opinions on Dimarzio X2N?

A

appar111

New member
Thinking of tracking down a used X2N to use with a medium gain amp setup consisting of a fender tweed amp and a pedal designed to emulate a vintage Plexi (a Lovepedal COT50--i.e. not super high gain by any means).

I've been listening to alot of later 70's/early 80's WOBHM (Priest, Maiden) and I know back then they would use higher output pickups with these amps to kick them into high gain.

So I figured it should work similarly with my setup, right?

Is anyone here still rockin' it old school with high output pickups and medium gain amps, in particular the X2N?
 
Re: opinions on Dimarzio X2N?

I feel like the X2n is a more modern type of pickup, I would think guys back then used super distortions, JBs and cranked marshalls, not fender tweeds.
 
Re: opinions on Dimarzio X2N?

yeah, but the pedal is what's providing the Marshall Plexi-ness. The tweed's just a clean amp (bassman RI) for the volume.

I thought the guys in Priest were using X2N's back then?
 
Re: opinions on Dimarzio X2N?

I think it'll sound great, but you might need to actually get a vintagey sorta high gain pedal, just the plexi pedal and high output pups is unlikely to have the same drive characteristics as cranked and pushed tubes.
 
Re: opinions on Dimarzio X2N?

I do have another drive pedal I can stick in front of the plexi pedal to push it, like they did back in the day w/ tubescreamers and the like. Having all that driven by something like the X2N should hopefully get me in the ballpark.

I just installed a JB in my #2 guitar this weekend and should be able to give it a go this weekend. If that works well, then I'll track down an X2N....
 
Re: opinions on Dimarzio X2N?

The X2N is a good pickup for non-high gain amps. I thought it sounded great through my Bogner Alchemist, which is a solid amp, but not super high gain. It pushed that amp nicely. When I bought the ENGL, the X2Ns just weren't cutting it. There was too much of everything and it just wasn't the right tone. Granted, I'm still hanging on to the X2Ns because they do sound great with the right amp.
 
Re: opinions on Dimarzio X2N?

Love the X2N! Or used to, don't have it anymore. Thick, hot, compressed, loud, balanced. Did I mention hot? Really effing hot. Megan Fox Hot!

It will pimp slap the preamp tubes on the tweedy into next week. I have no idea how it will work with the stomp box - but I'm not optimistic.

I hate to sound like the DiMarzio advert for it - but DEFINITELY hook it up with a three way switch (Duncan triple ring?). The parellel sound is AWESOME. And it splits into a great Texas hot-esque single tone as well.

Super flexible in that arrangement. Very toneful.

Did I mention hot?
 
Re: opinions on Dimarzio X2N?

X2N was made in 79. It's used by some modern metal guys but I wouldnt describe it as a modern pickup.. It's possible the bands listed might have used them. If you have a stomp box I find it pointless to get a really high output pickup. High output pickups were meant to push the amp's tube to breakup, pushing a stomp box diode to break up isnt really nice sounding. Now if you are turning a knob on a stomp box to make more clipping thats different but trying to hit the front end of a stomp box isnt going to sound too great. It will sound very unpleasant. If you had a JCM 800 you wanted more gain or compression out of then its a good idea to get an X2N. A lot of those older rockers used high output pickups, stomp boxes, and cranked amps but in your case on paper it sounds the same but is slightly different. You aren't pushing the amp at all. You said its a clean amp and the stomp box is doing all the work so once again I dont think its the best idea to be hitting the front end of a stomp box hard. I'd try finding a new stomp box first but thats just my opinion. You're lucky I'm not yelling at you to just get a Marshall because I hate stomp boxes haha.
 
Re: opinions on Dimarzio X2N?

ACH91332 said:
X2N was made in 79. It's used by some modern metal guys but I wouldnt describe it as a modern pickup.. It's possible the bands listed might have used them. If you have a stomp box I find it pointless to get a really high output pickup. High output pickups were meant to push the amp's tube to breakup, pushing a stomp box diode to break up isnt really nice sounding. Now if you are turning a knob on a stomp box to make more clipping thats different but trying to hit the front end of a stomp box isnt going to sound too great. It will sound very unpleasant. If you had a JCM 800 you wanted more gain or compression out of then its a good idea to get an X2N. A lot of those older rockers used high output pickups, stomp boxes, and cranked amps but in your case on paper it sounds the same but is slightly different. You aren't pushing the amp at all. You said its a clean amp and the stomp box is doing all the work so once again I dont think its the best idea to be hitting the front end of a stomp box hard. I'd try finding a new stomp box first but thats just my opinion. You're lucky I'm not yelling at you to just get a Marshall because I hate stomp boxes haha.
Click to expand...

I guess you do! I think it's clouding your opinion on the subject though. I don't know if I agree with alot of the stuff you mentioned. There are alot of people using high output pickups with distortion pedals, not just to solely push the front end of their amp. And plenty of great tones that are not unpleasant. Otherwise, we'd all be using low output pickups, since with high gain pedals, there's no need to have high output pickups, right?

I've tried other high output pickups (JB, Super Distortion) with other pedals (Boss DS-1 and SD-1, Menatone Shut Up and Drive, Lovepedal COT50) and they sounded fine not "unpleasant" at all.

