Bill Lawrence L-500XL vs. Dimebucker

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Bill Lawrence L-500XL vs. Dimebucker

I saw BLS last night @ Irving Plaza, NYC, and for one song both Zakk and Mike Cantonese played Dime Signature guitars ... and they sounded terrible!!! The tone was very muddy and indistinct. The lead tone had no definition, either.
I thought it was the worst demonstration of those pups I've ever heard.

I have a guitar setup with an EMG 81/85. I also have a guitar with a Dimebucker. I run them through the same setup, although I had to make up a different set of presets for the Dimebucker (and the rest of my passive pickups).

I bet if they sounded bad, it was because they plugged right in without altering the eq or anything, which is a must when going from EMGs to passives.

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Bill Lawrence L-500XL vs. Dimebucker

II bet if they sounded bad, it was because they plugged right in without altering the eq or anything, which is a must when going from EMGs to passives.

That was my guess, too ... maybe the rigs are optimized for the EMGs;except that he kicked off the 1st two songs with his polka dot Rhoads guitar, and that sounded godly!!!!!

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Bill Lawrence L-500XL vs. Dimebucker

That was my guess, too ... maybe the rigs are optimized for the EMGs;except that he kicked off the 1st two songs with his polka dot Rhoads guitar, and that sounded godly!!!!!

Hmmm... what's in that, DiMarzio Super D & PAF Pro? Maybe they're more forgiving of the EMG settings than the Dimebucker.

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Bill Lawrence L-500XL vs. Dimebucker

Hmmm... what's in that, DiMarzio Super D & PAF Pro? Maybe they're more forgiving of the EMG settings than the Dimebucker.

Dunno; but I think that's splitting hairs a bit much ... fact is, the Razorbacks sounded like @ss ...

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Bill Lawrence L-500XL vs. Dimebucker

Dunno; but I think that's splitting hairs a bit much ... fact is, the Razorbacks sounded like @ss ...

I agree, about it being a bit of a stretch. I'm gonna chalk it up to our original answer... the EMG 81 & Dime don't share eq settings well, and it was a fluke that the polka-dot V sounded great.

[Metalman_666]

Re: Bill Lawrence L-500XL vs. Dimebucker

Dime's major tone factor came from the Furman PQ-3. Period.

I dunno about that. According to Dime in a Guitar World interview (June or Oct 1992) he said that one of the BLUE MXR 6-band EQ's completely changed his Randall's amp distortion for the better, and it made the biggest difference in his sound.

[Metalman_666]

Re: Bill Lawrence L-500XL vs. Dimebucker

So anyway I still would like an answer to my question!!! Which pickup has more clarity, crunches better, unleashes pinch harmonics better... all that Jazz..? SOMEONE PLEASE ANSWER!

[jimmy]

Re: Bill Lawrence L-500XL vs. Dimebucker

I dunno about that. According to Dime in a Guitar World interview (June or Oct 1992) he said that one of the BLUE MXR 6-band EQ's completely changed his Randall's amp distortion for the better, and it made the biggest difference in his sound.

Of course Dime used more things than just the PQ-3--like the Blue box you mention--, but a major part in that "Dime Sound" was the PQ-3.
Have you ever seen his Rack? He had a HUGE rack with TONS of stuff in it, but it always came down to the PQ-3; it set the ground work for his signature tone.

And as far as the XL500 and the SH-13 go, it's really up to you to decide.
There is always going to be a biased opinion towards both pickups, so the best thing, for you to do, is to try them out and see what fits you best.

I hope this helps you in some way.