Do Dimarzios sound fatter than Duncans?

Re: Do Dimarzios sound fatter than Duncans?

ranalli said:
I agree mostly.


THe problem here and many times with getting pickup advice is that people recommend pickups and have no idea that different rigs will completely change how that pickup sounds ultimately.


The best way to compare pickups is strictly to each other..but you have to be willing to try a few blindly to get a footing. This way when someone recommends XYZ pickup...you can ask...well is XYZ hotter and more bright than pickup 123 which I've already tried?


By knowing how pickups relate to each other via tone charts etc, I can usually get the pickup I'm looking for in one shot...not much guessing.
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Yep. When you want to relatively compare the pickups, you need identical rigs and when you want to say which one you like the most (while they perform their best), you need the best matching rigs to them, but once the pickups are way easier to change than the whole rig, people prefer to change them instead.....mostly. ;)

Edit: At the moment I'm trying to balance a tone equation in my head for my next guitar, amp etc...challenging situation...but, I'm almost there...
 
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Re: Do Dimarzios sound fatter than Duncans?

KeeperOS said:
I really don't see the point in vaulting a thread that is certain to end as a flame/troll war between different factions, just like that whole Strats vs Teles vs LPs etc...

What WOULD be good would be a thread or body of text or sth stating where each is better, where each is worse (all objective of course), and stating not to bother people with what's already there.
It could start as a thread/number of threads that would later be unified/filtered from all hostilities/personal vendettas...

Sth like that
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That was exactly what I was thinking...
 
Re: Do Dimarzios sound fatter than Duncans?

KeeperOS said:
I really don't see the point in vaulting a thread that is certain to end as a flame/troll war between different factions, just like that whole Strats vs Teles vs LPs etc...

What WOULD be good would be a thread or body of text or sth stating where each is better, where each is worse (all objective of course), and stating not to bother people with what's already there.
It could start as a thread/number of threads that would later be unified/filtered from all hostilities/personal vendettas...

Sth like that
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I don't mean to have a flame war. I'm just trying to prove a point that Dimarzio's are made for all types of music including metal. Someone on this thread doesn't think that way, so I wanted to prove to him that it's probably not the tone he likes, but to say that Dimarzio sucks for metal is very ignorant. I did not want other people to get misinformed by that person's ludicrous comments. Although, I'm primarily a Duncan user, I love both companies.
 
Re: Do Dimarzios sound fatter than Duncans?

I've tried half the Dimarzio's and Half the Duncans.

Really, the main difference is tone and clarity. Some are fat, some are bright, it depends on which Pup you're talking about.

The Real Difference to me, is the Duncans sounding more "natural", warm, organic, while the Dimarzio's sound "wet", dark and in many cases have anhanced midrange.

DiMarzio's are really good for leads, harmonics and all the 1980's vibe, and very clean when you use effects.
Duncans are better for less processed, direct sounds, plug and play, guitar to amp.

To me Both are good, but the DiMarzios work well in light, clean guitars and superstrats (alder, basswood) and the Duncans sounds much better in Heavy Guitars (Ash,Mahogany etc). There is a reason for this, but i don't want to start explaining now.
Most of you probably know what i'm talking about anyway....

About Dimarzios not being good to play Metal, well i have to say i never found that crushing metal tone. It can play heavy music,
but for Pantera, Metallica or slayer i would uy EMG's, Duncans, Bill Lawrence but definitely not DiMarzios (i know because i did compare)
 
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Re: Do Dimarzios sound fatter than Duncans?

Orange said:
The Real Difference to me, is the Duncans sounding more "natural", warm, organic, while the Dimarzio's sound "wet", dark and in many cases have anhanced midrange.
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/thread

Nothing more needs to be said.
 
Re: Do Dimarzios sound fatter than Duncans?

Somebody told me that dimarzio' tonezone model has a deeper sound. But I just don't understand what "deeper" mean?

Can I get some ideas from you guys?
 
Re: Do Dimarzios sound fatter than Duncans?

