SD Stack pu's vs DiMarzio Area's?

[Quicksilver689]

Re: SD Stack pu's vs DiMarzio Area's?

also, an alternate diagram on the website shows the stack pluses can be split to a single coil.

Correct - you can also see this when you look at descriptions on their individual product pages, it says that they come with 3-cond wire for splitting to true single-coil mode if you wish (which I won't be doing, just personal preference).

 

[Schappy]

Re: SD Stack pu's vs DiMarzio Area's?

They can be split to single coil mode but cant be tapped to a lower resistance.

 

[Quicksilver689]

Re: SD Stack pu's vs DiMarzio Area's?

bump...any Stack Plus sound clips, anyone, by chance?

 

[Asanoth]

Re: SD Stack pu's vs DiMarzio Area's?

Hello guys
I play, or better try playing, progressive heavy rock like Rush etc. I use USA Standard Strat with stock pickups, and i really like their colour, however, recently i started adding some more gain(through ENGL Screamer>Celestion v12-80) and hum on stage is quite mood-killing So, i decided to upgrade my pups to some hum-cancelling stuff.
As the author, i do not need authentic 50s Hendrix vintage style or anything like this, as i said, i like the way stock Std Strat pups play(ok, they could be a bit more definite and bridge less bitting when soloing, but i speak about their "flavour" ). I unfortunately have no opportunity to try any hum-cancelling singles except for those in Usa Deluxe Strats, but from what i found online, i like STK-series and also Fender Hot Noiseless(not Vintage). Also, i found opinions that nothing sounds more single-like than DM's Area, but every single DiMarzio i ever played(admitting- only HBs and custom singles in Musicman Silhouette) was like someone killed the sound a week before it came out of the speaker. I need something ALIVE and JUICY. I've been offered M+N STK-S4 for a very reasonable price, but i am not sure, wheter they are suitable for me as i play more distorted stuff. But i should say, i also use clean and crunch sound.
I'll be happy for any opinions
Thanks!

 

[RayBarbeeMusic]

Re: SD Stack pu's vs DiMarzio Area's?

The Areas are the bomb, it's no contest. It's like comparing a 'mid 80s muscle car with a new one.......the old ones were fine for the time but the new ones smoke them in every single category. The SD, Fender, Lawrence, etc. stacks are made with ancient technology that requires a very high DCR dummy coil. The DiMarzios (and Kinmans) are made with new technology that uses a very low DCR dummy coil, resulting in a less compressed, more dynamic, natural single coil tone.

I haven't heard anything (even real singles) that I like better than the Area '67/'58 for great strat tone, and I've heard a whole lot. If you want something more overwound/darker sounding, you might try the higher output ones or the Kinman woodstocks, which don't sound very vintage or exactly like a real single but they have a great overwound type of tone that still retains strat vibe.

 

[Asanoth]

Re: SD Stack pu's vs DiMarzio Area's?

Thanks... I still have a problem with DMs. You know, my goal is not to get 99% accurate vintage Strat tone. I still find Areas quite dark and refined. I dont say they are not great, but i need "naughty" and "fierce" pickups. I am quite comfortable with "naughtiness and ferocity"( oh god ) of 2007 stock Usa Standard pups, but i do not wanna get anything "cultivated", and from my point of hearig, Areas are... But as i said, i never heard them live, so, am i right?

 

[jeremy]

Re: SD Stack pu's vs DiMarzio Area's?

by the nature of any humbucker the tone is going to be a little smoother.

The SD, Fender, Lawrence, etc. stacks are made with ancient technology that requires a very high DCR dummy coil. The DiMarzios (and Kinmans) are made with new technology that uses a very low DCR dummy coil, resulting in a less compressed, more dynamic, natural single coil tone.

you are behind the times here and obviously havent kept up with duncans stack offerings.


and the part where you say that you prefer the area's to real single coils for strat sounds also kinda loses me. youd rather have a area 58 than pup pulled from a '63 strat that defines the strat sound?

 

[TheLivingDead]

Re: SD Stack pu's vs DiMarzio Area's?

I've only had experience with the Areas but I think they're friggin' great. Especially the '67.

 

[RayBarbeeMusic]

Re: SD Stack pu's vs DiMarzio Area's?

you are behind the times here and obviously havent kept up with duncans stack offerings.

Nope. It is pattented tech they aren't using it. Check the DCR. An Area '67 is just under 6k, including the dummy coil. Duncans are 11k on up.

and the part where you say that you prefer the area's to real single coils for strat sounds also kinda loses me. youd rather have a area 58 than pup pulled from a '63 strat that defines the strat sound?

Yes, yes I would, because:

1) I see no need to tolerate 60 cycle hum in 2012
2) The '63 may or may not sound good, because:
a) they were all wound different
b) the "aging" process may not have been kind
3) The '58/'67 give me the single coil sound I want just fine, I don't miss anything vs. the many 'real' singles I've used and compared them to.

How many real vintage strats (not reissues, the real thing) have you heard? I've heard them sound from meh to great, depending. Just because a pickup was OEM on a '63 strat doesn't make it great.

I still find Areas quite dark and refined.

Which Area would that be? There is a lot of difference between a '61 and a '67. I'd never call a '67 dark. If a '67 is dark, a Lollar Blackface is pitch black.

