What are you guys pairing your X2N's with?

[Rex_Rocker]

Nah, the polepieces are metal. There's definitely an oversized ceramic magnet underneath.

BTW, I installed it! It sounds killer... but the Black Winter is every bit as hot, LOL.

 

[Demanic]

Nah, the polepieces are metal. There's definitely an oversized ceramic magnet underneath.

BTW, I installed it! It sounds killer... but the Black Winter is every bit as hot, LOL.

I had an X2N in my Ibanez V and swapped it for a Crunchlab. I would use it in the bridge of a bolt on superstrat in a heart beat.

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[dave74]

1/4? That far?!

Does it have more magnetic pull than the Black Winter? Cause I set my Black Winter up like half that distance from the strings, LOL.

That is where Dimarzio suggest starting (1/4" from bars to open string) and then raising from there until the notes get wavering when fretted at the 22nd/24th, then of course back it slightly until you have no wavering across all strings at the highest fret. I have always been able to get it somewhat closer, but it depends on string gauges/material and tension. I have found it requires more distance than any other pickup I own, although the Invader is close if measured from the bobbin-top, but of course those huge invader hex-caps stick up much higher.

 

[Top-L]

X2N/Super D

This is the answer. If you have a really hot bridge pickup, how can you NOT put a Super Distortion in the neck for all that classic metal goodness?

I played and returned a BC Rich a couple years ago, with a DactivatorX/SuperD combo, and I really loved the pickups. I thought the SuperD in neck would be too much, but somehow it works.

 

[Demanic]

If I wanted to match output, I would use an original D-Activator neck pickup. I have become quite fond of the Jazz neck also. Chimey without being shrill.
And I find that a lower output neck paired with a high output bridge does interesting things with both pickups running. Especially if you have independent volume and tone for each pickup. Even just independent volumes.

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[dave74]

This is the answer. If you have a really hot bridge pickup, how can you NOT put a Super Distortion in the neck for all that classic metal goodness?

I played and returned a BC Rich a couple years ago, with a DactivatorX/SuperD combo, and I really loved the pickups. I thought the SuperD in neck would be too much, but somehow it works.

Super2 has basically the same output as the SuperD, but with a more idealized EQ for the neck. The 2 will actually sound louder at the neck than the regular superD, by a sliver. Maybe not really louder, but brighter and clearer.

 

[Aceman]

I had an X2N in my Ibanez V and swapped it for a Crunchlab. I would use it in the bridge of a bolt on superstrat in a heart beat.

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.

 

[maug2122]

Don't get me wrong, love the X2N, but I think that I out grew it and may drop in a SD JB in the Red Crackle guitar and Dragonfire Quad Rail in my Bloody Concrete Kramer.

 

[formula73]

Super2 has basically the same output as the SuperD, but with a more idealized EQ for the neck. The 2 will actually sound louder at the neck than the regular superD, by a sliver. Maybe not really louder, but brighter and clearer.

Yeah, but I’ve never been somebody obsessed with neck position clarity. I always liked being able to swap from harsh/bright X2N crunch to super fat/smooth/compressed Super D neck for single note leads.

 

[dave74]

Yeah, but I’ve never been somebody obsessed with neck position clarity. I always liked being able to swap from harsh/bright X2N crunch to super fat/smooth/compressed Super D neck for single note leads.

I'm sure that is a great match. Nice contrast and about 20% difference in output which is great for bridge/neck balance.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Thought I'd update you guys with the current situation. The Super 2 is in! So far, I'm loving it! It's kinda like a PAF Pro on steroids in the sense that it's bright, shreddy, and attacky, but it's MUCH hotter. This pickup is HOT! I'm glad I didn't go for anything lower output, because it balances perfectly with the X2N in the bridge.

I'm comparing it to the Duncan Distortion Neck in my other guitar, and the Super 2 is brighter and less mid-focused. For cleans, I prefer the Super 2. For leads, it depends on my mood. I do like the smoothness and fluidity of the Distortion, but the Super 2 is snappier down the fretboard. I think it may also be slightly hotter even though the DCR is lower.

Anyway, I love it! I call it a win!

 

[80's_Thrash_Metal]

I stick the x2n in guitars that will never use the neck pickup. That pickup wails!

 

[Wound_Up]

How have I missed tbis thread? 2 of my favorite musicians are mentioned here, Buckethead and Rex Rocker aka Rex Brown of Pantera and Down and other bands.

You did get that name from Rex Brown? So, what are you planning on playing? Pantera, I hope? or even some Buckethead? Lol

 

[Rex_Rocker]

How have I missed tbis thread? 2 of my favorite musicians are mentioned here, Buckethead and Rex Rocker aka Rex Brown of Pantera and Down and other bands.

You did get that name from Rex Brown? So, what are you planning on playing? Pantera, I hope? or even some Buckethead? Lol

I did get the name from Rex from Pantera, lol. I used to be a bassist and aspired to be like him. He was my favorite bassist and Pantera is one of my favorite bands.

I do play some Pantera from time time, but I'm mostly a Gothenburg-style Melodeath kinda guy. That's what I mostly play on guitar.

 

[soulforger]

Sounds like you have it sorted but I was going to say, go Viv Campbell Holy Diver style with another X2N in the neck, though I think later on that tour he was using a Dual Sound/Super D in the bridge with the X2N neck.

 

[Wound_Up]

I did get the name from Rex from Pantera, lol. I used to be a bassist and aspired to be like him. He was my favorite bassist and Pantera is one of my favorite bands. I do play some Pantera from time time, but I'm mostly a Gothenburg-style Melodeath kinda guy. That's what I mostly play on guitar.

Hell yea! Good choice! Rex and the guys have a huge connection to my hometown, where I still live.. In Shreveport, Louisiana USA. Darrell and Vinnie were from Arlington TX, just about 2.5 hrs from here and they, Pantera, used to come here ALLLLL the time and play gigs back in the 80s, before they met Phil. When they still had Terry Glaze(Blaze? I forget). They had a large following in Texas and here in Shreveport, as well. We're only about 10 miles from the border of LA/TX.

Anyway. Every time they'd come here, all the people here would always tell them about this guy named Phil, the lead singer for a band called Razor White at the time, and how they needed to get Phil in their band as the singer. With Phil being from New Orleans, LA, he always came to Shreveport and played shows, as well. So he was well-known here, also. So this went on for a while until they finally agreed to meet Phil one night after a gig they had here in Shreveport. The rest, as they say, is history. Phil and the guys hit it off immediately and Pantera as we know it was born.

Fast forward a couple of weeks to their first show with Phil as lead singer. That show was also played right here in my hometown. Shreveport, LA. THANK GOD for the metal fans of Shreveport. Without them, Pantera may have never been as big as they were. But then again, Phil and they guys were playing the same type of music in the same markets around TX and LA so it's quite possible they would have crossed paths eventually. As great as those guys were, it was almost destiny.

Sadly, you can say the same about Dime's death. Had it not been for the people here introducing them to one another, Darrell might still be here today.

 

[Liam1963]

The X2N works well with the D Activator and D Activator X. The X has more bass, it's thicker and not as hot, while the regular D Activator has more highs, and sustain. Both sound great coil split. If I had to pick one it would be the regular D Activator. But can't go wrong with any one of them.

I have an X2N on order with a D Activator X neck, for a mongrel Strat that I'm building. Several years ago I modded a Fat Strat with a single X2N in the bridge and loved it!