Dimarzio Love?

Is there any Dimarzio love in this forum?

Yes! When people think DiMarzio, they usually think severely overwound pickups. I think diMarzio winds up some of the best vintage style, as well as some of the best mild overwound pickups available.

The TDS-1 is a great pickup that walks the line between Strat and P-90.
The PAF Pro is one of the great vintage style humbuckers of all time.
The PRE-B1 is the greatest overwound Tele bridge pickup of all time.
The Twang King set is the best Tele set available at its price point, and you'd have to spend twice as much to get a marginally better set.

Larry rocks! Plus, his company does boutique customer service at mass-production prices.

My problem with that brand is I've seen so many magazine ads with Yingwie, Steve Vai and the like that in my mind it's a shredder/heavy metal brand. The dangers of branding, I guess. When I think Dimarzio, the last thing I think of is vintage style pups. You gotta admit they've been mostly catering to the heavy metal crowd. JM $.02 YMMV

I really love the Virtual Vintage P-90 I have in my PRS SE One. Humbucking AND sounds like a true P-90.

Yeah, but you can't dismiss your own ears. There's a reason the "Shredders" beat a path to Larry's door!

twang kings!

Tele Chopper T bridge. I'll be installing a Twang King neck this weekend. I love the T.

I was first introduced to the Super Distortion and for high gain distorted rock and roll, this was the only game in town for years. It's still a great pickup.

The first time I saw DiMarzios stock was on a Joe Satriani JS-1000 and the DiMarzio PAF Pro (dual black with 12 allen wrench screws) and DiMarzio Fred (dual creme with 12 allen wrench screws) were amazing being able to sound like the famous Super Distortion but still pull out some great vintage PAF tones, too.

I have had some interest in the Air Classic (zebra with 6 flathead screws) for my guitar and swapping out the one trick pony, high gain, dark sounding EMG HZ H1s. I didn't think one pickup could do it all, but those later DiMarzios have a huge range.

Tele Chopper T bridge. I'll be installing a Twang King neck this weekend. I love the T.

I have the Chopper T in the bridge too. With a SD '59 in the neck. Very good overall.

I put a Chopper T in my Hwy 1. Nice upgrade and dead quiet. It seems to pairs well with the Hwy 1 neck pickup.

Paf pro in my PRS neck position. Great pickup. Eric Johnson EJ custom neck on a SG neck position. They are both giving me the sounds I was looking for and are incredably affordable. Yea Larry.

Oh yeah, Twang Kings rule the world :cool:

615 Bridge, Twang King neck.
Di Marzio winds great single coils too!

Is there any Dimarzio love in this forum? NO! I've hated Dimarzio since day one.(I do like Tom's tone on the Boston hits , buts hes thru lots of effects) Theres a quality that I can't stand in every model regardless of its number of coils, pole pieces shape or magnets. Whether Super Distortion, vintage HB or Strat single coil. So... I must not like the wire type, or the amount of tension they use, or the winding pattern.Or some of the above since those are the remaining variables. To my ears its sort of like the "sterile" vibe EMGs get labeled with.

Another Twang King fan..

I've tried all kinds of telephone pups.. hands down these are the best.

I LOVE Twang Kings! :smile:

NO! I've hated Dimarzio since day one.(I do like Tom's tone on the Boston hits , buts hes thru lots of effects) Theres a quality that I can't stand in every model regardless of its number of coils, pole pieces shape or magnets. Whether Super Distortion, vintage HB or Strat single coil. So... I must not like the wire type, or the amount of tension they use, or the winding pattern.Or some of the above since those are the remaining variables. To my ears its sort of like the "sterile" vibe EMGs get labeled with.

I hear you there. While I don't think others or the audience cares, and certainly not any sound engineer I have recorded with, there is a sterile vibe with major pickup makers. That being said, most new Gibson and Fender stock pickups sounded as if there was a blanket on them. But something seems to often open up with them when they are really old. I don't know about the big name replacement pups like the SDs, DiMarzios, and EMGs, but I am willing to keep an open mind. What I think I hear instead of a sterile is just consistency. Hand wound boutique pickups are a lot of fun, especially in their ever-changing specs and too often changing companies. If you like a certain boutique pup, buy more than one because there's no guarantee they will still be around ten years later.

Great pups that I don't think will be around forever (new or used) that I have heard are first gen PRS humbuckers, Dean Markley woody, Sunrise acoustic pickups, Squier ProTone OEM pickups, Shaw era humbuckers, and TV Jones replacement FilterTrons. There will always be the EMG 81, Duncan JB, and DiMarzio Super Distortion so I am in no hurry to get one and their consistency will make a new unboxed one ten years from now sound like the one in the store today.

