Dimario Virtual PAF - thumbs up
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wildstar
New member
Re: Dimario Virtual PAF - thumbs up
I didn't think to record any clips of the Jazz Neck before removing it to try these other pups. Whoops... But yes, it's great like the VPAF Neck. I LOVE the Jazz. I think it's fatter and "thicker" than the VPAF Neck, but with a similar treble clarity. And it's hotter, too, I think. But the VPAF Neck had a more responsive feel, and definitely tighter in the low end - which meant chords are clearer. Tough call...
I've been using the Jazz/JB for so long, I can't remember anything else. That's why I started messing around with all these freakin pups! To shake things up.
If I had to decide now, I would feel great about either the Jazz or VPAF Neck. But I've GOT to find the right bridge pickup - can't go back to the JB now.
Anyone want to sell/trade me a Custom? :laugh2:
madguitar26 said:
I didn't think to record any clips of the Jazz Neck before removing it to try these other pups. Whoops... But yes, it's great like the VPAF Neck. I LOVE the Jazz. I think it's fatter and "thicker" than the VPAF Neck, but with a similar treble clarity. And it's hotter, too, I think. But the VPAF Neck had a more responsive feel, and definitely tighter in the low end - which meant chords are clearer. Tough call...
I've been using the Jazz/JB for so long, I can't remember anything else. That's why I started messing around with all these freakin pups! To shake things up.
If I had to decide now, I would feel great about either the Jazz or VPAF Neck. But I've GOT to find the right bridge pickup - can't go back to the JB now.
Anyone want to sell/trade me a Custom? :laugh2:
madguitar26
New member
Re: Dimario Virtual PAF - thumbs up
yo wildstar i just mite know the answer to yur JB problem.
tom anderson h3+ has gobs of bass and mids,very smooth and clear,does not have the easy harmonics of the JB.and doesnt mud up like the air zone or invader.
but acording to the tone descriptions of the air zone seems more like an anderson than dimarzio.just forget about a vintage sound with em.
rio BBQ´s are also a comun replacment according to HC reviews.
yo wildstar i just mite know the answer to yur JB problem.
tom anderson h3+ has gobs of bass and mids,very smooth and clear,does not have the easy harmonics of the JB.and doesnt mud up like the air zone or invader.
but acording to the tone descriptions of the air zone seems more like an anderson than dimarzio.just forget about a vintage sound with em.
rio BBQ´s are also a comun replacment according to HC reviews.
WICKED LESTER
New member
Re: Dimario Virtual PAF - thumbs up
man the AZ is far from muddy and has definititon out the wazzoo!
and the air norton is just real warm but has good clarity,reminds me of a 59 with the tone knob backed off to about 7
maybe try them through a rig like mine then re opinionate on them :dance:
DUDE what amp/guitar did you try this combo in??????madguitar26 said:
man the AZ is far from muddy and has definititon out the wazzoo!
and the air norton is just real warm but has good clarity,reminds me of a 59 with the tone knob backed off to about 7
maybe try them through a rig like mine then re opinionate on them :dance:
wildstar
New member
Re: Dimario Virtual PAF - thumbs up
Oh boy... Thank you for the tip, but I'm very reluctant to step outside of DiMarzio/SD right now. Tempting, but I just can't go there. It's kind of stupid, I know, but I don't want this swapping and experimenting to go on for a year! My plan was to find something I love between Dimarzio and SD, then stick with it for one year. Then if I want, maybe try out other manufacterers. Arbitrary, but I had to set some limits.
Hey, I think Wicked Lester is right! I would NEVER describe the Air Zone as "muddy" - it's totally clear and articulate (to my ears.) But it is way too strong in the bass for my guitar (mahogany body and set-neck, rosewood fingerboard.) Not the pups fault, just not the best combo. Same with the Air Norton. I can understand why basswood or alder guys RAVE about these pups, especially with maple necks. I can imagine how great a match that would be.
madguitar26 said:
Oh boy... Thank you for the tip, but I'm very reluctant to step outside of DiMarzio/SD right now. Tempting, but I just can't go there. It's kind of stupid, I know, but I don't want this swapping and experimenting to go on for a year! My plan was to find something I love between Dimarzio and SD, then stick with it for one year. Then if I want, maybe try out other manufacterers. Arbitrary, but I had to set some limits.
