Okay, I guess I'm warming up to DiMarzios

[nienturi]

IME, the X2N is anything but bright. It has tons of metal because of the blades jacking up the inductance and it has a brass baseplate. I would say it's about as dark as a Hot Rails, if you've tried those, just with a ton more bass. Kinda akin to the Invader, just not as mid pushed.

I always had a prejudice because of the tone of Chuck Schuldiner. He used to use that thang and as a fan of "death" just don't enjoyt his tone much

Loud - check
Thick - check
Even EQ - check
Loud - check again!
Compressed - check
Loud - Can't say this too much...

Nothing piercing then? Okay, got it!

 

[Rex_Rocker]

I always had a prejudice because of the tone of Chuck Schuldiner. He used to use that thang and as a fan of "death" just don't enjoyt his tone much

Nothing piercing then? Okay, got it!

I actually got it because I was on a Symbolic kick, and I love that tone, LOL. I was kinda disappointed that it got me nowhere close. I guess I learned from that experience that the key to his tone is more on the Valvestate rather than the pickup.

 

[nienturi]

I actually got it because I was on a Symbolic kick, and I love that tone, LOL. I was kinda disappointed that it got me nowhere close. I guess I learned from that experience that the key to his tone is more on the Valvestate rather than the pickup.

Symbolicis my favourite Death album. "Crystal Mountain" is still beyond

 

[orpheo]

The dual resonance patent expired years ago.

I have these Dimarzios:

Chopper T & Twang King: amazing tele set, wish I had tried these sooner.
Illuminator set: awesome. modern, tight, crunchy, yet very smooth lead voice. Love it.
EVO set: like the Illuminator but more even, bit more compression. Great, great set.
Air norton bridge and neck in LP: one of my favorites. Feels like home to me, sonically. Lots of mids, tight lows, singing highs, works great in every situation.
Rail air nortons in mid and neck: amazing. Fat yet cutting. Great, great pickup if you want a full humbucker tone from a singlecoil space.


Tried too many to mention, but honorable mentions are:
Utopia: like the EVO but a bit warmer and fatter. Very nice!
X2N: not my thing. Too hot, too compressed, too fat.
Superdistortion: hate this with a passion. Doesn't work for me. Too fat, too sizzly
36th anniversay: love this. Totally my vibe. Lovely modern paf iteration
Paf Pro: like the 36th but a bit more oompf without losing clarity
Tonezone: sludge fest. Not for me.
d-Activator: sizzle fest, like a bumblebee. Not for me.

 

[JamesPaul]

...

As a second aside, if you look at the original trademark, it would seem that it only covers dual hex double cream pickups. Why none of the proceedings against them have pointed this out, I don't know

No insider information, but what might the legal fees amount to if someone was to challenge them? May not be worth it.

 

[Chistopher]

With each case they win the precedent gets stronger, so it's probably pretty expensive by now.

If Gibson doesn't win the case, I don't think anyone is gonna have the money or willpower to challenge it again

 

[xxxplorer]

I liked the Breed. Dominion was cool too

 

[esandes]

i got a 36th anniversary from dimarzio a year or two ago, and its a good pup, but doesnt sound anything like a real paf

Nor does their PAF Pro. Not even close.

 

[jeremy]

i didnt expect the paf pro to actually be paf like, i did kinda think the 36th would be. i already swapped in an a2 and pulled the "air" i bet if i pulled the slugs itd be closer

 

[superpete]

i like the paf pro a lot for what it is. i was horribly disappointed by the 36th anniversary.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

I like the PAF Pro in the bridge, not in the neck, strangely. In the bridge, it's nice and aggressive with tons of snap. In the neck, I find it overly bright and attacky. But yeah, not PAF-y except in output level.

I love the PAF 36th in the neck because it's kinda the opposite. It's round and smooth.

 

[Butch Snyder]

I like the PAF Pro in the bridge, not in the neck, strangely. In the bridge, it's nice and aggressive with tons of snap. In the neck, I find it overly bright and attacky. But yeah, not PAF-y except in output level.

I remember when the first Ibanez Jems came stock with PAF Pros. Don't know what single coil was in the middle position.

 

[Chistopher]

I think they were custom made for the Jem, but based off something generic

 

[jeremy]

i thought they were based off the fs1 but with fewer turns, could be totally wrong though.

i like the paf pro in the neck, not in the bridge. i do like the fred in the bridge which isnt that far off from a paf pro in some ways

 

[Ashurbanipal]

Yes, the old Jem single coil is supposed to be similar to the FS-1 iirc but a bit lower output and brighter.

I haven't used DiMarzios much, I have a PAF Pro that I got years ago, which I cycled through a few guitars. Currently it's in an Ibanez Ergodyne HSS and it sounds quite good there, matches well with the single coils. I left the metal spacer only on one coil so the split sound isn't too weak, so it's a half air affair.

I think I prefer it in the bridge position. Tried it in the neck a few times in different guitars and it wasn't doing it for me, but I tend to prefer either a true single coil in this position, or a hb that's in the 7s or less.

 

[nienturi]

I like the PAF Pro in the bridge, not in the neck, strangely. In the bridge, it's nice and aggressive with tons of snap. In the neck, I find it overly bright and attacky. But yeah, not PAF-y except in output level.

I love the PAF 36th in the neck because it's kinda the opposite. It's round and smooth.

That's the opposite of me

I like it on the neck. It has clarity and i really like it how it reacts to fast picking. Also it can really mimic the paf sounds. But in the bridge, i generally prefer pickups have more inductance than 5H's.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

But in the bridge, i generally prefer pickups have more inductance than 5H's.

Oh, I normally do as well. I wouldn't say it would be my first or even my second or third choice for the bridge. But I do prefer it in the bridge than in the neck. I remember I once had it in the neck matched with a Dominion in the brige, and I didn't like how my neck position was brighter than my bridge, LOL.

 

[Aceman]

I always had a prejudice because of the tone of Chuck Schuldiner. He used to use that thang and as a fan of "death" just don't enjoyt his tone much

Nothing piercing then? Okay, got it!

If the guitar is itself piercing in the highs, it will boost those as well. So - instrument dependent, IMO. X2N in a Tele, for example...maybe not a good idea. Or a full maple super Strat.

 

[l0rdhumungus]

I really like their bladed single coil size humbuckers.
The Chopper is a KILLER pickup in both neck and bridge
The Cruiser is a nice mix of single and humbucker tone
The Air Norton S is a killer neck pickup and probably would do great in the bridge as well.
The Mirage Neck is actually really great in the middle position for clean tones.
Fast Track 1 is also great in the neck.

 

[Archer250]

I really like their bladed single coil size humbuckers.

I think theirs are the best

Single coils, IMO Duncans are better. Humbuckers, equal, but differently flavored

Rails, yeah DiMarzio takes the cake