Matt300ZXT
Well-known member
So I used to be a Duncan fanboi as a teenager in the mid 90s when that's just all I knew, and that only the most holy grails of guitars (Jacksons mostly) got them, or big rockstars had them in their guitars; so naturally, I was a Duncan fanboi in my youth. I had a Burny Les Paul Custom (I should have NEVER sold/traded) that had a Custom Custom and 59 and I LOVED that Custom Custom. It just worked for some reason in that guitar. But then again I was also cranking the shit out of the gain knob back then. I had other guitars that had Duncans in them, and since they're basically ubiquitous for the last 15 years or so, as most decent guitars come with them, they're everywhere.
I don't know when I discovered DiMarzios, though I was familiar with the name, I had just never used their pickups. I think the first time I ever played one was in my Guitar Center days, back around 2005 I think, and it was either a Strat style guitar, or a Wolfgang that came into the store, used, that had them, and I was like wow! I love this!
Several years ago, I traded a Music Man Silhouette I had bought used at Guitar Center for a Higgins Custom superstrat. He was Merle Haggard's guitar tech and built partscasters. I was just really bored with that Music Man, it just never really did much for me. I traded it and that guitar (that I still have) has an Evolution in the bridge and a Red Velvet in the neck. I think the Red Velvet is probably my favorite single coil because of that guitar. The Evolution is super hot and will expose any mistakes you make, but I dig it. I also had a 2008 USA Charvel that had the Tone Zone/Evolution Neck combo that I loved the sound of.
I remember talking with my buddy who's a luthier that I used to build guitars with and we just fawned over DiMarzio pickups one day in a conversation due to just how much better we think they sound compared to Duncans. I'm not saying Duncans are bad, I just prefer the "thing" that DiMarzios have that Duncans don't seem to.
A couple years ago I bought a used 93 USA made Washburn from the Grover Jackson era that has a Custom Custom in the bridge, a 59 in the neck, and a Custom Hot in the middle (single coil). That guitar sounds a wee bit neutered. It just doesn't sound as hot coming through the amp, and I LOVED that pickup in that Burny. It's almost boring to play because it just doesn't seem to scream. Solos sound decent, but pedaling away on the low E for riffs/songs just sound dull and lifeless. I also have another USA Washburn, a 94, from the Grover Jackson era. It has a JB and 59 and it has a wee bit more juice to it, but still just uninspiring. I just don't seem to get enough push to the amp to get it to sing on leads like I want.
This Warrior I was working on and just finished up today, it had a Custom/59 combo and it was very lifeless sounding and would take cranking the shit out of the gain to get it to sound useable. I also have a Korean Washburn Steve Stevens Signature, and it has a Black Winter/Jazz combo...once again, dull and lifeless. I don't know what it is about Duncans that I don't jive with.
A month ago, I redid the Les Paul I bought and put a Super Distortion/PAF 36th in it and it SCREAMS! This Warrior I just finished got a PAF 36th/PAF 36th combo, and even though it's a much much lower output pickup than the Custom/59 that was in it, this guitar sings and feels alive on the amp now. The scalloped Warmoth I just got a couple weeks ago has the Crunch Lab/Evolution Bridge (but in the neck, got a PAF Pro on its way to fix that) and it just screams and sings.
There is just something that DiMarzio has that Duncan doesn't, at least to my ear. The only guitars I've got with Duncans that I actually like the sound and wouldn't change it, are my old Warmoth with a JB/59 and my Wulfsson Barracuda with a JB/Quarter Pounder. Maybe I just like the way those 2 particular JBs sound, but those guitars actually breathe and have life when I play them....all my other Duncan guitars don't have "it" for some reason.
I don't know when I discovered DiMarzios, though I was familiar with the name, I had just never used their pickups. I think the first time I ever played one was in my Guitar Center days, back around 2005 I think, and it was either a Strat style guitar, or a Wolfgang that came into the store, used, that had them, and I was like wow! I love this!
Several years ago, I traded a Music Man Silhouette I had bought used at Guitar Center for a Higgins Custom superstrat. He was Merle Haggard's guitar tech and built partscasters. I was just really bored with that Music Man, it just never really did much for me. I traded it and that guitar (that I still have) has an Evolution in the bridge and a Red Velvet in the neck. I think the Red Velvet is probably my favorite single coil because of that guitar. The Evolution is super hot and will expose any mistakes you make, but I dig it. I also had a 2008 USA Charvel that had the Tone Zone/Evolution Neck combo that I loved the sound of.
I remember talking with my buddy who's a luthier that I used to build guitars with and we just fawned over DiMarzio pickups one day in a conversation due to just how much better we think they sound compared to Duncans. I'm not saying Duncans are bad, I just prefer the "thing" that DiMarzios have that Duncans don't seem to.
A couple years ago I bought a used 93 USA made Washburn from the Grover Jackson era that has a Custom Custom in the bridge, a 59 in the neck, and a Custom Hot in the middle (single coil). That guitar sounds a wee bit neutered. It just doesn't sound as hot coming through the amp, and I LOVED that pickup in that Burny. It's almost boring to play because it just doesn't seem to scream. Solos sound decent, but pedaling away on the low E for riffs/songs just sound dull and lifeless. I also have another USA Washburn, a 94, from the Grover Jackson era. It has a JB and 59 and it has a wee bit more juice to it, but still just uninspiring. I just don't seem to get enough push to the amp to get it to sing on leads like I want.
This Warrior I was working on and just finished up today, it had a Custom/59 combo and it was very lifeless sounding and would take cranking the shit out of the gain to get it to sound useable. I also have a Korean Washburn Steve Stevens Signature, and it has a Black Winter/Jazz combo...once again, dull and lifeless. I don't know what it is about Duncans that I don't jive with.
A month ago, I redid the Les Paul I bought and put a Super Distortion/PAF 36th in it and it SCREAMS! This Warrior I just finished got a PAF 36th/PAF 36th combo, and even though it's a much much lower output pickup than the Custom/59 that was in it, this guitar sings and feels alive on the amp now. The scalloped Warmoth I just got a couple weeks ago has the Crunch Lab/Evolution Bridge (but in the neck, got a PAF Pro on its way to fix that) and it just screams and sings.
There is just something that DiMarzio has that Duncan doesn't, at least to my ear. The only guitars I've got with Duncans that I actually like the sound and wouldn't change it, are my old Warmoth with a JB/59 and my Wulfsson Barracuda with a JB/Quarter Pounder. Maybe I just like the way those 2 particular JBs sound, but those guitars actually breathe and have life when I play them....all my other Duncan guitars don't have "it" for some reason.