Hey, I think Wicked Lester is right! I would NEVER describe the Air Zone as "muddy" - it's totally clear and articulate (to my ears.) But it is way too strong in the bass for my guitar (mahogany body and set-neck, rosewood fingerboard.) Not the pups fault, just not the best combo. Same with the Air Norton. I can understand why basswood or alder guys RAVE about these pups, especially with maple necks. I can imagine how great a match that would be.
Re: Dimario Virtual PAF - thumbs up
just received my virtual hot paf bridge to replace a custom custom in my washburn idol.
custom custom is a unique pickup. my guess is it's one of those you-either-love-it-or-hate-it pickup. it's just too nasal for me.
could someone post a 4 conductor color conversion between SD and DMZ?
thanks
edit:
I got it. just finished replacing custom custom/59 with VHPAF/VPAF.
and WOW. :dance:
just received my virtual hot paf bridge to replace a custom custom in my washburn idol.
custom custom is a unique pickup. my guess is it's one of those you-either-love-it-or-hate-it pickup. it's just too nasal for me.
could someone post a 4 conductor color conversion between SD and DMZ?
thanks
edit:
I got it. just finished replacing custom custom/59 with VHPAF/VPAF.
and WOW. :dance:
Last edited:
Dmitry
New member
Re: Dimario Virtual PAF - thumbs up
First of all many thanks to wildstar for a doing a great job!
But I still have some things to ask about:
1) Can you please describe in detail the guitar you've used to make these tests?
2) Can you please record some demos with a dry clean sound of AirZone/AirNorton? (no amp sim / compressor / eq / etc...) If you have other pups installed try to make some "clean" demos too... Splitted coils demos are welcome as well! :bigthumb:
Many people say very very good things about the Breed pups! What about trying them out?
Thanks for all your efforts, gotta tell ya, they're really supportive!!! :clap:
First of all many thanks to wildstar for a doing a great job!
But I still have some things to ask about:
1) Can you please describe in detail the guitar you've used to make these tests?
2) Can you please record some demos with a dry clean sound of AirZone/AirNorton? (no amp sim / compressor / eq / etc...) If you have other pups installed try to make some "clean" demos too... Splitted coils demos are welcome as well! :bigthumb:
Many people say very very good things about the Breed pups! What about trying them out?
Thanks for all your efforts, gotta tell ya, they're really supportive!!! :clap:
Re: Dimario Virtual PAF - thumbs up
con'd from above,
DMZ VHPAF is truly a winner.
I can totally hear the strat taste in the tone. every note has a swell to it as it rings. and it sounds good everywhere on the neck.
my washburn WI67 has a feature called Voice Contour Control (VCC). it replaces tone knobs with a dial that blends two coils from in-series to in-parrallel graduately. it works great with these VPaf's. in parrallel mode it's tele like.
con'd from above,
DMZ VHPAF is truly a winner.
I can totally hear the strat taste in the tone. every note has a swell to it as it rings. and it sounds good everywhere on the neck.
my washburn WI67 has a feature called Voice Contour Control (VCC). it replaces tone knobs with a dial that blends two coils from in-series to in-parrallel graduately. it works great with these VPaf's. in parrallel mode it's tele like.
madguitar26
New member
Re: Dimario Virtual PAF - thumbs up
fftopic:
Lester,i never said i played an air zone before,acording to what i listened from wildstars samples they sounded(as in my subjective opinion) mudy to my ears.
to "maybe try them through a rig like mine then re opinionate on them"
would assume i had your ears,and wanted your sound(whatever that is).
get your facts straight,this is an OPEN forum,and diferent
opinions should be expected.
