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Dimarzio Parts suck

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  • #16
    Re: Dimarzio Parts suck

    Originally posted by jmh151
    Mine weren't marked up, the receipt indicated they were made in Mexico. The pots are stamped Dimarzio. I called Dimarzio, and they indicated that they are CTS pots, but CTS now makes the pots in Mexico under Dimarzio's specs.
    Well, that would go along with what I was told, just didn't know where the actual manufacturing took place, so you did get cts pots then ...
    ::::To sound reinforcement engineer::::
    ... What? ... ::::snicker:::: ...Yes, ... Right, ...
    Could we please have everything louder than everything else ? ...

    Comment


    • #17
      Re: Dimarzio Parts suck

      Originally posted by BachToRock
      I think everything in between the leads on your pickup an the voice coil of the speaker in your amp has a subtle effect on your tone.

      Here are the most logical/intelligent articles I have found on the effects of cables, connectors, etc.... on an audio signal.



      That I agree with, and great links. It'll take me some time to read it all, but looks like good info. I was mentioning to TwilightOdyssey in another thread somewhere, that I've "heard" the difference a good speaker cable makes, over a cheap one in a "good" stereo, so I guess it shouldn't be that hard to accept that a good pot might sound better than a cheap one.

      I'll just have to "experiment".

      Comment


      • #18
        Re: Dimarzio Parts suck

        Originally posted by Benjy_26
        I always thought that Dimarzio just repackaged parts. All the pots I have are repacked CTS's from Dimarzio, so are the swsitches in my Strat and Tele and the switches in my Paul and Sheraton. The switches were all repacked Switchcraft hardware. They're good enough for me.

        Other manufacturers do this as well, such as Peavyer repacking EH tubes and Dunlop Straplocks.
        Very true, many manufactures do this for their parts, and yes the gibby style toggles that I have from DMZ appear to be switchcraft. A lot comes down to coast issue also ...If I can walk into a local store every eight months or so, and hand them a list of parts that I can get from DMZ and they give me a discount that is competitive with finding the individual parts directly from parts suppliers, then the one stop shopping combined with a competative discount agrees with me. Now the toggles that they sell, I normally do get those direct from a parts supplier because I can get them cheaper. Their cable ends are either Switchcraft or Neutrik, the cable is Belden, etc.
        ::::To sound reinforcement engineer::::
        ... What? ... ::::snicker:::: ...Yes, ... Right, ...
        Could we please have everything louder than everything else ? ...

        Comment


        • #19
          Re: Dimarzio Parts suck

          Originally posted by BachToRock
          I think everything in between the leads on your pickup an the voice coil of the speaker in your amp has a subtle effect on your tone.
          The high-impedance signal of a stereo system is much the same as the signal from your pickups.
          GuitarNuts makes some valid points, but seems to concentrate more on bashing the myths than explaining what is ideal and mosy importantly... WHY.
          Here are the most logical/intelligent articles I have found on the effects of cables, connectors, etc.... on an audio signal.




          Electrons are just like water... they have to flow from the source to their destination... the higher the conductivity and less resistive the material the better... in the case of a high-impedance signal you also want low capacatince
          The RESISTANCE part of a potentiometer is from the middle wiper(hot to output jack) to ground... the connection between the hot leg to the middle wiper has it's own characteristics of impedance/capacitance the can effect the flow of electrons.

          Food for thought... WHY do the USA production Duncans sound so good... it's the quality of the materials such as the wire used to wind the coils.
          Also... think of how different pickups sound... the difference between some is just the type of insulation that is on the wire!

          Interestingly enough... so many people love the George L's cables which are technically not a very good design for guitar signal... especially the shielding...
          That reminds me of those *hotwires* that sounded great, I don't know who made them, they didn't spec the greatest but the sounded great.
          There are marginal improvements that can be made by selecting certain grades of OFHC free cable (in regard to high Z cables), inductance also plays a small part (very small) in the tone also. Like I said, for me though it's normally the physical sturdiness, precision, and over all how *well* a part is made that contributes to it's life span, and the electrical tolerance and precision that relates to sonic performance. Also one might look up the White Paper pdfs off of Pro Co.'s site as well.
          ::::To sound reinforcement engineer::::
          ... What? ... ::::snicker:::: ...Yes, ... Right, ...
          Could we please have everything louder than everything else ? ...

