Anyone here prefer dimarzio's over duncan's?

  • Thread starter Thread starter charvelstrat81
  • Start date Start date
I have zero brand loyalty when it comes to pickups. If it sounds good, then I like it.
 
charvelstrat81":3gg223jk said:
Dimarzio seems to have a rep for being a shredders only company but i really like quite a few of their pu's and i dont consider myself a shredder, i play a little of everything. classic rock,metal,jazz,country,fusion
They are very different sounding pickups and while duncan's are said to be higher quality
component wise dimarzio has more models to offer. Really am liking the PAF pro and duncan does not offer anything like it.
Anyone here use dimarzio over duncans?

If you dig the PAF pro, I have to say the PAF 36th is my favorite neck pickup right now. It is not muddy and has lots of sustain and really sings. The combination of Super Distortion Bridge / PAF 36 Neck really works well for all kinds of stuff.
Dimarzio's Virtual Vintage "Area" Strat pickups are also really killer as well. I went through a ton of pickups with strats over the years and the Areas are exactly what I was looking for.
I don't play much high gain, heavy stuff and I have Dimarzios in pretty much every guitar I own.
Another combo I am loving is The Transition Bridge/ Air Classic Neck. Really versatile!!!!
 
I used to be Dimarzio everything in my guitars, but nowadays I find them sounding too compressed and dated sounding. I think they are better used for making crappy sounding 80's/90s superstrats sound much better than they are.

Duncan's I never really bonded with, although I do love the Quarter Pound single I've used in a few HS and HSS strats, and the JB is still an amazing all-around pickup.

I got sucked into Bare Knuckle and Motor City pickups for the openness, clarity, and subtleties. You need some good wood guitars to really make them shine though because of that openness.
 
nigelpkay":1fbp852o said:
I got sucked into Bare Knuckle and Motor City pickups for the openness, clarity, and subtleties. You need some good wood guitars to really make them shine though because of that openness.
Then you would love this guys pu's,
http://www.zhangbucker.com/
I have a few sets and they are really dynamic and clear.
 
charvelstrat81":24j5skq8 said:
nigelpkay":24j5skq8 said:
I got sucked into Bare Knuckle and Motor City pickups for the openness, clarity, and subtleties. You need some good wood guitars to really make them shine though because of that openness.
Then you would love this guys pu's,
http://www.zhangbucker.com/
I have a few sets and they are really dynamic and clear.

Hey man, the link didn't work.
 
HilltopExplosion":a2zzlixm said:
charvelstrat81":a2zzlixm said:
nigelpkay":a2zzlixm said:
I got sucked into Bare Knuckle and Motor City pickups for the openness, clarity, and subtleties. You need some good wood guitars to really make them shine though because of that openness.
Then you would love this guys pu's,
http://www.zhangbucker.com/
I have a few sets and they are really dynamic and clear.

Hey man, the link didn't work.
:confused: works when i click on it?
try this one maybe? http://www.zhangbucker.com/humbuckers.html
 
charvelstrat81":2ckw59iq said:
HilltopExplosion":2ckw59iq said:
charvelstrat81":2ckw59iq said:
nigelpkay":2ckw59iq said:
I got sucked into Bare Knuckle and Motor City pickups for the openness, clarity, and subtleties. You need some good wood guitars to really make them shine though because of that openness.
Then you would love this guys pu's,
http://www.zhangbucker.com/
I have a few sets and they are really dynamic and clear.

Hey man, the link didn't work.
:confused: works when i click on it?
try this one maybe? http://www.zhangbucker.com/humbuckers.html

:thumbsup: Yup, got it, thanks for the info! I'm checkin' 'em out!
 
nigelpkay":17lwftxf said:
I used to be Dimarzio everything in my guitars, but nowadays I find them sounding too compressed and dated sounding. I think they are better used for making crappy sounding 80's/90s superstrats sound much better than they are.

Duncan's I never really bonded with, although I do love the Quarter Pound single I've used in a few HS and HSS strats, and the JB is still an amazing all-around pickup.

I got sucked into Bare Knuckle and Motor City pickups for the openness, clarity, and subtleties. You need some good wood guitars to really make them shine though because of that openness.

I used many Bareknuckles. Great clarity as you posted. In the end, after several comparisons, I found that clarity to not make up for the lack of punch they have. They sound great but just lack the thump of a Duncan.
Do MC's add back the punch? I never tried one. I got turned off from them when I heard they were designed from reversing Bareknuckles regardless if true or not. Something just smelled bad back then when BK was blowing up in the States and out of nowhere MC appeared. Just seemed like a BK knockoff made in the US.
 
glip22":11bc4fng said:
nigelpkay":11bc4fng said:
I used to be Dimarzio everything in my guitars, but nowadays I find them sounding too compressed and dated sounding. I think they are better used for making crappy sounding 80's/90s superstrats sound much better than they are.

Duncan's I never really bonded with, although I do love the Quarter Pound single I've used in a few HS and HSS strats, and the JB is still an amazing all-around pickup.

