DiMarzio D Activator

[Rex_Rocker]

So you know me. I like trying new pickups out. Now that I ripped the pickups off my Epiphone 1959 to put in my new Gibson, I think I might want to give the D Activator (not the X, just the regular one) a try.

So my question is: What can I expect?

I've always liked the EMG 81. So I think I might dig it. But then again, I've read the D Ac sounds NOTHING like the 81.

Should I give it a try? Is there something else I might look into?

 

[1b4n3z]

In my experience DA didn't really sound or feel like an EMG81, but recently I got myself a "blackened" Black Winter which does imitate one well enough for me. I don't have an 81 anymore to contrast and compare, but the sharp and focused tone I had in mind is there

 

[Rex_Rocker]

I've actually got a Black Winter and a Blackened Black Winter in my posession, LOL. I just want to try the D Ac if it's anything like the 81. How do you think it differs from the 81 or the BW?

 

[dave74]

D'act is dryer (less "juicy") and dare I say scratchier than the BW in my very limited experience,,,,,,,,,but IMO that does make it closer to the 81 than the BW is.
I really liked the D'a-X better than the standard, but I'm an Invader fan and I found it more in that camp but with a bit less fizz on top than the Invader.

 

[FuseG4]

I had a regular d activator set years ago but I've never owned a guitar with emgs so it's hard to say exactly the differences but I've played a few emg guitars here and there
the d activator is tight in the bass but little thick in the low mid, and has lots of attack, not super hot either. There is a sizzly grainy quality kinda like super distortion top end but even more pick attack.

The clarity of the pickup combined with it having some balls is why they probably choose it to try to market as having the qualities of an 81 with less compression.

I would try them again, I had them when I was starting out and was into pop punk and thrash metal and these are ok but sometimes too tight, like you gotta hit it hard and it still doesn't chug right

 

[dave74]

Yeah it's almost a little closer to an 81-X or 81 at 18v than it is the regular 9v 81. Still more passive though in it's attack character.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

So it's low-middy? I don't think I'd like that.

 

[Masta' C]

In my experience DA didn't really sound or feel like an EMG81, but recently I got myself a "blackened" Black Winter which does imitate one well enough for me

This mirrors my experience, as well. There's no perfect 81 replacement, but I would actually recommend the old-school Evolution over the D-Activator if that's the sound you're after and you're set on DiMarzio

 

[SweetClyde99]

Just curious if you found your 1959 Epiphone LP so be a very dark guitar. Mine is the darkest guitar I’ve ever owned, so matching pickups to it turned out to be a bit of a challenge. I’m really liking the Full Shred I have in the bridge now, but the guitar is so naturally thick sounding, I still had to install a capacitor in series with the hot lead from the Full Shred to tighten up the low end and get the EQ in the ballpark of my other guitars so I don’t have to do any EQing when I swap to another humbucker-equipped guitar. Just wondering if this is common among these modes or if mine is something of am anomaly.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Just curious if you found your 1959 Epiphone LP so be a very dark guitar. Mine is the darkest guitar I’ve ever owned, so matching pickups to it turned out to be a bit of a challenge. I’m really liking the Full Shred I have in the bridge now, but the guitar is so naturally thick sounding, I still had to install a capacitor in series with the hot lead from the Full Shred to tighten up the low end and get the EQ in the ballpark of my other guitars so I don’t have to do any EQing when I swap to another humbucker-equipped guitar. Just wondering if this is common among these modes or if mine is something of am anomaly.

Hey, man. Mine isn't dark. It's brighter than my Gibson for sure. It's pretty much as bright as my Squier Classic Vibe Esquire, but it's also got a lot more low-end, so it isn't as thin-sounding.