Vai Pickup Shootout/Comparison

[krovatron]

I know this could be posted elsewhere but I appreciate the openmindedness and tone chasing of this community.

I feel like I missed out on the Evolution in the hayday of my days and now discovering it much later.

The bridge is fantastic. Have no experience with the neck or the middle.

I notice most of the Vai sets have pretty hot necks and the single coil. Do most play with these pickups lowered? Like Paul Gilbert who really likes a hot middle pups because he plays them quite lowered out of the way of strumming?

You have the Evos.
The Gravity Storms (which seems to be an A5 version?)
The Breeds - I dig these, very fat..almost too much at times
Then the Dark Matter 2 is very different from the others, much lower winds yet still Ceramic.
Now the Utopias which seem similar to the Evos and GS.

I am just a bedroom jammer these days but will always be tinkering/building. I love that feeling of creating a great match of gear. I find Dimarzios to be really love/hate with certain guitars where Duncans to my ear seem to be more consistent. I notice many of the custom Dimarzios go in trem guitars with basswood bodies. I have only recently gotten into locking trems as I almost exclusively played hardtails and mostly mahogany guitars prior.

Also trying HSH as well for something new to dink around. Appreciate any feedback or links.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

The Evo Neck is not that hot. I definitely had to crank it up to balance with the Black Winter and X2N that I paired it with.

 

[Ascension]

Have run the EVO, Breed and the Gravity Storm bridge pickups in the past. By far my favorite is the Gravity Storm. Huge sounding medium output pickup that is super touch sensitive. Like the EVO for straight up metal but find t pretty stiff. Like the breed but it's just not as open and organic and I really want. The Gravity Storm to me is one of the kings of the brown sound. Incredibly fat and smooth but also is not as sludgy as the Tone Zone it's one of my absolute favorite Dimarzio bridge pickups.

 

[Mr. B]

PAF PRO: I like the PAF pro, but not in the neck and bridge together. PAF Pro in the neck works well with pickups like the Tone Zone / Air Zone. PAF Pro in the bridge works well with a neck like the Humbucker from Hell or single coils.

Breed set: I like the bridge pickup in Alder bodied guitars, but did not like it in Basswood RG's. I hated the Breed neck pickup. It seems hollow, not like scooped or anything like that, but like the body of the note you are hitting is missing. Its a weird thing that is hard to describe.

Evolution: I like the Evo 2 Bridge and Evo Neck together. Great mids and a good pair for solos and shred. The regular Evo bridge is just too hot for my taste, but it is fun if you like something over-the-top.

Gravity Storm: I tried this in a alder Jackson and hated them. I then put them in an older Ibanez RG and they have grown on me. The neck reminds me of a more balanced version of the Liquifire. The bridge has a lot of mids, and is a tad bit lacking on the bass end, kind of like a Duncan JB, but not that smooth. They are both a tad bit lower output than I expected, but I like that.

Haven't played the other sets yet.

 

[ISHIELDS]

the one and only Vai pickup i ever used is the middle position dark matter 2...i have it in one of my headless guitars. when i first got it, i was worried about how low the output seemed; but it has a REALLY nice sound for BOTH neck and middle...infact, the next six string hss i get may have that pickup in both neck and middle positions. very dark but still precise tone.

 

[krovatron]

The Evo Neck is not that hot. I definitely had to crank it up to balance with the Black Winter and X2N that I paired it with.

Hmm, is it maybe wound with a different gauge wire? Similar to how the JB reads higher? Spec wise it shows just under the Evo bridge. Notice most of the Vai sets the neck pickup is within 10% of the bridge

 

[krovatron]

Have run the EVO, Breed and the Gravity Storm bridge pickups in the past. By far my favorite is the Gravity Storm. Huge sounding medium output pickup that is super touch sensitive. Like the EVO for straight up metal but find t pretty stiff. Like the breed but it's just not as open and organic and I really want. The Gravity Storm to me is one of the kings of the brown sound. Incredibly fat and smooth but also is not as sludgy as the Tone Zone it's one of my absolute favorite Dimarzio bridge pickups.

I have dug the AT1 in my neck thru Axis wannabe. The breed neck is in there now and it is SOOO strong, I have it wired in parallel. The GS being the king of BS makes me want to score one. I have never been a big TZ fan.

 

[krovatron]

PAF PRO: I like the PAF pro, but not in the neck and bridge together. PAF Pro in the neck works well with pickups like the Tone Zone / Air Zone. PAF Pro in the bridge works well with a neck like the Humbucker from Hell or single coils.

Breed set: I like the bridge pickup in Alder bodied guitars, but did not like it in Basswood RG's. I hated the Breed neck pickup. It seems hollow, not like scooped or anything like that, but like the body of the note you are hitting is missing. Its a weird thing that is hard to describe.

Evolution: I like the Evo 2 Bridge and Evo Neck together. Great mids and a good pair for solos and shred. The regular Evo bridge is just too hot for my taste, but it is fun if you like something over-the-top.

Gravity Storm: I tried this in a alder Jackson and hated them. I then put them in an older Ibanez RG and they have grown on me. The neck reminds me of a more balanced version of the Liquifire. The bridge has a lot of mids, and is a tad bit lacking on the bass end, kind of like a Duncan JB, but not that smooth. They are both a tad bit lower output than I expected, but I like that.

Haven't played the other sets yet.

The PAF Pro will remain one of my favorite Dimarzio neck pickups. When I can score a used Evo2 I might grab it to compare.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Hmm, is it maybe wound with a different gauge wire? Similar to how the JB reads higher? Spec wise it shows just under the Evo bridge. Notice most of the Vai sets the neck pickup is within 10% of the bridge

Probably. Or maybe not a fully charged magnet? Because it does have an oversized Ceramic magnet in there.

AFAIK, all of the Evo models are asymmetrically wound. Then again, the DiMarzio site does show the Evo Neck is in the medium output range rather than high output like the bridge.

Don't get me wrong, it is a very nice-sounding pickup. But the Duncan Distortion Neck, at the the same DCR and powered byt the same magnet type is MUCH hotter. I've had them both in the same guitar.

 

[dave74]

Hmm, is it maybe wound with a different gauge wire? Similar to how the JB reads higher? Spec wise it shows just under the Evo bridge. Notice most of the Vai sets the neck pickup is within 10% of the bridge

Evo neck has about 30% less output than the Evo bridge (294 vs 404).