Matching a neck humbucker for the Tone Zone

[CarlosG]

Hi.
This may be a bit strange to ask about DiMarzio pickups on a Duncan forum, but you guys have a lot of experience.
I have an Ibanez RG421 HPAM. I really like the Tone Zone in the bridge, but I don’t like the Air Norton in the neck. It sounds too muddy. Position 2 (parallel) also doesn’t sound very good. I tried raising the pole pieces, but it only helped a little.
I’ve seen that many people flip the Air Norton, because the “air” mod makes the screw pole pieces weak. I haven’t tried that yet.
I was thinking about something from DiMarzio to match the set, since they’re available in cream. Maybe a PAF Pro, maybe a Humbucker From Hell?
I need something clearer, but it can’t be too weak, because I don’t like having the neck pickup set higher than the bridge pickup. I know it’s not only about output level, but also about the pickup’s voicing.
For comparison, with Duncans I tried the SH-2, but it was too scooped in the mids. The SH-1, on the other hand, sounded quite nice in one guitar and bad in another — overall also rather muddy.
I like how the Humbucker From Hell sounds in demo videos, but I’m worried it might be too weak to pair with a Tone Zone. It sounds very clear on clean tones and can sound creamy with distortion.
What would you recommend?

 

[hamerfan]

Take the SH-2 and swap in a A2 magnet.

 

[jeremy]

that will get you a aph1, which is a great neck pup. for dimarzio, i like a paf pro, i also just played a buddies guitar that had a dark matter 2 neck pup which was really nice! i dont love the hfh but ymmv

 

[soulforger]

Evolution neck is a good pairing for a brighter tone, more articulation. Charvel uses this as a neck for the Tone Zone quite a bit over the years in 22 fret guitars, namely the earlier US and Japan made SoCal. I had a few of those over the years and really enjoyed that combo. PAF Pro, Fred, and Dominion neck are all good as well.

 

[Top-L]

Evolution neck is a good pairing for a brighter tone, more articulation. Charvel uses this as a neck for the Tone Zone quite a bit over the years in 22 fret guitars, namely the earlier US and Japan made SoCal. I had a few of those over the years and really enjoyed that combo. PAF Pro, Fred, and Dominion neck are all good as well.

I second the evo neck. I also like the Liquifire. Paf Pro is OK too if you can get a cheap used one.

 

[Juanhanglo]

that will get you a aph1, which is a great neck pup. for dimarzio, i like a paf pro, i also just played a buddies guitar that had a dark matter 2 neck pup which was really nice! i dont love the hfh but ymmv

Wow, someone else who has used the dark matter 2s!

Did you just try the neck? Or both?

What did you think of it/them? Did you try it split?

 

[jeremy]

just the neck, and only in series. its in a parts guitar, i think it still has a super distortion in the bridge. the dm2 sounded really nice, fairly balanced clean and had a good tone for solos up the neck with overdrive

 

[Juanhanglo]

just the neck, and only in series. its in a parts guitar, i think it still has a super distortion in the bridge. the dm2 sounded really nice, fairly balanced clean and had a good tone for solos up the neck with overdrive

The bridge is the same.

Its such a different spec. Low output, fairly classic eq, and ceramic mags.

 

[freefrog]

I don’t like the Air Norton in the neck. It sounds too muddy. Position 2 (parallel) also doesn’t sound very good. I tried raising the pole pieces, but it only helped a little.
I’ve seen that many people flip the Air Norton, because the “air” mod makes the screw pole pieces weak. I haven’t tried that yet.

If it was for me and before to change the PU, I'd try shorter screw poles in it... or pulling off half or all of the screw poles... and/or "de-airing" the magnetic circuit... or wiring it in parallel: it might sound really close to the HFH in this case.

Non limitative list. Do what you want and be happy.

 

[GuitarStv]

I second the evo neck. I also like the Liquifire. Paf Pro is OK too if you can get a cheap used one.

So, I had a Tone Zone with neck Evo in a So Cal for several years. The pickups worked well together balance-wise, and would probably work great for you if you play a lot of shreddy/heavier stuff all the time. The EVO is very articulate. It splits well. I tend to gravitate towards a variety of stuff rock, alt-rock, reggaie, pop-punk, country, blues, jazz, etc though. . . . and I found the Evo was a little too high output for the tones I like and the combo of the dark bridge coupled with the very bright neck made for not enough tonal difference flicking from bridge to neck. With the EVO I found that I was only using it split.

My preference would be for a medium/high output single coil in the neck, where you'll still get brightness and clarity but there will be a bigger contrast between bridge and neck. I also find that higher output singles tend to work better for cleanish stuff when you roll them back than higher output 'buckers.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

I used to have an SDS-1 matched with an AT-1 (loosely speaking, Tone Zone-ish? Maybe? Kinda?), and I didn't find them to be a good match, personally. The SDS-1 did sound good clean, but the balance was off. Had to get it really close to the strings for it to balance. Otherwise, the distorted tone would be too dry and undergained compared to the bridge, and there would be a jump in volume clean.

I would suspect the Evo would be a better match. Really like the Evo in the neck. I personally never found it problematically high output, really. I never even really found it to be high output.

 

[Top-L]

I used to have an SDS-1 matched with an AT-1 (loosely speaking, Tone Zone-ish? Maybe? Kinda?), and I didn't find them to be a good match, personally.

I would suspect the Evo would be a better match. Really like the Evo in the neck.

If you get a chance, try the Liquifire. I loved the Evo Neck and I think the Liquifire is a little bit better.

 

[Aceman]

Nothing to add here. I was gonna suggest Humbucker From Hell...check the DMZ list for output. Not as low output as you would think. Then maybe a PAF. Not Evolution savvy, but I defer to users.