Bray 50w Plexi ...and a bunch of pickups

David Bray modded Marshall Plexi 50 watt with a bunch of different guitars and pickups as follows: Seymour Duncan '59, Dimarzio Tone Zone, Seymour Duncan Custom Custom, Dimarzio Super Distortion from late 70's, Seymour Duncan JB, Seymour Duncan '78, Ternlet lower output PAF. Marshall Plexi settings are everything on 10, except bass, which is on 4 or 5, PPIMV down low. Haven't played some of these guitars in a while so they warp out of tune a bit!

[@guillermomelis7379]

SD 59 and Sd 78 nails the classic Evh sound of early records!!! Great tones and playing!!

[@lionchamp29]

i cant find SD78, even on SD website

[@DrumBuster16]

@@lionchamp29 Custom shop, $150

[@bweeks8869]

Dimarzio Super Distortion sounded great!

[@seanqhanley]

The super distortion and '78 had such awesome vibes about them!! I have both of them in guitars, and only play through Bray amps now. They play super well through Dave's circuits. Great tones and playing!

[@timbuk1126]

DiMarzio Super Distortion

[@khakilackey493]

‘78 for the win. They all sound good though. Great video.

[@stephenbarton2625]

Awesome video and incredible playing my friend. The Duncan custom sounds great! JB too!

[@sierratechnicaladvisorygroup]

Wow! Thought the '78 was going to clean up but that '59 sounds incredible in this demo. Sick playing! Well done.

[@Horatio4711]

That plexi sounds excellent. Great playing, too.

[@ZblockWoW]

Excellent playing and timbre. 🤘🏻🤘🏻

[@KwijiboZeb]

Your mjt with the 78 sounds really great, it's spongy as I love

[@BillyE5150]

Dude, they all sound great! I think the SD ‘59 & ‘78 did it for me, but I’m biased. I’m about to put a JB in a project tele. Can’t wait!

[@angusorvid8840]

They all sound pretty great, but that Duncan Custom Custom and '78 sound the most like the EVH classic tone. Medium output pups are what work best. The problem with higher output pups is they cancel out the snappiness of lower output pups which is integral to getting a classic brown sound. Too much compression cancels the dynamics. The amp sound was excellent too. Good job, nice playing.

[@paulscape72]

Yeah I need to get that custom into another guitar to test it more

[@angusorvid8840]

@@paulscape72 BTW if you want to get an 80s George Lynch tone I can think of no better pickup than the ceramic Duncan Custom, the original. Trust me. George, from about Tooth and Nail through the first Lynch Mob album used a somehow down powered Duncan Distortion, and when you consider the specs of that pup and the Duncan Custom, that pup would have been in between these two tone-wise. I never found the JB to deliver the Lynch tone and the Distortion is overpowered without enough clarity. The ceramic Custom is perfect if you want to target that tone. This has just been my experience of using Duncans since '86. I've had a lot of DiMarzios and EMGs as well. I prefer Duncans these days and the Custom, Custom 5, Full Shred, Alternative 8, Screamin' Demon and Nazgul are my favorite bridge pups, with the Jazz as my favorite neck pup of all time. Back on the Eddie front, the Custom Custom with the A2 mag really gets into that territory. Eddie was actually using it for a bit when DiMarzio designed the pups for is Music Man. They were based on a Custom Custom and a JB, the particular JB with a dying magnet that he used for most of the 80s on his 5150. The DiMarzio Tone Zone is the closest in tone to the Music Man EVH pups, although I think it's way too bassy and overpowered for a proper Eddie tone, even from that early 90s era.

[@paulscape72]

@@angusorvid8840 yeah I have the custom in another guitar but I might yank it out and try it in some other guitars. Another good one I’ve recently installed is the ‘59/custom hybrid!

[@sumgui6010]

Damn dude, wicked demo just what i came for lol

[@garysala5441]

I have the custom custom in bridge of my strat & alnico2 pro in neck & I love them!!

[@TVoltG]

Custom Custom to me are the most versatile pickups Duncan makes. I do love the 59's and even the Slash bridge.

[@These_go_to_eleven_1959]

SUPER D for the VH I tone all the way!

[@danielbotterill-wb6kq]

They all sound great because you're a great player but the '78 really nails that tone for me. They did a good job with that. The Super Distortion always sounds cool for that kind of thing too. And I'm a big fan of the JB's singing/burning midrange but it doesn't sound to me like EVH used that, it's quite distinctive. I'm surprised to hear the '59 sounding that cool and starting to regret giving a superstrat away that had that in bridge & neck... 😕 ps. I actually think the SD SH-5 might be the EVH tone pickup many people are overlooking as I read it was originally marketed as the "van halen humbucker", it's like a slightly brighter lower output version of the Super Distortion to my ears. Both great pickups that are also very versatile.

