Mononoaware
Active member
Ah crap, sorry. That's what I get for skimming the forum before my first coffee. It was Jafo's comment--with some serious embellishment by me. Just an opinion.
DiMarzio PAF Pro compagnion
- Thread starter WDeeGee
- Start date
Ah crap, sorry. That's what I get for skimming the forum before my first coffee. It was Jafo's comment--with some serious embellishment by me. Just an opinion.
Rex_Rocker
Well-known member
Bright and attacky in the bridge, very slightly thin, but still pretty good, kinda fat (but still with lots of attack) in the neck.
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OP here.
Found a perfect match: the DiMarzio Titan. Also has a brass baseplate like the PAF Pro, I always think HB's don't sound good together if they don't have the same base plate material, but it could be my imagination. Either way, the Titan sounds good for a variety of styles, not just METAL, which was a great surprise.
Tried the Dreamcatcher too but it's a very different beast, got a bit of that notched-wah thing going, sounds good but doesn't fit the PAF Pro at all.
This channel covers a wide range of HB comparisons, which was very helpful. I found few sounded better than the PAF pro with the setup used there, except for the Titan, and indeed, it matches the PAF pro so well.
Have fun!
Found a perfect match: the DiMarzio Titan. Also has a brass baseplate like the PAF Pro, I always think HB's don't sound good together if they don't have the same base plate material, but it could be my imagination. Either way, the Titan sounds good for a variety of styles, not just METAL, which was a great surprise.
Tried the Dreamcatcher too but it's a very different beast, got a bit of that notched-wah thing going, sounds good but doesn't fit the PAF Pro at all.
This channel covers a wide range of HB comparisons, which was very helpful. I found few sounded better than the PAF pro with the setup used there, except for the Titan, and indeed, it matches the PAF pro so well.
Have fun!
Wound_Up
New member
I thought brass was mainly used on cheap pickups. That's the only time I ever see it used.
Are Dimarzios considered cheap? Or do they offer cheaper pickups vs someone like Seymour Duncan, who sells their for $89+? I just don't know why a company would choose brass unless they were trying to keep cost down on less expensive pickups?
Entirely depends on style of music.
If for rock and varied styles, Fred is the best bet. If you don't crank the gain, it can masquerade as a toneful mid gain humbucker and covers alot of ground. When you crank the gain its quite focused and shreds with more meat than the PAF Pro. This was my main pickup for about five years.
Or another PAF Pro in bridge. It is very sharp and focused in the bridge. If you are a speed picker with an 80s vibe, PAF pro in bridge is great. It sounds "chewy" to me. Not much bass for metal.
Norton is a very hi-fi sounding pickup. Even though its hotter than Fred, it doesn't "shred" as well, perhaps because its not as focused. Better for heavy music than Fred. If you play much metal, hard rock rhythm guitar, Norton will be better, maybe best pickup. It sounds huge. I rocked this for about ten years in my main guitars before moving to Fred.
Breed bridge has same output as Norton. I didn't like it that much. Was a medium-hot HB with chopped treble. If DMZ was trying to mimic a "stock" pickup, this is the one. Maybe now ten years later I'd appreciate it more.
Tone Zone. Hot and thick/bassy. Shreds well, does metal well, a little too hot to clean up and play variety of styles. Its always fat. I like it, but I also don't like it.
None of these pickups have a coil split that is hot enough to be useful. If you want hotter pickups that can coil split well..
Evolution- This is a hot ceramic that has alot of presence and some characteristics of an alnico (its DMZs take on the Full Shred imo.) Great shredder. I like it better than the Full Shred, which top end is not as focused. It doesnt have as much bass as typical metal pickups so its not as congested, more articulate. I rocked these for quite a few years.
Super Distortion- Classic 70s/80s rock/metal. If you play Maiden get one of these. If you play any style, get one of these.
D-Sonic- This is my current favorite DMZ. It has same output as Evolution, but is Thicker in the mids. Its not screechy but still articulate. Tight bass, but not thin. Splits well. It was one that Petrucci used for a few years before coming out with many signature variations which I still have yet to try all of them.
If for rock and varied styles, Fred is the best bet. If you don't crank the gain, it can masquerade as a toneful mid gain humbucker and covers alot of ground. When you crank the gain its quite focused and shreds with more meat than the PAF Pro. This was my main pickup for about five years.
Or another PAF Pro in bridge. It is very sharp and focused in the bridge. If you are a speed picker with an 80s vibe, PAF pro in bridge is great. It sounds "chewy" to me. Not much bass for metal.
Norton is a very hi-fi sounding pickup. Even though its hotter than Fred, it doesn't "shred" as well, perhaps because its not as focused. Better for heavy music than Fred. If you play much metal, hard rock rhythm guitar, Norton will be better, maybe best pickup. It sounds huge. I rocked this for about ten years in my main guitars before moving to Fred.
Breed bridge has same output as Norton. I didn't like it that much. Was a medium-hot HB with chopped treble. If DMZ was trying to mimic a "stock" pickup, this is the one. Maybe now ten years later I'd appreciate it more.
Tone Zone. Hot and thick/bassy. Shreds well, does metal well, a little too hot to clean up and play variety of styles. Its always fat. I like it, but I also don't like it.
None of these pickups have a coil split that is hot enough to be useful. If you want hotter pickups that can coil split well..
Evolution- This is a hot ceramic that has alot of presence and some characteristics of an alnico (its DMZs take on the Full Shred imo.) Great shredder. I like it better than the Full Shred, which top end is not as focused. It doesnt have as much bass as typical metal pickups so its not as congested, more articulate. I rocked these for quite a few years.
Super Distortion- Classic 70s/80s rock/metal. If you play Maiden get one of these. If you play any style, get one of these.
D-Sonic- This is my current favorite DMZ. It has same output as Evolution, but is Thicker in the mids. Its not screechy but still articulate. Tight bass, but not thin. Splits well. It was one that Petrucci used for a few years before coming out with many signature variations which I still have yet to try all of them.
This is my favorite DMZ pickup combination in my main guitar.
El Dunco
Sock Supplier to RHCP
It doesn’t get nearly enough love. It should though.
