Opinions needed on 3 different DiMarzio setups

[SliderJeff]

Ok guys,

I THINK I have figured out which setups I want to go with pickup-wise with each of my 3 main guitars.

1.) Ibanez USRG30 - alder with maple cap, direct mounted pickups
Neck: Air Norton
Bridge: Tone Zone

2.) Ibanez S540 - mahogany S body, ring mounted pickups
Neck: Al DiMeola Neck Model
Middle: HS-2 (stock C2 pickup)
Bridge: Megadrive

3.) Fender HM Strat - basswood, pickguard mounted pickups
Neck: Humbucker From Hell
Middle: HS-3 (this is what's in there now.. no clue how it will sound split with HFH in neck or SS in bridge)
Bridge: Steve's Special

My main preamp is a Mesa Boogie Triaxis v2.0 without phat mod. I run a Mesa 20/20 power amp and a Mesa Recto Vertical 2x12 for a cab. I also use an ADA MP-1 and a Digitech GSP2101 Artist Pro every once in awhile.

I "play" mostly metal in the vein of Dream Theater.. or at least that is what I aspire to. I want to try my hand at some jazz fusion stuff too with at least one of these guitars. Something along the lines of Brett Garsed, Shawn Lane, Greg Howe... that sort of thing. I also plan on doing at least one old school DiMeola inspired tune.

Any thoughts on the chosen pickups with my given setup?

Thanks,
Jeff

 

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Re: Opinions needed on 3 different DiMarzio setups

nice setup, but for when you want to do more fusiony stuff i dont think the hot pickups your using will suit very well. but for metal, they seem great. but remember about the steve special you're gonna need more mids than normal, so if you have an amp setting your gonna need it with more mids. wiht at least one of those guitars i think you should try something less hot, like one of the duncans out there like a JB. Phil Keaggy uses 2 JB's and he has a great electric sound when he plays that stuff.

 

[SliderJeff]

Re: Opinions needed on 3 different DiMarzio setups

Thanks... I was wondering about that. I need to check again as far as what some of the guys I like are using pickup-wise for their fusion stuff. I'm not familiar with Keaggy's work, but I've heard his name alot.

Personally, in case you can't really tell from my pup selections, I'm not much of an SD fan, unfortunately. It's a shame that DiMarzio's web design guys have their heads so far up their butts as far as providing a forum for people like me to discuss their product. I sent a two page email to their support site listing all the things that were wrong with their current "Flash for the sake of Flash" un-navigable craptastic redesigned site... obivously it fell on deaf ears.

I appreciate you and the other SD forumites taking the time to answer my non-SD questions.

Also, my main preamp is the Triaxis... so I don't think mids are really going to be a problem as that preamp is notoriously mid-rich.... in fact it was the main reason the Steve's Special was designed the way it was from what I understand.

Thanks again,
Jeff

PS - FWIW, it may be that I have just not stumbled across an SD that I like, rather than just ruling them out as a whole. The long and short of it is that I have 7 already purchased DiMarzios that have been gathering dust that really need to get installed. If for some reason these don't float my boat, I'll for SURE be asking up a storm about what SD product would fit the bill more based on my not liking DiMarzio pickup X or Y.

 

[ranalli]

Re: Opinions needed on 3 different DiMarzio setups

Yeah, that new Dimarzio site kinda sucks the more I use it. It's just a pain in the ass...I don't give a **** if it's animated....just put the page up. Those web guys need to take some friggin classes on web design and learn how not to overdo things.

Not to mention, I would have rather they just kept the old site and put a damn bulletin board up like this one. I really like their pickups but that company is kind of dumb sometimes.

Unfortunately I can't help you with any of those particular Dimarzios other than the Humbucker From Hell....I love that one. Gives a nice single coil in the neck but with a little more punch, roundness, and less noise. Great pickups and you get all the chimey cleans you want with it too.

The other pickups you listed I'd like to try at some point though.


I'd love to read that email you wrote though...LOL.

 

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Re: Opinions needed on 3 different DiMarzio setups

Thanks... I was wondering about that. I need to check again as far as what some of the guys I like are using pickup-wise for their fusion stuff. I'm not familiar with Keaggy's work, but I've heard his name alot.

