UnderTheFlame83
New member
Super Distortion, Super 2, or Super 3.
Which one of these do you prefer and what guitar is it in?
Which one of these do you prefer and what guitar is it in?
DiMarzio Super D, 2, or 3?
- Thread starter UnderTheFlame83
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Drak
New member
I have a Super 2 that I never liked at all.
Dropped an A4 in it and it changed everything about that pickup.
I use it in the bridge of an H-S-S now where it gets along great with the S-S's and really like it.
Doesn't really answer the question except to say I didn't care for it stock.
Dropped an A4 in it and it changed everything about that pickup.
I use it in the bridge of an H-S-S now where it gets along great with the S-S's and really like it.
Doesn't really answer the question except to say I didn't care for it stock.
Aceman
I am your doctor of love!
The Super Distortion is an all time classic, right up there with the JB, The EMG etc....
It is Hot, Thick, and punches through really well. It has more than enough high end without being harsh. I like it in ANY guitar, but especially a Les Paul bridge. It is the sound of Ace Frehley, Gary Richrath, Tom Scholz, Paul Gilbert, Phil Collen, Vivian Campbell, Al DiMeola, and dozens more. It isn't as "hot' relatively speaking compared to todays scorchers, but it is just a great all around rock/hardrock/metal pickup.
The Super 2 is the obvious neck companion if you want a Super D set. In the bridge, I have no idea how it would sound. Back in the day, people just used two regular Super D's for killer neck solo use. I don't use them. I prefer a PAF with a Sup[er D for an all around guitar.
As for the Super 3, never had one. Isn't it supposed to be the "fatter" version of a Super D? Like that isn't fat/thick enough.
I use Tone Zones for uber thick sounds...like a Super D with "more" of everything, but not as much as an X2N which is for people who want too much of everything.
It is Hot, Thick, and punches through really well. It has more than enough high end without being harsh. I like it in ANY guitar, but especially a Les Paul bridge. It is the sound of Ace Frehley, Gary Richrath, Tom Scholz, Paul Gilbert, Phil Collen, Vivian Campbell, Al DiMeola, and dozens more. It isn't as "hot' relatively speaking compared to todays scorchers, but it is just a great all around rock/hardrock/metal pickup.
The Super 2 is the obvious neck companion if you want a Super D set. In the bridge, I have no idea how it would sound. Back in the day, people just used two regular Super D's for killer neck solo use. I don't use them. I prefer a PAF with a Sup[er D for an all around guitar.
As for the Super 3, never had one. Isn't it supposed to be the "fatter" version of a Super D? Like that isn't fat/thick enough.
I use Tone Zones for uber thick sounds...like a Super D with "more" of everything, but not as much as an X2N which is for people who want too much of everything.
UnderTheFlame83
New member
The X2N is my favorite DiMarzio. I have an ash body RG that I been meaning to replace the Infinity 2 in. The neck has the Infinity 1. Thinking about dropping an X2N in the bridge, but I do kinda wanna try something different, too. I have 2 other guitars with X2Ns. Maybe Super 3...
CaptainWhizz
New member
My wife has a metallic red Ibanez Destroyer from when she was a teen, and at some point she’d taken the pickups out for some reason. She mostly plays bass, so had left it in pieces.
She picked it up from her parents’ house, so I decided I’d put in some new pickups for her. She loves classic rock, hard rock, and “trad” metal, so I got her a Super D for the bridge. Works for Kiss, Maiden, Def Leppard, Crue, Boston, etc. Very happy with the choice, PAF Pro in the neck, but that doesn’t get much use.
She picked it up from her parents’ house, so I decided I’d put in some new pickups for her. She loves classic rock, hard rock, and “trad” metal, so I got her a Super D for the bridge. Works for Kiss, Maiden, Def Leppard, Crue, Boston, etc. Very happy with the choice, PAF Pro in the neck, but that doesn’t get much use.
I used an X2N for years in an old Kramer, then put it in a Jackson Warrior with the Super 2. I sold the Jackson and the X2N, but I've still got the Super 2 laying around. I'll need to get another X2N eventually.
As for the Super 3, I hear it's pretty warm and beefy with a lot of mid range. I'd like to try one of those eventually, too.
beaubrummels
Well-known member
Super 3 is great in basswood or a bright guitar. Split sounds Fendery. I have not tried a super 2 - supposed to be the neck for a Super D.
devastone
Well-known member
Had an old HM Strat that came stock with the S3, totally fun pickup to play, super midgrangey and high output with tons of harmonics. Phil Collen uses them in his sig Jacksons.