          Comment


          • #20
            Re: Dimarzio Parts suck

            Originally posted by ArtieToo
            I don't want to say that you're wrong, because I know you have more experience in guitars than I do, but I do have difficulty accepting this. The difference in conductivity between the cheapest tin, and the most expensive gold-plated, oxygen-free copper isn't going to be significant within the context of a guitar signal. (IMHO)

            There's a good article on this very subject, (relative to guitar cords), at the GuitarNuts website. And I don't necessarily take what that guy says as gospel either. He may not have anymore knowledge or experience as you do. But it fits with my own three decades of electronics/audio/pro-audio experience.

            So I must ask: have you ever noticed a fidelity improvement by simply changing a pot in a guitar, that you're sure wasn't related to something else that may have changed at the same time. Like a subtle difference in the resistance values of the two pots for instance? Or an improvement in a "bad" solder connection?

            If you say yes . . . I'll believe you.
            I think on the OFHC thing you're intering into intentional overkill, although, I do think it makes a difference in speaker cables. A I've have heard a difference between various cables of the same length (within an inch ((2.54cm)) or so), better shielding is a no brainer of course ... but even then is the question of ...is it benefical to the enviroment that you are in? There are some sonic differences between cables though, and that's for sure. Will all work, sure, do some sound better than others in side by side comparisons, sure, would you be able to tell which cable was what in a blind test ... probably not, would the audience ... most certainly not. I think it boils down to the fact that would you rather buy a part that you know is made well, and realiable, or tke a chance on something made a bit cheap and flimsy? Plus some things a made to different specs,and only available thru certain sources anyway. To Art's query, I did have that happen one time, drastic difference, but I was replacing a pot that was overheated, so maybe that doesn't count really. If the pot is made to descent specs and is made with say the resistive track done properly and evenly (according to taper) then any difference would be subtle at best ... but like I said, an el cheapo aluminum pot might have a higher resistance than a well made one with silver plated nickel-zinc contacts((or whatever they are made of)) between what is supposed to be a zero ohm connection. Note also that pots are rated for there impedance ... not DCR, we check them using DC; now I've always assumed that they are supposed to be linear in resistance ... But I do wonder if we'd get the same specs that we get for resistance (using DC) as we would a say a sine wave at 1kHz., and at 10kHz.? :
            ::::To sound reinforcement engineer::::
            ... What? ... ::::snicker:::: ...Yes, ... Right, ...
            Could we please have everything louder than everything else ? ...

            Comment


            • #21
              Re: Dimarzio Parts suck

              Originally posted by Kent S.
              I think on the OFHC thing you're intering into intentional overkill, although, I do think it makes a difference in speaker cables.
              Absolutely! And thats exactly what the GuitarNuts site was talking about - the difference between high-voltage, high-current applications, and the low-voltage, low-current guitar signal.

              Originally posted by Kent S.
              ... But I do wonder if we'd get the same specs that we get for resistance (using DC) as we would a say a sine wave at 1kHz., and at 10kHz.? :
              You know . . . I work in Navy electronic calibration laboratory. I've got multi-million dollar test equipment all around me. Perhaps I can do a test . . .

              (Suggest some parameters, what you'ld like to see.)

              Comment


              • #22
                Re: Dimarzio Parts suck

                Originally posted by ArtieToo
                Absolutely! And thats exactly what the GuitarNuts site was talking about - the difference between high-voltage, high-current applications, and the low-voltage, low-current guitar signal.



                You know . . . I work in Navy electronic calibration laboratory. I've got multi-million dollar test equipment all around me. Perhaps I can do a test . . .

