I guess that's it; the airzone to me, has the fluid feel of the jb, but it doesn't have that upper mid range spike the JB has, because of the 'air' thing, it opens the tone up a bit, as if you slap in an unoriented alnico 5 in a JB, but of course, with Dimarzio's own 'vibe' through it. It's not a 1:1 replacement for a JB, it's still a tonezone in its bones, but the brass baseplate truly shaves off the highs, and the air thing seems to soften the spikes in every part of the EQ.
Air Zone vs Custom Custom
- Thread starter Hot Octopus
- Start date
Jeff_H
Dean Hardtail Fanologist
I know I am late to this thread, but a fantastic pickup for that bright guitar with a floating trem is a Parallel Axis Blues Saraceno model. It is specifically designed to go with floating trem spacing and the specific issues people want to change about them.
Normally I would suggest the Original Parallel Axis Trembucker, but it is known for being brighter….which you are trying to change. The Blues S. model is warmer, while having great attack and clarity. I have it in a basswood guitar with an all maple neck, and I love it.
The matching neck Humbucker is very complimentary to the bridge model, and sounds great for many styles of music.
This pickup model is kind of forgotten in the Duncan range, but I think it is one of the best sounding pickup sets that flies way under the radar. I have had both the Blues S. model and the Original model, and both the full-size nick model and the Strat sized single stacked model. They all sound fantastic.
Good luck.
Normally I would suggest the Original Parallel Axis Trembucker, but it is known for being brighter….which you are trying to change. The Blues S. model is warmer, while having great attack and clarity. I have it in a basswood guitar with an all maple neck, and I love it.
The matching neck Humbucker is very complimentary to the bridge model, and sounds great for many styles of music.
This pickup model is kind of forgotten in the Duncan range, but I think it is one of the best sounding pickup sets that flies way under the radar. I have had both the Blues S. model and the Original model, and both the full-size nick model and the Strat sized single stacked model. They all sound fantastic.
Good luck.
Hot Octopus
Member
to report back, I tried the tb-11 instead of the Breed. It solved one problem but created another. It now has that smooth feel, which is nice for leads, but its lost most of its agression. Do I try a magnet swap? Or should I move onto the Breed?
Archer250
Well-known member
I am sorry for being late to this thread. Yeah I've played all those pickups
If the CC isn't aggressive enough, and you want the thickness, only the Air Zone will do
The Breed is even less aggressive than the CC
Rex_Rocker
Well-known member
I haven't tried a Custom Custom, so I'm not saying anyone is wrong, but I find it interesting that A2 transforms it into a mid-forward pickup.
I tried A5, standard ceramic, and double-thick ceramic, and it was all varying degrees of scooped.
Then again, I don't find it hard to believe that it sounds "full" with A2, since with my experience with all magnets was that it has a very full bottom-end.
I tried A5, standard ceramic, and double-thick ceramic, and it was all varying degrees of scooped.
Then again, I don't find it hard to believe that it sounds "full" with A2, since with my experience with all magnets was that it has a very full bottom-end.
You are right, personally I love the CC but its not heavy in the bottom end. Its fantastic for leads. I don't like it in middy LPs, there the regular custom shines through for old school rock.
A pickup with lot of bottom end would be the Tonezone for me.