Personally, in case you can't really tell from my pup selections, I'm not much of an SD fan, unfortunately. It's a shame that DiMarzio's web design guys have their heads so far up their butts as far as providing a forum for people like me to discuss their product. I sent a two page email to their support site listing all the things that were wrong with their current "Flash for the sake of Flash" un-navigable craptastic redesigned site... obivously it fell on deaf ears.

I appreciate you and the other SD forumites taking the time to answer my non-SD questions.

Also, my main preamp is the Triaxis... so I don't think mids are really going to be a problem as that preamp is notoriously mid-rich.... in fact it was the main reason the Steve's Special was designed the way it was from what I understand.

Thanks again,
Jeff

PS - FWIW, it may be that I have just not stumbled across an SD that I like, rather than just ruling them out as a whole. The long and short of it is that I have 7 already purchased DiMarzios that have been gathering dust that really need to get installed. If for some reason these don't float my boat, I'll for SURE be asking up a storm about what SD product would fit the bill more based on my not liking DiMarzio pickup X or Y.

just curious, but what duncans have you tried?
one of my friends is a big dimarzio fan, and before he knew me he only tried the JB and didn't like that. so he immediately came to the conclusion that all SD's sound like the JB whihc is complete crap. so im just asking ya

 

[ranalli]

Re: Opinions needed on 3 different DiMarzio setups

just curious, but what duncans have you tried?
one of my friends is a big dimarzio fan, and before he knew me he only tried the JB and didn't like that. so he immediately came to the conclusion that all SD's sound like the JB whihc is complete crap. so im just asking ya

That seems to happen alot unfortunately....people try the JB, don't like it then never look at Duncans again. On the Dimarzio side, people try the Tone Zone, don't like it then never look at Dimarzio again....LOL.

The JB is probably my favorite Duncan but I can see why people might not like it.

 

[SliderJeff]

Re: Opinions needed on 3 different DiMarzio setups

Let me see if I can remember... I'm pretty sure I heard a JB, a 59N, Full Shred Bridge, and I THINK a Duncan Distortion, Invader (easily the worst pickup I have EVER heard in my life - it was in the bridge of a 1980's Les Paul - woo boy)... those are the ones I can remember... it HAS been awhile though. The main thing is that the DiMarzios I HAVE had experience with, I really dig... other than the PAF Pro, which I currently have installed in the neck of both the Fender HM and the USRG30.

FWIW, there is ONE thing that the DiMarzio webgoons did the day after I emailed them. They got rid of that God awful Vai in a speedo pic on the main page and put that one of him on the couch up there. Thank GOD. The other things they did in response to my blasting them about the OEM pickup info (or lack thereof) was that they removed all mention of listing the info on their site and put up a bunch of "for info, send an email to support@blah blah blah". Gee, that's helpful guys. Why couldn't you figure out how to copy and paste the info from the OLD site into the newly formatted page? I mean, give me 5 blind chickens and a couple retarded monkeys and they can figure out how to do THAT! But I digress....

Thanks again for the feedback. Please, do NOT hesitate to suggest some SD pickups for each of these guitar setups, but please understand that since I already spent the money on the DiMarzios, those are getting first crack at these guitars. Also, FWIW, he is what is CURRENTLY in those that I am looking to replace in whole or in part:

1.) USRG30
Neck: PAF Pro
Bridge: Tone Zone

2.) S540
Neck: IBZ USA F1
Middle: HS-2 (stock IBZ USA C2 pickup)
Bridge: IBZ USA F2

3.) Fender HM Strat
Neck: PAF Pro
Middle: HS-3
Bridge: Tone Zone

Thanks again,
Jeff

 

[WITH FULL DISTORTION]

Re: Opinions needed on 3 different DiMarzio setups

Hails man
Change that Steve´s Special for a Super distortion or a X2N
steves has SCOOPED Midds.
what is that al di meola signature?
is that an accoustick pickup? i didn´t see it listed in teh dimarzio catalog.

 

[RACER X]

Re: Opinions needed on 3 different DiMarzio setups

Might think about the CUSTOM SH-5, a killer metal pup.

