Ascension
04-19-2007, 05:47 PM
Here are the players
Both guitars are 1995 USA Washburn custom Shop MG's and every thing is identical with the guitars other than the body woods.
First my 1995 Washburn USA MG 100 PRO. This one has a one piece Swamp Ash Body and is loaded with Tone Zone and a pair of Blue Velvets.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v27/rutledri/DSC00275.jpg
Next up is the 1995 USA MG 120 with a Honduras Mahogany body with a quilt top.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v27/rutledri/DSC00274.jpg
First the accoustic tones. The MG 120 is sweet warm mellow and resonate the MG 100 equal in output also very resonate but brighter and more focused.
Now for the Single coils
First clean
The MG 100 with the Dimarzio Blue Velvets. This one is nice sweet and full sounding good quack in position 4 with the neck and middle and a solid twangy tone with the neck pickup over all a solid tone machine.
Now the MG 120 with the SSL-5 Duncans. Overall its sweeter and has a little more clarity. The in between tones are really nice sweet and clear with nice QUACK. The neck tones have a little more clarity and definition than the Dimarzios and are a little meatier.
Overall both are fantastic sounding guitars. The 100 with the Dimarzios being a little brighter and more compressed. The MG 120 with the Duncans a little sweeter more mellow and cleaner. The biggest difference is in the neck position tones crunched the Duncans have more clarity and are smoother.
This was very close and both are really nice but overall I give the edge to the Duncans.
Now for the Buckers
The MG 100 has a Dimarzio Tone Zone the MG 120 a Duncan Custom 5. Both are considered to be high output pickups by there manufacturers and both have Alnico 5 magnets.
First the MG100 with the Tone Zone. Big power huge bottom and quite dark this one is a sledgehammer! The pickup does sweeten up and clean up quite well when you roll off the volume but this one is HOT!
Now the MG 120 with the Custom 5. I immedietly notice more clarity and just more life with the Duncan. this one is like a PAF on a BIG dose of steroids!! Really sweet but with serious additude great presence and a much wider reasponse and clearer tone than the Zone.
The Duncan Custom 5 IMO just blows the Zone out of the water in overall clarity and raw tone!!
Now for the buckers tapped with the middle single. the MG 100 sounds nasal and strangled usable and just ok but not anything to write home about here. The MG 120 is MUCH better with a nice Strat like twang and good clarity it sounds really close to the SSL-1-SSL-5 set up in my LS 93 NICE!!
Now for the final results--. First because of the big difference in DC resistance ( Tone Zone 17.5 K Custom 5 14.5K ) the Dimarzio Zone does not really match up well with the Duncan Custom 5 a Norton would have been a better match here. The singles are really close and I give the Duncans a slight edge in warmth clarity and overall a more pleasing tone. The Differences here could very well be due to the difference in body woods. It's virtually a dead heat with both being just fantastic sounding single coils.
With the Buckers it is a diiferent story. IMO the Zone comes up well short and the Duncan is the clear winner here.
Allthough the Dimarzio actually hits the preamp harder the Duncan has more perceived output due to the clarity. The Zone is too muddy and bottom heavy plus it flat stinks tapped with the single coil. I may swap it out for a Norton and try this again but for now it's no contest DUNCANS!!
Both guitars are 1995 USA Washburn custom Shop MG's and every thing is identical with the guitars other than the body woods.
First my 1995 Washburn USA MG 100 PRO. This one has a one piece Swamp Ash Body and is loaded with Tone Zone and a pair of Blue Velvets.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v27/rutledri/DSC00275.jpg
Next up is the 1995 USA MG 120 with a Honduras Mahogany body with a quilt top.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v27/rutledri/DSC00274.jpg
First the accoustic tones. The MG 120 is sweet warm mellow and resonate the MG 100 equal in output also very resonate but brighter and more focused.
Now for the Single coils
First clean
The MG 100 with the Dimarzio Blue Velvets. This one is nice sweet and full sounding good quack in position 4 with the neck and middle and a solid twangy tone with the neck pickup over all a solid tone machine.
Now the MG 120 with the SSL-5 Duncans. Overall its sweeter and has a little more clarity. The in between tones are really nice sweet and clear with nice QUACK. The neck tones have a little more clarity and definition than the Dimarzios and are a little meatier.
Overall both are fantastic sounding guitars. The 100 with the Dimarzios being a little brighter and more compressed. The MG 120 with the Duncans a little sweeter more mellow and cleaner. The biggest difference is in the neck position tones crunched the Duncans have more clarity and are smoother.
This was very close and both are really nice but overall I give the edge to the Duncans.
Now for the Buckers
The MG 100 has a Dimarzio Tone Zone the MG 120 a Duncan Custom 5. Both are considered to be high output pickups by there manufacturers and both have Alnico 5 magnets.
First the MG100 with the Tone Zone. Big power huge bottom and quite dark this one is a sledgehammer! The pickup does sweeten up and clean up quite well when you roll off the volume but this one is HOT!
Now the MG 120 with the Custom 5. I immedietly notice more clarity and just more life with the Duncan. this one is like a PAF on a BIG dose of steroids!! Really sweet but with serious additude great presence and a much wider reasponse and clearer tone than the Zone.
The Duncan Custom 5 IMO just blows the Zone out of the water in overall clarity and raw tone!!
Now for the buckers tapped with the middle single. the MG 100 sounds nasal and strangled usable and just ok but not anything to write home about here. The MG 120 is MUCH better with a nice Strat like twang and good clarity it sounds really close to the SSL-1-SSL-5 set up in my LS 93 NICE!!
Now for the final results--. First because of the big difference in DC resistance ( Tone Zone 17.5 K Custom 5 14.5K ) the Dimarzio Zone does not really match up well with the Duncan Custom 5 a Norton would have been a better match here. The singles are really close and I give the Duncans a slight edge in warmth clarity and overall a more pleasing tone. The Differences here could very well be due to the difference in body woods. It's virtually a dead heat with both being just fantastic sounding single coils.
With the Buckers it is a diiferent story. IMO the Zone comes up well short and the Duncan is the clear winner here.
Allthough the Dimarzio actually hits the preamp harder the Duncan has more perceived output due to the clarity. The Zone is too muddy and bottom heavy plus it flat stinks tapped with the single coil. I may swap it out for a Norton and try this again but for now it's no contest DUNCANS!!