[@markinthemix6055]

Good video.

[@DANTHETUBEMAN]

Sd59 and the DiMarzio super distortion have that early Ed 🎸 sound.

[@alexanderholden82]

I just replaced a stock Jackson pickup with a Seymour Duncan Distortion TB-6 and I'm very happy with it . would have been cool to see it amongst what you've demonstrated here with your rig... but this totally sold me on the 59 for the neck of my guitar.

[@paulscape72]

Good pickups, I used use a few in other guitars

[@Turboy65]

It hardly matters what pickups you use, that David Bray sounds SUPREME no matter what! But I prefer all the Duncan pickups. Always have, probably always will.

[@stevestarr6395]

The 78’ does it for me in an ash Strat!

[@danz4904]

SD 59 Bridge together with your playing sounds the closest to early EVH to me.

[@MR.KERNAN]

I have the 78 now I got to have the 59 lol take my money 🤙

[@ryanviducic1145]

Awesome shootout! Is the mjt relic with the 78 alder or ash? If ash, swamp or northern? Thanks!

[@obiwan69]

Hi! Great tones!!! But...i have a 1990's Charvel 650XL, maple neck thru body, rosewood fingerboard and Floyd by Schaller tremolo, one volume no tone pot like EVH. Which pu you think is better for my guitar? Maybe a 59 or another? Thx!

[@paulscape72]

So many choices, my fav’s are 78, JB and super distortion. JB can sound different in different in different guitars though. I just put a Vintage JB in an old Kramer and it squeals!!

[@travelbyrocket]

Sounds great. Can the Coco get this level of gain at low vol levels?

[@livefromstudioa8245]

Yes absolutely. I have a Bray COCO 50 and you can get this level of gain at bedroom levels. Amazing amp.

[@sonnyseabury4051]

Which Bray Plexi amp is that? Is that the Alpha Co-Co Boost?

[@shredgd5]

The 78 is the best! The 59 and JB are close seconds, though. The Custom custom is a bit weak, otherwise it has a beautiful tone. The Tone zone is too thick in the low mids as known. The Super distortion is a bit too thick as well, but better than the Tone zone because it doesn't have that high mids-treble cut; however you played it very little because of the tuning issue. The vintage PAF at the end was too weak and trebly.

[@TristanJCumpole]

Yeah, that's really odd with the Custom Custom. I have one in the bridge of my #1 Ibanez S1630FM and it kicks up a storm compared to this one through the Plexi. Could be any number of reasons here, but it's a great pickup.

[@timbuk1126]

I hear plenty of high mids with the Super Distortion.

[@carlosg4537]

For me JB sounds greatest. Can you comparison JB with Custom?

[@paulscape72]

They are fairly similar in a way, I like JB better maybe, the custom s currently in a guitar that not doing it justice

[@onlyfromadistance7326]

Weeeeee diddly diddly diddly diddly diiiiid wham woooooo diddly diddly diddly weeee weeeee weeeee whaaaaaaaaaooooooooom....

[@gustanoid]

Should I switch from JB to Custom Custom for heavy/folk metal? Is there enough difference in tone or not worth bothering?

[@paulscape72]

Buy a new guitar and put a custom custom in it 😉

[@These_go_to_eleven_1959]

The JB is more universal. The custom-custom is really picky about what guitar it is in.

[@lucasandrescenturion659]

Duncan custom custom it's duncan dcj?

[@zipchtkdn7804]

The cc is balanced ..78 chomps

[@iamgribs]

I think the 78 is closest. The 59 and Super Dist was good too.

[@paulscape72]

The 78 is a cool pickup! I have a spare one I need to throw into another guitar soon

[@iamgribs]

@@paulscape72 I like how it sears and sizzles when you dig in, but it sings when you lighten your touch.

[@Gblackie13]

Is the VH I copy made out of northern ash?

[@paulscape72]

No I think it's just basswood, I need to replace the body or redo the trem posts as it doesn't stay in tune!

[@Brosefmcjoeseph]

Greg your insane...

[@go4384]

That custom custom has this reputation but it really did not sound good at all

[@taxo]

Yep, I was surprised as well. Too damn smooth, no bite

[@These_go_to_eleven_1959]

Any pickup needs to be matched in the right guitar. any pickup can sound like ass in the wrong guitar.

[@9unslin9er]

Tone Zone sounds like garbage.

[@These_go_to_eleven_1959]

That is humorous considering who it was designed for! Trust me the TZ is a amazing pu. it has to be in the right guitar and set away from the strings a good bit. EVH was torn between it and another very similar model for his EBMM sig guitar.