Dimarzio - Seymour Duncan mix up

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blackout0424

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Hey guys, this is the my first post on Seymour Duncan forums, so don't go too hard on me please! :nervous: Anyway... I give you my Seymour Duncan - Dimarzio mix up with a SH-2 in the neck and a John Petrucci signature Crunch Lab in the bridge. Kinda weird huh? (The guitar is a Laguna LE122 http://http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/reviews/electric_guitars/laguna/index.html) Even if I had gone all seymour or all Dimarzio, I still would have ended up with a high output, full on meaty tone in in the bridge and low output, softer tone in the neck; epic versatility was my goal. :naughty: The volume and tone knobs are both push - pull 500k, wired for coil tapping. When the selector is set to middle, there is the option for which pickups(s) you want to tap. So, what do you guys think? :feedback:
 
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Re: Dimarzio - Seymour Duncan mix up

Awesome, versatility is the way to go. Hows it sound in the middle position?
 
Re: Dimarzio - Seymour Duncan mix up

Oh yes, I forgot to mention... The amount of different tones capable in the middle pos. is crazy. When I first tried the pups after I got them installed, I was happy with both as I expected. But when I switched it to the mid position, It was like the guitar sprouted a new and completely different pickup in the mid position. :eyecrazy: Kinda sounds like the classic tele pickups to me (I struck gold), except with more bass due to the fact that both the pups are humbucking... There are actually 4 possible pickup variations in the mid: both without coil tap, both with, or 1 or the other coil tapped.
 
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Re: Dimarzio - Seymour Duncan mix up

Not weird at all. All of my guitars have a mix of Duncans and DiMarzios. Both companies have their merits which I would hope more people exploit.

I personally find Duncans make better neck positions overall, because they focus on the high end. They give that airy organic quality. This rings true across the board, whether it's an A2P, '59, or Jazz.

I find DiMarzios make better bridge pickups because they have a stronger focus on the mid range, with a tighter bass tone. Case in point, the Norton and Super Distortion, great for chunky rhythm and riffing.

Fantastic combos I've thus far tried:
Mahogany: A2P neck, Air Norton bridge
Mahogany: '59 neck, Norton bridge
Maple: Jazz neck, Super Distortion bridge

Just ordered a Pearly Gates and a Fred. Will report back when that's installed.
 
Re: Dimarzio - Seymour Duncan mix up

9unslin9er said:
I personally find Duncans make better neck positions overall, because they focus on the high end. They give that airy organic quality. This rings true across the board, whether it's an A2P, '59, or Jazz.

I find DiMarzios make better bridge pickups because they have a stronger focus on the mid range, with a tighter bass tone. Case in point, the Norton and Super Distortion, great for chunky rhythm and riffing.
Click to expand...

Me too! I have a Breed bridge/ Pearly Gates hybrid neck in my Flying V
I have a Crunch Lab bridge, and Duncan Jb.jr neck in my Soloist
I have a Distortion Neck in my Peavey Explorer

I Do lke the Air Zone and PAF Pro neck too though, and I like the JB , Custom, adn PatB-3 bridge too.
 
Re: Dimarzio - Seymour Duncan mix up

So it seems that this setup is not at all weird. But it is like you said: in the end, I ended with this combo because I researched and found that Duncans would give a better warm and collected tone with moderate output, while the Dimarzio would give a higher output with more bass for when I want to go on attack. I like to play different styles so thats why I went for these pups. :1:
 
Re: Dimarzio - Seymour Duncan mix up

I really love how both companies come up with ways to change magnetic field.

Seymour Duncan guys like how the pickup windings are, and change magnets because it's a cheap and easy modification.

DiMarzio uses Airbucker technology instead of a weaker magnet to decrease string pull. You see less "mag-swapping" going on because those pickups use the inherent design to do the lifting. Fantastic stuff.

I don't really see a lot of guys going..."What does a Evolution sound like with A2 magnets?" Mostly because when you buy an Evolution, you want it to sound like an Evolution.
 
Re: Dimarzio - Seymour Duncan mix up

9unslin9er said:
DiMarzio uses Airbucker technology instead of a weaker magnet to decrease string pull.
Click to expand...

Even with the most powerful ceramic mag there is, it's located too far away from the strings to somehow decrease sustain by string-pulling. If you set the p'up too close the strings, it'll just sound "bad", but the flux is still too weak to have any effect. Only when you use magnetic rods, like in a strat p'up, that you'll experience ghost-notes and string pulling.

Having said that, the "Air" technology was not created to decrease "string pull".

It was to reduce the power of the strong A5 mag they use, also called "degaussing", recreating by approximation an A2 mag behaviour and tone. Also reducing costs and inventory.

In a way, they succeeded, but not without some side-effects.

HTH,
 
Re: Dimarzio - Seymour Duncan mix up

Oh Lt. you are my hero.

People need to be educated on this misconception caused by DiMarzio's website. Their choice to use Airbucking to decrease cost, does not substitute the use of different magnets.

Some people seem to be under the impression that airbucking an A5 PAF style pickup makes it sound like an A2. In other words, airbucking a '59 would make it a PG by that rationale. Which is obviously not the case.

Norton : Air Norton :: Custom Custom : EVH Frankenstein pickup

They should really clarify that airbucking is effectively the same as degausing, or weakening a magnetic field.

Personally, I like airbucked versions of pickups. I feel it almost acts like a buffer, like a noise gate for notes. Makes things less "in your face."
 
Re: Dimarzio - Seymour Duncan mix up

I love Fast Track II in neck and Hot Rails in bridge in a good Strat.
Nice combo for a 70's big headstock one!
 
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