i do hope to try the air zone one day and maybe re opinionate on them according to my ears.TONE IS SUBJECTIVE,as are opinions if they werent we would all agree as to which pickup choices and all other matters.fftopic:
:beerchug:
rguser i had that same idol series guitar and the anderson and 59 in it.
great over stock performance wise,but 59 sounded thin dirty,at least on that guitar,the best ive played clean thow.
fftopic: Lester,i never said i played an air zone before,acording to what i listened from wildstars samples they sounded(as in my subjective opinion) mudy to my ears.
to "maybe try them through a rig like mine then re opinionate on them"
would assume i had your ears,and wanted your sound(whatever that is).
get your facts straight,this is an OPEN forum,and diferent
opinions should be expected.
i do hope to try the air zone one day and maybe re opinionate on them according to my ears.TONE IS SUBJECTIVE,as are opinions if they werent we would all agree as to which pickup choices and all other matters.
fftopic: :beerchug:
rguser i had that same idol series guitar and the anderson and 59 in it.
great over stock performance wise,but 59 sounded thin dirty,at least on that guitar,the best ive played clean thow.
wildstar
New member
Re: Dimario Virtual PAF - thumbs up
Awww shucks!
Yer makin me blush. Glad these are fun and useful for others.
In response to #1, above: It's a Schecter Elite. Mahongany body, mahogany set-neck and rosewood fingerboard. Warm, warm warm tone, as you'd expect. 25.5" scale, so it's got a snappy response. Solid but somewhat sleek body design, somewhere between a Strat and Ibanez S in weight/contour. Strung with Ernie Ball Skinny Top/Heavy Bottoms (kind of like 10 gauge for the high E, B and G, and 11 gauge for the D, A, and low E.) 500k pot. Wired series.
Response to #2: Sorry, I just traded the Air Zone to Roadstar for his Custom! He's putting it in a basswood guitar, which I think will be a most righteous combo.
I've got the Air Norton in the bridge right now and WOW! Nothing PAF-ish going on here, but awesome sound. Very modern, but "airy" (Dimarzio's airbuckers really kick ass.) I plan to play around with the AN, record clips, then put in the Custom and Custom 5 and do the same. Then I'll try a Breed neck in the bridge - heard great things about those, too.
The winner stays in the C-1, and whichever pup I like a lot but has a very different tone from the winner goes into my baritone. I wouldn't hesitate to put a VPAF Hot in the baritone, BTW. I think it would slay.
I'll keep posting clips as long as folks want me to. Unfortunately, the Pod XT (or my Vox Valvetronix amp) are the only way I can record, so we'll have to settle for amp modeling. I'm not applying ANY compression or EQ (besides the EQ settings on the "amp.") And sure, I'll start adding some clean stuff too.
Cheers!
P.S. Hey, Madguitar: I think Lester meant well. Maybe it came across wrong in a post, but I think he meant to encourgae you to try out the pup some more. Or not base your reaction totally on my clips, since my guitar and the AZ aren't a good match. I wouldn't take it personally! :beerchug:
Dmitry said:
Awww shucks!
Yer makin me blush. Glad these are fun and useful for others.In response to #1, above: It's a Schecter Elite. Mahongany body, mahogany set-neck and rosewood fingerboard. Warm, warm warm tone, as you'd expect. 25.5" scale, so it's got a snappy response. Solid but somewhat sleek body design, somewhere between a Strat and Ibanez S in weight/contour. Strung with Ernie Ball Skinny Top/Heavy Bottoms (kind of like 10 gauge for the high E, B and G, and 11 gauge for the D, A, and low E.) 500k pot. Wired series.
Response to #2: Sorry, I just traded the Air Zone to Roadstar for his Custom! He's putting it in a basswood guitar, which I think will be a most righteous combo.
I've got the Air Norton in the bridge right now and WOW! Nothing PAF-ish going on here, but awesome sound. Very modern, but "airy" (Dimarzio's airbuckers really kick ass.) I plan to play around with the AN, record clips, then put in the Custom and Custom 5 and do the same. Then I'll try a Breed neck in the bridge - heard great things about those, too.
