Dimarzio Breed, Evo 2, Gravity Storm?

[daenius]

Asking this question here since the you guys are chill and the Dimarzio forum isn't very active.

I have a very old JEM777VDY and it came with pink PAF Pros.

Compared to an even older JEM77FP that I have, the PAF Pro in this one sounds thinner (the 2 guitars are practically the same except for neck profile and paintjob... iono... the paintjob makes all the difference? lol)
The neon pink is also ading into a duller pink too so I figured why not put in some new pickups to give the guitar a fuller, warmer, thicker sound that still has great clarity and harmonics.

Looking at the Breed, Evo 2, and Gravity Storm (1 and 2?) pickups in pink. Any of you have experiences with them? How do they compare to the good old Evolution?

I'm not putting Evolution in this one though since my JEM777SK 30th has Evos in it already.

Any input is much appreciated!

 

[gregory]

Re: Dimarzio Breed, Evo 2, Gravity Storm?

I was wondering the same thing. I'd shoot an email to DiMarzio. Responses are friendly and very timely. You might even be able to go back and forth more than once on the same day.

the paintjob makes all the difference?

Nowhere near as likely, though the specific slab of wood from the same species certainly will, perhaps to a noticeable extent when from the very same tree, even.

 

[MkIII Renegade]

Re: Dimarzio Breed, Evo 2, Gravity Storm?

Evo2 hands down in my book. It's my fave DiMarzio and one of my fave lead pickups. The DM website accurately contrasts it with the Evo.

The next question is what to pair it with. The obvious first solution would be the Evo neck. I can say from experience that the Air Norton is a GREAT match at the neck, and the Liquifire should be awesome as well. Both of these have less treble response than the Evo neck.

For maximum warmth and thickness EQ wise (look at the graph!), the Breed set would be even better, although a little milder at the bridge.

 

[daenius]

Re: Dimarzio Breed, Evo 2, Gravity Storm?

I was wondering the same thing. I'd shoot an email to DiMarzio. Responses are friendly and very timely. You might even be able to go back and forth more than once on the same day.


Nowhere near as likely, though the specific slab of wood from the same species certainly will, perhaps to a noticeable extent when from the very same tree, even.

Yeah I know I was kinda trolling there hahaha. I own multiple guitars of each wood type and none of them sound similar enough unplugged or plugged in lol. Well it's more like this: I've never heard my 6 different basswood guitars and go "yup, that's the basswood doing work!". Same goes for the other woods, it's just the nature of wood. Each piece is unique and has different density and weight distribution, so the particular piece can vary almost as much as different species of wood, since different parts of the tree already makes a big enough difference. The same type of wood is supposed to land you in the general ball park, but the variation is big, especially when you put everything else together like neck, bridge, pickups... haha

@MkIII Renegade: have you had experience with the Breed? From what I'm reading it seems to be closest to what I might like. I have an Air Norton in my JP and that's certainly a one of my favorite neck pickups. I was thinking of keeping the guitar fairly Vai-ish so I was looking at sets. Question is Evo2 + Evo set? Breed set? Dark Matter Set? ahhhhhhhhhh xD

 

[The JEM Ghost]

Re: Dimarzio Breed, Evo 2, Gravity Storm?

I have experience with the EVO2 and the Breeds, did not try the Gravity Storm unfortunately.
I agree with MkIII Renegade's post, the EVO2 is less loud, less harsh and more dynamical then the original EVO, to me the EVO2 is the better pickup of the two, just a better version of the original EVO in my opinion, but that's just my taste.
The Breed bridge is a whole different animal, very warm, thick tone is what best describes it, it does have good harmonics though, but it's a lot different from the EVO and the PAF Pro, a lot warmer, fuller and thicker. If you are after maximum warmth and fullness then the Breed is the one to get. Don't overlook the Breed neck version either, there are more then a few people who like it a lot in the bridge position! It's less warm and less loud then the bridge version, but it's still warm sounding and offers more clarity then the bridge version.

 

[gregory]

Re: Dimarzio Breed, Evo 2, Gravity Storm?

I'm also curious about the Dark Matter 2, but at the same time the sheer amount of new pickups with what only appear to be subtle tweaks in conjunction with the reliance on the marketing power of two shredslingers getting well past their prime with their best material arguably long behind them has me leery.

