So Cal vs San Dimas

splitendz

Active member
Noticed that one of the few differences between a So Cal & San Dimas is the pickups. Most So Cals come with Dimarzio Tone Zone in bridge & Dimarzio Evolutions at neck. Most San Dimas come with Duncan JB or TB4 at bridge & Duncan 59' or SH1N at neck. I'm looking for the hottest setup for these guitars for playing metal. Want pickups (esp at bridge) that will give huge crunchy rhythms & awesome pinch harmonics. Which setup would you say is the hottest ?
 
I would say the ToneZone and JB aren't too far apart in power/output. But IMO the JB does sound more aggressive because of that upper mid sqwauk it has.
With that said, you have to be careful with the JB, because when used with a brighter/upper mid heavy amp, the JB can sometimes be a little too spikey. So it could could sound killer or sound like ass, depending on the other gear in your rig!

The EVO neck pickup is hotter and smoother than the 59 neck pickup, that is for sure. I HATE the Duncan 59 with a passion, and can only deal with that pickup if the guitar has a tone pot, so i can make the tone of the 59 sound fatter. The EVO on the other hand already sounds warmer and fatter, which i like!
 
I have the SoCal...it does just about any 80's tone. The San w/Duncans was a little less aggressive, but still sweet. Pinch harmonics jump off this thing. It was set up pretty decent, I just had to drop a spring and mess with the action and pickup height to get what I wanted. I am going to put a coil tap and a phase switch and this is neck and neck for my goto guitar. The Japanese are just as nice, come with a case not a shitty gigbag and cost 3 or 4 bills less. You can't lose with either.
 
I have a SoCal and found the Tone Zone to be too boomy. I replaced it with a JB and couldn't be happier. I left the EVO in the neck.
 
I have lots of experience with these guitars. From a playability and POTENTIAL tone standpoint they are nearly identical so go with whichever one you like the best. As far as pickups, everytime I buy a guitar I am fully prepared to throw a couple of different pickups at it until I hit the right combination. Pickup swaps are easy and relatively affordable especially since the pickups that are in it will help offset the cost of the new pickups.

I still have one USA made one left and a used USA one in stock and then I have the japanese ones. I can't talk about price, but PM me and we'll see what we see.
 
Chubtone":3pbpqkdu said:
I have lots of experience with these guitars. From a playability and POTENTIAL tone standpoint they are nearly identical so go with whichever one you like the best. As far as pickups, everytime I buy a guitar I am fully prepared to throw a couple of different pickups at it until I hit the right combination. Pickup swaps are easy and relatively affordable especially since the pickups that are in it will help offset the cost of the new pickups.

I still have one USA made one left and a used USA one in stock and then I have the japanese ones. I can't talk about price, but PM me and we'll see what we see.

Hey, the playing in that demo video on your myspace is impressive. How would you compare the japanese to usa models ?
 
I had a JB in the bridge and an Evolution in the neck of my Ibanez. NO problems with the Evo in the neck - great neck pickup, way better than the bridge equivalent, it sustains and cuts really nicely, very clear sounding.

JB is great in the bridge and I would choose it over a Tone Zone. I swapped it out eventually for a Duncan Custom (which is tighter and even more musical sounding). Both the above are not the tightest sounding pickups in the world.
 
I swapped both pickups out of my SoCal, and it currently has a Super 3, Protrack, Fast Track 2 set.. :LOL: :LOL: I prefered it to the San Dimas style because with the pickguard it's more strat-like, and you can have different pickup set-ups(like HSS).
 
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