DiMarzio vs. Seymour Duncan

[rafsza]

Re: DiMarzio vs. Seymour Duncan

Wow, I didn't know I deserve such a harsh punishment. I didn't realize I was in a zombie-thread. I'm sorry if my remark based on my different experience was so rude. It looks like I unintentionally rekindled some zombie war. I'm not a regular visitor to this unique (unbiased) fan site. I visit it only if I need some information before buying new pickups. Lately I visited it after googling at random, exclusively by reason of my educational purposes and curiosity. I know my ignorance of all pickup lines is regrettable and I confess I'm more a guitar and effects pedal collector, technician and home recording studio enthusiast than a honorable guitar player. At least my apartment walls are decorated by guitars equipped with Gibson 490R, 490T, Mighty Mite MMTLP-R and MMTLP-L Telecaster, Fender Stratocaster, Seymour Duncan SH-1n, SH-2n, TB-4, TB-11 and STK-S4m, DiMarzio DP153 FRED, DP158 Evolution neck, DP213 PAF Joe, DP215 Evo 2 Bridge, DP216 Mo’ Joe, DP219 D Activator Neck, DP227 LiquiFire, DP228 Crunch Lab, Evolution ISCV2 pickups and B.C. Rich B.D.S.M. pickups which will appropriately be replaced after my next internet research, and I ordered Gibson Burstbuckers for my Epiphone SG just to satisfy my curiosity. My drawers are full of pickups and my shelves are full of effects pedals I bought or did by myself as well as my tube amps. So I am for sound diversity, which I consider to be inspiring and personal. I'm no fanatic burdened by ownership of a single product like some others. Despite the fact that my favorite guitarist is Satriani, who plays mostly DiMarzio pickups, I'm willing to admit that something has been changed in the recent years and the current sound trend goes more for Duncans. It is not a question which brand is better. This hopefully is my constructive observation based on statistics and math. Please correct or ignore me if I am wrong but don't stone me again.

FIY I live in Slovakia not in Slevecia (as somebody noted in this thread), which is connected to this forum by satellites. I don't blame anybody for not knowing where it is. Neither US generals could find it on the European map when the Slovakian president declared the war on USA during the Second World War. Fortunately Slovak National Uprising ended this funny episode and the Hitler's quisling was condemned to the gallows. I hope you found it entertaining, though it was out of topic too.

 

[thanaton]

Re: DiMarzio vs. Seymour Duncan

The main difference between DiMarzio and Seymour Duncan, from what I've observed, is that DiMarzio has patented some "innovations", such as using rubber washers in place of wood and metal spacers in their humbuckers, they often wind one coil with thicker wire, and one with thinner wire, and they stuff the plastic bobbins with extra ferrous metal. Aside from those differences, the majority of both companies catalog is made up of PAF style knock off pickups that differ in terms of inductance, or in more subtle ways, such as hex screws versus slugs and flat head screws. The differences don't put one catalog in one category of sound, and the other in another, there will be a lot of sonic overlap between the two catalogs. Any broad statement about "DiMarzios sound like X, Seymour Duncans sound like Y" is probably more reflective of people's bias towards the two companies, and not so much a difference in how they sound. These companies have taken a different approach to marketing pickups over the decades, and that certainly effects perception.

 

[Darg1911]

Re: DiMarzio vs. Seymour Duncan

I like some Dimarzio pickups. But the do**hebag move of trademarking a color is what I always think of first when I think about Dimarzio. I smile when I see some small winder either openly offering double creams, or subtly "advertising" them as being double cream under covers. They can't sue them all ...

 

[LtKojak]

Re: DiMarzio vs. Seymour Duncan

Wow, I didn't know I deserve such a harsh punishment

Harsh? Punishment?

Man, that was as gentle and civil as it gets...

Wanna harsh? Look for threads thanaton participate... then you'll see.

 

[greekdude]

Re: DiMarzio vs. Seymour Duncan

FIY I live in Slovakia not in Slevecia (as somebody noted in this thread), which is connected to this forum by satellites. I don't blame anybody for not knowing where it is. Neither US generals could find it on the European map when the Slovakian president declared the war on USA during the Second World War. Fortunately Slovak National Uprising ended this funny episode and the Hitler's quisling was condemned to the gallows. I hope you found it entertaining, though it was out of topic too.

Ja sam bil v Slovenskom, to je bilo sjajno i cudno !!! ( razumes?)

 

[GilmourD]

Re: DiMarzio vs. Seymour Duncan

Harsh? Punishment?

Man, that was as gentle and civil as it gets...

Wanna harsh? Look for threads thanaton participate... then you'll see.

Want harsh? Go to The Gear Page and exclaim your love for an amp that costs less than $3000 and doesn't have crystal lettuce. LOL

 

[Greg_L]

Re: DiMarzio vs. Seymour Duncan

Want harsh? Go to The Gear Page and exclaim your love for an amp that costs less than $3000 and doesn't have crystal lettuce. LOL

Ha yeah, or don't be in love with sterile generic boring blues rock covers. They lose their mind over that.

 

[Obsessive Compulsive]

Re: DiMarzio vs. Seymour Duncan

Want harsh? Go to The Gear Page and exclaim your love for an amp that costs less than $3000 and doesn't have crystal lettuce. LOL

Or to Jemsite and praise a non-Japanese Ibanez that sounds and feels as good as a Prestige. Or recommend to buy an Ibanez from other dealer than Rich...ha..ha...

