Dimarzio user looking for recommendations

[bhuether]

All my guitars have Dimarzios and so I figure I owe SD a chance.

I play most instrumental rock. I currently use Dimarzio high output pickups. Nothing super high output. High enough for great lead tone in hard rock, glam rock setting and also good for blues. Nice sounding coil tapping and parallel sound is also huge plus and sweet clean sound is a must.

I have mahogany bodied guitars (2 with rosewood one with ebony). Pretty strong mids and lows so I am not looking for a pickup that will send the bass out of control.

I also don't like blade pickups.

I prefer humbuckers.

Looking for good recommendations for neck and bridge.

For neck I like smooth but high enough output to still pull off harmonics. And I don't like the flabby, loose sound of some neck pickups. I like smoothness, but not smooth to the point of being undefined. My ideal neck tone is Steve Vai at the beginning of For The Love God. Also Satriani's neck tone is quite nice.

For bridge, I like articulation and ease of harmonics. I don't want a pickup that is going to sound nasally like a wah pedal. I see such descriptions of pickups often and think to myself how I would never want such a pickup.

thanks,

brian

 

[Nagarajah725]

Re: Dimarzio user looking for recommendations

full shred neck and JB bridge.

or

Jazz neck full shred bridge

 

[bhuether]

Re: Dimarzio user looking for recommendations

Do they sell specific neck versions of Full Shred? I don't see any on zzounds.com - I just see generic Full Shred. But neck versionos of pickups tend to be lower output so I want to make sure I get the correct ones.

thanks,

brian

 

[Mark Cearlock]

Re: Dimarzio user looking for recommendations

Do they sell specific neck versions of Full Shred? I don't see any on zzounds.com - I just see generic Full Shred. But neck versionos of pickups tend to be lower output so I want to make sure I get the correct ones.

thanks,

brian

http://www.shop.wymoreguitars.com/main.sc

http://www.guitarpartsresource.com/

These places should have what you need. I used to shop at zzounds till I found these places.

 

[alex1fly]

Re: Dimarzio user looking for recommendations

jb can sound good in the neck too. dont forget you can put hex screws in w/e pickup you choose for more articulation ala satch and vai.

 

[Luke Duke]

Re: Dimarzio user looking for recommendations

Brian, first and foremost.....welcome to the forum!

Jazz neck full shred bridge

That's what I'm thinking, if not a set of Full Shreds.


The Jazz is going to give articulation, but you can also get a smoother old school sound with a tone knob adjustment. Brian if it tells you anything the Jazz is capable of cleaning up the muddiest LP without being harsh or brittle.
It has a little bit of quack like an alnico 5 PAF, but is more refined on the low end. I could definitely see the Jazz pulling of For the Love of God.

For the bridge I'd definitely consider the FS because it's voiced on the brighter side so you can put it in a dark sounding guitar and have fairly tight bass with little tweaking. It's also crunchy so you get very nice harmonics.

Luke

 

[austin]

Re: Dimarzio user looking for recommendations

If you're looking for high-gain yumminess, I recently (a few weeks ago), put a Duncan Custom in the neck position of my guitar and it is the best high gain neck pickup I've ever used. Not even a hint of muddiness contrary to what the specs might make you think. It also sounds good clean as a humbucker (fairly dark, so you'd have to eq for that) and splits great. Pairs nicely with a Custom Custom in the bridge, but I'm going to try out a Custom8. I'm expecting it to be a very nice combo!

-Austin

 

[der scheiss]

Re: Dimarzio user looking for recommendations

Full Shred Set or Jazz neck FS bridge for lower neck output. Full Shreds were designed for short scale mahogany. Insane crunch. As much gain as you can throw at them and they wont get muddy. Work great detuned also. Mine are never coming out of my Les Paul.

 

[alex1fly]

Re: Dimarzio user looking for recommendations

i've heard a great rendition of For The Love Of God with the Full Shred. all of your descriptions/requirements point to the FS.

 

[Gplayerzzz]

Re: Dimarzio user looking for recommendations

I'm so tempted to get the FS myself. I keep hearing it has great harmonics and crunch.

 

[xxxplorer]

Re: Dimarzio user looking for recommendations

I would not recommend the C5, CC, 59 or DD... I have used all those, and don't really do what you want (the DD 'could' but a little harsh). While I have never tried the FS, it sounds like what you want.

Also consider the Demon or the PG... both crunchy and harmonically rich.

Then there is the 78... different league all together!

 

[bhuether]

Re: Dimarzio user looking for recommendations

I see some people sell what is labeled SH-10N but the description is same as the SH-10. I can't tell if what I would be getting is truly a neck pickup (i.e. with lower output than a bridge model).

I definitely want to get one of these but the neck version seems like somewhat of an enigma...

I think I will get the Jazz neck as well. JB sounds intriguing. Guess I'll sell some of my other pickups.

Someone said the Full Shred is most similar to Dimarzio sound. I am not necessarily after a Dimarzio sound. In fact I was hoping SDs had a different character. But what matters most is suitability for what I play.

thanks,

brian

 

[Luke Duke]

Re: Dimarzio user looking for recommendations

I see some people sell what is labeled SH-10N but the description is same as the SH-10. I can't tell if what I would be getting is truly a neck pickup (i.e. with lower output than a bridge model).

I definitely want to get one of these but the neck version seems like somewhat of an enigma...

With SD N is universally denoting the "neck" model. There isn't a different description for the N models to my knowledge

I think I will get the Jazz neck as well. JB sounds intriguing. Guess I'll sell some of my other pickups.

The JB jazz combo is HARD to beat. That combo is what built SD...but the JB is the most well know pickup out there. It is voiced FOR lead guitar, just like a Vintage 30 is voiced FOR lead guitar. The JB has the high mid kick in the teeth.

Someone said the Full Shred is most similar to Dimarzio sound. I am not necessarily after a Dimarzio sound. In fact I was hoping SDs had a different character. But what matters most is suitability for what I play.

thanks,

brian

Most guys will tell you SD's pups generally sound a little more open or "organic" and let the wood play a larger part in the overall tone your amp gets. So even with the FS I still see a degree of transparence.

Luke

 

[bhuether]

Re: Dimarzio user looking for recommendations

Cool. I can't wait to try them out! I think I will get a JB/Jazz pair and a FS pair. Wish I could find this stuff used but used prices are not much lower than new!

later,

brian