The Super D is a great pickup too, the original hot replacement humbucker.
The Super 2 is eq'd to have more high end, as Ace and others have mentioned, it is supposed to be the neck position version of the Super D, I don't think I would put it in the bridge.
Straight from the DiMarzio description, but unless a guitar is really, really dark I probably wouldn't put it in the bridge:
"If you love the sound of a Super Distortion® in the bridge and you like hot neck pickups too, try a Super 2™. The Super 2™ takes the classic Super Distortion® sound and slides the EQ up in favor of the high-end, so its brighter top and lighter bottom work to balance out the darker, overtone heavy information up by the fingerboard. The Super 2™ is just the pickup to clean up the overdrive sound of a mud-heavy 24¾’’ scale, two-humbucker guitar or to add snap to a dark sounding 25½” bolt-on. It works great in the bridge or the neck."
The Super D is a great pickup too, the original hot replacement humbucker.
The Super 2 is eq'd to have more high end, as Ace and others have mentioned, it is supposed to be the neck position version of the Super D, I don't think I would put it in the bridge.
Straight from the DiMarzio description, but unless a guitar is really, really dark I probably wouldn't put it in the bridge:
"If you love the sound of a Super Distortion® in the bridge and you like hot neck pickups too, try a Super 2™. The Super 2™ takes the classic Super Distortion® sound and slides the EQ up in favor of the high-end, so its brighter top and lighter bottom work to balance out the darker, overtone heavy information up by the fingerboard. The Super 2™ is just the pickup to clean up the overdrive sound of a mud-heavy 24¾’’ scale, two-humbucker guitar or to add snap to a dark sounding 25½” bolt-on. It works great in the bridge or the neck."
Dave Locher
New member
The SD is my pickip. It is not perfect but it is great for what I like.
The Super 3 is fat and dull. I would try it in a Strat but in a Gibson-scale guitar it has no bite.
I would love to try a Super 2 in the bridge of a dull guitar I own but I'm not willing to buy one just to try. I suspect it would be hard to flip.
The Super 3 is fat and dull. I would try it in a Strat but in a Gibson-scale guitar it has no bite.
I would love to try a Super 2 in the bridge of a dull guitar I own but I'm not willing to buy one just to try. I suspect it would be hard to flip.
Super3 is great in a tight bright guitar. Maple/AlderAsh/Ebony/OFR guitars are the right match for it. I would not go with a super3 if there is mahogany, rosewood, basswood, no trem, ect.. It can get dull and congested easily in the wrong guitar,,,,,,,and of course the amp and cab matter too.
SuperD is the LP-type medium-hot ceramic for hard-rock and metal guys who insist on using those relics.
Overall it's a much better balance of mid-chunk yet still a little open at the same time.
Is there even a wrong type of guitar for the superD? Not really.
It doesn't do the warm buttery a2 tones, at least not very well.
SuperD is the LP-type medium-hot ceramic for hard-rock and metal guys who insist on using those relics.
Overall it's a much better balance of mid-chunk yet still a little open at the same time.
Is there even a wrong type of guitar for the superD? Not really.
It doesn't do the warm buttery a2 tones, at least not very well.
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ColeJustesen
New member
I had a Super 3 in a Jackson Stars Soloist (ash body, maple neck, ebony fretboard) and it was awesome! I only removed it because a buddy thought the Fluence Modern set would be better. If I were to go back to passive, it would get the Super 3 or a Parallel Axis Distortion Trembucker. It is a mid heavy pickup.
The Super D is more of a chameleon, in that it can fit in multiple setups. It sounds excellent in a a Les Paul type wood configuration though. It isn't nearly as tight as a Super 3, but it is no slouch. I found it very musical, and it always just sounded right in every scenario.
I had a Super 2 in a Yamaha AES720 years ago, and it was just too bright for me. That guitar was completely mahogany with a rosewood fretboard, and it was too strident for me. The overall tone was good, just bright.
Cole
The Super D is more of a chameleon, in that it can fit in multiple setups. It sounds excellent in a a Les Paul type wood configuration though. It isn't nearly as tight as a Super 3, but it is no slouch. I found it very musical, and it always just sounded right in every scenario.
I had a Super 2 in a Yamaha AES720 years ago, and it was just too bright for me. That guitar was completely mahogany with a rosewood fretboard, and it was too strident for me. The overall tone was good, just bright.
Cole