GreatWallGuard said:
Somebody told me that dimarzio' tonezone model has a deeper sound. But I just don't understand what "deeper" mean?

Can I get some ideas from you guys?
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It is a "bigger" sounding pickup with the treble rolled off . Its difficult to assign words and adjectives to describe pickups. We do our best here but it can be hard to communicate sound through words.
 
Re: Do Dimarzios sound fatter than Duncans?

Thanx Rowan! Say, Music is more than words, hahaha.

Maybe I get the more direct feeling about the tone quality by listening to the players, like Paul Gilbert using Tonezone.
 
Re: Do Dimarzios sound fatter than Duncans?

Duncas have "their" sound. DiMarzio's have "their" sound. Gibson pickups have "their" sound too.

Duncans all seem to have a certain lower mid "whomp" to them (not necc "pushed" lower mids, just the tonality) and generally a sweeter top end, though sometimes compressed all to hell. They have warm mids, and seem to occupy a narrow frequency range that helps them cut through the mix in a band sitch without stepping on other instrument's toes. People around here say they sound more "organic", but I don't think so..they alter tone into that "Duncan sound" as much as any other pup brand does to their "signature" tone.

DiMarzios IME occupy a wider frequency range . They sound "bigger" or "wider": the lows are lower, the highs higher, and they tend to have more presence/depth...which alot of folks think makes them sound more "modern". They do tend to sound "wet" as someone mentioned, and they can handle more effects processing without losing clarity (in general). They generally don't sound as warm as Duncans for sure, are mid pushed, and tend to have a little fizz on top that dissapears in the mix.

I personally feel that the DiMarzio PAF types (PAF, AC, PAFC) and Gibsons A2 Burstbuckers sound more like Gibson PAF and T-top types than Duncans. Duncans to me, seem more pristine and less raw than the real deals, almost like a "model" of a PAF. They are more pleasing to the ear with the sweeter highs and warmed up mids, but not as "authentic" sounding. YMMV.

So, IMO..yes, I find DiMarzio's "fatter" or "bigger" sounding when taking into account the whole lineups of both companies. Not necc better, just different.
 
Re: Do Dimarzios sound fatter than Duncans?

alashredder said:
I don't mean to have a flame war. I'm just trying to prove a point that Dimarzio's are made for all types of music including metal. Someone on this thread doesn't think that way, so I wanted to prove to him that it's probably not the tone he likes, but to say that Dimarzio sucks for metal is very ignorant. I did not want other people to get misinformed by that person's ludicrous comments. Although, I'm primarily a Duncan user, I love both companies.
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I didn't direct it a anyone in particular, besides, I posted my opinion on his generalizations at an earlier post.

I started with DMs and moved on to Duncans for a reason, Duncans get closer to MY sound, but I cannot say that I can't see how others could make it work with DMs instead, in fact depending on the application even I could prefer a certain DM than a Duncan.

As a side note, correct me if I'm wrong but I think Orange is part of the Vigier family and I've played a number of Vigier guitars which regardless, are a good example.

You will see that Vigier use equal parts SDs and DMs and even have a couple of EMG equipped models. I think it is safe to say that before releasing all those models they sat down, compared a boatload of pickups from both companies so it would seem they know why they chose each pickup for each model...
 
Re: Do Dimarzios sound fatter than Duncans?

DMZ and SD have so many different pups it's impossible to say one company's pups sound fatter than the other.
 
Re: Do Dimarzios sound fatter than Duncans?

KeeperOS said:
I didn't direct it a anyone in particular, besides, I posted my opinion on his generalizations at an earlier post.

I started with DMs and moved on to Duncans for a reason, Duncans get closer to MY sound, but I cannot say that I can't see how others could make it work with DMs instead, in fact depending on the application even I could prefer a certain DM than a Duncan.

As a side note, correct me if I'm wrong but I think Orange is part of the Vigier family and I've played a number of Vigier guitars which regardless, are a good example.

