dominus
King Midas to Cheap Guitars
Re: Pickup Shootout - Duncans, Dimarzios, Bill Lawrences, Emgs, Bare Knuckles, Oh my!
Install the 85 in the bridge. More bottom-end chunk.
Install the 85 in the bridge. More bottom-end chunk.
Pickup Shootout - Duncans, Dimarzios, Bill Lawrences, Emgs, Bare Knuckles, Oh my!
- Thread starter oblique63
- Start date
King IzzO)))
Ultimate Kitten Puncher
Re: Pickup Shootout - Duncans, Dimarzios, Bill Lawrences, Emgs, Bare Knuckles, Oh my!
^^^That.
Kinda surprisingly the C/59 ceramic sounds the best of them all to me, did you use the big ceramic from the Distortion?
Next is the C-bomb.
None of them sound bad though.
I can't make it through the neck pickup demos, no offense.
^^^That.
Kinda surprisingly the C/59 ceramic sounds the best of them all to me, did you use the big ceramic from the Distortion?
Next is the C-bomb.
None of them sound bad though.
I can't make it through the neck pickup demos, no offense.
SAVAGE DISTORTION
New member
Re: Pickup Shootout - Duncans, Dimarzios, Bill Lawrences, Emgs, Bare Knuckles, Oh my!
DD and 81 for me
and if you really like the 81 but want more bottom end chunk you gotta check out the dimarzio megadrive
DD and 81 for me
and if you really like the 81 but want more bottom end chunk you gotta check out the dimarzio megadrive
oblique63
New member
Re: Pickup Shootout - Duncans, Dimarzios, Bill Lawrences, Emgs, Bare Knuckles, Oh my!
I originally had an 85 in the bridge, because of all the stories about the 81 sounding sterile and such, but I just didn't like it... wasn't my sound. It has bottom end chunk alright, and it does that really well, but it has none of the other properties of the 81 that I like, so naturally I don't find their voicings all that comparable. I eventually upgraded the 85 to an original Blackouts bridge, which I much preferred (feels like that's the EMG pup that Duncan had in mind to compete with, as opposed to the 81), but again, wasn't quite what I was looking for, so I swapped that out for an 81... and that's what I have on now. I'll probably add those other two to the comparison while I'm updating the other stuff either way, cause I do still have them laying around here somewhere.
My favorite active in the bridge is still the Mustaine set one, just wish it used a normal EMG-style connector. Though, I've been wanting to try the Blackouts Metal, cause from the samples I've heard, it has more upper midrange growl than the original Blackout, which is what I like in a pickup.
Interesting suggestion about the Megadrive, hadn't been recommended it before... I'll definitely look into it.
I originally had an 85 in the bridge, because of all the stories about the 81 sounding sterile and such, but I just didn't like it... wasn't my sound. It has bottom end chunk alright, and it does that really well, but it has none of the other properties of the 81 that I like, so naturally I don't find their voicings all that comparable. I eventually upgraded the 85 to an original Blackouts bridge, which I much preferred (feels like that's the EMG pup that Duncan had in mind to compete with, as opposed to the 81), but again, wasn't quite what I was looking for, so I swapped that out for an 81... and that's what I have on now. I'll probably add those other two to the comparison while I'm updating the other stuff either way, cause I do still have them laying around here somewhere.
My favorite active in the bridge is still the Mustaine set one, just wish it used a normal EMG-style connector. Though, I've been wanting to try the Blackouts Metal, cause from the samples I've heard, it has more upper midrange growl than the original Blackout, which is what I like in a pickup.
Interesting suggestion about the Megadrive, hadn't been recommended it before... I'll definitely look into it.
Dark Order Lord
New member
Re: Pickup Shootout - Duncans, Dimarzios, Bill Lawrences, Emgs, Bare Knuckles, Oh my!
Yeah, that sounds alot closer! If you're guitar is that bright then go for an Invader or Custom, not the DD
Yeah, that sounds alot closer! If you're guitar is that bright then go for an Invader or Custom, not the DD
Dark Order Lord
New member
Re: Pickup Shootout - Duncans, Dimarzios, Bill Lawrences, Emgs, Bare Knuckles, Oh my!
