Anybody play Dimarzio pickups?

[Rypsolisti]

On my Strat, I have a Super Distortion Single Coil (SDSC) It's a stacked humbucker, that sits on the floor of the PU chamber, and actually bulges the pickgard up a bit. You see, I was looking for a single coil that sounded like a HB when on distortion, without having to change the 3-SC appearance. A few aftermarket SC's come close but not really. But the Dimarzio SDSC actually does it. With distortion it sounds like a an actual hot HB and clean it sounds like a warm SC.

I had the same situation. I was also looking for a single coil sized and looking stacked humbucker that actually sounded like a humbucker and this single coil sized Super Distortion (I think Dimarzio calls it SDS-1) was the solution.

BUT there are two serious drawbacks:
1- It's extremely noisey. When played clean, it's not too bad, but with distortion, you MUST keep playing and loudly. As long as you're on it, it sounds great, but for any quieter passages where you have to back-off, your gonna hear the worst 60cycle hum of your life. Durning the quiet parts of "warpigs", between the power chords, I had to constanly turn the volume knob all the way down....very annoying.
2- It ruins the #2 switch setting. It over-powers the middle PU. No more cool out-of-phase funky duck-quack tone, no that's gone! Instead you get a thin-shrill-metallic sound. Almost unusable, except for maybe some Industrial/alternative/proto-grundge or experimental stuff.

Im going to take it out and try Either a Duncan QuarterPounder or a JB Jr.
Just haven gotten around to it yet.

You are right, it is very noisy! And it also totally over powers all the other single coils but it also sounds great! I had it in a '62 reissue Stratocaster in the bridge position. Very heavy sounding pup and I liked it very much, thanks to SDS-1 my Strat was a perfect axe for heavy metal. A drummer I used to play with loved its sound! Now that Strat is sold, fortunately to a band mate so I can still occasionally play that guitar.

 

[axeslinger]

In one of my axes I've got a Tone Zone/Air Norton combo...I've found I play this guitar (Schecter Omen 6) a heck of a lot more than my higher quality Schecter C1 Hellraiser with EMG's.

 

[fateofthorns666]

actually i just bought a steves special for my caparison. i hope it sounds great thru the DSL i have.

 

[SRD]

Usually the first thing I do to a guitar I bring home is switch out the bridge PU for a Super Distortion and then depending on the neck PU that's in there,if I don't like it, I'll put in a Breed Neck and acutally if set correctly, a Super D in the neck isn't bad either, I love that pickup.

 

[noise5150]

Yeah have them in my Music Man Axis and my Charvel SoCal....they rock!

 

[nofearfactor]

I use EMG81s in most of my gigging guitars but I put a ToneZone in an 87' Charvel Model Two and it freaking rocks.

 

[Gtrman58]

I used to put the Dimarzio P.A.F's in all my guitars but then Gibson got serious about their pickups again so most of my newer L.Ps/gibsons I left the stock pick ups in. The Explorer I currently own has a Seymour Duncan 59? or something along that name in the treble position. Still have the original gibson super humbucker, and I think its going to go back in there. The duncan is kinda lame....

 

[JkGriffin]

I have this setup in my MIJ 1992 Fender Stratocaster:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwubC7G0NZM]YouTube - Dimarzio Area 58 and Area 61 strat pickups[/ame]

Brilliant blues gitar...

I also have a Chrome Air Norton I do not quite know what to do with.
The only place it may be placed is my Samick Valley Art design guitar, but it only has room for a humbucker in the bridge position...
The Air Norton is mostly for neck.

I was going to use it for my Strat, but changed to the setup I linked to after the purchase...

 

[80's Rocker]

I am getting a charvel model 1 soon and I was going to put a super distortion in it. I dont have the opportunity to play one but I like all the demos I have heard of it. Is this a pretty good guitar for old hairband suff? Ratt, Poison, Motley Crue, Quiet Riot, etc...

 

[rockinr0ll]

I have this setup in my MIJ 1992 Fender Stratocaster:
YouTube - Dimarzio Area 58 and Area 61 strat pickups

Brilliant blues gitar...

I also have a Chrome Air Norton I do not quite know what to do with.
The only place it may be placed is my Samick Valley Art design guitar, but it only has room for a humbucker in the bridge position...
The Air Norton is mostly for neck.