 

[greekdude]

Re: DiMarzio vs. Seymour Duncan

Or to Jemsite and praise a non-Japanese Ibanez that sounds and feels as good as a Prestige. Or recommend to buy an Ibanez from other dealer than Rich...ha..ha...

Or simply forget to praise in every post how great a tech Rich is.

 

[jhale667]

Re: DiMarzio vs. Seymour Duncan

I like some Dimarzio pickups. But the do**hebag move of trademarking a color is what I always think of first when I think about Dimarzio. I smile when I see some small winder either openly offering double creams, or subtly "advertising" them as being double cream under covers. They can't sue them all ...

THIS. Trademarking a color (Gibson was using for 20 years before they knew it was cool) = lame IMO.

 

[darthphineas]

Re: DiMarzio vs. Seymour Duncan

Didn't Gibson give Larry a thumbs-up for the double cream thing?

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: DiMarzio vs. Seymour Duncan

...Gibson, who turned around and tried to trademark the silhouette shape of their guitars.

 

[DeathMetalWill]

Re: DiMarzio vs. Seymour Duncan

To me, Seymour Duncan and Dimarzio are like home made ice cream shops!

Each shop's ice cream will have differences in taste.

It all matter to what you like in ice cream

...But no matter what, there will always be that guy that tries to mix the two.

 

[darthphineas]

Re: DiMarzio vs. Seymour Duncan

...Gibson, who turned around and tried to trademark the silhouette shape of their guitars.

No doubt. Ask Paul Reed Smith how long it took Henry's lawyers to get cracking on the Singlecut. LOL!

 

[Silence Kid]

Re: DiMarzio vs. Seymour Duncan

To me, Seymour Duncan and Dimarzio are like home made ice cream shops!

Each shop's ice cream will have differences in taste.

It all matter to what you like in ice cream

...But no matter what, there will always be that guy that tries to mix the two.

Dimarzio ignores people who like Telecasters and even Strats, which is like having far fewer versions of Chocolate. They also ignore Jaguars, Jazzmasters, and a variety of other models. They ignore my favorites (pistachio.)

 

[Obsessive Compulsive]

Re: DiMarzio vs. Seymour Duncan

It doesn't really matter. Both companies have something for everybody. It's just magnet and wires ffs.

I have about 40-60 ratio of Duncan vs. Dimarzio, not because I prefer one over the other, but because my acquisitions during the last 3 years are Ibanezes, which come stock with Dimarzios. And for 'coolness' factor, Dimarzio seems to be the perfect match for Ibanez.

 

[Obsessive Compulsive]

Re: DiMarzio vs. Seymour Duncan

Dimarzio ignores people who like Telecasters and even Strats, which is like having far fewer versions of Chocolate. They also ignore Jaguars, Jazzmasters, and a variety of other models. They ignore my favorites (pistachio.)

What? Dimarzio offers a wide array of Strat pickups: The Chopper, Cruiser, HS, Blue Velvet, Red Velvet, etc. Yngwie used HS-3 for years before switching to SD.

 

[Greg_L]

Re: DiMarzio vs. Seymour Duncan

To me, Seymour Duncan and Dimarzio are like home made ice cream shops!

Each shop's ice cream will have differences in taste.

It all matter to what you like in ice cream

...But no matter what, there will always be that guy that tries to mix the two.

No, SD and Dimarzio are more like Dairy Queen and Sonic. They both make mass produced ice cream that's pretty good, it'll quench your ice cream fix, but there is better ice cream out there. And then something like Bare Knuckle comes along and makes amazing ice cream, with fresh ingredients, just for you, while you wait.

 

[Silence Kid]

Re: DiMarzio vs. Seymour Duncan

What? Dimarzio offers a wide array of Strat pickups: The Chopper, Cruiser, HS, Blue Velvet, Red Velvet, etc. Yngwie used HS-3 for years before switching to SD.

Duncan has a far greater variety of Strat and Telecaster pickups. Off the top of my head: aps, ssl-1 , hot, custom, quarter-pound (most in staggered/non,) stack plus series (three flavors of sets,) little 59, little JB, little Screamin demon, hot rail, cool rail, duckbucker, hot stack, vintage rail, Livewire, twang banger, yngwie set... Zephyr... I haven't got to any antiquity or reg. production "custom" sets either.

 

[Silence Kid]

Re: DiMarzio vs. Seymour Duncan

No, SD and Dimarzio are more like Dairy Queen and Sonic. They both make mass produced ice cream that's pretty good, it'll quench your ice cream fix, but there is better ice cream out there. And then something like Bare Knuckle comes along and makes amazing ice cream, with fresh ingredients, just for you, while you wait.

I'll give you that. But with the caution that there's a difference between real handmade ice cream and a guy who bought an ice cream kit from the Southwest Airlines catalog yesterday; a lot of small-time builders don't have the resources to apply the same level of expertise/testing as a larger, more experienced manufacturer; a lot of the smaller-time builders have the same vibe as you see on most of these forums, where users always seem to know better than the 'big guy' without really knowing the science or the business as well as they think.

I'm not commenting on Bare Knuckles at all; the contrary. But it's worthwhile to be careful when selecting from the small-time winders nowadays. The pickup market is at least less afflicted than the fuzz pedal market, for the time being.