The winner stays in the C-1, and whichever pup I like a lot but has a very different tone from the winner goes into my baritone. I wouldn't hesitate to put a VPAF Hot in the baritone, BTW. I think it would slay.
I'll keep posting clips as long as folks want me to. Unfortunately, the Pod XT (or my Vox Valvetronix amp) are the only way I can record, so we'll have to settle for amp modeling. I'm not applying ANY compression or EQ (besides the EQ settings on the "amp.") And sure, I'll start adding some clean stuff too.
Cheers!
P.S. Hey, Madguitar: I think Lester meant well. Maybe it came across wrong in a post, but I think he meant to encourgae you to try out the pup some more. Or not base your reaction totally on my clips, since my guitar and the AZ aren't a good match. I wouldn't take it personally! :beerchug:
Dmitry
New member
Re: Dimario Virtual PAF - thumbs up
I have all-koa Carvin DC127T with ebony fingerboard and wilkimson tremolo! What can I say, it's a wonderfull guitar with sucky pups... (carvin C22n & C22t)
I'm trying to find a good versitile replacement! I play all kinds of guitar music, except for heavy metal! And live in a weird country that has nothing to offer for a guitar player... :smack: I'm trying to gather my experience from forums and samples (like you do) and advices.....
Anyway, if you can help me with this puppy research, that would be great!
My current thoughts:
1) DiMarzio Breed (neck) / DiMarzio Breed (bridge)
2) DiMarzio AirNorton / DiMarzio AirZone
3) Duncan Jazz / Duncan JB
4) Duncan Pearly Gates / Duncan Custom 5 or Custom Custom
5) Rio Grande Texas / Rio Grande BBQ maybe...
You can use your Pod XT or Boss ME-50 in bypass mode! That will do a trick! I really wanna hear a dry clean sound! And than i can use GuitarRig or other virtual multiFX for overdrived/amp sim sounds...
I have all-koa Carvin DC127T with ebony fingerboard and wilkimson tremolo! What can I say, it's a wonderfull guitar with sucky pups... (carvin C22n & C22t)
I'm trying to find a good versitile replacement! I play all kinds of guitar music, except for heavy metal! And live in a weird country that has nothing to offer for a guitar player... :smack: I'm trying to gather my experience from forums and samples (like you do) and advices.....
Anyway, if you can help me with this puppy research, that would be great!
My current thoughts:
1) DiMarzio Breed (neck) / DiMarzio Breed (bridge)
2) DiMarzio AirNorton / DiMarzio AirZone
3) Duncan Jazz / Duncan JB
4) Duncan Pearly Gates / Duncan Custom 5 or Custom Custom
5) Rio Grande Texas / Rio Grande BBQ maybe...
wildstar
New member
Re: Dimario Virtual PAF - thumbs up
Ah, I didn't think of using Bypass mode. Maybe I can that for you.
I once had a Carvin DC127, koa body and neck, ebony fingerboard. Carvin pickups are trash (IMHO!), I agree with you. Koa is very very warm-toned, as I remember, isn't it? If so, from your list I would not use the Breed Bridge, Air Norton and Air Zone, or Custom Custom.
Definitely try the Breed Neck, but in the bridge position - not neck! Jazz/JB is classic and should work real well. Pearly Gates should be good in the neck, from what I know of it (haven't heard it.) Custom 5 or Custom should be great in the bridge on that guitar.
And since this is a Virtual PAF thread, from my experience with the Virtual PAF Neck and Virtual Hot PAF, they would be totally awesome in your guitar, and very flexible/adaptable to many styles.
Dmitry said:
Ah, I didn't think of using Bypass mode. Maybe I can that for you.
I once had a Carvin DC127, koa body and neck, ebony fingerboard. Carvin pickups are trash (IMHO!), I agree with you. Koa is very very warm-toned, as I remember, isn't it? If so, from your list I would not use the Breed Bridge, Air Norton and Air Zone, or Custom Custom.