Actually, I own a DMZ megadrive and it has an amazingly clear tone, but lacks the mid crunch of a DD
DD and 81 for me
and if you really like the 81 but want more bottom end chunk you gotta check out the dimarzio megadrive
Actually, I own a DMZ megadrive and it has an amazingly clear tone, but lacks the mid crunch of a DD
oblique63
New member
Re: Pickup Shootout - Duncans, Dimarzios, Bill Lawrences, Emgs, Bare Knuckles, Oh my!
I get all of my magnets from addiction-fx. They're pretty cheap too, so you can get one of every magnet to do some taste testing of your own.
I just got an order of an A3, A4, and an A2 in, to try out on the gravity storm neck, and let me say... the A4 Gravity storm (with flathead screws on the top row) is one of the best neck pickups I've ever heard... better than the L-90s even, cause it doesn't have that shrill high end spike (I was listening to those clips through earbuds while riding the subway a while ago, and man... the high end on those was killing my ears after a while). Though I still kinda prefer the 'multi-note'/chord sound of the L90s, cause it's a bit smoother, but I assume that's just the nature of them being rail pickups as opposed to the standard pole pieces on the gravity storm.
P.S.: Apologies to everybody for not updating this more frequently; work's really been hounding me recently... I do have a ton more new pickup samples lined up though, I just need to upload them and post them here.
Here are the new pickups I have lined up:
Duncan JB - stock A5/ceramic/A8/unoriented ceramic
Dimarzio Evolution
Dimarzio Super 3
Dimarzio Dominion - A5/A8/A9 + flathead pole-piece variations
Gibson 500T
Dimarzio Gravity Storm - big ceramic/unoriented ceramic/A6/A5/A4/A3/A2 + flathead pole-piece variations
I pretty much have all of those recorded, so hopefully I can get them posted on here sometime this week.
I get all of my magnets from addiction-fx. They're pretty cheap too, so you can get one of every magnet to do some taste testing of your own.
I just got an order of an A3, A4, and an A2 in, to try out on the gravity storm neck, and let me say... the A4 Gravity storm (with flathead screws on the top row) is one of the best neck pickups I've ever heard... better than the L-90s even, cause it doesn't have that shrill high end spike (I was listening to those clips through earbuds while riding the subway a while ago, and man... the high end on those was killing my ears after a while). Though I still kinda prefer the 'multi-note'/chord sound of the L90s, cause it's a bit smoother, but I assume that's just the nature of them being rail pickups as opposed to the standard pole pieces on the gravity storm.
P.S.: Apologies to everybody for not updating this more frequently; work's really been hounding me recently... I do have a ton more new pickup samples lined up though, I just need to upload them and post them here.
Here are the new pickups I have lined up:
Duncan JB - stock A5/ceramic/A8/unoriented ceramic
Dimarzio Evolution
Dimarzio Super 3
Dimarzio Dominion - A5/A8/A9 + flathead pole-piece variations
Gibson 500T
Dimarzio Gravity Storm - big ceramic/unoriented ceramic/A6/A5/A4/A3/A2 + flathead pole-piece variations
I pretty much have all of those recorded, so hopefully I can get them posted on here sometime this week.
Last edited:
Gplayerzzz
New member
Re: Pickup Shootout - Duncans, Dimarzios, Bill Lawrences, Emgs, Bare Knuckles, Oh my!
Man that kicks butt. Does the Dominion have good high mids like the EMG 81? I've heard the Gravity storm bridge does. I need a new pup for my Strat, and so far I can't decide between the Duncan Distortion, Dominion, and Gravity.
Man that kicks butt. Does the Dominion have good high mids like the EMG 81? I've heard the Gravity storm bridge does. I need a new pup for my Strat, and so far I can't decide between the Duncan Distortion, Dominion, and Gravity.
oblique63
New member
Re: Pickup Shootout - Duncans, Dimarzios, Bill Lawrences, Emgs, Bare Knuckles, Oh my!
I've heard a lot of different pickups touted as being "passive 81s" (i.e. Dimarzio D-activators, BKP Miracle Man, EMG HZs), but I'd say without a doubt, the Dominion is the EMG 81 reincarnated as a passive pup...