 

[ranalli]

Re: Opinions needed on 3 different DiMarzio setups

FWIW, there is ONE thing that the DiMarzio webgoons did the day after I emailed them. They got rid of that God awful Vai in a speedo pic on the main page and put that one of him on the couch up there. Thank GOD.

I think they got alot of complaints on that one...LOL...I was glad they changed it.

1.) USRG30
Neck: PAF Pro
Bridge: Tone Zone

2.) S540
Neck: IBZ USA F1
Middle: HS-2 (stock IBZ USA C2 pickup)
Bridge: IBZ USA F2

3.) Fender HM Strat
Neck: PAF Pro
Middle: HS-3
Bridge: Tone Zone

Thanks again,
Jeff

So this is what you have NOW in these guitars and what you have in your first post is what you want to upgrade too??


I've never used your setup but if you Mesa has a scooped sound the Steves Special may clash with that since it has scooped mids also...I definitely could be wrong though...works for Petrucci.

Let us know how the Megadrive works out for you...I don't hear much talk about that pickup but the few that have tried it seemed to like it.

If you try the ToneZone and find it too bassy and mushy, try the Super Distortion, it's not as mushy, bit less bass and a bit tighter. And a step above that in the same direction is the Super 3 which I really like as well.

If you find any of those pickups having too much top end you're not gonna like most of hte Duncans IMO. A majority of the Duncans have a real good presence that sound excellent with some setups but not with others. I find the Duncans sound great if your amp setup is somewhat strong in the mids....like a Marshall or something. When I had 6L6's in my Peavey XXX which was more Mesa like, I definitely prefered some of the warmer EQ'd Dimarzio pickups.

 

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Re: Opinions needed on 3 different DiMarzio setups

well, the pickups that you had mentioned aren't a very good example of the "duncan tone"
the JB is pretty bright, and "honky"
the distortion is bright and chunky
th einvader just sucks in my opinion
the 59n, i dont like all that much
and the full shred is really bright and shrill sometimes.

a pickup that i would seriously recommend to you would be the sh-5 Custom for bridge. easily the ebst pickup i've tried and is very balanced too. so you dont get a shrill high end or a boomy, muddy low end and a nice throw in of mids. a paf on steroids as some may say, and thats what i like about it. i like the tone of paf's but always wanted a hotter wound version.

 

[ranalli]

Re: Opinions needed on 3 different DiMarzio setups

well, the pickups that you had mentioned aren't a very good example of the "duncan tone"
the JB is pretty bright, and "honky"
the distortion is bright and chunky
th einvader just sucks in my opinion
the 59n, i dont like all that much
and the full shred is really bright and shrill sometimes.

a pickup that i would seriously recommend to you would be the sh-5 Custom for bridge. easily the ebst pickup i've tried and is very balanced too. so you dont get a shrill high end or a boomy, muddy low end and a nice throw in of mids. a paf on steroids as some may say, and thats what i like about it. i like the tone of paf's but always wanted a hotter wound version.

I didn't like the 59n either...it's so plain and boomy sounding IMO no matter what guitar it was in or what the pickup height was.

I do want to try the C5 though...although some people say it's scooped...some say it's balanced....??

Also some people say the regular Custom sounds like a PAF on steroids too and I found that one kind of harsh and shrill when I first tried it.

I do want to try the Custom Custom as well.

 

[SliderJeff]

Re: Opinions needed on 3 different DiMarzio setups

Yep... you hit the nail on the head with respect to my current thoughts on SD pups. "Honky", "bassy", "muddy" yuck are pretty much what I have come to believe is the "SD Sound".. so you can see why I tended towards DiMarzios.

The Triaxis is a mid HEAVY preamp... not a scooped tone... hence the reason that the Steve's Special works so well with it... they essentially cancel one another out to give you a nice even mid tone with good bass and treble.

The SH-5 is a Duncan Custom? Or is that the Custom Custom? I'm not real up on my model numbers with SD... I know them more by the name.

Yes... my original post was what I am going to put in, the second listing was what is in their now. As for the Tone Zone... the only guitar that is going in is the one it is installed in currently, so I know how it sounds... i.e. nice and tight. I think the alder and maple cap which tend to be a nice bright tone cancels out the sometimes muddy nature of the TZ. I HOPE to record some stuff once I get all this taken care of, but I need ALOT of setup work on at least two of them, so it may be awhile.