Definitely try the Breed Neck, but in the bridge position - not neck! Jazz/JB is classic and should work real well. Pearly Gates should be good in the neck, from what I know of it (haven't heard it.) Custom 5 or Custom should be great in the bridge on that guitar.
And since this is a Virtual PAF thread, from my experience with the Virtual PAF Neck and Virtual Hot PAF, they would be totally awesome in your guitar, and very flexible/adaptable to many styles.
roadstar II
New member
Re: Dimario Virtual PAF - thumbs up
wildstar, i heard your air zone clips i hope it sounds a little more PAF'ish in my one guitar i told you about(basswood body and a all maple neck)
that damn virtual hot paf keeps callin me! :smack:
wildstar, i heard your air zone clips i hope it sounds a little more PAF'ish in my one guitar i told you about(basswood body and a all maple neck)
that damn virtual hot paf keeps callin me! :smack:
madguitar26
New member
Re: Dimario Virtual PAF - thumbs up
thanks wildstar always good to have a diferent perpesctive of things.
even thow sound is subjective i always trusted the forum members descriptions and sound samples.
didnt mean to offend lester just reaffirm my former statement.
never played a demon but i just know i woulda hated it in my les paul.i was about to order a rio BBQ but the very dark frases took my attention away to the virtual pafs.
and i was almost certain of getting the air zone or breed,not sure anymore...at least not for the very bass heavy les paul sx.i think the air zone would do wonders for my strat as im starting to get bored over the JB.
anyway im gonna try either a hot or virtual paf bridge in the neck(for warmer tones) and the rio BBQ in the bridge(it mite just turn out great).
over and out
thanks wildstar always good to have a diferent perpesctive of things.
even thow sound is subjective i always trusted the forum members descriptions and sound samples.
didnt mean to offend lester just reaffirm my former statement.
never played a demon but i just know i woulda hated it in my les paul.i was about to order a rio BBQ but the very dark frases took my attention away to the virtual pafs.
and i was almost certain of getting the air zone or breed,not sure anymore...at least not for the very bass heavy les paul sx.i think the air zone would do wonders for my strat as im starting to get bored over the JB.
anyway im gonna try either a hot or virtual paf bridge in the neck(for warmer tones) and the rio BBQ in the bridge(it mite just turn out great).
over and out
Last edited:
hans-jürgen
New member
Re: Dimario Virtual PAF - thumbs up
When I listened to them, I used an audio player that is able to jump to certain passages of different takes very quickly and precisely with a mouse click (Mpxplay), so I could concentrate on single phrases. If you listen to such a long sample, it's essential to pick out small excerpts where you can hear some differences and compare them side-by-side, i.e. directly without a pause.
I think I already mentioned that in this thread once or twice...papersoul said:
When I listened to them, I used an audio player that is able to jump to certain passages of different takes very quickly and precisely with a mouse click (Mpxplay), so I could concentrate on single phrases. If you listen to such a long sample, it's essential to pick out small excerpts where you can hear some differences and compare them side-by-side, i.e. directly without a pause.
WICKED LESTER
New member
Re: Dimario Virtual PAF - thumbs up
he has a different guitar and amp and probably a different attack then you
you HAVE to try a pup yourself
that is why i thinkl clips are a friggin joke when it comes to heairng a pup
dont believe me???
listen to this
http://64.34.167.227/SDToneWizard/Hummer/Track33.mp3
now tell ME that is what a JB really sounds like in most guitars???? :smack:
if you say it does then get yer easr checked! :burnout:
hey bro, you cant go by anothers clips!roadstar II said:
he has a different guitar and amp and probably a different attack then you
you HAVE to try a pup yourself
that is why i thinkl clips are a friggin joke when it comes to heairng a pup
dont believe me???
listen to this
http://64.34.167.227/SDToneWizard/Hummer/Track33.mp3
now tell ME that is what a JB really sounds like in most guitars???? :smack:
if you say it does then get yer easr checked! :burnout: