Dimarzio Chopper and Super Distortion S

[357mag]

If anyone is familiar with the Dimarzio Chopper and Super Distortion S please post your observations. I'm wondering how they compare against the Hot Stack Plus or Hot Rails.

[UberMetalDood]

Re: Dimarzio Chopper and Super Distortion S

I'm very familiar with both, but the Chopper is among my favorite pickups. The Chopper is the ultimate ceramic neck single size humbucker. I have tried it in the bridge position with good results. As a bridge pickup, the Chopper has pretty tight bass and a lot of great midrange overtones. The output is pretty good and comparable to a weak/vintage humbucker, and the tone is kind of between a P90 and humbucker. As a neck pickup, it has the perfect output to match fairly hot humbuckers. I have mine installed in a strat with a D-Sonic in the bridge. I don't like dark neck pickups, and the D-Sonic is a bit on the bright side, so that and the output makes it a great match.

The Super Distortion S resembles the Super Distortion, but tighter low end and a bit silkier but with more overall brightness. It's very hot but not sloppy or hard-edged at all. The Hot Rails has more of a low-mid thing going on and a bit warmer overall. I'd say the Super Distortion S and Chopper both are more versatile because they have more going on from low end to high end. They will cut through better than the Hot Rails. If you have a bright guitar, you might go with the Hot Rails to warm it up. The Super Distortion S and Chopper are both warm pickups, but I wouldn't necessarily put them in the "darker" category like the Hot Rails.

Hot Rails have a great output too. I like the bridge Hot Rails more than the neck. I think Super Distortion S with the Chopper neck makes and outstanding pair. If you were to go the way of the Hot Rails, then I'd go with the Hot Rails bridge but a different neck pickup. The Super Distortion S splits well by the way. I've never played a split Hot Rails so I couldn't tell you much about that but I have heard good things. By the way, you will have some squealing harmonics available in both bridge and neck position if you go with a Super Distortion S + Chopper combo. I like the Hot Rails bridge just a little better for a totally clean sound, but the Super Distortion S does a lot of great clean & cleanish tones.

[357mag]

Re: Dimarzio Chopper and Super Distortion S

Thanks for the info. I got a YJM Fury in the neck which I totally love. I'm just eager to try out some other beefy bridge pickups.

[UberMetalDood]

Re: Dimarzio Chopper and Super Distortion S

Super Distortion S or Fast Track 2. They're both very similar except the Fast Track 2 is even more versatile because it's like a Super Distortion S but with the EQ shifted up just a little bit, so the bass is a little lighter and the mids are a little more robust. There is a slight difference in feel and dynamics, and I tend to prefer the Fast Track 2 in that respect because I spend most of my time soloing. However, for chunky rhythm chords and chugga-chugga metal stuff, the Super Distortion S is a little bit thicker with less up-front mids. They're not too terribly different though. Before I had them, I originally had an Air Norton S which I exchanged for the Super Distortion S. Then I sold that and tried a Fast Track II and ended up liking it a little better, but I sold the guitar it was in and the FS2 went bye bye unfortunately. If I get another strat, I'll probably go that route next time.

By the way, if you like the YJM Fury neck then you'll love the Injector neck. The YJM thinner, looser mids and a little bit boomy low end, and it feels a little weaker in output but nearly as much output as the Injector. The Injector has a little tighter low end, more, stiffer mid range, and an equally smooth high end. The Injector is a bit more sensitive to picking dynamics, and has kind of a bell-like quality sort of like a Texas Special. In fact, if I had to liken them to single coils, I would say the Injector favors a Texas Special and the YJM favors a fat 50's vintage single coil. I disliked the YJM neck at first, but then switched to 500k pots and I was happier with it so it stayed in my G&L. However, my new mahogany strat has an Air Zone with an Injector neck and I left 250k pots for now.

[Rand-O-Monium]

Re: Dimarzio Chopper and Super Distortion S

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

FT-2 @ the br of practically all(save 1) of my S/S/S Strats!!!