Now, that does entail the not-so-great parts of the 81 as well, particularly how thin it sounds, and the lack of bottom end... HOWEVER, just by swapping the bottom row of pole pieces to flathead screws pretty much solves that issue; or at least to the point where it's bearable (for me anyway). And it also takes magnet swaps really well... I was gonna save mentioning this til I posted the new clips, but the Dominion, with the flatheads on the bottom and an A8 magnet, has got to be the best bridge pickup I've played thus far, and pretty much nails the tone I was after all this time. The A9+flathead bottom version came in a very close second, only because its top end is a tad bit too harsh for a recording situation. Live however, it might actually be preferable to help you cut through the mix a bit more. Besides those, the Breed A9/A8 variations come in 3rd and 4th for me (respectively).
anyways, back on topic: I believe the main thing to be noted about the Dominion is how obscene its clarity is... I mean, it's seriously ludicrous how articulate that pickup is, the note separation is just out of this world... though, some of the magnet swaps make it a bit less clear (particularly the A8/A9), it's still miles ahead of most other pickups in that department.
And I actually haven't tried out the bridge version of the Gravity Storm unfortunately. Though, from the clips I heard it sounded a bit more like a D-Activator to me than an 81, and I didn't particularly like my D-activators cause they were quite dark and lacking in the upper mids.
here's a video that I think is very representative of the D-activators' tone: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn13ej03wZo
and now here's the best clip I've seen of the Gravity Storm Bridge: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXcnXwUkM0c&t=0m47s
see what I mean? I do think I'd prefer it over the d-activators though...
Also, don't throw out the possibility of the JB if you really like your mids, I actually think I prefer the stock JB over most of the Distortion variants I tried... I'll post clips of it up soon too, so hopefully that'll help.
I've heard a lot of different pickups touted as being "passive 81s" (i.e. Dimarzio D-activators, BKP Miracle Man, EMG HZs), but I'd say without a doubt, the Dominion is the EMG 81 reincarnated as a passive pup...
Now, that does entail the not-so-great parts of the 81 as well, particularly how thin it sounds, and the lack of bottom end... HOWEVER, just by swapping the bottom row of pole pieces to flathead screws pretty much solves that issue; or at least to the point where it's bearable (for me anyway). And it also takes magnet swaps really well... I was gonna save mentioning this til I posted the new clips, but the Dominion, with the flatheads on the bottom and an A8 magnet, has got to be the best bridge pickup I've played thus far, and pretty much nails the tone I was after all this time. The A9+flathead bottom version came in a very close second, only because its top end is a tad bit too harsh for a recording situation. Live however, it might actually be preferable to help you cut through the mix a bit more. Besides those, the Breed A9/A8 variations come in 3rd and 4th for me (respectively).
anyways, back on topic: I believe the main thing to be noted about the Dominion is how obscene its clarity is... I mean, it's seriously ludicrous how articulate that pickup is, the note separation is just out of this world... though, some of the magnet swaps make it a bit less clear (particularly the A8/A9), it's still miles ahead of most other pickups in that department.
And I actually haven't tried out the bridge version of the Gravity Storm unfortunately. Though, from the clips I heard it sounded a bit more like a D-Activator to me than an 81, and I didn't particularly like my D-activators cause they were quite dark and lacking in the upper mids.
here's a video that I think is very representative of the D-activators' tone: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn13ej03wZo
and now here's the best clip I've seen of the Gravity Storm Bridge: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXcnXwUkM0c&t=0m47s
see what I mean? I do think I'd prefer it over the d-activators though...
Also, don't throw out the possibility of the JB if you really like your mids, I actually think I prefer the stock JB over most of the Distortion variants I tried... I'll post clips of it up soon too, so hopefully that'll help.
Last edited:
Gplayerzzz
New member
Re: Pickup Shootout - Duncans, Dimarzios, Bill Lawrences, Emgs, Bare Knuckles, Oh my!
I see what your saying, they do sound close. Yea, i'm a fan of high mid crunch. Played the EVOs for a while in a LP, but they are too screamy/thin in my Strat. I like the DD, so maybe I should try the JB in it. I'm finding most Dimarzios favor the lows.
I see what your saying, they do sound close. Yea, i'm a fan of high mid crunch. Played the EVOs for a while in a LP, but they are too screamy/thin in my Strat. I like the DD, so maybe I should try the JB in it. I'm finding most Dimarzios favor the lows.
Gplayerzzz
New member
Re: Pickup Shootout - Duncans, Dimarzios, Bill Lawrences, Emgs, Bare Knuckles, Oh my!
I was at the music store, and went ahead and got another DD. It sounds great with this guitar and setup :cool2:
I was at the music store, and went ahead and got another DD. It sounds great with this guitar and setup :cool2:
lazyfinger
Member
Re: Pickup Shootout - Duncans, Dimarzios, Bill Lawrences, Emgs, Bare Knuckles, Oh my!