 

[Multi Angle Vise]

Re: SD Stack pu's vs DiMarzio Area's?

Nope. It is pattented tech they aren't using it. Check the DCR. An Area '67 is just under 6k, including the dummy coil. Duncans are 11k on up.

I suspect you're thinking of the old Duncan Stacks, the newer Stack Plus is another variation on the lower impedance dummy coil theme, with its own patent.

On a STK-S4 I have here, the top coil is 6k3, the dummy coil 2k, total 8k3 if using the dummy coil. I gather not as low as Dimarzio, but quite different from the old ones.

Anyway, that's not to comment on the sound either way. I'm also interested in this topic, getting back into single coil sounds after a long break, and I can't stand the hum. I plan to buy some Areas to try as well, seems to be many satisfied users, and I've heard some great clips.

 

[RayBarbeeMusic]

Re: SD Stack pu's vs DiMarzio Area's?

That would be about where the Dimarzios were in the late 90s when the virtual vintage first came out. I don't think the dummy coils were quite 2k, but close. They've been through 4 revisions at least since then, with the dummy coil DCR getting lower and the single-coil-ness getting higher. With the new ones, I really do not hear or feel a difference between them and true singles. That wasn't the case until the Areas. With the VVs, the V2s, etc, the difference was pretty obvious.

 

[jeremy]

Re: SD Stack pu's vs DiMarzio Area's?

Nope. It is pattented tech they aren't using it. Check the DCR. An Area '67 is just under 6k, including the dummy coil. Duncans are 11k on up.

Yes, yes I would, because:

1) I see no need to tolerate 60 cycle hum in 2012
2) The '63 may or may not sound good, because:
a) they were all wound different
b) the "aging" process may not have been kind
3) The '58/'67 give me the single coil sound I want just fine, I don't miss anything vs. the many 'real' singles I've used and compared them to.

How many real vintage strats (not reissues, the real thing) have you heard? I've heard them sound from meh to great, depending. Just because a pickup was OEM on a '63 strat doesn't make it great.

ive played maybe a dozen real 62-64 and most were good, a few were great and one was very meh. im glad you have something that works for you, it just doesnt work for me as well as a good single coil.

 

[RayBarbeeMusic]

Re: SD Stack pu's vs DiMarzio Area's?

What is a "good" single coil?

I used lots of "good" single coils, duncans, fralins, lollars, suhrs. None of them sounded anything like each other. Areas are just another 'good' single coil. There is nothing "not single coil" about them except lack of 60 cycle hum, so if you are enamored of that buzz, then yeah thats an issue.

You can knock them for not having your particular flavor of single coil, but they sit right in that camp of single coil range. Thats like saying "well a lollar blond doesn't sound like a SSL flat, so it isn't a good single coil and doesn't sound like a single coil."

Believe me, I went through, literally, well over a dozen models of noiseless over the years that can be accused of not sounding like single coils. Areas aren't one of them.

 

[Asanoth]

Re: SD Stack pu's vs DiMarzio Area's?

Thanks for a discussion
I may should have asked a different question:
Which noiseless/low noise pickup is most similar to 2007 Stock Usa Standart pickups?
Thanks

 

[Asanoth]

Re: SD Stack pu's vs DiMarzio Area's?

Well, this was the actual question
Nevertheless, i tried Usa Deluxe Strat with those N3 pickups, and excuse my language, but what a piece of ****!! This may have been caused also by the guitar itself, but among 2 Standarts, that guitar had totally no chance(to be fair, i was really concentrated on the pickups and one of those Stds was one of the best strats i ever played, but, to be fair again , those were not many).
How do N3 compare to SCN?

edit: The censored word is another expression for a poop

 

[9fingers]

Re: SD Stack pu's vs DiMarzio Area's?

"but i need "naughty" and "fierce" pickups. I am quite comfortable with "naughtiness and ferocity"( oh god )"
You just described Barden S-Deluxes! All things Strat but bigger in every dimension, including sheen and attack. Pricey but totally hum-free and wicked good.

 

[jeremy]

Re: SD Stack pu's vs DiMarzio Area's?

i dont think any of the noiseless fender offerings sounds much like a typical fender strat pup

 

[Asanoth]

Re: SD Stack pu's vs DiMarzio Area's?

Is there any sound difference between one of Areas and Virtual Vintage?

 

[indie folk guy]

Re: SD Stack pu's vs DiMarzio Area's?

In this case I have to vote for the DiMarzios I think they are better than the Duncans. With that said my favorite strat pickups are still Antiquity Texas Hots. I also love Fralin and Lollars. I use Lollar Tweeds and Fralin Vintage Hots/Blues Specials.

I meant to add that I felt that the VV models I tried (heavy blues, blues, solo, and 54 pro) were similar to the areas (58, 67, and 61).

 

[wolf5150]

Re: SD Stack pu's vs DiMarzio Area's?

Sorry chaps but the guy needs the Kinman Marvin set.
I have them in my Suhr Strat and for heavy blues and rock they are amazing.
For lower gain stuff I prefer his other models.
As per my other thread, I'm thinking of trying real singles in one of my guitars but I've a big problem tolerating any noise on stage, after playing noiseless for so many years.