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Bright, scooped Dimarzio for a thick, dull guitar?

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  • Bright, scooped Dimarzio for a thick, dull guitar?

    Gotta be double cream!
    I had a Super Distortion in this guitar and it was seriously bloated and dull. (I like the Super D in other guitars, but not this one!) So I swapped it out for a 9k handwound paf-style with a roughcast A8 magnet. That pickup was a bit bright in the guitar I pulled it from. NOT IN THIS GUITAR!
    So now I realize I have a dull, fat sounding guitar that needs a bright, scooped pickup. What Dimarzio should I be hunting for?
    Guitar is a heavily modified Norlin era Gibson Marauder: slab mahogany body, bolt-on maple neck with maple fingerboard, harmonica bridge. I always thought it was a great sounding guitar but I now realize the pickup I threw in there 30 years ago was just really suited to the guitar. It was a 1978 Ibanez V-2, the one that looks a lot like a Super Distortion but has an A5 magnet and is 16k. Like an idiot I sold that pickup and they are pretty hard to find but having played all 3 pickups in this guitar I know I want about the same level of output as the Super Distortion but with more highs and WAY less mids.
    Suggestions?

  • #2
    Originally posted by Dave Locher View Post
    Gotta be double cream!

    I always thought it was a great sounding guitar but I now realize the pickup I threw in there 30 years ago was just really suited to the guitar. It was a 1978 Ibanez V-2, the one that looks a lot like a Super Distortion but has an A5 magnet and is 16k.
    another Dimarzio HB featuring A5 mag(s), similar Bass-mid-treble eq specs, and similar millivolt output to the V-2. The Dimarzio site lists all three of those parameters for each pup. Browse the HBs on the dimarzio site with similar specs to the V-2. A5 mag, high millivolts, and eq qualities that you recall rhe v-2 having
    Last edited by Jack_TriPpEr; 04-06-2021, 08:53 PM.
    Sanford: "The hardest part about tone chasing is losing the expectations associated with the hardware."

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    • #3
      I know sometimes specs are misleading, I'm hoping someone has direct experience.
      I am actually considering a Super 2, but it is not so much scooped as lacking bass?
      Last edited by Dave Locher; 04-06-2021, 10:29 PM.

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      • #4
        never owned it, but maybe a steve‘s special?
        you can add a series cap if the bass is too strong

        by the way, you can always make a double cream out of a zebra and reverse zebra pickup.
        screamin demon would be a good point to start...
        Last edited by ToneFiddler; 04-06-2021, 11:42 PM.

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        • #5
          I know the exact pickup you need soundwise. The Full Shed SH-10B - but no double creams
          I get the feeling the A8 will blow your skirt up more so - Edgecrusher

          Smooth trades with Jerryjg, ArtieToo, Theodie, Micah, trevorus, Pierre, pzaxtl, damian1122, Thames, Diocletian, Kevinabb, Fakiekid, oilpit, checo, BachToRock, majewsky, joyouswolf, Koreth, Pontiac Jack, Jeff_H

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          • #6
            Originally posted by hamerfan View Post
            I know the exact pickup you need soundwise. The Full Shed SH-10B - but no double creams
            One Zebra SH-10b, one Reverse Zebra SH-10b, make a double creme and a double black. Sell the double black to recover some of your money.
            I miss the 80's (girls) !!!

            Seymour Duncans currently in use - In Les Pauls: Custom(b)/Jazz(n), Distortion(b)/Jazz(n), '59(b)/'59(n) w/A4 mag, P-Rails(b)/P-Rails(n); In a Bullet S-3: P-Rails(b)/stock/Vintage Stack Tele(n); In a Dot: Seth Lover(b)/Seth Lover(n); In a Del Mar: Mag Mic; In a Lead II: Custom Shop Fender X-1(b)

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            • #7
              I would say original Evo bridge. I'd call it bright and lively but not really scooped.

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              • #8
                I'd also suggest the Evo bridge. If the guitar sounds dull, I'm not sure you want scooped. Upper mids will help. The Evolution is a screamer.

                Sent from my SM-G970W using Tapatalk

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                • #9
                  The EVO 2 is better than the original EVO in my opinion, but it's warmer in the highs. I would recommend either the Evo or the Steve's Special, it's not as scooped as the description would leave you to believe, it's basically a 6 string version of the Blaze, it's very clear.

                  The Fred or Norton might also be worth considering, the Norton (non-air) is one of my favorite bridge pickups.

                  Something else to try would be new pots and wiring, I didn't realize how much until I put a Mad Hatter harness in a RG655, I was very skeptical about it, but it made much more of a difference than I thought it would. It also fixed the crappy taper on the volume pot, the new one is very linear feeling (so yes, a log pot) and easy to control the volume and clean up the tone, The all the difference in the stock pot was in the first 1/5th of a revolution or so.

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                  • #10
                    I was thinking Evo or Steve's Special as well. The SS is touted by Dimarzio as being scooped in the mids... and the Evo is supposedly a screamer in anything. I used the SS a long time ago and don't remember it all that well, haven't used the Evo but have certainly listened to Mr Vai quite a bit.
                    Originally posted by crusty philtrum
                    Anyone who *sings* at me through their teeth deserves to have a bus drive through their face
                    http://www.youtube.com/alexiansounds

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                    • #11
                      New guitar. Don't try to squeeze blood from a piece of dead wood.
                      Originally posted by Bad City
                      He's got the crowd on his side and the blue jean lights in his eyes...

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                      • #12
                        I agree you probably don't need scooped, you need bright.
                        The Super II might be a good match. They're bright as heck.

                        Then again, if the V-2 was perfect in this axe, get another. I don't think they came in double cream though.
                        DiMarzio custom shop would make one for you, I bet. Or call 'em and ask what's the closest stock model.

                        Is the guitar actually lively, only dark & muddy sounding? Ace has a point - there's no fix for dead wood.
                        .
                        "You should know better by now than to introduce science into a discussion of voodoo."
                        .

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                        • #13
                          Another vote for the Steve's Special.

                          I wouldn't call it scooped in any djent/chug kind of way but just a very clear sounding pickup.

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                          • #14
                            I have to disagree about a dark deadened guitar always being a bad thing. They are the best guitars for an emg81 IMO.

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                            • #15
                              Fred is the pickup you are looking for. Its not as hot as a SD, but boosted it will get there and its tight when boosted. This is an A5 pickup. Very bright.

                              Its probably the most complex sound in the DZ catalog.

                              Failing that, the Evo. Its hotter, somewhat open top, but still ceramic. Not quite as bright as the Fred, more mids, tighter. The Fred and Evo are two of the most iconic Dimarzio pickups.

                              The Norton, I have played a ton. After many years I came to conclusion that its not a great lead guitar pickup imo. While it is thick and woofy, it is open on top like the Fred, but it doesnt have a strong resonant peak where you want it. I'd describe it as the anti-JB.

                              While I recommend the Fred and the Evo, you would think the Norton, being in between the two would also be great. That said, the Norton is good in the neck when you need a hot neck pu. Norton has a very hi-fi sound to it, but for soloing it is washed out.




                              Last edited by Top-L; 04-07-2021, 04:58 PM.

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