What's difference that you found between unoriented ceramic vs regular ceramic and big ceramic? Thanks.
What's difference that you found between unoriented ceramic vs regular ceramic and big ceramic? Thanks.
oblique63
New member
Re: Pickup Shootout - Duncans, Dimarzios, Bill Lawrences, Emgs, Bare Knuckles, Oh my!
in general?... it's a bit hard to say, because although each magnet certainly has a recognizable 'personality' of sorts, results can vary from pickup to pickup. What happened to me with the A8 magnet made that very clear, cause I never really was impressed with the A8 in all the duncan pickups I had heard, but then I tried it in the dimarzio Breed and Dominion and was blown away... like it had some of the same fundamental traits as the duncan A8 pickups, but the results were far from what I'd call predictable. Just gotta experiment to find out how they would work in each pickup unfortunately.
That being said, here's how I would break it down:
Standard Ceramic 8 - emphasis on the bass and treble, tighter, more articulate and less 'rounded' than an alnico. Not much of the signature alnico 'roar'/'growl' either.
Big Ceramic - much bigger emphasis on the bass with a dash of sparkly-ness on the treble, and perceptibly louder; still tight, though not very rounded (probably even less so actually), and while there is a slight bottom-end 'growl' of sorts, it's not anything like an alnico.
Unoriented Ceramic - very even frequency response relative to the other two, with more focus put back into the mids, and still remaining quite tight (relative to the alnico family anyway, but it's probably the least tight one of these three). Sounds quite rounded, and closer to an Alnico 2 than a 5 or 8 in that department, but is of course brighter than that. And it definitely has a good bit of that alnico 'roar', similar to an A5, but while the roar in the A5 comes a bit from the upper-mid territory, the UOCeramic has it in a slightly lower mid frequency range (not enough to say it's lower-mid heavy or anything though).
It's kinda hard to put into words really, but I hope it helps picturing it. Again, these magnets are pretty reasonably priced, so I'd advise to just pick some up if you're curious. I also might get around to finally posting the new samples tomorrow (hopefully), and the Gravity Storm [neck] clips I think will be a particularly good way of comparing the 'personalities' of all these magnets.
in general?... it's a bit hard to say, because although each magnet certainly has a recognizable 'personality' of sorts, results can vary from pickup to pickup. What happened to me with the A8 magnet made that very clear, cause I never really was impressed with the A8 in all the duncan pickups I had heard, but then I tried it in the dimarzio Breed and Dominion and was blown away... like it had some of the same fundamental traits as the duncan A8 pickups, but the results were far from what I'd call predictable. Just gotta experiment to find out how they would work in each pickup unfortunately.
That being said, here's how I would break it down:
Standard Ceramic 8 - emphasis on the bass and treble, tighter, more articulate and less 'rounded' than an alnico. Not much of the signature alnico 'roar'/'growl' either.
Big Ceramic - much bigger emphasis on the bass with a dash of sparkly-ness on the treble, and perceptibly louder; still tight, though not very rounded (probably even less so actually), and while there is a slight bottom-end 'growl' of sorts, it's not anything like an alnico.
Unoriented Ceramic - very even frequency response relative to the other two, with more focus put back into the mids, and still remaining quite tight (relative to the alnico family anyway, but it's probably the least tight one of these three). Sounds quite rounded, and closer to an Alnico 2 than a 5 or 8 in that department, but is of course brighter than that. And it definitely has a good bit of that alnico 'roar', similar to an A5, but while the roar in the A5 comes a bit from the upper-mid territory, the UOCeramic has it in a slightly lower mid frequency range (not enough to say it's lower-mid heavy or anything though).
It's kinda hard to put into words really, but I hope it helps picturing it. Again, these magnets are pretty reasonably priced, so I'd advise to just pick some up if you're curious. I also might get around to finally posting the new samples tomorrow (hopefully), and the Gravity Storm [neck] clips I think will be a particularly good way of comparing the 'personalities' of all these magnets.
Last edited:
lazyfinger
Member
Re: Pickup Shootout - Duncans, Dimarzios, Bill Lawrences, Emgs, Bare Knuckles, Oh my!
Thanks! It does help. I've sampled most mags out there, with the exception of the newcomer such as unoriented ceramic and A9 and A6.
