fenderiarhs
Active member
I thought i give a brief review of the humbucking pickups i currently own for those who might be interested in buying one.I must say that my comments refer to their sound under distortion as i am using them in the bridge position of my fender strats only with distortion(i prefer the mid and neck pu's for cleans)
Fender DH-1:it came stock on my fender strat special.Medium output with a certain tendency to sound bright.Not a bad pickup(overall i would rate it a 6/10) but not at the level of the pickups duncan,dimarzio or emg make.I didn't keep it more than a week in my guitar.Infact i replaced it with a custom custom.
Bass:6.5
low mids:6
hi mids:6.5
treble:8
Duncan Custom Custom(overall 8/10)
Nice pickup.Medium-high output.I liked very much the sweet treble(i never liked the fact that most pickups use more treble than i prefer).The mids are very very prominent.This is the reason that maybe i didn't like so much the sound of the CC when i was practising alone in home but when i used it for rehearsals or the occasional gig......it cuts through the mix like no other pickup.....It's the perfect pickup if you want your guitar to be heard under the most busy mix.The part of this pickup i didn't like is the bass responce.....Not enough bass.....the E and A strings never sounded the way i wanted them to....and that was the reason i changed it for the custom5.
Bass:4.5
Mids:8
treble:5.5
Duncan Custom 5(overall 6.5/10)
Not many things to say about this pickup.I was certainly expecting something more from this one.While i enjoyed the bass responce(which was the main reason i didn't like the CC)and while i could cope with the more prominent treble i hated the fact that there were no mids to make my guitar be heard in the mix.During rehearsals i always raised the mid controll of the amp to 7-8 and still i found my guitar was lost between the bass and drums.I must say that this is maybe not a bad pickup but not for a strat...i am sure in a les paul will be perfect.
Bass:7.5
low mids:5.5
hi mids:5.5
treble:7.5
Di Marzio Tone Zone(overall 7/10)
I have never tried a dimarzio and thought i should try one.It has A LOT of bass, A LOT of mids and reduced treble but with a much higher output than all the pickups i mentioned above.Seemed like a good choice for my floyd rose equipped strat unless you consider a certain "artificial" tone it has.Infact when i first used it it came to my mind what many people say about dimarzio:the difference between duncans and dimarzio is tone.
Bass:9
Low mids 8
Hi mids:7.5
treble:6
Duncan Jeff Beck(overall 8.5/10)
Not many things to say about this one.It is a classic.I don't think there is a guitar player that hasn't tried one.Perfect for soloing....a little bit less perfect for chords.One of my favorite pickups.I don't have many bad things to say about this one but i shall point out what i would like it had(maybe a custom shop pickup???)This pickup needs more low mids and just a touch more bass.That would be the best pickup in the world.This is what my BEST pickup(emg 85) has..............
Bass: 6
Low mids:5.5
Hi mids:8
treble:7.5
EMG 85(and the winner is....9/10)
My favorite pickup.I didn't want to go active because of what people were saying and because it was more expensive than buying a passive pickup.I was wrong.It has the most sweet low mids i have heard.If you want to have a warm sound you need low mids.Perfect bass responce and just the right amount of treble.Endless sustain and high output.Definately not sterile.99% of players use the emg81(which i find extremely trebly) in the bridge.....my advice is to try the 85 in there.
Bass:7.5
Low mids:8
high mids:6
treble:5.5
Fender DH-1:it came stock on my fender strat special.Medium output with a certain tendency to sound bright.Not a bad pickup(overall i would rate it a 6/10) but not at the level of the pickups duncan,dimarzio or emg make.I didn't keep it more than a week in my guitar.Infact i replaced it with a custom custom.
Bass:6.5
low mids:6
hi mids:6.5
treble:8
Duncan Custom Custom(overall 8/10)
Nice pickup.Medium-high output.I liked very much the sweet treble(i never liked the fact that most pickups use more treble than i prefer).The mids are very very prominent.This is the reason that maybe i didn't like so much the sound of the CC when i was practising alone in home but when i used it for rehearsals or the occasional gig......it cuts through the mix like no other pickup.....It's the perfect pickup if you want your guitar to be heard under the most busy mix.The part of this pickup i didn't like is the bass responce.....Not enough bass.....the E and A strings never sounded the way i wanted them to....and that was the reason i changed it for the custom5.
Bass:4.5
Mids:8
treble:5.5
Duncan Custom 5(overall 6.5/10)
Not many things to say about this pickup.I was certainly expecting something more from this one.While i enjoyed the bass responce(which was the main reason i didn't like the CC)and while i could cope with the more prominent treble i hated the fact that there were no mids to make my guitar be heard in the mix.During rehearsals i always raised the mid controll of the amp to 7-8 and still i found my guitar was lost between the bass and drums.I must say that this is maybe not a bad pickup but not for a strat...i am sure in a les paul will be perfect.
Bass:7.5
low mids:5.5
hi mids:5.5
treble:7.5
Di Marzio Tone Zone(overall 7/10)
I have never tried a dimarzio and thought i should try one.It has A LOT of bass, A LOT of mids and reduced treble but with a much higher output than all the pickups i mentioned above.Seemed like a good choice for my floyd rose equipped strat unless you consider a certain "artificial" tone it has.Infact when i first used it it came to my mind what many people say about dimarzio:the difference between duncans and dimarzio is tone.
Bass:9
Low mids 8
Hi mids:7.5
treble:6
Duncan Jeff Beck(overall 8.5/10)
Not many things to say about this one.It is a classic.I don't think there is a guitar player that hasn't tried one.Perfect for soloing....a little bit less perfect for chords.One of my favorite pickups.I don't have many bad things to say about this one but i shall point out what i would like it had(maybe a custom shop pickup???)This pickup needs more low mids and just a touch more bass.That would be the best pickup in the world.This is what my BEST pickup(emg 85) has..............
Bass: 6
Low mids:5.5
Hi mids:8
treble:7.5
EMG 85(and the winner is....9/10)
My favorite pickup.I didn't want to go active because of what people were saying and because it was more expensive than buying a passive pickup.I was wrong.It has the most sweet low mids i have heard.If you want to have a warm sound you need low mids.Perfect bass responce and just the right amount of treble.Endless sustain and high output.Definately not sterile.99% of players use the emg81(which i find extremely trebly) in the bridge.....my advice is to try the 85 in there.
Bass:7.5
Low mids:8
high mids:6
treble:5.5
But I wonder if it'd be a good, crunchy replacement? Anyone else ever replace a stock DH-1 with another humbucker? What are your experiences with this? Inquiring minds want to know. Thanks!