The pedal in question is designed to emulate the sound and response of a Marshall plexi-- react like one when being pushed, how it responds to backing off the volume knob on the guitar, etc. So, not just a regular distortion pedal, but more of an "amp in a box". The amp in question, while clean, is being pushed a bit by the pedal to start overdriving, while at the same time having the pedal add it's own "marshally-ness" to the sound. Which is why I was asking how the X2N might sound with it-- i.e. treating my Bassman + COT50 as if it were a medium gain amp. Of course, your opinion on the subject is duly noted (you don't like pedals), but I can't just go out and get a Marshall amp (though a '74 Superlead would be nice!)

Have you had any experience with the particular stomp box I'm talking about? Seems really silly to be telling someone to be looking for another stompbox unless you've had particular experience w/ the pedal and/or pickup in question.
 
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Re: opinions on Dimarzio X2N?

Aceman said:
Love the X2N! Or used to, don't have it anymore. Thick, hot, compressed, loud, balanced. Did I mention hot? Really effing hot. Megan Fox Hot!

It will pimp slap the preamp tubes on the tweedy into next week. I have no idea how it will work with the stomp box - but I'm not optimistic.

I hate to sound like the DiMarzio advert for it - but DEFINITELY hook it up with a three way switch (Duncan triple ring?). The parellel sound is AWESOME. And it splits into a great Texas hot-esque single tone as well.

Super flexible in that arrangement. Very toneful.

Did I mention hot?
Click to expand...

So, it's hot? :)

Don't think of the COT50 as a distortion pedal, think of it more as a plexi in pedal form. Looking at it that way, the X2N should work quite well with it, right?

Maybe I'm just looking for someone to greenlight my potential purchase. I guess there's no way to know for sure unless I slap down the funds for one...

I have an "on-on-on" switch here, just need to unsolder the old wires on it and start over and do the whole split/parallel/series thing with it.
 
Re: opinions on Dimarzio X2N?

i had one and I liked it.. I prefer the Super D tho. and More classic guys used Super D's
 
Re: opinions on Dimarzio X2N?

Well - the real issue is how does the stomp box respond to input signal?

Some do, some don't, I'll trust you this one does, in which case you should end up with it being blasted by the X2N, which is a good thing.

I say go for it. And that Paellel sound - just great. I usually played it like that - especially when clean.

so - GREENLIGHT.
 
Re: opinions on Dimarzio X2N?

Both metal bands you listed priest and maiden,I know Dave Murray used Supers in his 57'black strat and I've seen lots of pics of adrian smith with what appear to be super Ds in differant gibsons.I'm pretty sure preist was using them too.
 
Re: opinions on Dimarzio X2N?

The only guy that comes to mind that used the X2N in the 80's was Chuck Schuldiner from Death, and that was late 80's.
 
Re: opinions on Dimarzio X2N?

I know the Super D was used by alot of the greats back then, but I had assumed that there were alot of the heavy metal bands back then using the X2N as well.
 
Re: opinions on Dimarzio X2N?

it's hot but it's not really edgy or raw sounding like the way a JB is, it's kind of a smooth hot
 
Re: opinions on Dimarzio X2N?

appar111 said:
I guess you do! I think it's clouding your opinion on the subject though. I don't know if I agree with alot of the stuff you mentioned. There are alot of people using high output pickups with distortion pedals, not just to solely push the front end of their amp. And plenty of great tones that are not unpleasant. Otherwise, we'd all be using low output pickups, since with high gain pedals, there's no need to have high output pickups, right?

I've tried other high output pickups (JB, Super Distortion) with other pedals (Boss DS-1 and SD-1, Menatone Shut Up and Drive, Lovepedal COT50) and they sounded fine not "unpleasant" at all.

The pedal in question is designed to emulate the sound and response of a Marshall plexi-- react like one when being pushed, how it responds to backing off the volume knob on the guitar, etc. So, not just a regular distortion pedal, but more of an "amp in a box". The amp in question, while clean, is being pushed a bit by the pedal to start overdriving, while at the same time having the pedal add it's own "marshally-ness" to the sound. Which is why I was asking how the X2N might sound with it-- i.e. treating my Bassman + COT50 as if it were a medium gain amp. Of course, your opinion on the subject is duly noted (you don't like pedals), but I can't just go out and get a Marshall amp (though a '74 Superlead would be nice!)

Have you had any experience with the particular stomp box I'm talking about? Seems really silly to be telling someone to be looking for another stompbox unless you've had particular experience w/ the pedal and/or pickup in question.
Click to expand...

Well I hate stomp boxes so I am biased I guess but I hate how it sounds when a pedal is being pushed too hard from a guitar. Ive only used Tubescreamers to flaver my lead tone so I only use it for the EQ not gain so maybe thats why.
 
Re: opinions on Dimarzio X2N?

I had one in a Jet King a while back. I swapped it out before I bought my Hot Rod Deluxe however, so there goes our perfect review. I will say though, that I had a gibson dirty fingers, which i think is like 16k, in the bridge of my Fender Jaguar, and when i would plug into my Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, the guitar drove the amp so hard that the gain knob on the amp, which goes up to 12, had 2 settings: not enough, and too much. I found installing a much lower output pickup (8-9K) did the trick. I much prefer the sound of a lower output pickup through my fender amp. plus, lower output makes the cleans beautiful. then again it is a fender. ;)
 
Re: opinions on Dimarzio X2N?

I bought a used Peavey Classic 50, replaced all tubes with Mulliard amd Tungsol, and was wondering if a X2N will die or thrive in it.
 
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