GuitarIV
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Whats up everyone,
I recently ordered a Seymour Duncan TB-10 and SH-10n Full Shred set for my ESP M-II to replace the EMGs it came with stock. I'm playing styles that range from Rock up to Modern Metal so I needed something a little bit less compressed with more dynamics that can still get heavy yet not suck for more laid back stuff.
I discovered the Full Shred by accident, I was building a partscaster guitar, had no idea what to put in the bridge, liked the description on the website and figured why not try something new? I am very well familiar with the more popular offerings by SD, the JB, 59, Invader, Jazz etc.
So that build project is long gone and the pickup didn't really sound spectacular in it, I had a no name guitar lying around that some unknown luthier built and I got for real cheap, so I put the TB-10 in and slapped some strings on.
I was friggin shocked by the sound. Clarity, harmonics, low end tightness, screaming leads. Suddenly the no name axe was my best sounding instrument.
Now I wasn't sure if it was the wood of the guitar or the Full shred, but I took the chance, went ahead and got a pair for the M-II.
Spent the better half of the evening yesterday to solder em in, clean the guitar and put a fresh set of strings on and today I finally had the chance to test everything with some volume.
With my 2203 going into my 412 cab with the original G12-65 Celestions I got some really nice crunchy AC/DC type tones, lots of that prominent high mid bite. The low end is there but never flubby and everything has a very immediate and percussive attack. Dynamics are great, the pickups respond to changes in pick attack and to rolling down the volume pot. So far so good.
Now I kicked on my SD-1 and instantly landed in 80ies Hard Rock and Metal territory. The Full Shreds swallow distortion like a champ and don't lose their definition. I'm kinda still baffled that an Alnico 5 equipped pickup can stay so firm in the low end, I suppose it's the hex pole pieces that are responsible. String seperation is great, you hear all the notes no matter how big the chord, I had some Bareknuckles years ago and that was their biggest strength, the Full Shred rivals that no problem for a lot less money.
Next up I connected my beloved Laney IRT Studio amp that I use for all things heavy and this is where I ultimately spent almost a whole hour playing the guitar.
The bridge pickup feels very balanced, the lows and low mids are full but not flabby. The low end reacts fast and tracks extremly well but it's not missing. The highs have a nice bite to them, give you aggression and clarity but funny enough they are not shrill. When you go up the fretboard past the 12th fret to solo it doesn't get piercing, the notes sing. It's very violin like.
If you really dig in and hit the strings hard you get rewarded with percussive and instant attack, pinch harmonics scream. Lots of high overtones.
Now the neck pickup was what really suprised me at first. Yesterday when I couldn't play the guitar loud I hooked it up to my Laney and played through headphones, when I flicked from the bridge to the neck I first thought I had screwed up the wiring. It went from full and saturated to very single coil like.
I checked the DC resistance hooking my multimeter up to the cable and selecting the neck pickup, it read around 7k ohms, I looked it up on the website and it was spot on.
So today when I finally got the chance to move some air I was surprised again, but in a pleasent way. The Full Shred neck is almost like a single coil in humbucker form. It is bright and defined, percussive, the low end is not boomy (usually my beef with neck humbuckers), once you start playing fast runs you hear every damn note. I understand why it has "Shred" in the name.
Now this is my first impression, I know it's the honeymoon period and I also replaced the old gunky strings with a fresh set; however I am extremly pleased with the result. I will take the guitar to rehearsal next week to test it in a band context, but I am confident that the beef I had with the EMGs is resolved with the Full Shred set.
So to sum up:
TB-10 Full Shred bridge:
-Tight low end, even midrange, prominent but not piercing highs
-Articulate and precise for rhythm work
-Immediate and percussive attack
-Awesome clarity and string seperation
-Rather unforgiving pickup
SH-10n Full Shred neck:
-Single coil like tone
-Fast response, notes jump out
-No boominess in the low end
My final verdict: for the styles of music I play with this particular guitar I have struck gold. I am happy with the rhythmic capabilities of the Full Shred, it's what I play 80% of the time anyway. However when I do need to rip some solos both pickups just scream the right way. They really translate what comes out of your hands.
If you are looking for these qualities seriously consider this set. I would not recommend them to someone who is playing more laid back stuff all the time, also not to some more modern metal players that need a sledgehammer or more aggression. The Full Shred is like a scalpel.
Anyway, hope I didn't overdo it with this wall of text, as a little reward here are some pictures. Rock on!

