-5 or go way different and try a Titan Bridge which has a much tighter bass end? This is always so complicated... Something tells me the Nazgul in a bolt on ash 7 wont make me happy. SH-5 seems like it has to p-90 like growl and I seem to like that sort of thing?


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## DudeManBrother (Oct 13, 2020)

@Themistocles My experience with both pickups is on 6 strings, so they might be a bit different on 7’s. The SH5 has quite a bit more treble, and a subtle scoop in the mids vs the TZ. Both have big low end that sounds great if you don’t tune too low. I think the SH5 is a safer bet in most guitars; but if you find that a particular guitar is overly bright or thin: the TZ can really help. 

I currently have a TZ loaded in a mahogany body (6 string, D std), and find myself turning up the presence/treble of my amps vs most of my other guitars. It’s a quick adjustment and I love the sound of that pickup. The SH5 seems to sit in an ideal tonal place and is punchy with a PAF snarl.


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## Themistocles (Oct 13, 2020)

Thanks and hmmm cool. Ive had this guitar for less than a week but already Im at a point where if I want to play it above speaking volume I roll back the treble knob a tad. It came with Duncan Designeds and Ive lowered them quite a bit and that has helped some too. It seems like the SH-5 would give a nice throaty hot paf growl, which the DD's have some of but force me to EQ out top end shrillness. The Titan as an idea is just going with what is very current. Keith Marrow seemed to really approve of the SH-5 in this video and I had the same reaction... most things had a discernible quality but the SH-5 was the one that stood out as... damn what is that? 

Seems like a candidate for old school awesome that translates well today vs. trendyness.


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## Themistocles (Oct 20, 2020)

I ended up dropping a Titan 7 into the bridge of this ash guitar and in research I found that the SH-5 and Titan were similar with the titan having a tighter low end, which is what I wanted to try out. So far happy with the Titan 7 but something tells me the SH-5 has a bit more treble and bass... maybe not what Im after in this guitar but both have a bit of that P90 growl apparently. If you are looking to add more bass the SH-5 seems like a less talked about option and it wont be as percussive as the Titan.


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## elkoki (Oct 20, 2020)

Themistocles said:


> I ended up dropping a Titan 7 into the bridge of this ash guitar and in research I found that the SH-5 and Titan were similar with the titan having a tighter low end, which is what I wanted to try out. So far happy with the Titan 7 but something tells me the SH-5 has a bit more treble and bass... maybe not what Im after in this guitar but both have a bit of that P90 growl apparently. If you are looking to add more bass the SH-5 seems like a less talked about option and it wont be as percussive as the Titan.



I tried the Titan 7 in an AX7521, it was OK. Nothing particularly great about it IMO, but this also wasn't my favorite guitar tonally or playing wise. I tried a few different pickups in it and the differences in tone weren't enough to wow me. Some guitars don't really wow you no matter what you put in them. I did try the SH5 in a different 7 and it was pretty nice, definitely more bass, a little "looser" sounding but with an overdrive or a tight amp it worked great for metal or just about everything. In the end if you got a great metal amp setup pretty much almost any humbucker will work. Joe from Gojira uses vintage style voiced pickups, his bridge signature is based on the PAF 36th anniversary . I generally don't prefer humbuckers that are all about crazy melt your face output like the Nazgul or Black Winter I normally like the regular medium to high gain pickups that have been around forever and are tried and true.


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## Themistocles (Oct 21, 2020)

elkoki said:


> I tried the Titan 7 in an AX7521, it was OK. Nothing particularly great about it IMO, but this also wasn't my favorite guitar tonally or playing wise. I tried a few different pickups in it and the differences in tone weren't enough to wow me. Some guitars don't really wow you no matter what you put in them. I did try the SH5 in a different 7 and it was pretty nice, definitely more bass, a little "looser" sounding but with an overdrive or a tight amp it worked great for metal or just about everything. In the end if you got a great metal amp setup pretty much almost any humbucker will work. Joe from Gojira uses vintage style voiced pickups, his bridge signature is based on the PAF 36th anniversary . I generally don't prefer humbuckers that are all about crazy melt your face output like the Nazgul or Black Winter I normally like the regular medium to high gain pickups that have been around forever and are tried and true.


Im with you on the over the top output as it kind of eradicates idiosyncrcies in the tone/pick attack. To lessen the higher output I do have it installed at a lower height. For the same reason I mostly dont like heavy distortion from stomp boxes, though op amps that replicate power amp crunch are my new jam. I use the acapulco gold pedal from earthquaker... its basically the sound of a Sunn T1000 about to blow up and i run that into a matchless mc-30 model. Yes an mc30 can doom. Titans are fine and a djentlemanly pickup with both a paf flair and and modern tones. Dont think they will ever be my absolute faves but fun as a stark contrast to the much rounder tone zone 7 sound in my carvin 747 (that thing is such a dream to play). Back on topic, if I ever have the chance to grab a used sh-5 Ill probably go for it, Im sure ill get more 7's as they present themselves. The nazgul just didnt sound as evil as the SH-5 in that demo video anyways. How long before we have sauron, gandalf and Morgoth pickups? But yes, classics are classics for a reason.


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## Themistocles (Aug 29, 2021)

Themistocles said:


> Im with you on the over the top output as it kind of eradicates idiosyncrcies in the tone/pick attack. To lessen the higher output I do have it installed at a lower height. For the same reason I mostly dont like heavy distortion from stomp boxes, though op amps that replicate power amp crunch are my new jam. I use the acapulco gold pedal from earthquaker... its basically the sound of a Sunn T1000 about to blow up and i run that into a matchless mc-30 model. Yes an mc30 can doom. Titans are fine and a djentlemanly pickup with both a paf flair and and modern tones. Dont think they will ever be my absolute faves but fun as a stark contrast to the much rounder tone zone 7 sound in my carvin 747 (that thing is such a dream to play). Back on topic, if I ever have the chance to grab a used sh-5 Ill probably go for it, Im sure ill get more 7's as they present themselves. The nazgul just didnt sound as evil as the SH-5 in that demo video anyways. How long before we have sauron, gandalf and Morgoth pickups? But yes, classics are classics for a reason.


So Ive tried the SH-5 in my new Jackson Js22Q-7 Its good and seems to like amps with a bit more grind in the midrange like an orange rockerverb or that marshall sound. Articulate.. dynamic and the low end is thiiiick so mostly what I was looking for. It felt incomplete till I bumped 3db in the graphic EQ at 500k and 8k. Its a bit rounded on the highs but it is also a great lead pickup.... a somewhat more behaved version of the tone zone 7 which has more grind and more of cocked wha sound. the Custom combined with a bit of fuzz is excellent for a 26.5 inch 7 if you set things up right. Could play classic rock, prog, doom with it no prob. the opposite of djent though.


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