Suhr Aldrich or Tone Zone - which is hotter and fatter but still tight?

[Rex_Rocker]

Any idea how these two compare? They seem sorta similar on pape: hot, fat, growly, and A5-powered. I know the Tone Zone has the Dual Resonance thing, but how does it make it different from the Aldich?

Either would be going into an Ibanez tuned to E Standard, so I'm not too worried about them being too fat, but I do want relatively tight, as they'd be used to play metal.

Also, how hot are they? I assume they'd be a little louder than the JB, but do they reach Duncan Distortion kinda levels?

Is there anything else along the lines of an EMG 85-like Alnico 5 passive that can keep up with the output of an actual EMG 85?

Thanks.

 

[Bowtomecha]

Re: Suhr Aldrich or Tone Zone - which is hotter and fatter but still tight?

I’ve never tried an Aldrich but the Tone Zone isn’t what I would call tight. It’s sonically big and has a dense midrange to it but the low end is pretty wide and not well contained. It’s a great pickup but seems meant for an expansive sound and not a tight one. You can hammer it into place with the right amp though. I consider it a very busy pickup, like a room full of people reciting the pledge of allegiance.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Suhr Aldrich or Tone Zone - which is hotter and fatter but still tight?

Think about the Helmet album Meantime. That’s either a TZ or AZ. Big and fat, not all that tight.

If you may want a Distortion, I may end up trading the one from my SE.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: Suhr Aldrich or Tone Zone - which is hotter and fatter but still tight?

Think about the Helmet album Meantime. That’s either a TZ or AZ. Big and fat, not all that tight.

If you may want a Distortion, I may end up trading the one from my SE.

It's actually a Distortion I'm replacing on my Ibby, LOL. I'm keeping my Distortion for later, but I just want a fatter, rounder pickups with more chunky low mids rather than deep lows (like an 85) for now.

 

[DavidRavenMoon]

Re: Suhr Aldrich or Tone Zone - which is hotter and fatter but still tight?

I’ve installed an Aldrich set in a customer’s parts caster.

The bridge pickup reminded me of a JB. I was expecting it to be really dark, but it was a lot clearer.

By the way, the JB and Distortion are the same pickup with different magnets. And the Invader is the same with larger pole screws. All three are 16.6k.


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[Aceman]

Re: Suhr Aldrich or Tone Zone - which is hotter and fatter but still tight?

IBy the way, the JB and Distortion are the same pickup with different magnets. And the Invader is the same with larger pole screws. All three are 16.6k.

Technically, they are not all the same wind exactly. But, especially with the JB case, I agree and am a proponent of this theory. The JB and Distortion are close enough.

Which is why if you take a Distortion Neck and replace Ceramic with an A5 you get a true JB neck!!!!!

 

[Bowtomecha]

Re: Suhr Aldrich or Tone Zone - which is hotter and fatter but still tight?

The Tone Zone was used on Dream Theater’s Images and Words album.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: Suhr Aldrich or Tone Zone - which is hotter and fatter but still tight?

I've already had an A5 in my Distortion, LOL, so I've tried something JB-ish in there. I liked it... I just wished it hadn't lost the power that the Distortion with the big ceramic had. That's why I thought of the Tone Zone or the Aldrich, which I guess I hoped would be in an overwound (fatter and hotter but still squishy and not as attack-y or sizzly as the full-on ceramic Distortion) JB sorta realm.

In other words, the JB has close to the right feel, the Distortion has the right amount of power, but I was hoping for an EQ that leans more towards a slightly smoother JB and not as wide (sizzly top and boomy lows) as the Distortion.

Not to say the Distortion is boomy, but I'd prefer the feel of the JB's alnico-driven low-end than the Distortion's boldness.

 

[Bowtomecha]

Re: Suhr Aldrich or Tone Zone - which is hotter and fatter but still tight?

The Pegasus is sort of like a tame, rounded JB. It’s lower powered though.

 

[Aceman]

Re: Suhr Aldrich or Tone Zone - which is hotter and fatter but still tight?

What is this dual resonance stuff?

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: Suhr Aldrich or Tone Zone - which is hotter and fatter but still tight?

What is this dual resonance stuff?

Mismatched coils.

I think one coil is wound with one gauge of wire, and the other with another.

 

[Van Noord]

Re: Suhr Aldrich or Tone Zone - which is hotter and fatter but still tight?

I would look at the Air Zone over the Tone Zone. The AZ is clearer and has tighter lows and tracks faster. The TZ is a very wide, all freq consuming pickup. Very expensive and hot which is why so many shredders like it. I think it just has too much of everything to be a solid modern metal rhythm pick up.

