Alternative 8 Humbucker: Metal Demo
Compare
Seymour Duncan Alternative 8 (SH-15) vs Seymour Duncan Custom (SH-5)
Seymour Duncan Alternative 8 (SH-15)
bridge humbucker
79 match
high confidence
Seymour Duncan Custom (SH-5)
bridge humbucker
Compared with the Seymour Duncan Alternative 8 (SH-15), the Seymour Duncan Custom (SH-5) has a ceramic magnet (punchier, more aggressive), a brighter top end and scooped mids.
Specs side by side
differs marks specs where they part ways| Spec | Seymour Duncan Alternative 8 (SH-15) | Seymour Duncan Custom (SH-5) |
|---|---|---|
| DC resistancediffers | 17.68k | 14.1k |
| Inductancediffers | 8.18 H (measured, 1 reading) | 7.73 H (measured, 1 reading) |
| Magnetdiffers | Alnico 8 | Ceramic |
| Coil | Hum-cancelling | Hum-cancelling |
| Resonant peakdiffers | 4.46 kHz (Seymour Duncan's own test load) | 6 kHz (Seymour Duncan's own test load) |
| Bass (tone chart) | 7 / 10 | 7 / 10 |
| Mids (tone chart)differs | 8 / 10 | 6 / 10 |
| Treble (tone chart) | 9 / 10 | 9 / 10 |
| Slot | bridge humbucker | bridge humbucker |
| Traits | high output, bright, mid-forward, big low end, tight & aggressive | high output, bright, big low end, tight & aggressive |
How close on each spec
100 means identical on that spec. The score weighs these, and counts anything we couldn't compare as a typical difference. How scoring works
Output
92
measured inductance
Magnet
75
Alnico 8 vs Ceramic
Coil
100
same coil type
Brightness
14
tone charts on the same scale
Mids
67
tone charts on the same scale
Bass
100
tone charts on the same scale
Videos
Seymour Duncan Alternative 8 (SH-15)
Alternative 8 High-Output Pickup
Seymour Duncan Custom (SH-5)
Seymour Duncan CUSTOM SH-5 vs JB SH-4 - Bridge Guitar Pickup Comparison Tone Demo
Seymour Duncan CUSTOM SH-5 vs BLACK WINTER - Bridge Guitar Pickup Comparison Tone Demo
What players and reviewers say
On the Seymour Duncan Alternative 8 (SH-15)
“In the tone chart I´ve seen the TB15 Alternative 8 wich is Alnico (tone) and seems to have the same highs that the JB has but It has more mids and lows too..”
“So I got an Alternative 8 in My SG and I am finding it to be a bit aggressive on the high end and upper mids..”
On the Seymour Duncan Custom (SH-5)
“Duncan Custom 5 or Gibson 498T (these are similar sounding/feeling pickups, and would be darker/growlier/not as smooth sounding overall).”
“When I changed to the Duncan Custom, I had to raise OD1 to about 8.5, but the sound is still clear, punchy and round.”