Dimarzio Transition & Duncan Saturday Night Special

[SavageRiffer]

Just dropped nearly $400 on some new pickups today. For Duncans, I went with a Saturday Night Special set. For Dimarzios I went with a Transition set. Holy mother of God the Transitions are so good. They have the perfect touch response. They are not too mid heavy. Lots of clarity. They're ceramic, but not hot. I installed them so the neck can be split and so the bridge can be run in parallel.

I can't remember a time when I was awed by a set of new pickups, so I must say that the Transitions are thoroughly impressive. I sat and played with the Transitions for 2 hours straight. As much as I love my other Dimarzios, it has crossed my mind a few times while I played them that I might just want to replace all of my Dimarzios with them. They have such a great touch response that it makes everything so nice to play. Harmonics are so easy to get. You can roll the volume off a bit or even with the volume full on, the dynamics are great. You can pick very quietly and pick hard, and every detail will shine.

If you compare them to the PAF 36th's, the Transitions are very different. To me the PAF 36th's sound a little processed or something, and they make everything you play come too easily or something like that. The Transitions aren't like that. They're very natural and that's what makes them sound so good. They don't push my amp too much. In fact, they behave kind of like vintage pickups. They have such a beautiful high end. Chords sound brilliant and single notes sing so good. Yeah the Transitions are the best pickups I've come across in a long time.

The Saturday Night Specials (SNS) are interesting. As much as I like Alnico 4, I'm not digging these pickups so much. They're good pickups and I get what they're made for, but I'm just not feeling them man. I'll pick them up first thing tomorrow and see if maybe I hear them differently. It just seems like they want to give, but can only give so much. They're kind of stuck in the vintage 70's kind of thing. Maybe the output is too low or something. The Whole Lotta buckers are much more to my liking. In fact, that's probably what I'll exchange them for if after giving these a fair trial isn't satisfying.

 

[gregory]

Re: Dimarzio Transition & Duncan Saturday Night Special

I don't get all the love for Alnico 4 in this community. I've yet to hear a single pickup with an Alnico 4 that didn't make me want to barf.

 

[SavageRiffer]

Re: Dimarzio Transition & Duncan Saturday Night Special

There aren't many, but some good PAF clones out there use them and they're really great. I've used A4 in several Dimarzios which would otherwise have too much mids, low or high end, and in every case it not only improves the EQ, but it improves the touch response. A4 is a great all-purpose magnet. I'm surprised it's not used much. The SNS are good pickups, just not my preference.

 

[gregory]

Re: Dimarzio Transition & Duncan Saturday Night Special

I've swapped a few magnets and heard demos of people doing the same. Definitely not for me.

I think the Transitions sound pretty cool. I've only heard demos, but I think I have a good handle on what they are. I've been extremely curious about what the neck model sounds like in the bridge spot, but not curious enough to buy one and try it myself.

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Dimarzio Transition & Duncan Saturday Night Special

I don't get all the love for Alnico 4 in this community. I've yet to hear a single pickup with an Alnico 4 that didn't make me want to barf.

Try an Unbucker neck in an SG. That'll change your mind.

 

[gregory]

Re: Dimarzio Transition & Duncan Saturday Night Special

It'll have to sound better than the SNS, '59 A4 and SH-6N A4 and literally every demo I've ever heard of an A4 swap.

...but considering the extreme asymmetrical design, I can see how it would be possible.

 

[OsvyRock]

Re: Dimarzio Transition & Duncan Saturday Night Special

In which guitar did you install the Transition set?

I have a brand new (unopened) Transition neck here going into my Flying V + Super Distortion for the bridge.
The Transition bridge seems killer, but I wanted the good classic stuff the Super Distortion provides.

 

[SavageRiffer]

Re: Dimarzio Transition & Duncan Saturday Night Special

So update on the Saturday Night Specials... I'd like to say that I picked up the guitar the next day and loved it, but it wasn't doing a whole lot for me. It doesn't sound like a pickup designed to take advantage of the particular qualities of Alnico 4. It sounds like a pickup they put an A4 into. I think it could have been much more. Still, they're pretty good pickups if you're into a lot of 70's style classic rock and funk. I definitely like the Whole Lotta buckers more.

In which guitar did you install the Transition set?

I have a brand new (unopened) Transition neck here going into my Flying V + Super Distortion for the bridge.
The Transition bridge seems killer, but I wanted the good classic stuff the Super Distortion provides.

Suhr alder strat. Well a couple of things... First, the Transition is a brilliant pickup. It has a distinct presence which adds to much to chord clarity and single note definition. It's not a hi-fi pickup, so I'd say it does fall more in the category of vintage tones than modern tones in my opinion. It's interesting because it's has a ceramic magnet, but defies what you'd expect because it delivers such a beautiful singing overdrive. The Super Distortion is one of my favorites, but it's darker overall. The Transition isn't like a compressed high output pickup. It's rated around 390 MV output, but has a relatively low DC resistance. It's a very musical pickup that's perfect for shredding of any kind, whether it's jazz shred or rock shred. It's the best ceramic pickup I've heard that sounds so good clean.

