Tone Zone OR JB?

S

Silver777Guitarist

New member
Right well I have a solid mahogany guitar it currently has a DiMarzio Axis Pickup in the neck and a Seymour Duncan Invader in the bridge, now the Invader has a brilliant tone I love it but it just doesn't cut it, considering I am playing classic rock styles to clean pop and very occasionally metal so I want a pickup a little more versatile, now I have been told the JB is incredibly versatile but I have been told its iffy with mahogany bodies now the Tone Zone is similar in the versatility but I'm not so sure about either so any recommendations? :)
 
Re: Tone Zone OR JB?

I put a Tone Zone in the bridge of Les Paul. IMO it was too much, it was too thick

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Re: Tone Zone OR JB?

For mahogany, the air zone is better than tone zone. Alder is a different story.
 
Re: Tone Zone OR JB?

crguti said:
For mahogany, the air zone is better than tone zone. Alder is a different story.
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I disagree. Air Zone>Tone Zone all the time.

I would actually try an Air Norton in the bridge of an LP
 
Re: Tone Zone OR JB?

Yeah definitely don't put a TZ in there.

It can become a muddy mess real quick. I did it though and make it work by lowering the hell out of the pup and raising the polepieces.

I'd try that AT-1.
 
Re: Tone Zone OR JB?

mmmm I see your points well now im leaning towards an Air Zone/AT-1 option but what about the JB its often quite loved on these forums so what about that?
 
Re: Tone Zone OR JB?

I've been saying the AT-1 is the perfect Les Paul pickup since it first hit the shelves. I have compared the Tone Zone and JB thoroughly and decided that the Tone Zone was a little better simply because of the wider range of sounds and harmonics it can achieve. In a Les Paul, it's a toss up between the JB and Tone Zone. The Tone Zone has better definition and more zing in the highs, but is a little much because of the heavy mids. The JB is pretty good too but also has a lot of mids which can be a bit muddy.

I don't know if your guitar is a Les Paul, a mahogany Ibanez, or something else, but one pickup that seems to adapt to every wood I've put it in is the aforementioned AT-1. I have a Les Paul Traditional Pro with one in there right now. Another newly acquired Les Paul Trad Pro just received a set of Seth Lovers. Even though Seth Lovers are a competitive with Dimarzio PAF 36ths, I find the AT-1 to be a better bridge pickup.

The downside to the AT-1 is that I haven't yet found a neck humbucker that I think matches it perfectly. However, I have not tried a PAF Pro or PAF Joe in the neck position of a Les Paul yet. It seems like the PAF Joe would be a perfect match and that's what I plan on trying soon because I want to keep this AT-1 in my Les Paul forever. I wish Dimarzio had an AT-1 neck pickup that had dialed back mids so that it would match perfectly in my Les Paul.

Now if you're going for a classic rock tone and want something with a true PAF sound, then you need to consider both the PAF 36th set and the Seth Lovers. I tried Seths in alder, mahogany and basswood. They are definitely keepers. PAF 36ths seem to love mahogany and basswood, but could potentially be perfect in a tame piece of alder.

I would not recommend the Air Zone, Air Norton, or Tone Zone for a mahogany guitar unless it's a thin sounding piece of mahogany. I have heard the Air Norton in Les Pauls on Youtube and they sound great, but I have some in two basswood Ibanez Prestiges and at this point would only consider them for basswood or alder guitars, especially alder.

The Air Zone could potentially alleviate some of the problems you would face with a Tone Zone in a piece of mahogany, but PAF 36ths would be a better choice in a mahogany guitar in my opinion.
 
Re: Tone Zone OR JB?

I wouldn't put the Tone Zone in a mahogany bodied guitar. maybe a toss-up between the DiMarzio Norton or the JB.

Tone Zone in alder though - that is amazing!
 
Re: Tone Zone OR JB?

I still have to try out the AT1 like you mentinoed to me a little while back. Only thing keeping me from doing so is that Im also considering the PG set or the PAF 36th set. Choices....:(
 
Re: Tone Zone OR JB?

