DiMarzio Haters - Why?

[BlueGuitar]

Re: DiMarzio Haters - Why?

Most people could care less who has better winds etc.....Duncan doesn't offer half the tones that Dimarzio has and vice versa. Nobody really cares about construction unless it's going to fail....they care about tone.

Good point... most guitarists have not had a pickup fail on them (the accidents usually happen when we are fiddling around with them! :smack: )

For the benefit of the youngsters out there, DiMarzio was the first company selling aftermarket PAF style pickups, and I picked up a pair of them in the late 70's. They were much better than the crappy ones Gibson put in my 1975 LP Standard. It was in the early 80's that I first heard of Seymour Duncan... I replaced the DiM PAF's with SD 59's and thought that they were a definite improvement. When I got a 2nd LP (actually a factory second) I went with the SD JB and Jazz neck, and never really considered DiMarzio.

In comparing DiM to SD, one point that needs to be reiterated is that SD has a Custom Shop and also does repairs. SD also has a line of authentic vintage replicas (the Antiquities) and an on-line user forum. :dance:

Although all of DiMarzio pickups are made in their factory in New York, I wonder how long it will be before they start having them made overseas... I wonder the same about SD, but I believe that SD will always have a Custom Shop here in the USA.

To generalize a bit, it seems like SD really covers the bases in terms of customer needs, while DiM doesn't seem to offer custom winding at all, at least to the general public.

 

[Boleslaw Gers 666]

Re: DiMarzio Haters - Why?

It's all just hard headed people who swear by one brand, which I don't understand. If it sounds good, it sounds good. Granted, Duncans are much better in general, but there is no pickup that can get the same sound as a Super Distortion. There are a few DiMarzio pickups that can't be reproduced, though I still in general prefer Duncans. The construction thing is bull, too. Both Duncans and DiMarzios are crafted with the highest quality. DiMarzio's are cheaper, but that doesn't mean they are of lesser quality.

 

[Stringmachine]

Re: DiMarzio Haters - Why?

Everybody can have an opinion about something which it's as subjetive as tone it is . What I've tried to state it's that both companies have a wide production line, and they try to have lot's of different tones to choose from. Some of their pickups are build to reproduce the 60's tones, some to reproduce the 80's hair metal and some other to create modern nu-metal.

That's why I think you can't give adjetives like "modern" and "vintage" to a whole production line.

I agree, but I still prefer my Antiquity's instead of the PAF Classic from DiMarzio. To me the SD's sounds more vintage. And I never meant to put all DiMarzio's in a certain category.

 

[Davey]

Re: DiMarzio Haters - Why?

i got nothing against the pickups. to me the super distortion is one of the best sounding pups ever along with the JB. but the company and it's practices piss me off to no end.

reverse engineering then patenting, patenting COLORS! pushing out other manufacturers just cos they want a bigger market share. they care only for profit and not for the musician is how I see it (imo of course). they just want everybody to saddle over to them and they sh!t on other companies with their legal practice

 

[shredaholic]

Re: DiMarzio Haters - Why?

if construction methods or material quality doesn't affect the tone, then why would Tim from Bareknuckle Pickups search at great lengths for the exact materials used in vintage PAF pickups? Is it any coincidence that all of their pickups sound so great? Maybe the customers do only care about tone, but by looking for great tone aren't they indirectly looking for better construction, so the pickups don't pick up extraneous noise, and just generally sound better?

 

[Pierre]

Re: DiMarzio Haters - Why?

patented the friggin' Patented Applied For (PAF) term. I mean, how low can it get? Pantenting a patent!

 

[Sykes]

Re: DiMarzio Haters - Why?

I don't like the "trademark" issues. DiMarzio has to know these issues do effect their customer base.

Ace Frehley first got me into playing guitar. I like the old Kiss Alive sounds, so I might get a super D, but only out of respect for Ace, not DiMarzio.

 

[Willis]

Re: DiMarzio Haters - Why?

I like the old Kiss Alive sounds, so I might get a super D, but only out of respect for Ace, not DiMarzio.

Yeah, that's the only Dimarzio I'd buy, and for that same reason.

 

[D-EJ915]

Re: DiMarzio Haters - Why?

