Dimarzio PAF Pro/Air Zone not quite doing it for me

Hello Forum,

I recently put a pair of Dimarzio pickups in my guitar and while they sound great, I don't think they are 100% what I am looking for. It's an Ibanez ST105 from 1979. 25.5" scale, what seems like a neck through of maple with mahogany wings. I got the Dimarizo PAF Pro in the neck and Air Zone in the bridge. The PAF pro is just about right but it could be a little more dynamic, and the bridge breaks up too early and is overly bright for my rig.

Also, they both have this vowel quality to some of the notes that I associated with shorter scale lengths like Gibson guitars, but I now think it might be PAF style pickups that have that sort of sound to them and it's not the scale length. It sounds like the coils are out of phase with each other a little bit- a touch hollow and quacky. I don't know if it's common for pickups like these to be scatterwound but maybe that's what it is.

I use several drive pedals- a rockett klon, ocd, amptweaker tightrock, and a ds-1 into a relatively high-gain amp (Peavey VTM). I'm looking for a relatively high gain sound out of the bridge, but with the ability to be dynamic- cleaner on single notes or arpeggios if I want. I think what I did wrong was go with a pickup that was too high gain, considering the pedals and amp that I have. The neck could be a touch brighter and more dynamic but raising it would probably fix that. However, it would still have that "aw" or "eu" sound to it and I'd rather it have a more neutral, fender-like "ah" or "er" type sound to in. I think what I need to do is go for more modern voiced pickups that are lower gain. I would like alt rock tones ranging from a dynamic clean-sh sound to something large like nirvana or weezer when I use the pedals.

Here's what I've considered:

Moving the PAF pro to the bridge
Duncan custom or custom 5
Slash bridge or the set
Perpetual Burn (maybe too high gain?)
Dimarzio Norton
Dimarzio Air classic
Dimarzio 36th anniversary bridge or set


Thanks all
 
Re: Dimarzio PAF Pro/Air Zone not quite doing it for me

Lots of DiMarzios have that vowel quality, it is kind of their trademark, not a PAF thing. It comes out in some guitars more than others.
 
Re: Dimarzio PAF Pro/Air Zone not quite doing it for me

Lots of DiMarzios have that vowel quality, it is kind of their trademark, not a PAF thing. It comes out in some guitars more than others.

Whats the odds of this set coming up twice in one day? LOL
 
Re: Dimarzio PAF Pro/Air Zone not quite doing it for me

Whats the odds of this set coming up twice in one day? LOL

I was thinking the same thing.

Not sure what to recommend to the OP, if he is afraid the Perp Burn is going to be too hot, the Custom series definitely will. Can't really comment on many of the others, except that the Norton is a great pickup, but it does have some of that DMZ "ah" but not as much as others. The 36th Anniverary set is supposed to be great, but I haven't tried those or the Air Classics.
 
Re: Dimarzio PAF Pro/Air Zone not quite doing it for me

First of all, no need for a high powered bridge with that setup.

I think the 36th anniversary set might work well for you if DiMarzio.

From Duncan, think about a Jazz / Custom 5 combo
 
Re: Dimarzio PAF Pro/Air Zone not quite doing it for me

Moving the PAF pro to the bridge

And get a regular PAF for the neck.

Or, maybe a Super Distortion for the bridge. I would think it would not be as bright as the Air Zone, but I don't know the Air Zone's EQ.
 
Re: Dimarzio PAF Pro/Air Zone not quite doing it for me

Someone else had this set? Which thread? I felt like it was kind of an esoteric choice.

The same set was put in a Schecter that I have for sale in the Trading Post, I replaced the neck with an Air Norton, it works better in that guitar. I don't consider the AZ a bright pickup, it does have some sizzle on top but it is mostly EQ'd for lows and low mids.
 
Re: Dimarzio PAF Pro/Air Zone not quite doing it for me

And get a regular PAF for the neck.

Or, maybe a Super Distortion for the bridge. I would think it would not be as bright as the Air Zone, but I don't know the Air Zone's EQ.
No I am sorry, devastone has an ax for sale with the same set. We were just discussing it. I had the Slash set, wasnt for me. I prefer A5 I guess. The 36ths are great, have them too. Duncan forum, so I vote custom5. I love mine, although some say it can get lost in a mix. I like my Norton, but it's a tamed JB imho. A tad smoother, the upper mid spike isnt as prominent as in the JB. Hope that helps, sorry for my confusing post

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Re: Dimarzio PAF Pro/Air Zone not quite doing it for me

And get a regular PAF for the neck.

Or, maybe a Super Distortion for the bridge. I would think it would not be as bright as the Air Zone, but I don't know the Air Zone's EQ.

I can’t speak to the air zone but I have found that the SD does in fact have a subdued high end ....in a good way.
 
Re: Dimarzio PAF Pro/Air Zone not quite doing it for me

I'm thinking I'll try a 250k pot for either the bridge volume or for both pickups before anything else. This might be a stupid question, but if I change a volume pot to 250k do I need to do the same to the tone pot as well?
 
Re: Dimarzio PAF Pro/Air Zone not quite doing it for me

I'm thinking I'll try a 250k pot for either the bridge volume or for both pickups before anything else. This might be a stupid question, but if I change a volume pot to 250k do I need to do the same to the tone pot as well?

No you don’t.
 
Re: Dimarzio PAF Pro/Air Zone not quite doing it for me

I dunno. I can't really relate to your descriptions of either pickup. The PAF Pro NOT being dynamic? The Air Zone being too BRIGHT? Both of them being quacky? That just isn't my experience with either of those pickups at all, and I've had them together in an Ibanez RG for years. I would be suspicious of something else in your signal chain and not the pickups.
 
Re: Dimarzio PAF Pro/Air Zone not quite doing it for me

Based on my own experience I can say with certainty that different speakers will drastically alter one's perception of any pickup.
 
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