dimarzio vs duncan

[Jessie's ghost]

Re: dimarzio vs duncan

Here's a question for you guys who've really tried a lot of pickups from the different manufacturers: Does it seem like some of the generalities people make about DiMarzio vs. Duncan are bogus? For example, "DiMarzio pickups are for shredders, while Seymour Duncan pickups are for blues and classic rock." Do any of those generalizations you've heard along those lines, just ring false for you?

 

[TheLivingDead]

Re: dimarzio vs duncan

Yes they do. ^

BUT, as far as I can tell, Duncans seem to gel better with mahogany.

Maybe it's just me.

 

[verbotenco]

Re: dimarzio vs duncan

I like both. But I hate EMGs cause they look incapable with plain black cover, and they seem to be less famous or widespread than Duncan and Dimarzio. The only important people I can recall using EMGs are Kirk Hammett and Zakk Wylde. Plus, the selection seems to be not as comprehensive as the other two. I only know 81 and 85, and HZ.

 

[SirJackdeFuzz]

Re: dimarzio vs duncan

Of the entire current production DiMarzio's there is ONE Tele set that i like, as aposed to sooo many diff Duncan units that i LOVE !

 

[75lespaul]

Re: dimarzio vs duncan

The Duncan pickups seem to fit what I need or want most of the time. However, The Super Distortion is my first love and I'll always have one somewhere.

 

[Inkvizitor]

Re: dimarzio vs duncan

I like both, as well as EMGs. Need to get me some Wilde Bills and Bare Knuckles to try sometime. The latter will wait though, until they become as affordable used as the SD/DM's are. Sorry I'm not paying the prices they ask.

 

[zenmindbeginner]

Re: dimarzio vs duncan

DiMarzio makes some great pickups but doesn't have the classic designs like Seymour Duncan does. The '59, JB, Distortion, Custom line & Seth Lover are the benchmark mass produced pickups that all pickups are measured against. Larry just has the Super Distortion and PAF... There's really no comparison. That said, the DP101 and DP103 are great pickups, the 70's models have mucho mojo (I collect old DZ PAFs).

The current line-up of DiMarzio pickups sound sort of wet or processed when compared to Seymour Duncans almost dry and un-processed sound. The Norton is an amazing pickup, but I like the JB better. I collect JBs too FWIW.

The Area and Injector lines are outstanding pickups and I fill almost every single coil slot that I can with em'. They have no real comparable out there.

Alas, DiMarzio has no custom shop and their user forum is so lame, I simply can't put it into words.

Duncan for the WIN!!!!!!

 

[Khriss Bliss]

Re: dimarzio vs duncan

I... Didnt know... a thread could hibernate for four years and bounce back with so much life. For that reason alone, i vote Duncan since the name means unpretentious, earnest quality, which is reflected in this superb, surprising forum as well as the pickups ive tried. Also, the Liberator and the active pot, and new hybrid Gus G set shows how mega Seym Dunc Inc still is, heading into the gtr of tomorrow. In fact i wonder if theres no better objective scrutiny and love of Dimarzios than on this duncan forum.

But really, pitting Dunc vs Dmarz is like pitting Aceman vs. Iceman ....hey, that reminds me..

 

[blueman335]

Re: dimarzio vs duncan

Here's a question for you guys who've really tried a lot of pickups from the different manufacturers: Does it seem like some of the generalities people make about DiMarzio vs. Duncan are bogus? For example, "DiMarzio pickups are for shredders, while Seymour Duncan pickups are for blues and classic rock." Do any of those generalizations you've heard along those lines, just ring false for you?

Both manufacturers target a number of genres, and in creative ways. I like that. Seymour has a particular love and appreciation for PAF's, which is why I have more Duncans than anything else. Maybe Seymour is a little more 'old school' in his tastes. If I played metal (God forbid) I might have more DMz's. But as it is, DMz makes some PU's that work well for the blues and classic rock I play, and Duncan makes some that are great for metal. It's only natural that both product lines aren't a mirror image. Each has some areas they're delved into further. Almost all makers of high quality PU's have models I would like, and some that I wouldn't.

I don't agree with with guys who say all DMz's have a certain sound or quality or that Duncans do. There's so much variety in both of their product lines that you can't generalize. They both make high quality PU's, and something in each of their lines will appeal everybody, which is their goal. Mission accomplished.

 

[Khriss Bliss]

Re: dimarzio vs duncan

Okay, im a little slow, but if i got this right...
Some " guest" named shogunlegend posted this poll...? ...way back, when Hillary & Giuliani were battlin' fer the White House...? Before Call of Duty II or The Dark Knight? Before bottled water...?
But it died,... And came back to life, 4 yrs later...?
Does shogunlegend even play guitar anymore, or is he some cubicle-bot?
Yet, ever so poignantly, his dialectical musings live on to capture our imagination... "Dunc or Dmarz?"...
This is like a Star Trek episode.

