DiMarzio Evolution Update

Stringmachine

New member
I put the Evo. in my strat yesterday, and I must say that I'm not impressed at all. It is very bright and it sounds harsh to me. I tried it with a 250 pot to see if that would help, and it did a bit, but I still can't get a good sound out of it.

Anyway, I only gave $ 20 for it and a friend of mine is interested in it, so no harm.
 
Re: DiMarzio Evolution Update

Well it's a bright pickup.....it belongs in a darker guitar IMO. Don't know how Vai uses it but it would just work well in a dark guitar.
 
Re: DiMarzio Evolution Update

Try to formulate where you want to go with that sound StringMachine. Things you liked about the EVO, what you didn't.
 
Re: DiMarzio Evolution Update

ranalli said:
Well it's a bright pickup.....it belongs in a darker guitar IMO. Don't know how Vai uses it but it would just work well in a dark guitar.

100% agreed Ranalli. It just overcomes some darkness and mush in his equipment somewhere. Likely on a certain setup.
 
Re: DiMarzio Evolution Update

Stringmachine said:
I put the Evo. in my strat yesterday, and I must say that I'm not impressed at all. It is very bright and it sounds harsh to me. I tried it with a 250 pot to see if that would help, and it did a bit, but I still can't get a good sound out of it.

Anyway, I only gave $ 20 for it and a friend of mine is interested in it, so no harm.

the EVO is supposed to be very bright and tight
it is so tight that if you are not a real good player it will give you away :laugh2:
I stay away from signature pups simply because they guy it is made for usally has a certain tone in mind that i dont!
I will stick to the EMG 81/85 and the duncan DD/59 :dance:
 
Re: DiMarzio Evolution Update

wixedmords said:
Try to formulate where you want to go with that sound StringMachine. Things you liked about the EVO, what you didn't.

I really bought the Evo just to see what it was like. I want my strat to have a fat sound that could handle a lot of gain. I already have a Jb jr. that I've used for about a year, and I like it better than the Evo, but it is still a little thin sounding.

I also have a set of EMG 81/85 on the way for one of my LP's, and I'll probably try the Custom that is currently in it, in the strat. It should be better.
 
Re: DiMarzio Evolution Update

the Evo didnt work for me as well. even in my RG with mahogany body and maple top. i stuck with the stock Tone Zone in that one.

yo lester, didn't you have a custom in that LP before? i see that you swapped it with a DD... how do u differentiate the two? i cant decide between the DD and the Custom. i am also a big fan of les pauls, EMG's and metal, so i might as well ask someone in the same vein... :)
 
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Re: DiMarzio Evolution Update

Thank you stringmachine for saving me. I will now be getting the CC and alnico pro II.
 
Re: DiMarzio Evolution Update

Stringmachine said:
I really bought the Evo just to see what it was like. I want my strat to have a fat sound that could handle a lot of gain. I already have a Jb jr. that I've used for about a year, and I like it better than the Evo, but it is still a little thin sounding.

I also have a set of EMG 81/85 on the way for one of my LP's, and I'll probably try the Custom that is currently in it, in the strat. It should be better.

The Evolutions were desidn with the JEM7VWH in mind which is Alder. I have one (the pup, not the guitar) and had it in 6 different guitars and the only ones it sounds right in are alder bodied ones. Basswood is too bright and Mahogany/maple is too muddy and clouds the pickup. I have mine in a Jackson Ps-2 right now and it screams there. It also sounded great in my Jake E. Lee Signature when I had it...

I have a Dirty Fingers in my Strat which sounds amazing.
 
Re: DiMarzio Evolution Update

I just wanted tp point out that the pots on the Ibanez Jems have capacitors to smooth out the tone a bit. Check out this wiring diagram of the JEM7V.

JEM7pots.gif
 
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Re: DiMarzio Evolution Update

pinto79 said:
The Evolutions were desidn with the JEM7VWH in mind which is Alder. I have one (the pup, not the guitar) and had it in 6 different guitars and the only ones it sounds right in are alder bodied ones. Basswood is too bright and Mahogany/maple is too muddy and clouds the pickup. I have mine in a Jackson Ps-2 right now and it screams there. It also sounded great in my Jake E. Lee Signature when I had it...

I have a Dirty Fingers in my Strat which sounds amazing.


isn't basswood supposed to be in between mahogany and alder in terms of brightness? and that stringmachine was putting his evo on a strat which is alder?

i was thinking of putting an evo at the bridge and paf joe on the neck on my RG (basswood)
 
Re: DiMarzio Evolution Update

I loved my Evo in my strat. I'm playing around with different pickups in it at the moment, though. Right now, a C5 is in there. The Evo, Custom, and Custom 5 all sound really great in my strat. I can't decide on which one to use. :p
 
DiMarzio Evolution Update

im a serious musician, experienced, and must say that the Evolution bridge on my fender strat sounds fantastic, it definitely doesnt sound like a Vai sound, which i think is great, it's really tight a lot of punch, on clean however it's too bright, but i rarely use a bright sound on the bridge.
 
Re: DiMarzio Evolution Update

You can't base every thing completely on the wood in the guitar.

An Evo may be spikey in one Alder guitar but smoother in another.

But, you can let the wood of the guitar give you a sense of what the pickup will sound like.
 
Re: DiMarzio Evolution Update

tonejam said:
I just wanted tp point out that the pots on the Ibanez Jems have capacitors to smooth out the tone a bit. Check out this wiring diagram of the JEM7V.

JEM7pots.gif

Ok, the left cap is the normal tone control. But the right cap isn´t there to smooth out the highs, but to reduce the attenuation of said frequencies when turning down the volume, a so called "treble Bleed mod"... ;)
 
Re: DiMarzio Evolution Update

Dimarzio has also modified the Evo a little with the Evo II. Hopefully, it will be a little less brutal, albeit at little less powerful.
 
Re: DiMarzio Evolution Update

Powerful is not a word I'd use for the Evo. It's not very overwound, it's merely present in the very frequencies that your average listener finds annoying.

Unless you've got it in a warm-wooded hardtail guitar, or vintage trem.

If they've found a way to warm it up without losing it's Ceramic "tightness", I'd say it's a Duncan Custom, in which case....just buy a Duncan Custom. Put a Duncan Custom with the same modified pole pieces in it, and tell me any different.......
 
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