Speaking of DiMarzio materials/construction bs...on the Steve Vai website it talks about how a tech installed a new pickup in one of his guitars, even though it was the same thing it sounded different.

 

[jony]

Re: DiMarzio Haters - Why?

I have a Dimarzio in the neck of my strat. Two duncans in the rest. I must say the dimarzio turns me on 1/8th of the time.

It is a fast track one which basically is a higher output bright single coil. Rails design. Sounds quite horrible compared to cool rails or the duckbucker I have in the middle.

Duncans always sounded natural and guitar like to me.

 

[Destructone]

Re: DiMarzio Haters - Why?

Tone is tone. It's all a matter of preference. I've had Gibsons, Fenders, EMG's, Duncans, Lawrence's, Kinmans and Dimarzio's.

I love Duncans and EMG's, but I always find myself going back to Dimarzio. It's not because my bandmate or a guitar shop salesman told me to, but its because its what I prefer. It has my kind of tone, it delivers the character that suits my playing style.

There was one time I was in a guitar shop where I tried a Soloist and a JEM... one after the other. I actually liked the JEM's aggressive lead tone better than the sweet lead tone of the Soloist... which had a JB and 2 Classic Stacks. Whilst my friend was behind me, raving about how good the Soloist sounded... I thought the total opposite. The bottom line is, both are great guitars at the same price... what would I get? probably the JEM. what would my friend get? maybe the Soloist. Its just a matter of preference... specific tone will cater to specific people, depending on their taste... like apples and oranges.

 

[Guitarist]

Re: DiMarzio Haters - Why?

Tone is tone. It's all a matter of preference. I've had Gibsons, Fenders, EMG's, Duncans, Lawrence's, Kinmans and Dimarzio's.

I love Duncans and EMG's, but I always find myself going back to Dimarzio. It's not because my bandmate or a guitar shop salesman told me to, but its because its what I prefer. It has my kind of tone, it delivers the character that suits my playing style.

There was one time I was in a guitar shop where I tried a Soloist and a JEM... one after the other. I actually liked the JEM's aggressive lead tone better than the sweet lead tone of the Soloist... which had a JB and 2 Classic Stacks. Whilst my friend was behind me, raving about how good the Soloist sounded... I thought the total opposite. The bottom line is, both are great guitars at the same price... what would I get? probably the JEM. what would my friend get? maybe the Soloist. Its just a matter of preference... specific tone will cater to specific people, depending on their taste... like apples and oranges.

Well, considering that you picked the JEM over the Soloist, I think it's safe to say that your credibility for any matter has gone down the toilet. :flush: :18:

 

[pinto79]

Re: DiMarzio Haters - Why?

Speaking of DiMarzio materials/construction bs...on the Steve Vai website it talks about how a tech installed a new pickup in one of his guitars, even though it was the same thing it sounded different.

Bear in mind that it's Steve Vai your talking about here, and the pup was in EVO and had probably played 10,000 shows and sessions in the 10 years he used her. And to top it off, he has a "relationship" with EVO that runs so deep now that he would know if a different brand of strings was installed.

I've heard 2 Super Distorions that sound different, and I've heard 2 Duncan Distortions that sound different. Stuff happens...

I'll use anything, as long as it's right for the guitar I'm putting it in.

Trevor

 

[Destructone]

Re: DiMarzio Haters - Why?

Well, considering that you picked the JEM over the Soloist, I think it's safe to say that your credibility for any matter has gone down the toilet. :flush: :18:

like i said, its all about preference. I never found a USA Jackson that I fell head over heels with. im not saying theyre not great guitars... they are. its just that I'd prefer a high-end Ibanez or maybe a high-end EMG loaded ESP over it. they just have that sound and feel that "I" would prefer... nothing wrong with that.

 

[ranalli]

Re: DiMarzio Haters - Why?

Tone is tone. It's all a matter of preference. I've had Gibsons, Fenders, EMG's, Duncans, Lawrence's, Kinmans and Dimarzio's.

I love Duncans and EMG's, but I always find myself going back to Dimarzio. It's not because my bandmate or a guitar shop salesman told me to, but its because its what I prefer. It has my kind of tone, it delivers the character that suits my playing style.

