I finally got myself an Air Norton - My thoughts

[Rex_Rocker]

I can see how some people on this forum hate this pickup. It's kinda the antithesis of most of the Duncan neck pickup lineup! It's fat and smooth, borderline dark.

But I don't find it to be one bit muddy. It's not hot, but it is slightly hotter than the '59N. The high-end, while rolled off, is interesting. Clean, the pickup is soft, smokey, and almost jazzy. Distorted, though, there seems to be a very JB-ish upper-mid spike. I'd almost want to call this pickup the JB-N. Kinda like the JB, the high-end is rolled off, but it's offset by a cutting upper-midrange. Also, much like the JB, the low-end isn't really deep, but the pickup is far from thin-sounding. The focus seems to be more towards the lower mids.

I'm not going to say it's a JB clone, though. The JB in the neck is horribly dark, muddy and unusable. This isn't. And the voicing of the mids is unmistakably DiMarzio with the kinda vocal "aw" that some of their pickups have. Not even the most mid-focuse Duncans like the JB have that kind of voicing to the mids, I find.

Keep in mind, I'm using this pickupt through a 1M volume knob, no tone. I don't know how this pickup would do with the 500K volume, 500K tone setup that most people use. Then again, I use 1M volumes, no tone in all my guitars. The only pickup that I've found doesn't work better for me with this setup is the 500T, but that's a whole other can of worms.

I've got to spend more time with it. My inititial impression is that I like it. I guess we'll see in a few more days.

 

[freefrog]

Thx for sharing!

What kind of baseplate has yours? Pics on webshops seem to show NS as well as brass ones so I wonder what is currently under this model...

 

[ehdwuld]

this is the Air version not the Norton that is supposedly "Half-Aired"

 

[fretburner]

Dimarzio's description is very accurate for the Air Norton. Bought a SS+AN set because JP has one of my fave shredder tones (Blues Saraceno and AT are my faves), and loved the contrast between the 2 pups.

It is relatively dark compared to the APH1, 59n and surely vs the Jazz.

I like it though.

The only thing I wish it had more of is the "bite". Not that it doesn't have the "bite" or anything like that, it's just that I wish it had more of it. I feel like I lost some of my pick attack - especially compared to the Duncan neck pups or even the PAF Pro - even under high gain.

Perhaps the other thing to note about the AN, it seems to be picky with the guitar. The "bite" I was looking for? It was "ok" on my RG2550, but I can't find it on my JP6. Although, in the latter, I think it was a special version of the AN just for JP's guitar designed to work with a Boogie JP2C.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Thx for sharing!

What kind of baseplate has yours? Pics on webshops seem to show NS as well as brass ones so I wonder what is currently under this model...

Mine is brass. I don't think I've ever seen one with a nickel baseplate.

I thought it was the 36th Anni that they switched them on?

 

[freefrog]

Mine is brass. I don't think I've ever seen one with a nickel baseplate.

I thought it was the 36th Anni that they switched them on?

Agreed, hence my question. Makes me wonder if Gear4music doesn't show a 36th instead of a DP193 in their page about the Air Norton... <:0)

 

[Rex_Rocker]

this is the Air version not the Norton that is supposedly "Half-Aired"

Yes, it's the "Full-Aired" version, LOL.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

The only thing I wish it had more of is the "bite". Not that it doesn't have the "bite" or anything like that, it's just that I wish it had more of it. I feel like I lost some of my pick attack - especially compared to the Duncan neck pups or even the PAF Pro - even under high gain.

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 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.

 

[ehdwuld]

I looked over the website

And they now have PAF 57s with A2 mags

I thought the Air was their answer to A2

 

[Rex_Rocker]

I looked over the website

And they now have PAF 57s with A2 mags

I thought the Air was their answer to A2

Yes. They originally made the Airbucker thing because Eddie wanted an A2 magnet on his neck pickup, but they thought A2 is "unstable".

But then they made the Area single coils which have A2 rods. And now they have the 57 PAF wich A2. Whatever sells, I guess.

 

[Phantasmagoria]

I have three or four of them that came stock in my Ibanez's. They are made for shredder's/shredding imo..

The soft pick attack gives fast alternate-picked runs that smooth lu-lu-lu-lu-lu sound like James Murphy (yeah I know he uses EMG's ..probably w/ a compressor w/ the "attack" turned way down, but that's the sound I'm talking about. They just come w/ it built in :lmao & it totally kills for legato & tapping too..


I like the thick , dark-ish vowelly tone they have as well..

 

[Rex_Rocker]

I have three or four of them that came stock in my Ibanez's. They are made for shredder's/shredding imo..

I actually find the PAF Pro more of a shreddy pickup with the exaggerated pick attack... or at least more 80's kinda shreddy.

But yeah, I love the AN. I think I have finally found a passive neck pickup where I actually don't feel like I'm compromising either the clean or the distorted tone.

And yeah, James Murphy rules.

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Well some shred guys want pick attack from their neck pups (MAB/Morse) & some prefer a smoother attack (Yngwie/Murphy) ..I think Murphy's smoother tone comes naturally to the Air Norton...it does'nt accentuate pick attack which is pretty laid back (my DMT MAB 'Hands without Shadows' on the other hand has the most upfront pick attack I've ever heard from a neck pup, makes every note stand out & 'pop').