I got sucked into Bare Knuckle and Motor City pickups for the openness, clarity, and subtleties. You need some good wood guitars to really make them shine though because of that openness.

I used many Bareknuckles. Great clarity as you posted. In the end, after several comparisons, I found that clarity to not make up for the lack of punch they have. They sound great but just lack the thump of a Duncan.
Do MC's add back the punch? I never tried one. I got turned off from them when I heard they were designed from reversing Bareknuckles regardless if true or not. Something just smelled bad back then when BK was blowing up in the States and out of nowhere MC appeared. Just seemed like a BK knockoff made in the US.
.

I've tried a few bkp's and a few mcp's and don't hear any similarities in the two. Actually didn't bond with any of the bkp's and love the mcp detroiter. Has more punch and still tighter than my other les Paul with a JB it. Makes it sound thin by comparison.
 
mchn13":cnfzdyao said:
glip22":cnfzdyao said:
nigelpkay":cnfzdyao said:
I used to be Dimarzio everything in my guitars, but nowadays I find them sounding too compressed and dated sounding. I think they are better used for making crappy sounding 80's/90s superstrats sound much better than they are.

Duncan's I never really bonded with, although I do love the Quarter Pound single I've used in a few HS and HSS strats, and the JB is still an amazing all-around pickup.

I got sucked into Bare Knuckle and Motor City pickups for the openness, clarity, and subtleties. You need some good wood guitars to really make them shine though because of that openness.

I used many Bareknuckles. Great clarity as you posted. In the end, after several comparisons, I found that clarity to not make up for the lack of punch they have. They sound great but just lack the thump of a Duncan.
Do MC's add back the punch? I never tried one. I got turned off from them when I heard they were designed from reversing Bareknuckles regardless if true or not. Something just smelled bad back then when BK was blowing up in the States and out of nowhere MC appeared. Just seemed like a BK knockoff made in the US.
.

I've tried a few bkp's and a few mcp's and don't hear any similarities in the two. Actually didn't bond with any of the bkp's and love the mcp detroiter. Has more punch and still tighter than my other les Paul with a JB it. Makes it sound thin by comparison.
Thanks. Then I need to try them. I wasn't sure if they were similar.
 
Yeah MC and BKP don't sound anything alike. I get what you mean about the punch with BKPs compared to more compressed pickups. Your always trading off one characteristic for another.
It's just with modern high gain amps, I find I need pickups that can take that gain better.

But gimme a JB or Super Distortion and I would be a happy camper regardless. They are tried and true for a reason. If I had to pick I would say Dimarzio as they make any guitar sound great.
 
nigelpkay":2xqnksbc said:
But gimme a JB or Super Distortion and I would be a happy camper regardless. They are tried and true for a reason. If I had to pick I would say Dimarzio as they make any guitar sound great.
Yeah this is often brought up and i guess is considered a not so great thing since
if the guitar sounds just OK but the pu's make it sound great then there is a fault in the guitar.
I was always the type that would not even buy a guitar unless it sounded great unplugged.
The JB is a great p'u depending on the guitar it is in whereas the dimarzio super d sounds good no matter what guitar it is in or at least that's been my experience with those two.
 
glip22":1lm6ib17 said:
mchn13":1lm6ib17 said:
glip22":1lm6ib17 said:
nigelpkay":1lm6ib17 said:
I used to be Dimarzio everything in my guitars, but nowadays I find them sounding too compressed and dated sounding. I think they are better used for making crappy sounding 80's/90s superstrats sound much better than they are.

Duncan's I never really bonded with, although I do love the Quarter Pound single I've used in a few HS and HSS strats, and the JB is still an amazing all-around pickup.

I got sucked into Bare Knuckle and Motor City pickups for the openness, clarity, and subtleties. You need some good wood guitars to really make them shine though because of that openness.

I used many Bareknuckles. Great clarity as you posted. In the end, after several comparisons, I found that clarity to not make up for the lack of punch they have. They sound great but just lack the thump of a Duncan.
Do MC's add back the punch? I never tried one. I got turned off from them when I heard they were designed from reversing Bareknuckles regardless if true or not. Something just smelled bad back then when BK was blowing up in the States and out of nowhere MC appeared. Just seemed like a BK knockoff made in the US.
.

I've tried a few bkp's and a few mcp's and don't hear any similarities in the two. Actually didn't bond with any of the bkp's and love the mcp detroiter. Has more punch and still tighter than my other les Paul with a JB it. Makes it sound thin by comparison.
Thanks. Then I need to try them. I wasn't sure if they were similar.


MCPs are no where near BKP's. I had a few BKPs and once i tried MCP's, I never looked back!!!
 
another vote here for the MCPs, i have a 2nd degree, detroiter, and afwayu and they are all amazing. really cover a whole spectrum of tones.. sorry not to derail thread. the detroiter is a great middle ground between the 2nd and afwayu, highly recommend. i am running the detroiter in a PRS SC245 and the other two are in LPs (and elegant and a class 5). It is hard for me to pick a favorite but the detroiter may cover the most ground.
 
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