You will see that Vigier use equal parts SDs and DMs and even have a couple of EMG equipped models. I think it is safe to say that before releasing all those models they sat down, compared a boatload of pickups from both companies so it would seem they know why they chose each pickup for each model...
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Yes ! In general we try to be versatile more than anything else. So we want our guitars to have the big sounding bridge (TB5, Tonezone), the clean strat-ish sounds (HS1, SSSL6...) and the warm neck (Paf Pro, Paf classic, EMG 81 etc).....
Right now we're experimenting D-Activators to replace the X2N on our Marilyn.

We tried Bare Knuckle too, and i'm going to try Lace Single coils soon.

But you know, not everybody agrees on what pickup to use, and i usually build my own guitars with different pickups, less versatile and more rock and roll ^^
 
Re: Do Dimarzios sound fatter than Duncans?

TheArchitect said:
If you watch Satriani "Live in SF" DVD you will see that he plays half the show with a Duncan equipped Chromeboy. Shortly after that vid hits that guitar is "stolen" and Joe has not 1 but 2 new signature pickup models. Make no mistake about it, its buisiness.
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Yeah...I have that DVD and I noticed that too, I thought to myself, "hmmm, Duncans all of a sudden, Joe?" ;)

I currently have a DiM. AN/DS combo in my Quicksilver (PRS-style) guitar, korina body, maple neck, ebony fingerboard. They sound good, but I find myself not as happy with them now. The guitar originally had Duncans in it - PATB's - and the Duncans I've played sounded more, umm, "organic" and toneful to me, if that makes any sense. That being said, the AN is one of the best pu's DiM has ever made, and I had good luck with the HB From Hell and the TZ in a similar guitar also. The D-Sonic is just ok for me, IMHO. Nice pickup, but maybe not really my thing.

Next pu's for me will be Jazz/JB combo in this QS guitar.

Not sure if I've been any help to anyone, good luck in your quest for YOUR tone! :)
 
Re: Do Dimarzios sound fatter than Duncans?

Holy Diver said:
How about they suck for my playing. I tried the Evolution bridge and the Morse bridge. Both of them are two of the highest output that Dimarzio makes. I have never tried the X2N, so I won't put it down, but there is no way I could have played Dokken, Dio, or Ratt with the two I tried. I'm not talking lead here. Let me make that clear.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2g8QLv0UV58
 
Re: Do Dimarzios sound fatter than Duncans?

Quicksilver689 said:
Yeah...I have that DVD and I noticed that too, I thought to myself, "hmmm, Duncans all of a sudden, Joe?" ;)

I currently have a DiM. AN/DS combo in my Quicksilver (PRS-style) guitar, korina body, maple neck, ebony fingerboard. They sound good, but I find myself not as happy with them now. The guitar originally had Duncans in it - PATB's - and the Duncans I've played sounded more, umm, "organic" and toneful to me, if that makes any sense. That being said, the AN is one of the best pu's DiM has ever made, and I had good luck with the HB From Hell and the TZ in a similar guitar also. The D-Sonic is just ok for me, IMHO. Nice pickup, but maybe not really my thing.

Next pu's for me will be Jazz/JB combo in this QS guitar.

Not sure if I've been any help to anyone, good luck in your quest for YOUR tone! :)
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Thanks for your sharing. I think that would be very important for me to choose my pickups. What's your stlye anyway?
 
Re: Do Dimarzios sound fatter than Duncans?

I play hard rock/worship/metal and am a big prog lover - very unlikely combination, LOL. My playing style can be summed up as an 80's metalhead leftover that branched out into different styles, but will always be a rocker no matter what style of music he plays.

Some of my biggest influences are: Jesus, John Petrucci, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Steve Lukather, Criss Oliva (R.I.P.), Mike Oldfield, Lindsey Buckingham, Rusty Cooley, Michael Angelo Batio, Paul Crook, Curtis Basque (friend of mine from back in NB, Canada where I am originally from), Al DiMeola, Alex Lifeson, Steve Morse, Stevie Ray Vaughan (R.I.P.), Ritchie Blackmore, late 80's/early 90's hair metal, and many others. It's tough for me to sum them up. :)

Hope that helps. :)
 
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