Before you bail on the Invader, try wiring it in parallel. You may just like it.
 
Re: Tone Zone OR JB?

If you absolutely have to pick between the Tone Zone and JB, I would say JB hands down.

In my experience, the Tone Zone, JB, AT-1 and Air Zone are like 4 sisters from the same family. Yes, all 4 have different names, no two are built exactly alike and each has their own personality to speak of, but you can definitely tell they are all related! On that note, I think you would be happiest with the Air Zone if these sisters were your only choices!

Outside of the immediate family, I agree that the Air Norton model is another solid choice, but I would also suggest you look into the regular Norton, as well. According to DiMarzio, the original Norton was designed with a Mahogany body in mind and there's no denying that it's a versatile rocker's pickup!

Note: ANY of these pickups will sound fine with your Axis neck pickup.
 
Re: Tone Zone OR JB?

thank you for all your input so it would seem my real choices are the AT-1, Air Zone and Norton am I correct? My local guitar shop will probably let my try them becuase my guitar has the liberator system, so that should be good to give a try and from there it is just a game of trial and error.

Thanks Again
 
Re: Tone Zone OR JB?

masta' c said:
If you absolutely have to pick between the Tone Zone and JB, I would say JB hands down.

In my experience, the Tone Zone, JB, AT-1 and Air Zone are like 4 sisters from the same family. Yes, all 4 have different names, no two are built exactly alike and each has their own personality to speak of, but you can definitely tell they are all related! On that note, I think you would be happiest with the Air Zone if these sisters were your only choices!

Outside of the immediate family, I agree that the Air Norton model is another solid choice, but I would also suggest you look into the regular Norton, as well. According to DiMarzio, the original Norton was designed with a Mahogany body in mind and there's no denying that it's a versatile rocker's pickup!

Note: ANY of these pickups will sound fine with your Axis neck pickup.
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None of what you say makes sense or even matters. All models are going to have the distinctive flavor of the pickup maker. The exact same thing can be said about pretty much any Seymour Duncan. In fact, several Duncans are the same pickup with different magnets or pole pieces. The aforementioned Dimarzios are very distinct but of course all have a Dimarzio flavor.

Even though I'm a big fan of Seymour Duncan pickups, I'll tell you straight out that the JB is not in the same class as the AT-1. The Tone Zone doesn't outclass the JB and the JB doesn't outclass the Tone Zone. Both of them really depend on the wood they are installed in.

The AT-1 is just a phenomenal pickup with all the best qualities of the Tone Zone, Fred, Breed and Air Norton. You probably can't find a pickup that sings like the AT-1 and has the same immaculate attack that the AT-1 has. It adapts to any wood it's put in and does a better job than the JB or Tone Zone in different guitars. I'm not just saying that because I have installed all of them in different guitars.

The Norton was derived from the Tone Zone and Fred, and is an awesome pickup for sure, but it too can be very picky about the guitar it's in. It's great in most basswoods and mahogany, picky about alder, and too bright for ash. It's great in koa by the way.

Perfect the Norton and you've got an AT-1 pretty much. The only way you're going to get that level of tone is probably with a Duncan custom wound pickup or maybe the Slash or Warren DeMartini's. Those are the Duncans which really put it all together in my opinion. No one has mentioned the Slash set but those would be an awesome selection for his guitar and style of music too.

One more suggestion that you might want to consider on the Dimarzio side is the Mo Joe. It's kind of a cross between an AT-1 and Fred. It's an improvement over the Fred in my opinion. You can get a great variety of sounds from it and it seems to work well in many different woods. I used it as a replacement for MM Axis Sport pickups, EVH Wolfgang, Ibanez, and a Fender Strat. It was pretty cool and the only reason I preferred the AT-1 is because the AT-1 has a more modern attack while the Mo Joe feels like you're plaing a classic type PAF feel that reminds me of Seth Lovers. If you ever played a PATB-1 then that would be similar to the attack of an AT-1 except not as loose.
 
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