 

[MkIII Renegade]

Re: Dimarzio Breed, Evo 2, Gravity Storm?

Yeah I know I was kinda trolling there hahaha. I own multiple guitars of each wood type and none of them sound similar enough unplugged or plugged in lol. Well it's more like this: I've never heard my 6 different basswood guitars and go "yup, that's the basswood doing work!". Same goes for the other woods, it's just the nature of wood. Each piece is unique and has different density and weight distribution, so the particular piece can vary almost as much as different species of wood, since different parts of the tree already makes a big enough difference. The same type of wood is supposed to land you in the general ball park, but the variation is big, especially when you put everything else together like neck, bridge, pickups... haha

@MkIII Renegade: have you had experience with the Breed? From what I'm reading it seems to be closest to what I might like. I have an Air Norton in my JP and that's certainly a one of my favorite neck pickups. I was thinking of keeping the guitar fairly Vai-ish so I was looking at sets. Question is Evo2 + Evo set? Breed set? Dark Matter Set? ahhhhhhhhhh xD

Haven't tried the Breeds yet, but I can tell you the Evo2 is the essential Vai sound. Evo2 + Evo would be my choice for a JEM. I only chose the Air Norton for my Eagle because I had heard so many good things about it and I dig Petruci's results with it, but I would have stuck with the Evo if I was putting it in a JEM----it was developed for that guitar!

Vai and Petrucci must be two of the biggest gear whores on the planet, LOL. I would probably do the same in their position, although I don't know that I would release quite so many signature pickups. To be fair, I think the Vai pickups have more truly noticeable differences between them, while Petrucci's tweaks are not as radical. Petrucci in particular has toured constantly like a mad man since 1992 and put out a mountain of albums, so he's had plenty of time to think about what works, and what doesn't for him. I greatly respect both masters and want their signature amps and more guitars as well!

 

[MkIII Renegade]

Re: Dimarzio Breed, Evo 2, Gravity Storm?

I'm also curious about the Dark Matter 2, but at the same time the sheer amount of new pickups with what only appear to be subtle tweaks in conjunction with the reliance on the marketing power of two shredslingers getting well past their prime with their best material arguably long behind them has me leery.

I'd say Vai's absolute creative peak was Passion and Warfare, and Petrucci's was Black Clouds and Silver Linings, DT's last and extremely well produced album with Portnoy (I am working hard on becoming a serious drummer and he is one of my faves, sad to see him go..... ). DT totally lost me with the "prog opera" concept on The Astonishing, and Vai has left me cold on a few albums after Fire Garden, but both can absolutely play as well as ever. Creating new songwriting genius is always the challenge.....

I love looking up rigs that were used on my favorite sounding albums. Although Vai nominally used "JCM 900s" as the time of PAW, he had a million other things on top of the core sound. He used PAF Pros and Blaze pickups for the UV7s. I consider the Blaze neck one of the nicest lead tones I've heard, and I really love the Blaze Custom (no longer made) for the bridge. He was using Evos after PAW and especially by the time of Fire Garden.

I believe Petrucci was still using the Crunch Lab/Liquifire on Black Clouds...and the mighty Mesa Mk V.

 

[gregory]

Re: Dimarzio Breed, Evo 2, Gravity Storm?

"These pickups are specifically EQed to match the earthy, organic aura of the new guitar"
"a more organic, smoother sound"

Sigh.

 

[daenius]

Re: Dimarzio Breed, Evo 2, Gravity Storm?

"These pickups are specifically EQed to match the earthy, organic aura of the new guitar"
"a more organic, smoother sound"

Sigh.

Yeah welcome to guitar marketing jargon

"vintage"
"organic"
"woody"
"modern"
"open"

xD

 

[PrawiraChrnsArdhana]

Re: Dimarzio Breed, Evo 2, Gravity Storm?

i use the gravity storm in my jem77pbfp rightnow, i think its nice pickup, compare to evo in other guitar(baswood too), gravity storm is smooth lead solo pup with nice high, mid and more bass, just like the evo, GS had more expression than evo and less compression. i try the dark matter too, but in diffrent wood, i haven't try the breed