De-air an Air Zone?

H

hwiho2002

New member
So...I guess Dimarzio got backed up due to the pandemic, can't find an f-spaced zebra tone zone for sale (not for a reasonable price anyway). However, there is an f-spaced zebra Air Zone for sale.

How difficult would it be to de-air the Air Zone? Are the slugs tapered at the bottom, or just typical slugs with plastic spacers?
 
I’ve heard that a half-aired AZ sounds really good. Never tried it myself. Try the AZ as it is and go from there. The AZ is a pretty awesome pickup.
 
I am interested in the half air mod, but I'm concerned it might not be loud enough to pair with the Breed (neck model) I have in the neck. Currently have a Breed (bridge model) in the bridge, but I'm finding it too low powered, and a bit thin compared to the neck. Maybe because it's in a 22 fret guitar. Was thinking Tone Zone since it's fatter and has slightly more output (not looking for uber loud, just strong enough to compete with the breed neck).
 
I'm thinking the AZ won't be hot enough if I'm finding the Breed bridge weak. So is a de-aired Air Zone pretty much identical to a Tone Zone? Or still some differences?
 
I've heard of people using a section of an A string as a magnetically-coupling spacer between slugs and mag, so as not to require swapping out the slugs when de-airing. Haven't tried it myself, but it seemed reasonable.
 
I was thinking the same thing, except using a flatwound string on the screw side. I feel like I could scratch up the magnet if I have it touching the screws, and I adjust them, so have them directly touching the slugs instead.
 
I say go for it. I just de-aired my Air Norton. Took out the plastic rings, stuck the magnet against the bridge screws, and put two lengths of .085” guitar string between the slugs and magnet. I’ve never used a regular Norton, so I don’t know how close it is, but I’m glad I tried it, and it’s completely reversible.

Compared to the regular Air Norton, it sounds the same but is a bit hotter. Again, completely reversible, and very easy.
 
Yea, but with shipping costs it's a bit more than what I would pay to get the same thing from, say, banjomike. You'd think it'd be cheaper to buy direct from the manufacturer. Guess not.
 
I just had an interesting thought. Instead of de-airing the air zone what if I were to just swap the alnico 5 for a stronger alnico 8? Seems like I'd get the basic same result as de-airing it.
 
As mentioned, the AZ is a great sounding pickup but it may be a little low in power with a Breed neck.

You should be able to balance the Breed set, how high are they set? The neck pup should be considerably lower than the bridge pup to balance the output. The Breed bridge is a great pickup, I personally like it better than the TZ. If it wasn't zebra I have a F-spaced TZ I would trade you, but mine are all black.
 
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