Thoughts on Duncan Soapbars and pre-amps?

[kln_bc]

You hear a lot of names thrown around for pickups and pre-amps, Duncan (outside of quarter pounders), doesn't seem to get talked about much. I'm considering replacing the Tonepump Jr and EMG HZ pickups in my Spector; I don't like how the preamp functions, and the pickups just don't clean up enough or offer very much range. I happen to be able to order Duncans at dealer pricing so I can save some money going that route, but I don't know much about them.

The preamp I am considering is the STC-3A or STC-3P....depending on if I go active or passive pickups. As far as pickups are concerned, for active they have the Phase II or Blackouts, and for passive the have the Soapbar 5, or the NYC.

Would love to know people's experiences with these preamps and pickups!

 

[sikamikanico]

Even more than QPs, there’s lots of love for their vintage stuff (like SPB1), and the Sting stack pickup. I don’t know about their active stuff, but I’ve seen some positive reactions to the NYCs (tho I have no personal experience). Some compare them to the Fodera Duncan dual coils (which also get lots of praise here), tho NYCs appear to have a wider aperture. I’d try them, but haven’t had the bass/project yet that would call for these…