Disappointed with DiMarzio D Activator?

[singularity6]

So, I've said in the past that pickups don't matter so much. I'm thinking of retracting that statement...

I recently bought a PRS SE and I'm fine with the pickups. In fact, the more I play'em, the more I really like them. When I go back to playing my Ibanez Iceman that came with D Activators, which I was okay with in the past (I never really "liked" them.) The more I play them, the more I find them to be "muddy" under higher gain settings, and "sterile" when clean. I'm pretty sure I'll be swapping them out. As of now, my three choices are (in order: )

1. Duncan Hotrodded Humbucker set
2. Duncan Full Shred bridge and neck
3. Duncan Black Winters

Looking at forums, lots of folks seem to find that the D Activators are great.

How do you feel about them?

 

[Top-L]

They came out with an updated version, the D Activator X which adds presence and clarity. I haven't played the original, but the DA X sounded very balanced to me but hot/tight. (Has a great split though for clean.)

I imaging the D Activator is somewhere along the lines of an Invader. Really hot, dark, muddy.

Sounds like you are still searching for what you like. Those three pickup choices you listed are completely different.

Who is your favorite artist? What pickups are they using? Thats a good place to start.

 

[Lewguitar]

Never tried 'em.

But I do have three PRS SE's and although those pickups they come with are "OK", they weren't good enough for me to keep in there.

I put Antiquitys, 59's and Seth Lovers in mine.

Now they sound like expensive guitars instead of cheapies.

 

[Masta' C]

D-Activators "muddy"? Possible, I suppose, but rather unlikely. Sterile, yes, but tight and articulate for sure.

What do you mean by "muddy"? What amp are you using? Have you tried adjusting the height of the pickups relative to the strings?

What is it that you like more about the SE pickups? What model do you have?

 

[Mononoaware]

The D Activators I picked up recently were good for problem solving in a flat-sounding guitar that needed more treble and top end detail.

They did the trick and opened up the sound. I've even got it downtuned a bit, and am happy with the result. The bridge has a nice growl and the neck is clear and full. Not my first choice if I had only one guitar, as they're not super-expressive and push the amp really hard, but they're great in this application.

 

[singularity6]

They came out with an updated version, the D Activator X which adds presence and clarity. I haven't played the original, but the DA X sounded very balanced to me but hot/tight. (Has a great split though for clean.)

I imaging the D Activator is somewhere along the lines of an Invader. Really hot, dark, muddy.

Sounds like you are still searching for what you like. Those three pickup choices you listed are completely different.

Who is your favorite artist? What pickups are they using? Thats a good place to start.

I'm aware those 3 are very different. It's a mahogany guitar, and I feel the D Activators are too dark for it. I've had experience with the Hot Rodded set in mahogany, and I like it. This guitar will be for metal, so the other two sets seemed interesting and I'd like to check them out. Ultimately, I need something brighter, and I prefer passive.

As far as my favorite artists... that's harder to narrow down... but I suppose old school Scandinavian metal tones are something I'm interested in capturing.

 

[singularity6]

D-Activators "muddy"? Possible, I suppose, but rather unlikely. Sterile, yes, but tight and articulate for sure.

What do you mean by "muddy"? What amp are you using? Have you tried adjusting the height of the pickups relative to the strings?

What is it that you like more about the SE pickups? What model do you have?

35th Anniversary Custom 24, and a Peavey Bandit 112. I also have a number of drive pedals I've experimented with - BOSS DS-1, MT-2, OD-3, SD-1, JB-2 and a Joyo Tauren.

 

[singularity6]

The D Activators I picked up recently were good for problem solving in a flat-sounding guitar that needed more treble and top end detail.

They did the trick and opened up the sound. I've even got it downtuned a bit, and am happy with the result. The bridge has a nice growl and the neck is clear and full. Not my first choice if I had only one guitar, as they're not super-expressive and push the amp really hard, but they're great in this application.

I actually found them to be more bass-heavy than I like. I end up turning the bass down and boosting the treble (and/or tone nobs on my drive pedals) when I play this guitar.

 

[Mononoaware]

I actually found them to be more bass-heavy than I like. I end up turning the bass down and boosting the treble (and/or tone nobs on my drive pedals) when I play this guitar.