The UO ceramic seems like something I'd like. If you've tried the JB and DD back to back with the same magnet, you might agree that all though they're somewhat similar, their attack and mids are different, even though they're both described as upper mid range type of pickups. The JB's attack to me sounds round, and has a fat sounding single notes, DD is more straight forward and piercing, and has thinner sounding single notes. JB has the crunch in the mids, DD has the crunch in the lows and highs.
In any case, I'd love to hear the JB with UO ceramic back to back with the DD you already have there.
Thanks! It does help. I've sampled most mags out there, with the exception of the newcomer such as unoriented ceramic and A9 and A6.
The UO ceramic seems like something I'd like. If you've tried the JB and DD back to back with the same magnet, you might agree that all though they're somewhat similar, their attack and mids are different, even though they're both described as upper mid range type of pickups. The JB's attack to me sounds round, and has a fat sounding single notes, DD is more straight forward and piercing, and has thinner sounding single notes. JB has the crunch in the mids, DD has the crunch in the lows and highs.
In any case, I'd love to hear the JB with UO ceramic back to back with the DD you already have there.
oblique63
New member
Re: Pickup Shootout - Duncans, Dimarzios, Bill Lawrences, Emgs, Bare Knuckles, Oh my!
FINALLY! Updated with the new samples!
Apologies for the delay, had a last minute realization that I didn't properly record all my DI tracks for the neck shootout when I went to reamp the samples, so I had to go back and redo a lot of those...
Anyways, check the first post for all the info. It's really starting to get a bit crowded though (51 total shootout tracks according to my soundcloud!), so I might just start updating the soundcloud directly without adding them on here with commentary and everything. I've also been considering setting up a site of sorts to facilitate doing pickup comparisons, if that's something people might be interested in (I'm a web developer, by the way). I'd probably take me a while to set up due to my current list of chores, and I might need to support it with ads and such due to all the time and expenses, but if there's enough interest, I'll give a serious go at it.
Also, I feel I should point out that I'm open to trading most of the pickups on here, in case anybody wants to donate a pickup to the comparison or whatever. I'll probably set up a real thread about this in the actual trading/selling area, but if anybody's interested, feel free to drop me a PM. Ideally, I'd like to trade my bare knuckles for some Suhr or Wolfetone pups (i.e. an ssh+/aldrich, or Marshallhead), and perhaps one of the duncans or dimarzios for a Custom to experiment doing hybrids with. But feel free to contact me with whatever.
FINALLY! Updated with the new samples!
Apologies for the delay, had a last minute realization that I didn't properly record all my DI tracks for the neck shootout when I went to reamp the samples, so I had to go back and redo a lot of those...
Anyways, check the first post for all the info. It's really starting to get a bit crowded though (51 total shootout tracks according to my soundcloud!), so I might just start updating the soundcloud directly without adding them on here with commentary and everything. I've also been considering setting up a site of sorts to facilitate doing pickup comparisons, if that's something people might be interested in (I'm a web developer, by the way). I'd probably take me a while to set up due to my current list of chores, and I might need to support it with ads and such due to all the time and expenses, but if there's enough interest, I'll give a serious go at it.
Also, I feel I should point out that I'm open to trading most of the pickups on here, in case anybody wants to donate a pickup to the comparison or whatever. I'll probably set up a real thread about this in the actual trading/selling area, but if anybody's interested, feel free to drop me a PM. Ideally, I'd like to trade my bare knuckles for some Suhr or Wolfetone pups (i.e. an ssh+/aldrich, or Marshallhead), and perhaps one of the duncans or dimarzios for a Custom to experiment doing hybrids with. But feel free to contact me with whatever.
Myaccount876
Amira-Maker
Re: Pickup Shootout - Duncans, Dimarzios, Bill Lawrences, Emgs, Bare Knuckles, Oh my!
I guess I really like A2, A8, A9, Ceramic, and UO Ceramic magnets. Really need to try a Breed with the A8. Sounds amazing to my ears.
Oh and the 85 in the bridge sounded perfect.
I guess I really like A2, A8, A9, Ceramic, and UO Ceramic magnets. Really need to try a Breed with the A8. Sounds amazing to my ears.
Oh and the 85 in the bridge sounded perfect.
dreamwarrior
New member
Re: Pickup Shootout - Duncans, Dimarzios, Bill Lawrences, Emgs, Bare Knuckles, Oh my!
Great shootout, I keep listening to a few of them. Pretty interesting subtle differences in some.
Great shootout, I keep listening to a few of them. Pretty interesting subtle differences in some.