 

[Despair]

Re: Suhr Aldrich or Tone Zone - which is hotter and fatter but still tight?

Aldrich is supposed to be a JB with less of the upper mid spike, and a broader, deeper low end (without any boom, less picky about guitar's low mid resonance than JB is). Tone Zone is the hotter and fatter, but not tighter of the two.

Dual Resonance isn't just about differing gauges (may have covered different wire materials & insulation as well), it was about similar turn count to maintain near-perfect hum cancelling.

Music Man EVH bridge pickups were half-aired Tone Zone, according to several SDUGF members who experimented with DiMarzio pickup modding. I can't remember what the neck was determined to be, it's probably in the SDUGF thread on the half-air mod.

Maybe JB/Distortion with double-thick roughcast A5? Higher output than stock JB, smoother, but not as deep bass as A8 or Ceramic.

 

[DavidRavenMoon]

Re: Suhr Aldrich or Tone Zone - which is hotter and fatter but still tight?

Technically, they are not all the same wind exactly. But, especially with the JB case, I agree and am a proponent of this theory. The JB and Distortion are close enough.

Which is why if you take a Distortion Neck and replace Ceramic with an A5 you get a true JB neck!!!!!

That’s a bunch of nonsense. They read the same DC resistance, so they are exactly the same winds. They want you to believe that, but it’s a lie.

I’m a pickup maker, so I know what they are doing. There’s no “different wind.”


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[Rex_Rocker]

Re: Suhr Aldrich or Tone Zone - which is hotter and fatter but still tight?

So out of the two, which is hotter?

It would seem like the Aldrich is tighter, then, correct?

How about the Dean Baker Act? Is it any similar?

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: Suhr Aldrich or Tone Zone - which is hotter and fatter but still tight?

I would look at the Air Zone over the Tone Zone. The AZ is clearer and has tighter lows and tracks faster. The TZ is a very wide, all freq consuming pickup. Very expensive and hot which is why so many shredders like it. I think it just has too much of everything to be a solid modern metal rhythm pick up.

Doesn't the Airbucker technology take a huge toll on the overall output? The only Airbucker I've had has been the PAF 36th Anni, and it was pretty puny even compared to the Duncan '59.

 

[Masta' C]

Re: Suhr Aldrich or Tone Zone - which is hotter and fatter but still tight?

1) Aldrich is tighter than the TZ and the TZ is possibly a little fatter than the Aldrich ("fatter" becomes really subjective at this point), but output is similar and you can get a lot of similar tones with both if rock/metal is your goal. That said, Aldrich is my preferred pickup of those 2

2) Baker Act is in the same ballpark, but has this "buzzsaw" thing going on...can't describe it, but it's obvious in the old Dean "spotlight" vids. Sort of like the Aldrich if it was wound even hotter (it's already an overwound SSH+). I prefer the TZ/Aldrich personally

3) Fully "airing" a pickup definitely takes a toll on the output, but in the case of the Tone Zone, there's plenty of wiggle room on the "output" side of things and the Air Zone really works well to keep a lot of the TZ character and make the whole package less aggressive. That said, you also have the option of half-airing a regular TZ, which offers a nice compromise between the two.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: Suhr Aldrich or Tone Zone - which is hotter and fatter but still tight?

Interesting. Thank you. They all seem like solid choices. I'm still undecided, but I'm leaning a bit more towards the Aldrich. It seems like it's voiced the most modern on the clips I've heard.

 

[Nagisa]

Re: Suhr Aldrich or Tone Zone - which is hotter and fatter but still tight?

The Aldrich is a decent pup. Just know that it isn't very tight in the low end, and isn't the best in terms of note separation.

I also would look into the pegasus or satchur8.

 

[Masta' C]

Re: Suhr Aldrich or Tone Zone - which is hotter and fatter but still tight?

Music Man EVH bridge pickups were half-aired Tone Zone, according to several SDUGF members who experimented with DiMarzio pickup modding.

The Axis pickups had matched coils. Half-airing a Tone Zone "got it in the ballpark", but wasn't a perfect match for the Axis bridge

I also would look into the pegasus or satchur8.

The problem with very tight pickups like these two is that "fatness" factor. These tend to be stiffer and a little clanky, which is a side effect of being so articulate to some degree. Really depends on what the OP is going for, but I think Aldrich and Tone Zone are in the same family, where the Pegasus and Satchur8 are nothing like either of those.