SD equivalent of Dimarzio Bluesbucker?

The Tone Ranger

The Tone Ranger

New member
Hey everyone, I recently saw some YouTube reviews for the Dimarzio Bluesbucker and it seems like it’s exactly what I’m looking for in a neck humbucker. That said, I much prefer the tone of SD to Dimarzio. I admit that some Dimarzios sound good...moreso the neck models, but overall...SD owns the tones!

For those not familiar...the Bluesbucker is basically a single coil in a hum bucker spacing. One coil does the majority of the work while the other coil is there to cancel hum. Great bluesy single coil tones which is what I’m after.

I know there’s the Stag Mag and P-Rails, which are cool, but that requires a coil tap or pickup ring with triple shot or whatever. The Bluesbucker would give me single coil neck tones with no mods. I really like the Jazz model in the neck...so could always get the Hot Rodded Humbucker set, but would still need a coil tap for single coil tones.

Guitar is an alder Charvel Pro Mod So Cal...pickups directly mounted to wood/no pickup rings, one volume pot and three position switch. I’m looking to put JB in the bridge (anyone got one of those laying around ;) ?) I could always just buy the Dimarzio, but just wondering if there is a Duncan equivalent.

Thanks!
 
Re: SD equivalent of Dimarzio Bluesbucker?

Really nothing in SD's lineup is like it.... Its unique to Dimarzio. This is one of those times where if this is the tone you dig... buy the Dmz.

There are many cool SD pickups but none that would do what the bluesbucker does in the same way.
 
Re: SD equivalent of Dimarzio Bluesbucker?

tell ya what you can do about the whole no mods thing...

find a slightly hot neck humbucker that is bright/middy.
wire it in parallel.
done.

you'll have more of that sizzly single coil vibe, a bit more of that bright/middy single coil kinda tonality, and because it's hotter than your average neck humbucker, when wired in parallel, it won't be drastically lower output than whatever bridge humbucker you pick.
...but it's not gonna sound exactly like a single coil, just much closer than you'd get with a normal humbucker wired in series.

this'll open up your choices to a lot more companies than just SD, who doesn't really make anything like the bluesbucker. That said, there are two potential options you could investigate a bit further (do a search here, a buncha results will show up):

The Full Shred neck model (which is very articulate and fluid)
and the Screamin Demon in the neck (which has been reported to have a full, articulate sound, but with a bit of single coil-esque attack)
 
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Re: SD equivalent of Dimarzio Bluesbucker?

Thanks guys. I appreciate the quick responses and feedback.

So either get the Bluesbucker...or go with a Screamin’ Demon wired in parallel. Too bad SD doesn’t have an equivalent in their lineup...it’s a cool idea (beyond the P-Rails of course).

I’ve heard the Demon in the neck (James Ryan clip on Youtube...love that dude’s vids and playing) and it sounds very cool.

Thanks again!
 
Re: SD equivalent of Dimarzio Bluesbucker?

You can remove one row of poles to make any neck humbucker sound more like a single coil. Because I believe the second coil on the Bluesbucker is a blind/dummy coil? You can also turn the pickup 180 degrees and radius the fillister screws to match the curvature of the neck to get a brighter sound with better definition. There's also the Dimarzio Humbucker From Hell, but I think it's brightness and single coil qualities have been overstated. The HFH really only sounds good with maple fretboards and since the HFH is rather weak and very transparent it takes on the character of whatever the fretboard material is.
 
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Re: SD equivalent of Dimarzio Bluesbucker?

Bluesbuckers are unique PU's, the coils are very mismatched (like 6.5K and 3.5K or something like that, that totals 10K) with a small ceramic mag under one coil. I had one and thought it was too warm and not clear enough. I put an A3 in it, and eventually made hybrid HB's from the coils. I love PAF's but don't think Bluesbuckers sound like what the name implies HB-wise, or SC-wise. Creative concept, but too bizarre of a path taken to get there. Ceramic mags have qualities I don't care for. But that's just me.

Why not get a Hot Rodded set? You like both PU's in it. You can use a push-pull volume pot, and split both bridge and neck PU's with it. I'd wire it so that in SC-mode you have the slug coil of the bridge 'on' and the screw coil of the neck 'on.' That would give you a 'virtual' HB sound in the middle toggle position when both PU's are in coil cut (like a Strat in positions 2 and 4). Lots of tonal variety.
 
Re: SD equivalent of Dimarzio Bluesbucker?

Thanks for the replies and thots. I was listening to more sound clips and heard some of a San Dimas with 59 in the neck and it sounded really good and bluesy. I listened again to the Bluesbucker and it didn’t sound all that different TBH. It says it’s supposed to sound like a P90. Not sure about that. It sounds good, but I also really like the sound of the Jazz and 59.