                (Suggest some parameters, what you'ld like to see.)
                First a DC baseline test of measure the resistance of a 500k pot CW~CCW with a DMM with at least a 10 Meg input Z, then run a 1Vrms DC voltage (I mean reading the voltage with a true rms sensing meter) across it, check the resulting dc voltage (rms) with a meter with at least 10meg input Z. Correlate to see if the voltage obtained is consistant with what it should be according to whatever the measured DCR of the pot and the internal source resistance of the signal generator or voltage supply. Then put a 1V rms sine wave @100HZ. across the CW~CCW terminals,measure voltage;then apply 1Vrms sine wave @ 1kHz. measure voltage;then apply 1Vrms @ 10kHz. sine wave, measure voltage ... finally correlate the results to see. You can also run inductance sweeps, but you won'r find much ... a pot's normal capacitance in series is around 40pF I believe, capacitance also becomes and issue in that not only do pots load from R/Z but from bleeding highs to ground via their capacitance. The DCR/Z thing will be fine though.
                ::::To sound reinforcement engineer::::
                ... What? ... ::::snicker:::: ...Yes, ... Right, ...
                Could we please have everything louder than everything else ? ...

                Comment


                • #23
                  Re: Dimarzio Parts suck

                  Originally posted by Kent S.
                  First a DC baseline test of measure the resistance of a 500k pot CW~CCW with a DMM with at least a 10 Meg input Z, then run a 1Vrms DC voltage (I mean reading the voltage with a true rms sensing meter) across it, check the resulting dc voltage (rms) with a meter with at least 10meg input Z. Correlate to see if the voltage obtained is consistant with what it should be according to whatever the measured DCR of the pot and the internal source resistance of the signal generator or voltage supply. Then put a 1V rms sine wave @100HZ. across the CW~CCW terminals,measure voltage;then apply 1Vrms sine wave @ 1kHz. measure voltage;then apply 1Vrms @ 10kHz. sine wave, measure voltage ... finally correlate the results to see. You can also run inductance sweeps, but you won'r find much ... a pot's normal capacitance in series is around 40pF I believe, capacitance also becomes and issue in that not only do pots load from R/Z but from bleeding highs to ground via their capacitance. The DCR/Z thing will be fine though.
                  Ah-ha . . . you're the one that writes them dad-gum tech manuals we have to follow.

                  Seriously though, that'll be a piece of cake. I just have to wait 'til next week - when the "inspectors" aren't here. I have a nice range of CTS, DiMarzio, ALPS, Bournes, and a couple others to test.

                  I'll post results as soon as possible.

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Re: Dimarzio Parts suck

                    Originally posted by ArtieToo
                    Seriously though, that'll be a piece of cake. I just have to wait 'til next week - when the "inspectors" aren't here. I have a nice range of CTS, DiMarzio, ALPS, Bournes, and a couple others to test.

                    I'll post results as soon as possible.

                    This I gotta see!

                    Farkus
                    2007 Strat ('78 bridge, a2 Pro neck)
                    1976 Strat (Antiquity 1 set)

                    Fender, Mesa, Marshall Amps

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Re: Dimarzio Parts suck

                      Originally posted by ArtieToo
                      Ah-ha . . . you're the one that writes them dad-gum tech manuals we have to follow.

                      Seriously though, that'll be a piece of cake. I just have to wait 'til next week - when the "inspectors" aren't here. I have a nice range of CTS, DiMarzio, ALPS, Bournes, and a couple others to test.

                      I'll post results as soon as possible.


                      Finally, my tax dollars doing something worthwhile!
                      Ain't nothin' but a G thang, baby.

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Re: Dimarzio Parts suck

                        Originally posted by ArtieToo
                        Ah-ha . . . you're the one that writes them dad-gum tech manuals we have to follow.

                        Seriously though, that'll be a piece of cake. I just have to wait 'til next week - when the "inspectors" aren't here. I have a nice range of CTS, DiMarzio, ALPS, Bournes, and a couple others to test.

                        I'll post results as soon as possible.
                        Cool! Please note also if the pots are stand alone pots or push/pull pots, I like alps (BOSS uses their stuff a lot), got any clarostats you could throw in the mix for the fun of it too ... If you got any of those cheap ROC pots that would be cool also.
                        ::::To sound reinforcement engineer::::
                        ... What? ... ::::snicker:::: ...Yes, ... Right, ...
                        Could we please have everything louder than everything else ? ...

                        Comment

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