Re: Skool me on Les Paul Jr./ Jr Specials
Hmm I had one in a basswood guitar I had and it sounded great, wouldn't call it a PAF so much though, It wasn't quite as grainy or wire-y as a P-90 but still had plenty of that personality without the 60 cycle. I did mess with the screws quite a bit to get the sound I wanted
My mistake, mine is the old 'Dlx-90, OOP; the 'Dlx+' is the new one, and the P-90 version of the Steves Spcl, totally different animals.
AND YEP..wired outta phase , sounds great now. And wOW- right on with adjusting the pole pieces!!
As this is a OOP pickup, I see littel harm in saying here what this dude had to say about the Dlx - 90;
I wanted something that sounded P-90 ish, not something that emulated a hot humbucker model in P-90 form factor, so I went by what the website said and went virtual P-90 neck and DLX-90 Bridge (note: NOT the DLX plus. DLX-90 is an older model only available by special order now).
Going to do this 2 ways. First, based on what they claim to be, second, based on what they actually are.
First: Are they a noiseless P-90 substitute? How to say this politely.......F*CK NO. Not in any way, shape or form. They sound nothing at all like a P-90 nor like a single coil in any way. They sound like what they are, which is a mini humbucker. If you are looking for real P-90 sound, look elsewhere, these wouldn't fool anyone on any day even if they started drinking before noon. I was pretty surprised and really have no frickin idea what the folks at DiMarzio were thinking marketing this as a noiseless P-90, nor what Steve Blucher, who is probably my favorite pickup designer ever, was thinking when he decided these sounded like P-90s. The thought is just laughable once you hear them.
Second: Now let's ignore the fact that the folks at DiMarzio were high as a kite or tripping balls when they decided these sounded like P-90s or decided to market them that way. Let's pretend they marketed them based on what they actually are.
What these are is mini humbuckers in P-90 form factor. Plain and simple. Just like the Tone zone P-90 is supposed to be a tone zone in P-90 form. If they were marketed as that, and that is what you expected them to be when you bought them, how are they?
The DLX-90 has a very PAF-ish flavor and is honestly one of the best PAF type pickups I've ever heard. It has the articulation and clarity of a PAF, but it does not have that icepick high end that a lot of PAFs have on high notes. Which isn't at all to say it isn't bright and clear, it is. Sound is crunchy, articulate, clear, and at the same time, never thin or overly bright. I really wish this pickup was available in normal humbucker size, I'd buy it. I like it better than either 36th, the virtual PAF, virtual hot PAF, duncan '59, Duncan PG, Duncan Seth, Gibson '57, any of the Gibson burstbuckers, Fralin PAFs, etc. It's right up there with a Lollar Imperial, which I only like in the bridge of strats and not in set neck guitars, so I guess it's better than that.
Virtual P-90 is a fairly dark and boomy neck pickup, not tight and bright enough for my tastes honestly. It reminded me of nothing more than the Duncan '59 neck, with which it shares a whole lot of tonal characteristics. If they had TRIED to make a Duncan '59 neck in P-90 form, they couldn't possibly have come any closer. So keep that in mind, if you like that sound and want it in a P-90 form, here it is.
The above is stated with the pickups wired in series. Eric thought they might be too thin in parallel when I asked him about it before I put them in.
NOT.
Wired in parallel (I have the volumes as push/pull for series/parallel wiring) both pickups resemble strat type single coils, not P-90s, but not at all bad sounding. The DLX-90 has a bit of Tele flavor to it, it isn't obnoxious at all like some bridge singles can be but is definitely single coil sounding like a good overwound strat bridge or Tele bridge. The Virtual P-90 in parellel sounds like a strat pickup in the neck more than it sounds like anything else. I like it better that way honestly than in series.
So what to take away from this?
DiMarzio: First of all, market things for what they actually are. These pickups, especially tne DLX-90 in the bridge, are good PAF style or mini hum sounding pickups in P-90 form factor.
Second of all, given that P-90 equiped guitars are making a huge comeback and a ridiculous amount of them have come out in the last few years, you desperately need a noiseless that ACTUALLY sounds like a P-90. It's time for an Area P-90, not just another mini bucker with a p-90 sized cover.
« Last Edit: August 03, 2012, 02:01:19 am by RayBarbeeMusic »
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Came close once to buying a Melody Maker single P90 (early 2000s model, with an open-grain finish like an oak cabinet, which is what turned me off.)
mg:
