What's a good combo (dimarzio)

jadedlikeme

New member
I know it's a Duncan board, but I know a lot of you have tried Dimarzio and use them too.

So I'm thinking of going with a Super Distortion in the bridge and a PAF Pro in the neck of my guitar. It's a thin bodied mahogany strat (Ibanez SCA220).

or

The Super 3 in the bridge (it's brighter and more middy than the Super Distortion) and possibly the PAF Pro or Air Norton in the neck.

Any advice? I'm looking for pups for classic rock, hard rock and metal, but that sound good with single coil splitting.

Any thoughts on how the Breed compares?
 
Re: What's a good combo (dimarzio)

i had a Tone Zone in the bridge of a les paul classic..i like it
the paf pro would suit any position though..paul gilbert uses them in the neck and bridge of his guitars..super distortions where big in the 70's when high gain amps just werent around..now with the amps like they are you see most people using slighty lower output p'ups getting a cleaner sound while letting the amp do all the distortion now..good luck with your decision..post some clips when you get the p'up yo :nervous: u want
 
Re: What's a good combo (dimarzio)

I have an Ibanez RG570 with an Evolution bridge and Air Norton neck, and it kicks ass.
 
Re: What's a good combo (dimarzio)

I've got ibanez' new SZ with a virtual PAF in the neck and an Air Zone in the bridge. It sounds awesome. The neck is a very smooth les paul sound and the air zone is extremely tight and articulate under distortion.
 
Re: What's a good combo (dimarzio)

I think *if* I go with Dimarzio I'll probably go Super Distortion in the bridge and Air Notron or a PAF in the neck.

How about for Duncans? C5, Duncan distortion, Custom Custom in the bridge?

This is a thin mahogany bodied (strat) guitar, rosewood fretboard. I use a highgain amp, Randall and 2x12 with Tonkers (these speakers are bright, but transparent -- whatever you EQ it will spit out.)

What Duncan humbuckers would you suggest?
 
Re: What's a good combo (dimarzio)

StrykeBack said:
I've got ibanez' new SZ with a virtual PAF in the neck and an Air Zone in the bridge. It sounds awesome. The neck is a very smooth les paul sound and the air zone is extremely tight and articulate under distortion.


Hey, I know you! Aren't you on the Harmony Central board? Good to see ya!
 
Re: What's a good combo (dimarzio)

I tried the tone wizard out. It suggested the Sh-5 bridge and the Jazz neck. Or JB bridge and '59 neck.

What do you guys think? I kind of like the Duncan Custom, but the Duncan Distortion is nice too. How do they compare?
 
Re: What's a good combo (dimarzio)

In a guitar like that, I'd go with a Custom or CC for the bridge and a Pearly Gates for the neck.
 
Re: What's a good combo (dimarzio)

Is the mahogany of your guitar bassy? The Breed for Bridge might sound muddy, so try the Neck Breed for yor bridge and Paf Joe on the neck for a raw sound and the "patented" Air Norton and Air Zone for neck and bridge for smoothness. I dunno, the Tone Zone was kind "too metal" for me.

From personal experience though, my mahogany/korina guitars have responded best to Duncans. Try Phat cat/'59 on neck and Custom 5 on the bridge.
 
Re: What's a good combo (dimarzio)

Use a Custom in the bridge and a DMZ Air Norton in the neck. The Custom provides for clarity, medium-high output, and great harmonics. The Air Norton provides for sparkling warm clean ups, huge picking attack and harmonics under high gain and they both pretty much match EQ wise.
 
Re: What's a good combo (dimarzio)

When you guys say Custom you're talking about the Duncan Custom SH-5 right? Or the C5 SH-14? Or the Custom Custom SH-11? LOL Sorry, I'm not up on all the terms yet. :\ All these customs have confused me.

I don't think my guitar is *that* bassy, it's a pretty thin mahogany body.

Yeah, the Dimarzio tech guy I e-mailed said go with the Air Norton in the neck and either the Super Distortion or the Tone Zone in the bridge. He also said I'd need an F-spaced bridge humbucker for my guitar and a standard spaced one for the neck. Does Duncan do F-spacing?

I'm digging the SH-5.

Is it okay to mix ceramic and Alnico pickups?
 
Re: What's a good combo (dimarzio)

It's ok to mix Ceramic and Alnico magged pups. Ok here's what we call 'em:
SH-5 Custom: Custom
SH-11 Custom Custom: CC
SH-14 Custom 5: C5

I'd never recommend a Tone Zone in any mahogany guitar (or any guitar for that matter), but really don't do it! Get a Custom it'll be your best choice (read previous post), unless you really want to go with DiMarzio, I'd get a Super Distortion.

Duncan does F-Spacing. We call it "Trembuckers", so if you're going to get the Custom, make sure you get the TB-5 Custom. Remember the TB part :)
 
Re: What's a good combo (dimarzio)

Okay, cool. Thanks Neeradj!

I'm going to try to find some Custom, CC and C5 clips in the other forum. I think I've settled on the Air Norton for the neck.

Does anybody have the written specs for mid/bass/treb on these pups? I see the specs with the bar graph but I'd like to see a number, I'm not good at guessing. The C5 is listed, so no problem there. Just need one for the Custom and CC.

Ha! I'm using the lingo now! go me... ;}
 
Re: What's a good combo (dimarzio)

D'oh! Soundclick is down. I can't listen to any of the clips! Gahhh! The Cruelty of it all!!

Got a question. Is there a Duncan equal to the Air Norton? Just curious.
 
Re: What's a good combo (dimarzio)

Which has more treble teh CC or the Duncan Custom?

I ask because I don't like a lot of treble. I like more mids and bass.
 
Re: What's a good combo (dimarzio)

I like the Super3 in the bridge...it's got a rolled off top end so its not harsh at all on the upper end but it's still fairly aggressive. It's really nice and meaty in the mids and bass, but the bass is really tight on it. It does anything from classic rock to death metal.
 
Re: What's a good combo (dimarzio)

jadedlikeme said:
Which has more treble teh CC or the Duncan Custom?

I ask because I don't like a lot of treble. I like more mids and bass.


The Custom has more treble than the CC, but is still very fat sounding. The CC is fat all around, even on high notes, but the low end is a bit looser than most people expect.
 
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