Anyway I think the Super Distortion is in a whole different camp. It pushes your amp harder and compresses more. It has a really solid low mid punch and cutting high mids. The Transition is kind of like a Steve's Special, but without the mid scoop. The mids aren't pulled back, but rather balanced and not the usual nasally Dimarzio midrange. I think if you want classic sounds, the Transition will do all of them like a hotter PAF but still bright. It's really good if you back off of your guitars tone knob for more rounded tone. If what you're after is the more proverbial hot humbucker tone then I don't think it's going to be that fat low/mid range with cutting high end like the Super Distortion. If you want to go between the Transition and the Super Distortion then the Titan is probably your choice. It's kinda like the Super Distortion but with the mids and low end more balanced.

By the way, I'll bet a 250k pot would be really good if you want to tame the Transition just a little.

 

[Discharged]

Re: Dimarzio Transition & Duncan Saturday Night Special

I don't get all the love for Alnico 4 in this community. I've yet to hear a single pickup with an Alnico 4 that didn't make me want to barf.

"De gustibus non disputandum est"
- Gaius Iulius Caesar, Roman dictator from October 49 BC to 15 March 44 BC

 

[OsvyRock]

Re: Dimarzio Transition & Duncan Saturday Night Special

So update on the Saturday Night Specials... I'd like to say that I picked up the guitar the next day and loved it, but it wasn't doing a whole lot for me. It doesn't sound like a pickup designed to take advantage of the particular qualities of Alnico 4. It sounds like a pickup they put an A4 into. I think it could have been much more. Still, they're pretty good pickups if you're into a lot of 70's style classic rock and funk. I definitely like the Whole Lotta buckers more.



Suhr alder strat. Well a couple of things... First, the Transition is a brilliant pickup. It has a distinct presence which adds to much to chord clarity and single note definition. It's not a hi-fi pickup, so I'd say it does fall more in the category of vintage tones than modern tones in my opinion. It's interesting because it's has a ceramic magnet, but defies what you'd expect because it delivers such a beautiful singing overdrive. The Super Distortion is one of my favorites, but it's darker overall. The Transition isn't like a compressed high output pickup. It's rated around 390 MV output, but has a relatively low DC resistance. It's a very musical pickup that's perfect for shredding of any kind, whether it's jazz shred or rock shred. It's the best ceramic pickup I've heard that sounds so good clean.

Anyway I think the Super Distortion is in a whole different camp. It pushes your amp harder and compresses more. It has a really solid low mid punch and cutting high mids. The Transition is kind of like a Steve's Special, but without the mid scoop. The mids aren't pulled back, but rather balanced and not the usual nasally Dimarzio midrange. I think if you want classic sounds, the Transition will do all of them like a hotter PAF but still bright. It's really good if you back off of your guitars tone knob for more rounded tone. If what you're after is the more proverbial hot humbucker tone then I don't think it's going to be that fat low/mid range with cutting high end like the Super Distortion. If you want to go between the Transition and the Super Distortion then the Titan is probably your choice. It's kinda like the Super Distortion but with the mids and low end more balanced.

By the way, I'll bet a 250k pot would be really good if you want to tame the Transition just a little.

Hey! I really appreciate you have taken your time to reply to me. Amazing review!
I believe my Flying V has 1meg pot inside. I really like the clarity. Maybe ''piercing'' for some, but I can manage it well.
Let's see how it goes with the Super D + Transition neck combination. The tech guy at Dimarzio recommended it. Others recommended PAF36's & PAF Pro's.
If I feel something wrong, I'll change them out in the near future. Maybe even trade for one of the Titans my guitar tech has for sale. I really appreciate your in between Transition & Super D comment of the Titans. Never expected something like that!

I hope to be reviewing soon!

 

[jmcorey]

Re: Dimarzio Transition & Duncan Saturday Night Special

I tried the Transitions in an EBMM Luke III, and as full humbuckers, they were lacking in treble response. They were good when parallel in positions 2 (inner coils) and 4 (outer coils). I really wanted to like them, but didn't.

 

[SavageRiffer]

Re: Dimarzio Transition & Duncan Saturday Night Special

I tried the Transitions in an EBMM Luke III, and as full humbuckers, they were lacking in treble response. They were good when parallel in positions 2 (inner coils) and 4 (outer coils). I really wanted to like them, but didn't.

No way they lack in treble response. They're fairly bright pickups. Something amiss in your scenario there I think.

 

[jmcorey]

Re: Dimarzio Transition & Duncan Saturday Night Special

No way they lack in treble response. They're fairly bright pickups. Something amiss in your scenario there I think.

The Luke III may have 250k controls....

 

[sedawkgrep]

Re: Dimarzio Transition & Duncan Saturday Night Special

I tried the Transitions in an EBMM Luke III, and as full humbuckers, they were lacking in treble response. They were good when parallel in positions 2 (inner coils) and 4 (outer coils). I really wanted to like them, but didn't.