It would be nice to keep it all SD...so if I had to buy new...it would be cheaper to go with HRH set JB/Jazz. But if I can find each for sale on the cheap...I’ll probably go JB/59. I guess Charvel (for the San Dimas) got it right ;)

Thanks again.

This is all if I can get my hands on a white/black pick guard Mexi Charvel So Cal that’s up for sale on CL. It comes with the Distortion set, but that’s not me...I’m not a big fan of ceramics either. So if I can sell my Sterling by Music Man Silo 30 with the Dimarzio Andy Timmons pickups (AT-1 bridge and Cruiser bridge in the neck) for a good price...then I’ll buy the So Cal and promptly replace the pups.
 
Re: SD equivalent of Dimarzio Bluesbucker?

The Tone Ranger said:
I recently saw some YouTube reviews for the Dimarzio Bluesbucker and it seems like it’s exactly what I’m looking for in a neck humbucker. That said, I much prefer the tone of SD to Dimarzio.
Click to expand...

This opening statement is self-contradictory. If you like the DiMarzio Bluesbucker, in that specific instance, you prefer DiMarzio.

The distinguishing feature of the BB is the difference between the DC resistance values of its two coils. The obvious way to imitate this via a Seymour Duncan humbucker would be to build your own hybrid. The screw poles coil would need to be the hotter of the two.
 
Re: SD equivalent of Dimarzio Bluesbucker?

My understanding is the Jazz is the clearest, cleanest full sized humbucker SD offers, so that would be closest, though not the same, either, if you intention is to have a guitar that only says "Seymour Duncan" on the covers.

If you've got it in your mind that you like the sound of Seymour Duncan as a brand better than DiMarzio, you're not doing yourself any favors. You're shutting the door on a lot of nice pickups.
 
Re: SD equivalent of Dimarzio Bluesbucker?

There's nothing by S.D. that is the same as the Bluesbucker. The Bluesbucker looks bone stock in any guitar, unlike anything S.D. has that might be able to sound somewhat close to the Bluesbucker. If that's what you want, there's nothing better on the market. Just get the real deal. I use S.D. and DiMarzio pickups. There is no point in having brand loyalty; they both make excellent products, and they each have many models that no other company does quite as well as they do.
 
Re: SD equivalent of Dimarzio Bluesbucker?

blueman335 said:
I had one and thought it was too warm and not clear enough.
Click to expand...

You had the pickup installed backwards. Warm yes. "Too warm," no. "Not clear enough," no. The Bluesbucker is definitely clear. Ceramic characteristically has a little better note definition than alnico. That's not always the case with ceramic pickups, but I think most people would agree. There's some good tech info in your comments, but I'm not going to agree about the unclear part. Also, a 500k pot is essential for the Bluesbucker. It's not a bassy or unclear pickup. In fact, it had more high mids and high end than anything which gives it good definition. If you install it backwards, it's much warmer because it can be used as a bridge pickup too.
 
Re: SD equivalent of Dimarzio Bluesbucker?

I thought it's established that SD and DMZ products do not overlap...
Sent from my RM-915_apac_thailand_213 using Tapatalk
 
Re: SD equivalent of Dimarzio Bluesbucker?

Remember the Bluesbucker is aimed at a P90 sound, not a traditional single coil pickup. I had one for a few years in the bridge position of my SG with a Duncan 59 in the neck position. Great cut, snarly pickup. Nice lead sound.
 
Re: SD equivalent of Dimarzio Bluesbucker?

Grandturk said:
Remember the Bluesbucker is aimed at a P90 sound, not a traditional single coil pickup. I had one for a few years in the bridge position of my SG with a Duncan 59 in the neck position. Great cut, snarly pickup. Nice lead sound.
Click to expand...

Mine didn't strike me as having a P-90 tone; I much prefer an HB-sized P-90 instead for a true single coil sound.
 
Re: SD equivalent of Dimarzio Bluesbucker?

The Tone Ranger said:
Thanks guys. I appreciate the quick responses and feedback.

So either get the Bluesbucker...or go with a Screamin’ Demon wired in parallel. Too bad SD doesn’t have an equivalent in their lineup...it’s a cool idea (beyond the P-Rails of course).

I’ve heard the Demon in the neck (James Ryan clip on Youtube...love that dude’s vids and playing) and it sounds very cool.

Thanks again!
Click to expand...
Not sure what the parallel tones are like but an A8 demon is the best split humbucker that I have ever heard. It may be worth checking out.
 
Re: SD equivalent of Dimarzio Bluesbucker?

I suppose I'm the only one who didn't know this but are you guys saying i can't match a DMZ with an SD?
 
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