I was going to use it for my Strat, but changed to the setup I linked to after the purchase...

I love the Area '61 a lot. I actually like it so much that I only use that pick up on my clean channel. It has such a pretty tone to it. I would really miss that pick up if I was to have to trade it out for something else.

 

[rockinr0ll]

I use the Air Norton for my neck and Breed for the bridge for my overdrive tone settings and works great. Little middy but that is what I like.

 

[LEXVETTE]

I have an old gibson s1 that i modded back in the late 70's early 80's. It has a paf in the neck position a super distortion in the middle and a x2n in the bridge. This thing smokes thru my 72 100 watt super lead. Love all three sounds. X2n is killer

 

[rockinr0ll]

It's got a lot of output. I bet it sounds like a beast with a Gibson.

 

[Lucifuge]

I used to have 'em in my '79 Kramer Artist (the ones with the aluminum neck). Before I got my TSL 100, I played with a Fender Princeton Stereo Chorus. Sounded great clean but with distortion (the gain was cranked) al it would do was squeal with palm mutes.
So I changed 'em to EMG's and it sounded sweet. Now, with the TSL, I don't like the EMG's that much and am considering putting the DiMarzios back.

 

[Grandturk]

I had used Duncans for nearly 20 years - JBs, Distortions, 59's, Screamin' Demons, Hot Rails, Cool Rails, stacks, etc etc etc. EMG 81, 85, S's. Fender Texas Specials, Lace Sensors, CS 54's, etc etc. Gibson 500, 496, 498, 490 etc etc etc. I had played Dimarzio PAF's for a little while in one guitar, and I loved their Virtual Vintage single coils when they first came out. Fralins in my Les Paul, booteek this and that...

But...

I honestly never found "my sound" until I tried a Super Distortion in my Charvel San Dimas. It was like a light switch had been turned on.

So... now I've got four axes with Dimarzios (Super D bridge, PAF or PAF Pro neck, Super D strat, YJM neck) one with those IBZ Dimarzios (RG 770 DX) and am working on replacing the EMGs in my Charvel Model 4 and SG with Dimarzios.

I've been converted.

 

[gtr1963]

I love Dimarzio's.. I have a Tone Zone in the bridge of my Yo Baretta FR404S/D. While it sounds great(I play metal 80's metal), it sounds a little dark. I attribute that to the wood of the guitar. The guitar has alder wings and different woods will affect the sound of the same pickup. That being said, I have a Seymour Duncan JB in my 85 Kramer Baretta mutt and it sounds a bit brighter and more thick. My 85 Kramer body is maple. I'm sure if I switched pickups, the tones would be totally different. All attributed to type of wood in the body.

Short answer. You can't go wrong with Dimarzio. They have a pickup for every type music there is.

Peace,
Andy

 

[DC135er]

I have two PAF pros in an EPI LP and it changed the guitar from mediocre to a Les Paul on steroids.

 

[Fcal124]

I won't change the pups in my Custom Shop LP's, but I have DiMarzios in 2 Strats and one Tele. The Area T's in my Tele are great. I have Area 58's and an Area 61 in one Strat and a Heavy Blues II/Pro 54/Virtual Solo in the other. The 2 are completely different animals, but both sound great.
I do run a set of Duncan Quarter Pounders in my other Tele (great for Rock/Blues) and an SH-1 59/Duncan Distortion in my ESP Ltd.
I just like the DiMarzio Strat pups better.

 

[MaidenStrat02]

I am getting a charvel model 1 soon and I was going to put a super distortion in it. I dont have the opportunity to play one but I like all the demos I have heard of it. Is this a pretty good guitar for old hairband suff? Ratt, Poison, Motley Crue, Quiet Riot, etc...

Yeah it'll be perfect. I use Super Distortions in both of my Strats and all I play is 70's-80's metal, NWOBHM, etc. No glam or hair band crap though. I play alot of Lynch, Ratt, UFO, Accept, Rhoads, etc. They also clean up rather well when you roll back the volume.

 

[wkcchampion]

Yes, my 1995 Parker Fly Deluxe has Gen1 Di Marzios