Tele Chopper T bridge. I'll be installing a Twang King neck this weekend. I love the T.

The Richie Kotzen set. I modded one of my Teles to this and I love it.

I have a feeling I might like some of their single coil pickups, but I've tried 3 of their humbuckers and have been disappointed each time. They were all either sterile, muddy, and/or way too midrangy for me. I believe I've tried about 7 SD buckers over the years, 4 of which I love, 2 of which probably needed to be in different guitars, and 1 of which I never liked (the Custom Custom).

So it's Duncans for me. I've given up on Dimarzios.

I wasn't aware that anyone actually played their single coil pickups! I had a strat that had a PAF Pro in the bridge a while back and it sounded fine.

36th Anniversary. Fabulous PU's humbucker and single coil.

I bought a Strat w an '88 '62 RI neck, a real '63 body, a '62 Strat p/up, a '65 Strat p/up and a DiMarz single coil. I loved the '62s hollow tone,the '65s piano attack , but without knowing what it was, I immediately disliked the Di, just something about DiMarz in general.

I'm digging the Area Hot T I put in the bridge of my 72 custom reissue. Although, I do think I might have chosen the regular Area T in retrospect as the Hot T is definitely a hot pup; I have it lowered down quite a lot so that it doesn't overpower the vintage WRHB in the neck. But all in all, it changed my opinion on DiMarzio's in a positive way and I would consider trying other of their models in the future.

another Twang king lover!!:mrgreen:

I once had an old Westbury guitar with a Super Distortion in it. I loved it.
I have a DiMarzio minibucker in the neck position on a custom tele. That's one of my favourite pickups!
Jef

As a fairly new member to this forum, is it safe to say that there's more of an affinity for anything boutique? Seems like mass produced anything takes a bit of a pounding.

Hey i get it....i have a Tim pedal, a Diamond Compressor, and a FD2, and a Wren & Cuff Tall Font Russian Fuzz....lol.

I thought the Dimarzio Chopper T offered me the best in a noiseless hot bridge pickup. My Sunday gig is not partial to the single coil buzz...

Any other hot noiseless pickups out there I should try?

Thanks for all the feedback.

The Area Ts/Area Hot T are fantastic noiseless Tele pickups, as are the Area 67 Strat pickups.

The Area Ts/Area Hot T are fantastic noiseless Tele pickups, as are the Area 67 Strat pickups.

Agreed....Excellent noiseless pickups with a single coil tone

Not Dimarzio and not boutique but the SD vintage Tele stack neck pup in my "vintage" Tele is sweet. A good compromise between single coil and hum canceling.

I think a lot of people think the stacked single coils are too dark or don't have proper highs because everyone says so. They sound more like tele pickups than they do hum-cancelling PAFs.

The best thing to do is to get one and determine for yourself. I have heard a few stacked tele pups/noiseless tele pickups that seemed quite OK and vintage sounding in every way. There have been some that were a bit dark, but then again many regular Fender tele lead pickups (ie - most Am. Std. teles I have heard) fit that description and don't have twang and jangle.

I have an Ibanez (shocker!) with a PAF pro in the neck and Norton (not air, just Norton) at the bridge. Its great for those medium rock and heavy tunes but also cleans up nicely for jazzy hollowish sounds. Probably would be more versatile if I wire them to split.

Still haven't got either of my teles put together but I constantly look at the Dimarzio site for what models I'll put in when I can afford it. No problems with Dimarzio from me, though I'm not a fan of the Harry Jacobson samples they use, he seems to make all of them sound the same. :\

I have an Ibanez (shocker!) with a PAF pro in the neck and Norton (not air, just Norton) at the bridge. Its great for those medium rock and heavy tunes but also cleans up nicely for jazzy hollowish sounds. Probably would be more versatile if I wire them to split.

Still haven't got either of my teles put together but I constantly look at the Dimarzio site for what models I'll put in when I can afford it. No problems with Dimarzio from me, though I'm not a fan of the Harry Jacobson samples they use, he seems to make all of them sound the same. :\

Is it one of the more traditional Ibanezes like the Artist or Artcores or one of their more common metal guitars like the RGs? I heard Carol Kaye uses Ibanez RG for jazz regardless of previous image of metal shredder guitar.

About a month ago I purchased a Highway one Tele. The original pickups were not that great in my opinion especially the bridge. I am not sure if I just got a good highway one tele or what but this thing is an amazing guitar for the money.

After trying another pickup set that just didn't work for me, I gave Dimarzio a try. It is the first time I tried Dimarzio. Only did Seymour Duncan before...