My bandmate had the SBMM Luke 3 model with the Transitions and his tones across all five positions were superb. He gigs all night on a 2-channel dual rectifier with a handful of pedals to change up the tone, so nothing exotic to radically compensate for 2/4 vs. 1/3/5 tones like you could achieve with a Axe/Kemper/Helix/etc.

 

[Masta' C]

Re: Dimarzio Transition & Duncan Saturday Night Special

I think the Transitions are among the more balanced and clear sounding pickups from DiMarzio's current era that aren't compressed or voiced in an overly modern way. Expressive, full and really versatile.

However, if you have a guitar with a weak or thin sounding top end to start with, the Transitions won't really add fullness where you need it up top. Thicker strings and a little heavier attack on the thinner strings can help. In fact, if you watch his style, Steve Lukather tends to dig into the 1st & 2nd strings a bit more than all of the others. But, the particular guitar they're in plays a bigger part in how they will sound than some of DiMarzio's other, hotter and more compressed designs.

 

[OsvyRock]

Re: Dimarzio Transition & Duncan Saturday Night Special

I think the Transitions are among the more balanced and clear sounding pickups from DiMarzio's current era that aren't compressed or voiced in an overly modern way. Expressive, full and really versatile.

However, if you have a guitar with a weak or thin sounding top end to start with, the Transitions won't really add fullness where you need it up top. Thicker strings and a little heavier attack on the thinner strings can help. In fact, if you watch his style, Steve Lukather tends to dig into the 1st & 2nd strings a bit more than all of the others. But, the particular guitar they're in plays a bigger part in how they will sound than some of DiMarzio's other, hotter and more compressed designs.

They don't really sound muddy at all?
I heard jazzy/ compressed sound out of the online videos. The bridge definitely sounds like the best pickup of the set! Not much talk about the neck humbucker...

 

[SavageRiffer]

Re: Dimarzio Transition & Duncan Saturday Night Special

I think the Transitions are among the more balanced and clear sounding pickups from DiMarzio's current era that aren't compressed or voiced in an overly modern way. Expressive, full and really versatile.

However, if you have a guitar with a weak or thin sounding top end to start with, the Transitions won't really add fullness where you need it up top. Thicker strings and a little heavier attack on the thinner strings can help. In fact, if you watch his style, Steve Lukather tends to dig into the 1st & 2nd strings a bit more than all of the others. But, the particular guitar they're in plays a bigger part in how they will sound than some of DiMarzio's other, hotter and more compressed designs.

I think that's a fair assessment that I can generally agree with. However, it doesn't lack fullness and isn't thin. It just doesn't have the overload of mids that people are accustomed to from Dimarzio pickups. It's a lot like the Steve's Special which is mid-scooped, but it isn't mid-scooped. It's actually got a lot of mids, but less low-mids than say a Tone Zone or Air Norton.

They don't really sound muddy at all?
I heard jazzy/ compressed sound out of the online videos. The bridge definitely sounds like the best pickup of the set! Not much talk about the neck humbucker...

I guess everyone hears things differently, but I'm not sure if you're confusing the pickup with the compression from the amp, pedals, etc. It's a pretty open pickup. If it was so compressed, it wouldn't have this kind of clarity and dynamics. Compression is something that takes away dynamics, but you can easily get volume/gain variance just by gripping the pick softly or firm. It's has a fairly high output on paper, but it's really not the kind of pickup that pushes your amp into overdrive like most high-output pickups do. Listen to the clean sounds and you won't think it's compressed.

As for the neck, well it's exceptional. It's got a nice natural sound. You can hear the wood of your guitar and the nuance you'd expect in a neck humbucker. It's articulate and warm. In a way, it has kind of an Air Norton quality to it, but it also reminds of the Duncan Jazz neck a bit too. There's nothing to really criticize about it as it's just a great, all-around neck pickup. It sounds great clean all the way through heavy drive. It's hard to make this pickup sound bad.

Muddy, no way. Very articulate and clear in both bridge and neck. You can dime the distortion on your amp and it will never get muddy. The clarity is exceptional considering these are fairly organic sounding pickups. A lot of pickups that retain definition with heavy driven amps can sound sterile, but the Transition is organic.

 

[fusionid]

Re: Dimarzio Transition & Duncan Saturday Night Special

The transition pickups are outstanding in how vintage they sound. I agree the neck pick up resembles an air norton and feels closer to a single coil when used with distortion. Bridge has the paf sound but for some reason feels smoother than the 36th. I have them in my Luke III.

 

[gregory]

Re: Dimarzio Transition & Duncan Saturday Night Special

Again, it seems like the neck model has the makings for an excellent bridge pickup.

 

[jmcorey]

Re: Dimarzio Transition & Duncan Saturday Night Special

Again, it seems like the neck model has the makings for an excellent bridge pickup.

So, Gregory, what neck humbucker would you use to go with it?