Thanks again,
Jeff

 

[SliderJeff]

Re: Opinions needed on 3 different DiMarzio setups

Oh yeah... one more thing, since I own a Fender HM, I still have the Super3 that came in it around here as well as the custom Dimarzio neck that matches it, so I can always go nuts and stick those suckers back in there if I feel the need. Yeah... I have alot of pickups.

Thanks,
Jeff

 

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Re: Opinions needed on 3 different DiMarzio setups

Yep... you hit the nail on the head with respect to my current thoughts on SD pups. "Honky", "bassy", "muddy" yuck are pretty much what I have come to believe is the "SD Sound".. so you can see why I tended towards DiMarzios.

The Triaxis is a mid HEAVY preamp... not a scooped tone... hence the reason that the Steve's Special works so well with it... they essentially cancel one another out to give you a nice even mid tone with good bass and treble.

The SH-5 is a Duncan Custom? Or is that the Custom Custom? I'm not real up on my model numbers with SD... I know them more by the name.

Yes... my original post was what I am going to put in, the second listing was what is in their now. As for the Tone Zone... the only guitar that is going in is the one it is installed in currently, so I know how it sounds... i.e. nice and tight. I think the alder and maple cap which tend to be a nice bright tone cancels out the sometimes muddy nature of the TZ. I HOPE to record some stuff once I get all this taken care of, but I need ALOT of setup work on at least two of them, so it may be awhile.

Thanks again,
Jeff

it's a duncan Custom. the custom custom is the sh-11 and the custom is the sh-5

if you want hear a clip of what the custom sounds like i have a clip of it in a fusiony setting...
it's called "smooth solo"
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/0/lpshreddersmusic.htm

 

[SliderJeff]

Re: Opinions needed on 3 different DiMarzio setups

Wow... very cool, dude. Nice little phaser rhythm guitar going on in the background for the chords. I assume from reading the title of the page that you used an LP for this? What other gear did you use, if you don't mind me asking? Great playing... definitely liked it. I think my ears are shot though, cuz everything I listen to tonight is sounding overly bright... and I usually LIKE bright as opposed to warm stuff. I think my ears are just fried from work this week (I write audio processing software to do stuff like mp3,aac, wma, etc... for a living... so headphones are surgically attached to my head)

I'll listen again later this weekend before I make a call on the tone.

Thanks again,
Jeff

 

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Re: Opinions needed on 3 different DiMarzio setups

Wow... very cool, dude. Nice little phaser rhythm guitar going on in the background for the chords. I assume from reading the title of the page that you used an LP for this? What other gear did you use, if you don't mind me asking? Great playing... definitely liked it. I think my ears are shot though, cuz everything I listen to tonight is sounding overly bright... and I usually LIKE bright as opposed to warm stuff. I think my ears are just fried from work this week (I write audio processing software to do stuff like mp3,aac, wma, etc... for a living... so headphones are surgically attached to my head)

I'll listen again later this weekend before I make a call on the tone.

Thanks again,
Jeff

thanks!
but i used my san dimas charvel for that one, through my digitech rp200 pedal, through my marshall avt150 combo into cool edit pro. i actually got that name on the site because thats my name on every other board i go to :laugh2:

 

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Re: Opinions needed on 3 different DiMarzio setups

oh, btw i used the same guitar on "magnolia" but i used the neck pickup(dimarzio chooper) so it'sa bit warmer sounding.

 

[ranalli]

Re: Opinions needed on 3 different DiMarzio setups

it's a duncan Custom. the custom custom is the sh-11 and the custom is the sh-5

if you want hear a clip of what the custom sounds like i have a clip of it in a fusiony setting...
it's called "smooth solo"
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/0/lpshreddersmusic.htm

Nice nice clips man....I love em actually. Is that Fusion per say??

Just nice playing and everything. Smooth solo and Magnolia both rock....I like the clean background with the distorted lead up front...sounds real nice.

 

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Re: Opinions needed on 3 different DiMarzio setups

not ncessarily fusion, but kinda i guess i culd say.