Gibson Dirty fingers (reissue) review

[AidanP13]

Hey guys. I recently put a DF reissue into my epi les paul, and i'm lovin it. It's really harsh, and mean, it's great for heavy stuff. It is a huge improvement from the stock pickup.

I have experimented with it in a few tunings, and with different heights so i have got a lot of different sounds out of it.

To my ears, standard tuning is really clear and EXTREMELY bright. Reminds me a little bit of early Metallica.

standard Eb, is really nice, it gets a little beefier, and isn't as bright. it gives you a good low end, but still retains its bright top end.

D standard is - ok. You really have to adjust the pickups on this tuning. I kept the pickups the same for every tuning, and in D it got noticeably bad. It was really flubby sounding, and really dirty. I had to lower the pickup quite a bit, and raise the pole pieces pretty high. I usually play in Eb to fit my voice, so this isn't that much of a problem to me.

To me, the higher the pickup is, the more distortion, bass, and power,
higher the pole pieces = tighter/more articulate

Clean isn't too bad. It's by no means warm, or rich. It sounds kinda punchy,
but it clips quite a bit.

I am playing through an old marshall jcm 800 50 watt for distortion, and roland jc 120 for cleans

I am very happy with this pickup, its harsh, gritty sound is fantastic.

That being said, i need a neck pickup.

The harshness of the DF is great for metal! ....

Thats about it. I need something that is a lot smother and creamier. something easier on the ears.

I'd play slower stuff, with much more full chords and simple riffs.
I would also use it for cleans.
something with the voice of a paf, with a little kick.

warm, but still fairly bright, and no muddiness.
I was thinkin something like the pearly gates.

 

[dvadneau]

Re: Gibson Dirty fingers (reissue) review

Yep, PGn is a good choice. I'd recommend an Alnico II Pro neck as well. I find it punchy and clear. In comparison I found the A2P to be a little rounder on the top end with more low end thunk (depending on the amp and settings it can sound almost single coil-like).

You'll find both will lack the DF's output and switching between the two will be a drastic change.

To close to the same output, I'd also recommend the Distortion neck. I have a Seymourizer, which is supposed to be the same, and it's creamy yet clear and has a good amount of output. The best neck pickup I've tried in my Epi LPs.

If you like the 59 and want to get close to the DF in output try a Pearly Gates Plus in the neck. I did that with my old Epi LP and it was a great match. The PGP was like a 59 with more output and a little less sharpness on the high notes that the 59 tends to have. I had to lower the bass side a little and raise the poles, since it was a little boomy, but that cleared it right up. The volume drop was not significant, and the PGP was creamy yet clear.

I guess it depends on whether or not you want to match the output of the DF or not.

The DF I used was the older one, so ymmv.

 

[AidanP13]

Re: Gibson Dirty fingers (reissue) review

thanks. what do you mean when you say low end thunk? I don't care that much in a volume drop, its not that important to me.

If i'm doing lighter stuff with the neck, id already have to adjust the eq on my amp, so i might as well turn up the volume.

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: Gibson Dirty fingers (reissue) review

Use another Dirty Fingers and wire it up to a Spin-A-Split. Then you can dial it in as fat or thin as you want.

 

[CountFunkula]

Re: Gibson Dirty fingers (reissue) review

Use another Dirty Fingers and wire it up to a Spin-A-Split. Then you can dial it in as fat or thin as you want.

Just looked it up. How come I haven't heard of this? How old is this spin-a-split idea?

 

[Christopher Caruana]

Re: Gibson Dirty fingers (reissue) review

I was running the DF's/AIIP combo in my les paul for a while. Had the AIIP in the neck and the DF in the bridge and they went together very nicely actually. I messed around with the magnet in theh AIIP, I ended up putting an alnico V magnet in it and was still pretty awesome with the DF. I didnt like the loss of mids with the A5 mag and ended up going back to the A2, but they both worked great with the DF.

John Sykes rocked the DF(bridge)/T-top(neck) in his les paul for a very long time

 

[JOLLY]

Re: Gibson Dirty fingers (reissue) review

I love the Dirty Fingers in both bridge and neck positions of my Gibson Silverburst RD. They sound absolutely amazing in that guitar. I don't know how they sound in other guitars, but they blow me away in that one.

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: Gibson Dirty fingers (reissue) review

Just looked it up. How come I haven't heard of this? How old is this spin-a-split idea?

I think Seymour came up with it -- but it's been around a long time. One of the greatest mods of all time, not only for what it does but for how easy it is. The only down side is you have to give up a pot, a drag on a 2-pot guitar...

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Gibson Dirty fingers (reissue) review

Yeh, another DF in the neck, or a PG, or even a Screamin Demon would work very well in the neck coupled with the DF bridge.

 

[dvadneau]

Re: Gibson Dirty fingers (reissue) review

what do you mean when you say low end thunk?

Like when you hit the strings harder you get a more sudden response - the way a single coil is more responsive then most HBs. I love that about the A2P. I don't have it in a guitar right now, but I'm not getting rid of it either. At some point I'll probably miss it and put it back in a guitar.

If you have a bit of time, take a read of this thread regarding the 59n vs PGn. Aceman's and blueman's descriptions are excellent. Aceman's analogy is now always in my head when I think of those pickups. The A2P does get mentioned and I think it lies somewhere in between the PG and 59 in many respects.

All of this is what each of us hear with the gear we've tried, along with our own biases at the time, but hopefully it helps a little. Grain of salt, and all that.

 

[AidanP13]

Re: Gibson Dirty fingers (reissue) review

thanks guys. That spin-a-split thing sounds cool. I may have to check that out.

I guess what ever one is warmer, I just need it to be warm, but clear and not muddy.

Id post this on another thread -- but I was thinking about getting the SD pickup booster pedal

I love the sound of the marshall, it nails almost everything I play.
it's just sometimes i need a bit... "more"

I don't really want to change the tone at all, I just want a bit more gain for when i'm doing, say thrash riffs.

I can't really crank it up.
I know the louder I turn it up, the more crunch im gonna get out of it, but that really isn't an option.

me and my family live in a pretty boring, er I guess "quiet" neighborhood, and my family is LOUD. Our house just booms.
I have a friend down the street thats a killer drummer, and he wails so loud.

our neighbors must hate us.

:laugh2:

ok what was I talking about?

oh,
so even turning it up to 2 is pushin it.

any experience with this pedal anyone?

thanks again guys.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Gibson Dirty fingers (reissue) review

I just need it to be warm, but clear and not muddy.

You ARE describing the Screamin Demon.

The SD PU Booster might be a good option for you to increase the signal going to the front of your amp. This will thicken your sound and increase gain without necessarily increasing your volume. The resonance switch will also help to keep your tone warm. I haven't personally tried it, but researched it alot. The only complaint that users have is that it starts with 6db of gain at its lowest setting. Too much for some players.

I ended up getting the MXR Micro Amp which I am totally happy with. It does what you want.

 

[AidanP13]

Re: Gibson Dirty fingers (reissue) review

You ARE describing the Screamin Demon.

I havent really researched this pickup. anything that sounds like a vintage PAF, but with a little more bite, just a little is what I want. I'll look it up thanks.

 

[Ed Hunter]

Re: Gibson Dirty fingers (reissue) review

what is the specs on the DF's?

 

[AidanP13]

Re: Gibson Dirty fingers (reissue) review

Unfortunately, I'm not sure what the specs are.

I forgot to put this in in my original post -- I'm going into high school next year, and I was planning on joining the jazz band, so I also need it to be able to pull of jazz runs decently as well as everything else I need out of it.

thanks guys.