How can I De-VirtualVintage a DiMarzio?

[Anficht]

Ok, so I tried a DiMarzio DP103 36th Anniversary PAF and it's on the murky and muddy side with an annoying midrange-pick attack emphasis (basically what I dislike about all DiMarzio patented tech Humbuckers that have either Air technology or their Virtual Vintage design).

I opened the pickup, removed all 4 plastc spacers and put a bigger A5 magnet in there plus a metal spacer, so the magnet would touch either pickup side.
The pickup gained output and got clearer but pick attack has still that annoying midrange-cluck that all their Virtual Vintage pickups have.

Both bobins have 3 holes on each sides that are filled with some sort of metal. How can I get this thing out of there? I strongly suspect that this will get rid of the annoying frequency and will clear up the pick attack...

Has anyone ever successfully done this? And how can I remove those metal fillings?

 

[jeremy]

those slugs can be carefully pulled out and it will definitely change the tone. i have a 36th anniversary bridge pup and have de-aired it, swapped an a2 bar in, and it was better, but im just gonna return it to stock and sell it. someone will enjoy it for what it is. just not me lol

 

[Anficht]

How can one carefully pull them out? They are flush with the bobbin and there is no space whatsoever to insert something.
Also, the wax potting works like an extra layer of glue on these...

Not doubting, just asking if you can tell me a way of doing this.

 

[nienturi]

Not my personal experinece in the first hand but i think i would stick a cylindrical metal bar with super glue carefully and pull them out.

 

[marcello252]

IMHO I'd put it back to stock and sell it , way easier, safe and renumerative

 

[belensky]

I wouldn’t recommend opening wax-potted pickups unless you really know what you’re doing. DiMarzio uses their Virtual Vintage and Airbucker technologies for a reason. Years ago, I experimented with different baseplate materials, trying to improve the sound of my Crunch Lab/LiquiFire set by swapping the brass baseplate for nickel silver. It did improve the tone, but once you disassemble a pickup, you need to reheat it slightly during reassembly so the wax can properly fill all the gaps between the bobbins, magnet, and baseplate. I didn’t do that and ended up with a slightly microphonic pickup because of small air gaps in the baseplate.

You couldn’t really hear it at home by yourself, but as soon as I played with a loud band, the issue became obvious. I later tried re-wax potting it in a wax bath, which solved the microphonics, but the pickup didn’t sound exactly the same afterward.

Long story short, if the PAF 36 doesn’t work for you, it’s probably better to sell it and try something else. I personally wouldn’t want to buy a butchered pickup that’s been opened and reassembled or “Frankensteined,” which unfortunately has happened to me twice on the marketplace.

Personally, I think the PAF 36 is absolutely underrated and a great-sounding pickup, but it sounds like you might be after something more twangy. The DiMarzio PAF Master could be closer to what you’re looking for.