Anyway, I put the Area T neck and a Chopper T in the bridge. I am very pleased with the Area T neck but I do like the tone of Alnico II mag pickups. The Chopper is good but it does not the have the sweet tonal range that the Area T neck has but it has the push I was looking for from the bridge position. However the tone is more flat (that is how I describe it) in comarision to the Area T neck. I have never tried the Twang King neck but if it is as nice as the Area T, then I may have to try it sometime (I did see a great video of Gregor Hilden playiong Ritchie Krotzen tele and man he made that thing sound awsome!) .

Right now to me the Area T neck is dead quiet but really sweet sounding. I played it throuh my friends Mesa Boogie Mark IV and that neck pickup just sounded wonderful with that amp. My buddy did not want to put it down and he has played for close to 40 years. He was not as impressed with the Chopper T. I may try another bridge pickup in the future.

I would really want to try the Super Distortion T and a Pro Track neck combo but I am very hesitant to go away from the Area T neck pickup in my main tele. I may do that in my Godin Artisan TC which is also an amazing guitar for the money.

Anyone used the Super Distortion T? Aside from the out put difference how does it compare tonally to the Chopper T? More bottom end?

Anyway my limited experience with Dimarzio had been fine.

Anyone used the Super Distortion T? Aside from the out put difference how does it compare tonally to the Chopper T? More bottom end?

Anyway my limited experience with Dimarzio had been fine.

I have one Dimarzio pickup. I nabbed an Area T 615 bridge on the recommendation of rokdog49. I like it. It can twang or rock, and sounds good doing both. It nails the tele twang without getting too icepicky. The mids are there, and the bottom end is nice too. Clean or dirty it sounds good. I played some "Folsom Prison Blues" the other night and it just nailed the tone (I'm sure my old Peavey Bandit helped). I don't know about their other offerings, but this one is nice!

I had a 1969 Dimarzio PAF at the neck of a 68 tele, it blew out after 40 years, have changed the pickguard and went to an Area T while deciding if I should get a rewind on the original neck p/u that also blew out way back.

I have a 70's model P in my 70's P, and I love it, it's a Crunchy, Bassy, Rock and Roll beast with lots of fundamental. it roars when you pound it, and lays back when you play more gently.
I stuck a fender "original" in it, thinking I was missing something, it's gone, the DiMarzio is back.

I have a set of the 36th Anniversary humbuckers in one of my guitars and I am very happy with them. I really want to try some of the Eric Johnson humbucker pickups they make. They are supposed to sound more like a single coil or Filtertron than a muddy humbucker. I really have no use for the overwound shredder type pickups they offer but there are many who do.

About a month ago I purchased a Highway one Tele. The original pickups were not that great in my opinion especially the bridge. I am not sure if I just got a good highway one tele or what but this thing is an amazing guitar for the money.

After trying another pickup set that just didn't work for me, I gave Dimarzio a try. It is the first time I tried Dimarzio. Only did Seymour Duncan before...

Anyway, I put the Area T neck and a Chopper T in the bridge. I am very pleased with the Area T neck but I do like the tone of Alnico II mag pickups. The Chopper is good but it does not the have the sweet tonal range that the Area T neck has but it has the push I was looking for from the bridge position. However the tone is more flat (that is how I describe it) in comarision to the Area T neck. I have never tried the Twang King neck but if it is as nice as the Area T, then I may have to try it sometime (I did see a great video of Gregor Hilden playiong Ritchie Krotzen tele and man he made that thing sound awsome!) .

Right now to me the Area T neck is dead quiet but really sweet sounding. I played it throuh my friends Mesa Boogie Mark IV and that neck pickup just sounded wonderful with that amp. My buddy did not want to put it down and he has played for close to 40 years. He was not as impressed with the Chopper T. I may try another bridge pickup in the future.

I would really want to try the Super Distortion T and a Pro Track neck combo but I am very hesitant to go away from the Area T neck pickup in my main tele. I may do that in my Godin Artisan TC which is also an amazing guitar for the money.

Anyone used the Super Distortion T? Aside from the out put difference how does it compare tonally to the Chopper T? More bottom end?

Anyway my limited experience with Dimarzio had been fine.

I never tried Super Distortion T but my friend has Tone Zone T in his tele. Awesome low end if that's what you're after. I had Fast Track T but had no luck with it.

I never tried Super Distortion T but my friend has Tone Zone T in his tele. Awesome low end if that's what you're after. I had Fast Track T but had no luck with it.

I think I am eventually going to try the Area Hot T. It is an Alnico II mag pickup. The description says it is beween a humbucker and P90. Is that true for anyone that has used it?

I've got Area T's in my MIM tele. I dig em!

Twang Kings and True Velvets. I'm in.

Howdy,

Big fan of the Twang Kings. My ES-335 sports an Air Classic in the neck and a 36th Anni PAF in the bridge. I'm happy with them, too. The Air Classic in particular is one musical P/U.