I recently ordered a Seymour Duncan TB-10 and SH-10n Full Shred set for my ESP M-II to replace the EMGs it came with stock. I'm playing styles that range from Rock up to Modern Metal so I needed something a little bit less compressed with more dynamics that can still get heavy yet not suck for more laid back stuff.
I discovered the Full Shred by accident, I was building a partscaster guitar, had no idea what to put in the bridge, liked the description on the website and figured why not try something new? I am very well familiar with the more popular offerings by SD, the JB, 59, Invader, Jazz etc.
So that build project is long gone and the pickup didn't really sound spectacular in it, I had a no name guitar lying around that some unknown luthier built and I got for real cheap, so I put the TB-10 in and slapped some strings on.
I was friggin shocked by the sound. Clarity, harmonics, low end tightness, screaming leads. Suddenly the no name axe was my best sounding instrument.
Now I wasn't sure if it was the wood of the guitar or the Full shred, but I took the chance, went ahead and got a pair for the M-II.
Spent the better half of the evening yesterday to solder em in, clean the guitar and put a fresh set of strings on and today I finally had the chance to test everything with some volume.
With my 2203 going into my 412 cab with the original G12-65 Celestions I got some really nice crunchy AC/DC type tones, lots of that prominent high mid bite. The low end is there but never flubby and everything has a very immediate and percussive attack. Dynamics are great, the pickups respond to changes in pick attack and to rolling down the volume pot. So far so good.
Now I kicked on my SD-1 and instantly landed in 80ies Hard Rock and Metal territory. The Full Shreds swallow distortion like a champ and don't lose their definition. I'm kinda still baffled that an Alnico 5 equipped pickup can stay so firm in the low end, I suppose it's the hex pole pieces that are responsible. String seperation is great, you hear all the notes no matter how big the chord, I had some Bareknuckles years ago and that was their biggest strength, the Full Shred rivals that no problem for a lot less money.
Next up I connected my beloved Laney IRT Studio amp that I use for all things heavy and this is where I ultimately spent almost a whole hour playing the guitar.
The bridge pickup feels very balanced, the lows and low mids are full but not flabby. The low end reacts fast and tracks extremly well but it's not missing. The highs have a nice bite to them, give you aggression and clarity but funny enough they are not shrill. When you go up the fretboard past the 12th fret to solo it doesn't get piercing, the notes sing. It's very violin like.
If you really dig in and hit the strings hard you get rewarded with percussive and instant attack, pinch harmonics scream. Lots of high overtones.
Now the neck pickup was what really suprised me at first. Yesterday when I couldn't play the guitar loud I hooked it up to my Laney and played through headphones, when I flicked from the bridge to the neck I first thought I had screwed up the wiring. It went from full and saturated to very single coil like.
I checked the DC resistance hooking my multimeter up to the cable and selecting the neck pickup, it read around 7k ohms, I looked it up on the website and it was spot on.
So today when I finally got the chance to move some air I was surprised again, but in a pleasent way. The Full Shred neck is almost like a single coil in humbucker form. It is bright and defined, percussive, the low end is not boomy (usually my beef with neck humbuckers), once you start playing fast runs you hear every damn note. I understand why it has "Shred" in the name.
Now this is my first impression, I know it's the honeymoon period and I also replaced the old gunky strings with a fresh set; however I am extremly pleased with the result. I will take the guitar to rehearsal next week to test it in a band context, but I am confident that the beef I had with the EMGs is resolved with the Full Shred set.
So to sum up:
TB-10 Full Shred bridge:
-Tight low end, even midrange, prominent but not piercing highs
-Articulate and precise for rhythm work
-Immediate and percussive attack
-Awesome clarity and string seperation
-Rather unforgiving pickup
SH-10n Full Shred neck:
-Single coil like tone
-Fast response, notes jump out
-No boominess in the low end
My final verdict: for the styles of music I play with this particular guitar I have struck gold. I am happy with the rhythmic capabilities of the Full Shred, it's what I play 80% of the time anyway. However when I do need to rip some solos both pickups just scream the right way. They really translate what comes out of your hands.
If you are looking for these qualities seriously consider this set. I would not recommend them to someone who is playing more laid back stuff all the time, also not to some more modern metal players that need a sledgehammer or more aggression. The Full Shred is like a scalpel.
Anyway, hope I didn't overdo it with this wall of text, as a little reward here are some pictures. Rock on!





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