 

[Laughing Kookaburra]

Re: dimarzio vs duncan

I wonder whatever became of shogunlegend. Hmmmmmm.......:33::dunno:

Didn't he have another identity or two?

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Re: dimarzio vs duncan

I've hardly tried any Dimarzio's ...a single sized blade humbucker (don't know the model) that did'nt have the output/tone I was looking for and an Evo which was nice but not special. Can't get them (Dmz's) off ebay, since they're restricted (no international sales). Buying them locally is too expensive. I've actually always wanted to try an X2N and I've heard a lot about the Tone Zone that appeals....maybe someday.

Duncan's, on the other hand, I've tried a whole lot of them and they've always been great...sometimes amazing. So Duncan it is for me

 

[dominus]

Re: dimarzio vs duncan

Can't get them (Dmz's) off ebay, since they're restricted (no international sales).

That's just the seller's prerogative. I put up a bunch of Dimarzios the other day, and three of them sold to international buyers.

 

[ToneScavenger]

Re: dimarzio vs duncan

In my personal opinion, for some reason I always favored the sound of the DiMarzios on the neck and the Seymour Duncans on the Bridge. Pickup choice it's a very difficult subject, as difficult as which is the best guitar wood or fretboard wood and all those other subjects. My personal choices for pickups are Screamin' Demons, Custom 5's, PATB-1 and Pearly Gates at the bridge and Dimarzio Humbucker from Hell, The Chopper, Fast Tracks and Paf Joe's on the neck. Not that I don't like DiMarzio Bridge pickups or Seymour Duncan neck pickups... it's just that the oposite is what has really worked for me. I also love the fact that DiMarzio and Seymour Duncan barely ever get in each other's way as far as pickup sound goes. Those two brands compose the universe in pickup sound, and then EMG with their actives.

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Re: dimarzio vs duncan

That's just the seller's prerogative. I put up a bunch of Dimarzios the other day, and three of them sold to international buyers.

That's strange I tried a couple of ebay sellers who told me that DiMarzio has prohibited authorized dealers in the USA to ship anything overseas...that even includes pots and stuff. It's the same with EMG.

There's no such problem with Duncans thankfully. But it's good to know that Dimarzio do ship overseas. I'll keep that in mind when I need new pup's.

 

[bancika]

Re: dimarzio vs duncan

dimarzio does prohibit export to countries that have their own authorized dealers. I was able to order to Serbia once many years, but that seller later wouldn't want to ship more. All others I asked said the same. And prices at the dealer are almost double the prices in the states.
Btw, it's not fair to post polls like this on SD forum, of course that most people with vote for SD Of course they are both great, but some prefer one or the other. I'm more for dimarzio, simply because I liked all the pickups I tried and all the guitarists I like use them (except for Blackmore). On the other hand, I've tried only few duncans and didn't like any. Maybe I just tried wrong models, but just didn't feel right. And I wanted to like JbJr, it was in my guitar for months.
Cheers

 

[Quencho092]

Re: dimarzio vs duncan

Ever since I started using all duncans, my articulation acutally mattered WAY MORE and playing guitar has become more fun.

I haven't tried dimarzio's besides a friend of mine's RG, but they weren't my kind of pups, a bit dead sounding and lacking treble. No other guitar that I've tried takes me where I want to go like my duncan loaded strat.

 

[Mosher Zone]

Re: dimarzio vs duncan

I voted Duncan cause the only Dimarzio i have is the Super Distortion & prefer my Duncan pickups over that.

 

[verbotenco]

Re: dimarzio vs duncan

No question, it would be DiMarzio.

Much wider spectrum of tones, both "vintage" and "modern" that matches up much better in a wider variety of instrument types and configurations, IMO/IME.

I find Duncans way too similar sounding..especially among the PAF variants and the higher output pickups are irritating to get excellent lead and rhythm tones out of one amp setting, IME. That said, the ones I do care for, like the SH5 and lately the Jazz neck, I like ALOT.

You are certainly in the wrong side of the world man...ha..ha...!!!

 

[jestre700]

Re: dimarzio vs duncan

They both make good product. I've had pickups from both companies that I've liked, and a couple that I didn't like so much. I think the "DiMarzio=modern" comes from the flexibility they get with things like the "unequal coils in buckers" patent. This allows sounds that you can't get with equal winds, and some extra flexibility, like buckers that split well without being overpowering as buckers. Of course, you can always "roll your own".

Having said that, I am disgusted with DiMarzio's legal maneuvers and will never buy a new DiMarzio pickup. Obviously my one vote matters little, but there ya go. I can get what I need with Duncan. Plus, I've become a Parker nut and they come with Duncans... ;-)