Dimarzio YJM/HS3 pickups

[Stratovarious]

Im wondering if anyone has these, and what they think of them?

Malmsteen definetly has one of my favourite tones ever, behind Eddie Van Halen and Ritchie Blackmore

so yeah what do you guys think about them?

I dont specifically want them to get the malmsteen sound, but they are noiseless, and warm sounding, so im interested naturally

 

[walt]

Re: Dimarzio YJM/HS3 pickups

They are very low output, allowing the amp to do the work. I have 2 strats with them and like them very much, however they dont have a traditional strat clean tone. If you are after the traditional strat tone, I won't bother with these as they seem to work very well with ROCK/METAL. They work very well with an old 250 preamp with the 741 chip or you can buy a new one and send it to analogman for a "grey mod". Mike Spitzer also helped me (Mike is Yngwie's old guitar tech/manager) also with suggesting which mod to get (very cool guy). You can read about the mod and hear a sample of it here:

www.analogman.com

Good luck

Walt

 

[Stratovarious]

Re: Dimarzio YJM/HS3 pickups

thanks man

of course I know bout the low output, Ive read heaps about them, I just want to see what people who have used them think of them


so do you like em walt?

 

[jaxadam]

Re: Dimarzio YJM/HS3 pickups

I have 'em, and I'm not a huge fan of them. Very low output. I like the FS-1 more.

 

[Martian]

Re: Dimarzio YJM/HS3 pickups

I've used them and personally, I find them flat, weak and just plain boring.

IMO, if preamping a pickup and/or cranking the amp is the only thing that's going to make a pickup sound good or even half way decent, then it's time to choose a different pickup.

 

[pedalinbob]

Re: Dimarzio YJM/HS3 pickups

They are very low output, allowing the amp to do the work. I have 2 strats with them and like them very much, however they dont have a traditional strat clean tone. If you are after the traditional strat tone, I won't bother with these as they seem to work very well with ROCK/METAL. They work very well with an old 250 preamp with the 741 chip or you can buy a new one and send it to analogman for a "grey mod". Mike Spitzer also helped me (Mike is Yngwie's old guitar tech/manager) also with suggesting which mod to get (very cool guy). You can read about the mod and hear a sample of it here:

www.analogman.com

Good luck

Walt

Nicely stated, Walt.

Yes, Mike is very cool, and a darn good musician as well. He is VERY knowlegeable helpful.
He had me check out the Bumbox amp (located in Toledo about 50 miles from my home) which is like a mini-Marshall. WONDERFUL amp...gotta save my pennies.
He has also helped with guitar setup, effects, etc.

 

[walt]

Re: Dimarzio YJM/HS3 pickups

thanks man

of course I know bout the low output, Ive read heaps about them, I just want to see what people who have used them think of them


so do you like em walt?

Yes I do like them a lot. Very cool pickup for doing Hendrix/Blackmore and of course Yngwie type stuff.

In response to the "preamping your pickup" comment, all I can say is that we all know that an amplifier is made up of 2 sections; a pre amp and power amp. A lower output pickup like the hs3/yjm, 59 or any paf style pickup allows you the option of "stacking" preamps (ex. the 2 headed marshall stacks we've all been accustom to seeing at many rock concerts) or if you can't afford the multiple marshalls, then using an overdrive pedal works as well, resulting in a tone that is overdriven but still very articulate. Many of the most memoriable tones in rock/metal history were accomplished this way. Eddie VanHalen and Yngwie Malmsteen are proof of this.

 

[Johnny Q]

Re: Dimarzio YJM/HS3 pickups

I'm curious why everyone (inc Yngwie himself) refer to these as low output when the Dimarzio website lists the DC resistence as 23.72K ????

 

[sufferinrewind]

Re: Dimarzio YJM/HS3 pickups

I'm curious why everyone (inc Yngwie himself) refer to these as low output when the Dimarzio website lists the DC resistence as 23.72K ????

It's been said loads of times. DC Resistance doesn't equal output.

The output on those is 93 mV. The output on the X2N is 510 mV at 15k DC Resisance. The Super 2 has an output of 425 mV but it's DC Resistance is only 8.7k. You'd figure with a DC Resistance of 8.7k, it'd be like a PAF. But, it's got double the output of a PAF.

So, the lesson is, DC Resistance doesn't equal output.

 

[Stratovarious]

Re: Dimarzio YJM/HS3 pickups

Very cool pickup for doing Hendrix/Blackmore

You just made my day

 

[jaxadam]

Re: Dimarzio YJM/HS3 pickups

I wouldn't recommend that pickup unless you plan on banging on your guitar with a hammer.