Yeah, I'm not sure how to account for that. Perhaps it's just one of those weird mismatches that happens between a particular guitar and electronics. The guitar I'm using them in is different than yours--a run-of-the-mill "mahogany" (i.e. nyatoh) bolt-on RG. It was dark to start with, but the D Activators brought some clarity and upper end to it.

Full Shred is a good set for what you're going for. I haven't tried the other two sets you mentioned. But I can't imagine Full Shreds not being clear or sounding good in that Iceman.

(This is making me want an Iceman, btw. Cool guitars.)

 

[Masta' C]

I recently sold my Ibanez Xiphos XPT700 with a set of factory D-Activators in it. Definitely didn't have the "muddy" thing you describe, but every guitar is different.

Have you tried adjusting the pickups? You have the actual pickup height, plus 12 individual poles to work with...

Of the pickups you mentioned, the brightest and tightest replacement would be the Black Winters. Pretty crushing pickups, honestly. Very tight low end and nice midrange growl, plus they split wonderfully. The Full Shred is nice, but the low-end always feels a little truncated to me, if that makes any sense. Sounds pretty good in a mix, though.

 

[singularity6]

I recently sold my Ibanez Xiphos XPT700 with a set of factory D-Activators in it. Definitely didn't have the "muddy" thing you describe, but every guitar is different.

Have you tried adjusting the pickups? You have the actual pickup height, plus 12 individual poles to work with...

Of the pickups you mentioned, the brightest and tightest replacement would be the Black Winters. Pretty crushing pickups, honestly. Very tight low end and nice midrange growl, plus they split wonderfully. The Full Shred is nice, but the low-end always feels a little truncated to me, if that makes any sense. Sounds pretty good in a mix, though.

Poles, no... Pickup height, yeah. I even put an orange drop on the tone knob. That didn't change too much.

These would be fine for chugging. I want'em to grind!

I'm very intrigued by the Black Winters. I like the Duncan Distortion well enough. These seem like the next step. Full Shreds have been recommended for dark sounding guitars and for downtuning.

 

[Top-L]

Poles, no... Pickup height, yeah. I even put an orange drop on the tone knob. That didn't change too much.

These would be fine for chugging. I want'em to grind!

I'm very intrigued by the Black Winters. I like the Duncan Distortion well enough. These seem like the next step. Full Shreds have been recommended for dark sounding guitars and for downtuning.

I know more about the Dimarzio catalog than Duncans.

I always pick the Evolution over the Full Shred, but they are close(ish). The top is not quite as bright, the mids are thicker.

A really great Dimarzio, that is designed for downtuning, is the D-Sonic. You can mount it two ways, one is more suited to downtuning and the other for standard tuning. Its a thick, hot pickup. With the bar towards the bridge it is alot brighter.

I think if you try the D-Sonic, it will set a new standard for you. If you want something with more bass than the D-Sonic, you can try the Crunch Lab.

 

[singularity6]

I know more about the Dimarzio catalog than Duncans.

I always pick the Evolution over the Full Shred, but they are close(ish). The top is not quite as bright, the mids are thicker.

A really great Dimarzio, that is designed for downtuning, is the D-Sonic. You can mount it two ways, one is more suited to downtuning and the other for standard tuning. Its a thick, hot pickup. With the bar towards the bridge it is alot brighter.

I think if you try the D-Sonic, it will set a new standard for you. If you want something with more bass than the D-Sonic, you can try the Crunch Lab.

My only experience with Evolutions was in Jems, and I wasn't a fan of them, either.

I like the tones that Vai, Satriani and Petrucci get nout of DiMarzios, but I haven't had much luck with them.

 

[Top-L]

My only experience with Evolutions was in Jems, and I wasn't a fan of them, either.

I like the tones that Vai, Satriani and Petrucci get nout of DiMarzios, but I haven't had much luck with them.

If you don't like the Evolution, chances are you wont really like the Full Shred.

 

[singularity6]

If you don't like the Evolution, chances are you wont really like the Full Shred.

Good to know, I'll definitely keep that in mind!

So, something interesting happened. My amp has a "damping" switch. It got bumped to "tight," even though I never really liked that setting. I put it back to the middle position. It helped some... the low end is no longer farty sounding. I still don't like them, but no longer hate them. Now I can just wait until the holiday season and just get someone to buy me some pickups instead of swapping them now.