"Airy" neck pickup for Les Paul
- Thread starter ZxCv
- Start date
mrfjones
New member
Re: "Airy" neck pickup for Les Paul
i think a seth, a 59 or any other PAF style pickup will give you what you are looking for in the neck of a paul, but the first pickup that came to my mind when you said airy was an antiquity neck. I have heard it describes that way many times.
i think a seth, a 59 or any other PAF style pickup will give you what you are looking for in the neck of a paul, but the first pickup that came to my mind when you said airy was an antiquity neck. I have heard it describes that way many times.
mrfjones
New member
Re: "Airy" neck pickup for Les Paul
i want to say that the reason they are called air norton and air zone is that there is a little piece of wood separating the coils which puts air in between the coils. I am not sure it has anything to do with the airiness of the sound, but i am not up on the current state of dimarzio pickup designs, so i could just be talking out my butt
i want to say that the reason they are called air norton and air zone is that there is a little piece of wood separating the coils which puts air in between the coils. I am not sure it has anything to do with the airiness of the sound, but i am not up on the current state of dimarzio pickup designs, so i could just be talking out my butt
Neeradj
New member
Re: "Airy" neck pickup for Les Paul
Air Norton seems to be your thing my friend. Sounds warm and bell like in the neck spot, maybe even better clean ups than the '59. It does sound incredibly modern though, nice harmonics, huge picking attack and low output power chords. Never heard this thing get muddy
The clear neck pick ups in the Duncan line are: The Seth and the Alnico II Pro. These are more vintage voiced pick ups, which sound a bit fat but stay articulate and sing. The '59 always gets muddy on me in a Les Paul, it cleans up beautifully though.
Air Norton seems to be your thing my friend. Sounds warm and bell like in the neck spot, maybe even better clean ups than the '59. It does sound incredibly modern though, nice harmonics, huge picking attack and low output power chords. Never heard this thing get muddy
The clear neck pick ups in the Duncan line are: The Seth and the Alnico II Pro. These are more vintage voiced pick ups, which sound a bit fat but stay articulate and sing. The '59 always gets muddy on me in a Les Paul, it cleans up beautifully though.
StrykeBack
New member
Re: "Airy" neck pickup for Les Paul
Dimarzio's design to leave space inbetween the magnet and coil or whatever it is they do with a spacer is adds an airy open sound to their pickups. I've got an airzone in the bridge and a virtual PAF in the neck which sounds awesome.
Dimarzio's design to leave space inbetween the magnet and coil or whatever it is they do with a spacer is adds an airy open sound to their pickups. I've got an airzone in the bridge and a virtual PAF in the neck which sounds awesome.
korinastratkyle
New member
Re: "Airy" neck pickup for Les Paul
You're thinking Gretsch Filtertrons, my friend.mrfjones said:
StrykeBack
New member
Re: "Airy" neck pickup for Les Paul
u sure? someone on here said there is plastic or something acting as a spacer...anyways, I've got them in my mohagany SZ and I love em.
u sure? someone on here said there is plastic or something acting as a spacer...anyways, I've got them in my mohagany SZ and I love em.
StrykeBack
New member
Re: "Airy" neck pickup for Les Paul
thats part of it...so you can put that pickup closer to the strings if you want more "tone" or bass response but it won't affect the strings as much as some pickup magnets would. I belive my virtual PAF has something that distances the magnet making the magnet of an alnico 5 seem more like a 2 thus giving it that vintage tone...and it does sound very vintage gibsonish. Think Warren Haynes.
thats part of it...so you can put that pickup closer to the strings if you want more "tone" or bass response but it won't affect the strings as much as some pickup magnets would. I belive my virtual PAF has something that distances the magnet making the magnet of an alnico 5 seem more like a 2 thus giving it that vintage tone...and it does sound very vintage gibsonish. Think Warren Haynes.
theboatcandream
dreamonologist
Re: "Airy" neck pickup for Les Paul
Why not just use slightly heavier strings and an actual A2 magnet?
Why not just use slightly heavier strings and an actual A2 magnet?
StrykeBack
New member
Re: "Airy" neck pickup for Les Paul
maybe people still want to use 9s? i don't know.
I've got 11s on mine and the pickups are a little under 3/32nds...It's just a different design for a more open sound.
maybe people still want to use 9s? i don't know.
I've got 11s on mine and the pickups are a little under 3/32nds...It's just a different design for a more open sound.
BlueSnMettle
Michaelewski
Re: "Airy" neck pickup for Les Paul
My vote goes to the Antiquity. Have a set in my LP Std. and I love 'em. Warm, articulate & "airy" if you will. Very open sounding pups. Good luck.
Peace,
Darrin
ZxCv said:Is there anything that has the Airy sound of Dimarzio air-series (Air Classic, Air Zone, Air Norton) and is suitable on Les Pauls neck position without getting too muddy?
Or am I just playing wrong type of guitar? I really dont like Ibanez-style guitars at all...mg:
My vote goes to the Antiquity. Have a set in my LP Std. and I love 'em. Warm, articulate & "airy" if you will. Very open sounding pups. Good luck.
Peace,
Darrin
mrfjones
New member
Re: "Airy" neck pickup for Les Paul
i was close, here is what dimarzio has to say about the airbuckers:
What are Airbuckers?
Airbuckers are full-sized humbuckers that contain a gap or space between the magnet and the polepieces. The distance is quite small, and may be filled with nothing but air or by some non-magnetic material. The purpose of the gap is to lessen the magnetic field over the pickup, which in turn lets the string vibrate more freely. This results in a purer, more open sound and improved sustain.
The other purpose of the air design is to reliably reproduce the performance of vintage humbuckers (1950s and 60s), many of which contain magnets weakened by age and mishandling. Weakened or "aged" magnets are inherently unstable, and therefore cause unpredictable performance. Airbuckers utilize stable, full-strength magnets, yet the magnetic field is the same as produced by an "aged" magnet, thus offering the performance advantage without the unpredictability.
korinastratkyle said:
i was close, here is what dimarzio has to say about the airbuckers:
What are Airbuckers?
Airbuckers are full-sized humbuckers that contain a gap or space between the magnet and the polepieces. The distance is quite small, and may be filled with nothing but air or by some non-magnetic material. The purpose of the gap is to lessen the magnetic field over the pickup, which in turn lets the string vibrate more freely. This results in a purer, more open sound and improved sustain.
The other purpose of the air design is to reliably reproduce the performance of vintage humbuckers (1950s and 60s), many of which contain magnets weakened by age and mishandling. Weakened or "aged" magnets are inherently unstable, and therefore cause unpredictable performance. Airbuckers utilize stable, full-strength magnets, yet the magnetic field is the same as produced by an "aged" magnet, thus offering the performance advantage without the unpredictability.
Similar threads