I don't use clean tones ...so ....eh...

But yeah, I do really like the Air Norton as well for the shreddy stuff.. (and also the DMT "Hands w/o Shadows")...they're at two opposite ends of the spectrum but both distinctive sounding & fun to play...

Murphy is a GOD

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Well some shred guys want pick attack from their neck pups (MAB/Morse) & some prefer a smoother attack (Yngwie/Murphy) ..I think Murphy's smoother tone comes naturally to the Air Norton...it does'nt accentuate pick attack which is pretty laid back (my DMT MAB 'Hands without Shadows' on the other hand has the most upfront pick attack I've ever heard from a neck pup, makes every note stand out & 'pop').

I don't use clean tones ...so ....eh...

But yeah, I do really like the Air Norton as well for the shreddy stuff.. (and also the DMT "Hands w/o Shadows")...they're at two opposite ends of the spectrum but both distinctive sounding & fun to play...

Murphy is a GOD

Yeah. Loomis comes to mind on his Seymour Duncan videos on how he likes his neck pickup to have a lot of pick attack.

I'm not like that... but I'm no Loomis either. When I play leads on the neck pickup, I play slower less sheddy leads.

 

[Phantasmagoria]

I'm not like that... but I'm no Loomis either. When I play leads on the neck pickup, I play slower less sheddy leads.

And you'd say the Air Norton suits that? Or are you into it for rhythm mostly..

I used to play doom riffs/rhythm on the neck pup cuz of the generally thicker/darker tone...but I've been using my bridge pups way more for pretty much everything for years now. These days if I do go to the neck pup at all it's for occasional solo's

 

[Rex_Rocker]

And you'd say the Air Norton suits that? Or are you into it for rhythm mostly..

I used to play doom riffs/rhythm on the neck pup cuz of the generally thicker/darker tone...but I've been using my bridge pups way more for pretty much everything for years now. These days if I do go to the neck pup at all it's for occasional solo's

Oh, no. I don't play rhythm on the neck pickup. Maybe cleans, but never high-gain rhythms.

I don't like Doom, honestly. I mean, I like some Paradise Lost and some old Ktatonia, but I don't really play anythink like that.

I meant for slow leads or non-shreddy leads. Sorta like that one lead/riff that goes just before the slow bridge with the strings on Dead Eyes See No Future. Sorta like that.

 

[Bowtomecha]

I like the air Norton in the neck for its smoothness under distortion sometimes. But I don’t like default smoothness too much. It’s not muddy but it is like somebody threw a warm blanket over it. It probably works great in a bright guitar. It’s a weird kind of tubby tone though that has presence without as much attack. Petrucci neck shred tone lets you sound like you’re fluidly doing a lot but masking just enough of the pick attack to be friendly (his Humbucker From Hell days were intense and pronounced in contrast and then he went dark and wooly with this pickup. Might’ve be a Steve Morse thing) But the effect feels different across different guitars. When I reach for midrange Ibanez guitars, they always have an air Norton and tone zone. And between the fixed bridge, bolt on, neck thru, and Floyd options, the tones vary wildly. People may say tone wood doesn’t matter but it was like choosing a wet brick or a sponge sonically. It sounded kind of stratty in one and a bit jazzboxy in another. The difference was in how much pick attack I could conjure from it. I like having options in my hands where I simply back off or change up my technique or where I’m playing or even use the controls. The AN started at best just a little under that threshold, where it purposely puts it through the soft serve machine lol. I liked it better when Ibanez had the Paf Pro and Tone Zone match up. The Paf Pro is a straight shooter where no matter what it is in, it seems to work as expected. It’s more… honest? Where even if you don’t like it, you probably won’t like it in most anything.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

The Paf Pro is a straight shooter where no matter what it is in, it seems to work as expected. It’s more… honest? Where even if you don’t like it, you probably won’t like it in most anything.

I kinda get your point, and I agree to an extent: I haven't had a guitar that's dark-sounding enough to smooth out the PAF Pro to make me like it, LOL

But I don't think it's so much of a straight shooter as you suggest. At least IME. The PAF Pro is kinda the polar opposite to the Air Norton. While the AN tends to smooth everything out, the PAF Pro just exaggerates the pick attack to the point where it's almost singlecoil-y. Kinda like a Duncan Jazz, just not quite the same.

I haven't tried the HFH, honestly. But I don't think I ever will knowing the PAF Pro is already too much for me. I remember when I truly decided "yeah, the PAF Pro is not for me" was when I had it matched with a Dominion in the bridge. And switching from the bridge to the neck pickup was so off-putting because the neck position in that guitar was actually brighter than the bridge, LOL.

That being said, I've used and liked the PAF Pro in the bridge. Like I said before, I do like aggressive, attacky bridge pickups.

 

[Bowtomecha]

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.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

BTW, update... these last days, I've been moving pickups around on my guitars. Ended up matching the Air Norton in the neck with the JB in the bridge, both with 1M pots, no tone on my LTD EC-400VF.

Gotta say, this has got to be one of the most "balanced" sets I've tried where I feel each position is doing what it's supposed to but still working in context of each other.