[357mag]

Re: Dimarzio Chopper and Super Distortion S

I put the Super Distortion S in and I like the sound of it but the problem is that it seems to have a somewhat "buzzy" sound to it. So I removed it and installed the Hot Rails. I didn't care for the Hot Rails as much as I like the Hot Stack Plus. I still have The Chopper here I can try but I may just stick with the Hot Stack Plus.

[UberMetalDood]

Re: Dimarzio Chopper and Super Distortion S

I put the Super Distortion S in and I like the sound of it but the problem is that it seems to have a somewhat "buzzy" sound to it. So I removed it and installed the Hot Rails. I didn't care for the Hot Rails as much as I like the Hot Stack Plus. I still have The Chopper here I can try but I may just stick with the Hot Stack Plus.

I didn't get that buzzy sound from the Super Distortion S, but if that's what you're hearing then you probably need to go with a Tone Zone S or Fast Track 2. Both have high output like the Super Distortion S, but smoother top end. The Super Distortion S has kind of an aggressive edge, so maybe that's the buzziness you're referring to. I can't believe that I forgot about the Tone Zone S. That is a great pickup and if I had thought about it earlier, it would have been my #1 recommendation. It resembles the Air Zone much more than the Tone Zone in my opinion. They should have called it the Air Zone S, but I guess since it's not "aired" they can't.

[357mag]

Re: Dimarzio Chopper and Super Distortion S

I didn't get that buzzy sound from the Super Distortion S, but if that's what you're hearing then you probably need to go with a Tone Zone S or Fast Track 2. Both have high output like the Super Distortion S, but smoother top end. The Super Distortion S has kind of an aggressive edge, so maybe that's the buzziness you're referring to. I can't believe that I forgot about the Tone Zone S. That is a great pickup and if I had thought about it earlier, it would have been my #1 recommendation. It resembles the Air Zone much more than the Tone Zone in my opinion. They should have called it the Air Zone S, but I guess since it's not "aired" they can't.

The guitar came with the Tone Zone S. Didn't like it enough to leave it in there.

[UberMetalDood]

Re: Dimarzio Chopper and Super Distortion S

That sounds weird. What kind of pots were in it? Maybe it was wired in parallel or something.

[357mag]

Re: Dimarzio Chopper and Super Distortion S

That sounds weird. What kind of pots were in it? Maybe it was wired in parallel or something.

It's the American Vintage '57 Hot Rod Strat so most Strats have 250K pots. I haven't tried The Chopper yet, that's sitting on my shelf. The Fast Track 2 sounds like a plausible choice.

[darthphineas]

Re: Dimarzio Chopper and Super Distortion S

I put the Super Distortion S in and I like the sound of it but the problem is that it seems to have a somewhat "buzzy" sound to it. So I removed it and installed the Hot Rails. I didn't care for the Hot Rails as much as I like the Hot Stack Plus. I still have The Chopper here I can try but I may just stick with the Hot Stack Plus.

Can you describe the buzzy sound?

Is it an issue with the tone if the pickup or maybe with the way it was wired?


Sent from my armored battle station using Tapatalk

[357mag]

Re: Dimarzio Chopper and Super Distortion S

Can you describe the buzzy sound?

Is it an issue with the tone if the pickup or maybe with the way it was wired?


Sent from my armored battle station using Tapatalk

It has a "zzzzzz" quality to it. Where as I was expecting "chugga-chugga" on a palm-muted riff I was playing I heard a "zzzz" sound kinda mixed in with the main sound. I wired it red wire to switch, black and white wires soldered together and taped off, and green and bare to volume pot. Normal wiring for me. Nothing unusual.

[Kais]

Re: Dimarzio Chopper and Super Distortion S

I second the chopper + tone zone combination. I have that setup in my strat. Actually I have the bc-2, which is a modded tone zone, similar enough tho