dimarzio vs duncan

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dimarzio vs duncan


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Re: dimarzio vs duncan

Being an old school vintage guy, I chose Duncans. All the Duncans have a vintage type of flavor to them. Dimarzios all have a modern flavor. Dimarzios aren't bad, it just depends what type of sound you like.
 
Re: dimarzio vs duncan

pretty weird thread considering that this IS a duncan forum. no wonder more votes went for duncans.

Although I love duncans (especially the JB/Jazz combo), Im gonna go with Dimarzio's, since i have more experience with their pups. the Tone Zone and Evolution pickups are awesome! Also, IMO, Dimarzio has a wider range, just as JeffB have mentioned before.
 
Re: dimarzio vs duncan

I find the DMZ's mostly too vocal ,and too bassy!My picking and fingering style do not fit the DMZ PUs!
And they don't have the Parallel Axis designed PUs.
Still Drop Sonic and X2N are more "natural" sounding than th other DMZs,i still stick with PATBs and EMG60a.No DMZ sound influenced me like the PATB series did ,and the build quality was never as good as the Duncans.It looks and feeels cheaper!
 
Re: dimarzio vs duncan

For my main style of playing(being technical death/black metal with prog elements) i prefer Dimarzios because of their more modern and more individual tone(Duncan high outputs tend to be quite similar). The Evolution/Air Norton set is just perfect for what i want.
On the other hand for more vintage style playing it's hard to beat a good set of Duncans like the JD/QP set in my tele.
I don't really want to decide because i like both but if i had to pick a single manufacturer I'd go with Dimarzio.
 
Re: dimarzio vs duncan

I've found that I have stuck primarily to DiMarzios because the tone I want is a tight percussive one and for the most part, the Duncans I have tried are too soft, or if they have the tightness, the tone is off. My favourite right now is actually the IBZ pickup that is stock in my 1986 RG410. It's slanted and sounds HUGE. I think it's the "Low output" wind with the 3 ceramic magnets. Un-real.
 
Re: dimarzio vs duncan

gota go with Duncan, SD pups are more geared to a classic, vintage sound while Dimarzio is geared toward more progressive sounds, and I'm classic vintage sort of guy.
 
Re: dimarzio vs duncan

Overall, I prefer Duncans to all others; however, there are some DiMarzios I like very much.
 
Re: dimarzio vs duncan

I haven't read many of the replies to this. But isn't it alittle biased of a question for this forum? Wouldn't it be more appropriate, on, say Ultimate Guitar?

However, since you asked, I'd say Duncan. I've yet to come across a DiMarzio pickup that I like. And while there may be Duncans that I am no fan of, there are some that I would definately consider buying. Duncans, Fenders, Gretsch and Rickenbackers make some of the best pickups my ears have heard!

Maybe in the future I might hear a DiMarzio that makes me go "OOOO, I want THAT!" Until then....
 
Re: dimarzio vs duncan

For the styles I cover, I prefer a vintage tone and Duncans reign supreme in that area. As of late, I like getting my pups handwound by Zhang, to get exactly what I need.
 
Re: dimarzio vs duncan

I haven't read many of the replies to this. But isn't it alittle biased of a question for this forum? Wouldn't it be more appropriate, on, say Ultimate Guitar?

However, since you asked, I'd say Duncan. I've yet to come across a DiMarzio pickup that I like. And while there may be Duncans that I am no fan of, there are some that I would definately consider buying. Duncans, Fenders, Gretsch and Rickenbackers make some of the best pickups my ears have heard!

Maybe in the future I might hear a DiMarzio that makes me go "OOOO, I want THAT!" Until then....

why? if that's the case, then why bother discussing any other brand of pickup in these forums. you might as well erradicate all threads that have nothing to do with duncan pups. the question was about which pickup do you prefer and why. there's no bias in it. i personally like both the same.
 
Re: dimarzio vs duncan

why? if that's the case, then why bother discussing any other brand of pickup in these forums. you might as well erradicate all threads that have nothing to do with duncan pups. the question was about which pickup do you prefer and why. there's no bias in it. i personally like both the same.

I guess because it being a Duncan forum I figured it'd comprise mostly of Duncan fans, therefore biasing the results. I never said it'd be wrong to discuss other brands.

But back to the Duncan vs. DiMarzio, not only do I like Duncans more (and more of them) but I feel that Duncan is a little easier navigating and has TONS of support. Tone samples, what Res. Peak and DC Resistance are, and how they affect the tone, and my favourite, a hell of a lot of wiring diagrams. I've also had really good results with contacting Duncan staff for help.
 
Re: dimarzio vs duncan

duncan certainly has better resources, including this forum. i've personally contacted dimarzio, however, and they were very helpful too. their website lacks a lot. if i were to give either one an edge it would be dimarzio for variety and duncan for support.
 
Re: dimarzio vs duncan

Duncan has a reputation for vintagey stuff, and that's what I was looking for when I purchased my pickups. I don't really have a stated preference because I haven't tried any Dimarzios; I don't have enough money to buy any more pickups.
 
Re: dimarzio vs duncan

To be honest, I must say that Dimarzio tech support staff is also top notch, and their descriptions on the website are dead on. The technical information is a bit different (for example, there is no resonant peak, but there is output in mV), so I guess they are more or less equal with SD on this account.
The biggest plus of SD is this forum and you, guys!

I should also add that I like the artistic design of DiMarzio's site a little more than more tech-oriented design of SD's site but that's a matter of the personal taste.
 
Re: dimarzio vs duncan

To be honest, I must say that Dimarzio tech support staff is also top notch, and their descriptions on the website are dead on. The technical information is a bit different (for example, there is no resonant peak, but there is output in mV), so I guess they are more or less equal with SD on this account.
The biggest plus of SD is this forum and you, guys!

I should also add that I like the artistic design of DiMarzio's site a little more than more tech-oriented design of SD's site but that's a matter of the personal taste.



The descriptions are in fact dead on....and the fact that they list mV makes it really easy to compare their line pickup for pickup. Whenever I want a different sound I usually get exactly what I'm looking for by reading the description and looking at the EQ and output.

Only thing that Dimarzio is lacking is a forum IMO....they suck in that regard....they said years ago they would have one.
 
Re: dimarzio vs duncan

but look at it from another point of view, there is a good thing about this: since Seymour Duncan is the only major pickup company that has a forum, all of us are here. and we don't have to double post or triple post the same message on different forums. and despite of being a SD forum we always get unbiased and honest answers from our fellow forum members, be they recommending SD pickups or pickups of another manufacturer. in fact, lately I've seen a lot of threads where people were recommending Dimarzio pickups.

I personally voted for Seymour Duncan, but it was a decision of some respect, some certain feeling I have towards his pickups. I currently have no SD pickups: I've got 3 Shadows, 2 Gibsons and 2 Dimarzios. Many years ago I had a guitar with 2 HotRails and an Invader that were great at the time, but since then my taste has changed and I sold them. So I just GAS for some Seymours :) Gotta buy me a couple of Seths or Antiquities but I don't have a guitar to put them in :(
 
Re: dimarzio vs duncan

I like both but have found more of the sound that I am looking for in Dimarzios. I love the lower mids in the VHPaf, YJMs and HS-3s. I just bought a set of Virtual Vintage Solos (not the newer pro ones) for my strat. As far as the Duncan vs Dimarzio thing goes, some folks like chevys, some like fords, I like jeeps. The cool thing is this form, where we all can talk about pickups in general and not have to be just a brand x user only form. I've learned an awful lot from you guys over the years and it has all been very helpful.....I thank you all for that and please don't ever change!
 
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