 

[Stratovarious]

Re: Dimarzio YJM/HS3 pickups

I wouldn't recommend that pickup unless you plan on banging on your guitar with a hammer.

what do you mean

 

[jaxadam]

Re: Dimarzio YJM/HS3 pickups

I mean that pickup sucks unless you beat the **** out of your strings to get a sound out of it.

I have three identical guitars here, set up exactly the same. One has a FS-1, one has a HS-2, and one a HS-3.

The one with the FS-1 rocks. That pickup sounds GREAT.

The other two, when you switch to the pickup mentioned, it totally dies. End of story. It's like watching an action packed movie in high def, and then changing the channel and putting it on mute, then closing your eyes and taking 4 shots of tequila.

 

[Jester700]

Re: Dimarzio YJM/HS3 pickups

It's true that DC resistance does not equal output, but these particular pups show this idea more radically than most, and here's why: The resistance is so high because there are 2 stacked coils that are wound pretty much the same. But the magnets only pass through the top one, and so that's the only one that actually generates signal. The bottom coil is just a "dummy" coil that adds no signal, but does buck the hum. It also loads the circuit, so that you actually get more output (and better tone, IMO) when you DISCONNECT the bottom coil and only use the one coil. Of course, then you get hum.

 

[Stratovarious]

Re: Dimarzio YJM/HS3 pickups

but thats because you havent matched them well I mean a guitar with 3 YJMs or HS3's will sound good whatever position and it will sound consistent, volume wise and all that,

 

[Farkus]

Re: Dimarzio YJM/HS3 pickups

I'm a fan of YJM, but I avoid these pickups. I've had lots of experience with HS-3's and played with a set of YJM's for about 6 months. Personally, I found the HS-3's to sound MUCH better when split to single coil mode.

I don't like these pickups (HS-3's or YJM's) because:
1. They don't sound natural to me at all. The dynamics just don't come off when you ease up on the pick attack.
2. They have way too much microphonics to be used with high gain.
3. They are very weak, so don't count on them to overdrive the amp at all. (Which is solved if you use a pedal like YJM).

To me they made my Strats sound like cardboard. I use Chubtones now (true singles) and they're a huge improvement.

This is my $0.02 worth, but they didn't work well for me.

 

[walt]

Re: Dimarzio YJM/HS3 pickups

but thats because you havent matched them well I mean a guitar with 3 YJMs or HS3's will sound good whatever position and it will sound consistent, volume wise and all that,

You have to have closely matching pickups in a set espeically with the YJM/HS3. It's like putting a ssl-1 in the neck and middle and a dimebucker or invader in the bridge and expecting them to balance out. You can mix the HS3 with a low output PAF bucker in the bridge, but you won't want to put a X2N there.

 

[Farkus]

Re: Dimarzio YJM/HS3 pickups

but thats because you havent matched them well I mean a guitar with 3 YJMs or HS3's will sound good whatever position and it will sound consistent, volume wise and all that,

So that's why the bridge position of a Strat sounds consistent volume wise with the neck and middle position on vintage Strats? :smack:

Three identical pickups won't necessarily be balanced volume wise because the position that they are under the strings will contribute to tone and volume...this is why folks began to use 'hotter' pickups in the bridge of a Strat to balance volume.

 

[JeffB]

Re: Dimarzio YJM/HS3 pickups

Personally I LOVE this combo....

I found them quite dynamic and quiet. But I should note that I found the HS3 sounded better when you rolled it down pretty far..it opened up, and sounded less compressed. Then of course you have to roll down the YJMs too to keep volume levels consistent..i.e. making a very low output pickup even lower. So you will need an amp with some gain/a goose if you are going for something in the Roth/Malmsteen/Later Blackmore vein or heavier.

 

[walt]

Re: Dimarzio YJM/HS3 pickups

While this combo is also my favorite, keep in mind that the weak signal that is produced by this pickups needs to be boosted per the previous comment. An old grey dod 250 will do the trick (along with a non master volume marshall). Will this make you sound like Stevie Ray??? NO! If that's the tone you are after, then look else where. If you are after the big 70's strat rock/metal tone, then these are the ticket. The YJM/HS3 is my favorite Strat combo, I have no problems with volume in any position, I used it with my line 6 pod pro with the Recto model and Marshall 800 model and get awesome results. I have also used it with a Marshall plexi at a jam along with my Analogman modded YJM308 pedal and it was tonal heaven and I got lots of compliments on my tone (over the other guitarist with a lp and a 5150 amp).
Bottom line is that this is a matter of personal taste and desire. If you are after Malmsteen, Hendrix (heavier stuff), or Blackmore then to me nothing else comes close.