There was one time I was in a guitar shop where I tried a Soloist and a JEM... one after the other. I actually liked the JEM's aggressive lead tone better than the sweet lead tone of the Soloist... which had a JB and 2 Classic Stacks. Whilst my friend was behind me, raving about how good the Soloist sounded... I thought the total opposite. The bottom line is, both are great guitars at the same price... what would I get? probably the JEM. what would my friend get? maybe the Soloist. Its just a matter of preference... specific tone will cater to specific people, depending on their taste... like apples and oranges.

I felt the same way about the stock USA Jacksons.....with the Duncans in them = TERRIBLE SOUNDING.

Those pickups are WAY TOO BRIGHT for those already bright USA Soloists and Rhoads. I ONLY use nice think and beefy Dimarzios for any US Jackson I've ever owned.

Why Jackson continues to use the worst matched pickups for the job is beyond me. I guess people just see Duncan JB/'59 and they get excited because it's a pickup that they recognize like most people that come around for pickup advice it's the only thing that's ever recommended to them.

 

[greendy123]

Re: DiMarzio Haters - Why?

I think dimarzio pickups are perfectly in tone and quality. One I'm concerned about is the bobbins on their pickups isn't the same as on a duncan. Duncans have complete smoothed plastic with a shiny finish on top, dimarzios are just plain plastic. The pickup box is another thing I don't like the plastic thing around dimarzios pushes the tape around the pickup, sometimes bunching it up. Thats the really the only problems I have with them.

 

[idsnowdog]

Re: DiMarzio Haters - Why?

I won't denegrate any of Dimarzios pickups. One thing they do that I wish SD would do is engrave the bottom of their pickups with a model number. Duncan uses a sticker which too often comes off. Even with the sticker the naming scheme is cryptic.

Snowdog

 

[Zerberus]

Re: DiMarzio Haters - Why?

I'll say it:

Yes.

Don't fool yourself into thinking that there is a whole lot of variance in pickup construction quality. There isn't. As I said before, there's about $2.50 worth of materials in any passive humbucking guitar pickup, regardless of who made it. There are certainly differences in sound quality between pickups, but that is purely subjective and personal and has little to do with construction quality.

There are only about 150$-200$ worth of raw materials in any acoustic guitar.... are there no differences there? There are 2-3$ worth of color in almost any painting.... No difference in quality?

Taylor made a great sounding guitar out of a waterlogged pallet they found in the alley behind the factory... conversely, how many people have you seen or heard about that took a beautiful, perfect piece of lumber and made a crap guitar out of it?

What I´m trying to say is It´s not as much a question of what the materials are or how they´re sourced, it´s what you DO with them.... Craftsmanship = quality....

Cars, guitars, tennis rackets, golfclubs, baseball bats.... there is no difference in any industry... not even pickups

I felt the same way about the stock USA Jacksons.....with the Duncans in them = TERRIBLE SOUNDING.

Those pickups are WAY TOO BRIGHT for those already bright USA Soloists and Rhoads. I ONLY use nice think and beefy Dimarzios for any US Jackson I've ever owned.

Why Jackson continues to use the worst matched pickups for the job is beyond me. I guess people just see Duncan JB/'59 and they get excited because it's a pickup that they recognize like most people that come around for pickup advice it's the only thing that's ever recommended to them.

The reason Jackson uses the JB is that it´s generally seen as the most versatile of the more "modern" bridge pickups, as well as being close to the J-90 that defined the classic Jackson tones in the 80s next to the JB... it´s very much a tradition thing...

But JCMI seems to be considering other options in this regard as we speak

 

[Imp]

Re: DiMarzio Haters - Why?

you want a markup? the starbucks frappuchino.

they cost 8-12p to make, and 6p of that is the cup! half ice, 3/8 skimmed milk, the rest is sugar and flavourings

but they taste great.. you see my point?

tom

 

[open]

Re: DiMarzio Haters - Why?

When i heard that Seymour was crazy enough to unwind a
PAF pick-up and count how many loops there was,that was good for me.


If i recall when you removed the cover on some PAF
they were cream or black colored bobbins and sometimes zebra.Why Di marzio patented the dual color it?i don't know...

Also patenting color pickups:ugh1: