I finally got myself an Air Norton - My thoughts

[nienturi]

Now, I am curious about the air Norton in the bridge. I think it would probably do much better there. Wasn’t that the original intention of it anyways? Maybe there’s a benefit in de-airing it halfway but opposite of the Norton which is half aired on the slug side, by putting a metal shim between the magnet and tapered slugs so they make contact. Then again they might have aired it on the slug coil for a reason since it’s a “tuned” pickup.

Here you are;
https://www.tonejourney.com/post/dimarzio-air-norton-dp193-review

 

[fretburner]

That's actualy what I like the most. I feel like with many Duncans, the pick attack is overly emphatic at times. I like an aggressive pick attack from the bridge pickup, but when I switch to the neck, I want it to be smooth, fat, and "neck-y".

The Jazz, for example, I feel it's all "chirp chirp", some bottom-end, and barely any body to the note. The PAF Pro is also like that. The PAF Pro has a great clean tone, but I feel it's too bright for the kind of neck pickup lead tones that I like. The PAF Pro has got to be one of the brightest humbuckers I've tried.

That's a double-edged kinda thing, though. The brighter/scoopier Duncans like the '59 of the Jazz do sound nice clean.

I like an "emphatic" pick attack, always. Well, almost always. You do need that "smooth" stuff every now and then, and I usually do this on legato stuff and just change my right hand a little bit.

I am using the Air Norton in a Les Paul style guitar. But like I said, I am running it wide open with a single 1M pot.

I can't imagine an AN on a les paul. I tried a Duncan Custom Custom in the middle position on my Kramer Nightswan, and had to pull it out quickly. It was just way too dark no matter which amp I plug into.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

I like an "emphatic" pick attack, always. Well, almost always. You do need that "smooth" stuff every now and then, and I usually do this on legato stuff and just change my right hand a little bit.



I can't imagine an AN on a les paul. I tried a Duncan Custom Custom in the middle position on my Kramer Nightswan, and had to pull it out quickly. It was just way too dark no matter which amp I plug into.

It is dark clean. TBH, now that the homeymoon is wearing off, the clean tone on the AN isn't amazing. It's not bad, but the Duncan '59 was better here. But these days, I'm gravitating to using the middle position for cleans, rather, and there, it sounds fine.

But I still really like the distorted tone. Leads are smooth and fat, but not muddy. Plus there is some cool upper midrange that's there, but it's not too overpowering. That upper midrange along with the fact that it's got lower mid heft rather than having an actual deep low-end helps it still be clear and controllable to me.

It is a very specific sound, though. Might not work in all scenarios. I like it because it loosely reminds me of the EMG 85. And I think it works well with the JB because the JB doesn't have a deep bottom-end nor a particularly detailed top end either.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Air Norton also does very well in parallel, if you've got space for an extra switch or a push-pull.
One of my LPs has the AN at the neck wired normally parallel, and pull-for-series as a setting for neck leads.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Air Norton also does very well in parallel, if you've got space for an extra switch or a push-pull.
One of my LPs has the AN at the neck wired normally parallel, and pull-for-series as a setting for neck leads.

I wouldn't mind adding a split or a parallel switch for the AN down the line. Gonna have to order a 1 Meg push pull pot.