Dimarzio AT-1 vs Norton?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Lord Toneking
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Lord Toneking

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Currently have a Norton installed but looking at switching to the AT-1

Anyone compare the two??
 
I have a norton in an explorer all mahogony neck through and an AT-1 in a carvin mahogony body but maple neck through. Norton is better hands down but might be the guitar as well.
 
I agree. The Norton is clearer and more natural sounding. I've used both in LP's and superstrats. The AT-1 is really dark/congested in comparison. The Norton is a HIGHLY underrated pup IMO.
 
I have 2 EBMM axis guitars. I put a Norton in one and the other is stock. When playing live and switching guitars the stock axis has a volume jump, more balls and lots more sustain

I like having two of the same guitars with different tonal qualities, but I kinda wish the Norton had a tad more 'umpf' and sustain :confused:
 
I was considering swapping out a JB for an AT-1 which is supposed to be like a darker JB. Maybe I won't bother if it is muddy? The 36 anni has some good bite, would be perfect for a darker guitar if you know what type of body you have (dark, balanced, bright)

What is the Norton supposed to be like? a nice clear PAF on steroids?
 
I found that the AT-1 I had was simply too polite. It just didn't do anything for me at all.
 
Lord Toneking":r3qs0zm1 said:
I have 2 EBMM axis guitars. I put a Norton in one and the other is stock. When playing live and switching guitars the stock axis has a volume jump, more balls and lots more sustain

I like having two of the same guitars with different tonal qualities, but I kinda wish the Norton had a tad more 'umpf' and sustain :confused:
Click to expand...
Super Distortion
 
yeah + 1 on the super distortion..fat but crunchy. Can never go wrong with a classic though I gotta say, the 36 anni in the right guitar is crunchy goodness too. Nice string definition. SD, JB, and 36 anni are my go to at the moment. Air zone is good too if you want to also look at that one. A more polite and less bass offensive tone zone.
 
yngzaklynch":2g3t04jb said:
Lord Toneking":2g3t04jb said:
I have 2 EBMM axis guitars. I put a Norton in one and the other is stock. When playing live and switching guitars the stock axis has a volume jump, more balls and lots more sustain

I like having two of the same guitars with different tonal qualities, but I kinda wish the Norton had a tad more 'umpf' and sustain :confused:
Click to expand...
Super Distortion
Click to expand...
Lol, tried that and absolutely hated it
 
sandman":16cc4lq1 said:
I'll send you my AT1 and Cruisers to try out.
Click to expand...

Damn I need to start more pickup threads :lol: :LOL:

The Norton is awesome, it's one of my favorites for the bridge position
Anything ceramic, like the Super Distortion, doesn't sound as natural as Alnico magnets to me
 
I bought the AT-1 to darken up a chirpy sounding guitar. It helped but I'm not sold on it. I'm thinking about trying out a tone zone of EVO or even an active pup. Might just replace the pot first. This is a one humbucker and volume knob guitar with no tone knob.
 
threadkiller":xc8jjkix said:
I bought the AT-1 to darken up a chirpy sounding guitar. It helped but I'm not sold on it. I'm thinking about trying out a tone zone of EVO or even an active pup. Might just replace the pot first. This is a one humbucker and volume knob guitar with no tone knob.
Click to expand...

no tone pot will brighten a pup more..drop that vol pot down to a 300k pot and see how you like it! I read somewhere that this was an EVH trick but who knows.. all I know is that a 36 anniversary with no tone knob could have cut glass so i'm a fan of a tone knob. One knob worked well on a san dimas I had but not sure what the value of the pot was.
 
threadkiller":1kt78ove said:
I bought the AT-1 to darken up a chirpy sounding guitar. It helped but I'm not sold on it. I'm thinking about trying out a tone zone of EVO or even an active pup. Might just replace the pot first. This is a one humbucker and volume knob guitar with no tone knob.
Click to expand...
Sorry for the necro-bump, but a DiMarzio Evo will *never* darken up any guitar.

Very bright, very direct pickup. a ToneZone would do the trick, as would a Breed, Air Zone and in some cases a Super Distortion too.
 
Also, very curious about the Norton vs AT-1 comparisons?

I have 2 Nortons in 2 totally different guitars; a Charvel So Cal Pro Mod and a Burny Les Paul standard.
 
Lord Toneking":2ycds8lc said:
yngzaklynch":2ycds8lc said:
Lord Toneking":2ycds8lc said:
I have 2 EBMM axis guitars. I put a Norton in one and the other is stock. When playing live and switching guitars the stock axis has a volume jump, more balls and lots more sustain

I like having two of the same guitars with different tonal qualities, but I kinda wish the Norton had a tad more 'umpf' and sustain :confused:
Click to expand...
Super Distortion
Click to expand...
Lol, tried that and absolutely hated it
Click to expand...


I don't like the super distortion either.
 
I have a Norton in one of my strats. It's one of my favorite pickups of all. I had an AT-1 for a long time in a strat I sold a while back and it was a great pickup. I'd say it's kind of in between a Breed and an Air Zone. I never really liked the Cruiser pickups, but the AT-1 pairs well with a PAF Pro or Injector neck. I never thought it was a dark sounding pickup. In fact, I'd say it has a nice sizzle in the upper mids. Compared to the Air Zone, probably my favorite Dimarzio, the AT-1 is more present. It's not as over-the-top as the Breed, but similar to it.

I use to have a love/hate thing with the Seymour Duncan JB, but I replaced it with a Norton and never looked back. If my Norton got swapped with an AT-1, it wouldn't matter to me because they're both awesome. I believe the AT-1 uses Dimarzio Air technology which is basically some plastic spacers between the pickup and magnet. It gives the AT-1 an airier more vintage kind of thing than the Mo Joe. The Moe Joe is kinda more straightforward like the PAF Pro and Fred, but I would not characterize the AT-1 as polite or tame at all. It handles overdrive very well and it has nice definition for chording. It sounds better playing clean than the Norton, and it doesn't feel as spongy as the Norton. The AT-1 kind of sounds like a degaussed Breed and feels more like the Breed.

You can't go wrong with the AT-1 whether it's an Ibanez or a Les Paul. If you want brighter, try the Breed. If you want something like a Breed but a little less over the top, then do what I do and use a Breed neck in the bridge. However, neither one will give you that kind of degaussed vintage sound like the AT-1.
 
Awesome info, SavageRiffer! :thumbsup:

Interestingly, I like the Norton's split tone tremendously and saw a 6-pup comparison video recently with the cherryburst Schecter, where the AT-1's split tone seems very promising as well.

In regards to the Breed Bridge; I actually found that too tame in several guitars. Big, sure. But too mild mannered.
And the Breed Neck, while nice and wide, was very jangly in the neck position of my Charvel So Cal...a bit too much...but once I put it in my all mahogany/ebony fb Gibson V, it's awesome! Does the juicy PAF thing like the Air Norton, but wider. Not thicker per se, but wider.

The ToneZone is nice in my Ibanez S-series, but when it was stock in my Charvel, it had some slight muddiness, so it had to go. I can see that pup beefing up a thinner sounding guitar, yet retaining some of the Norton's harmonic qualities, but if the guitar itself has body enough, I find the TZ becoming a tad too loose in the low-end.

By the way, funny you mention the Norton being more spongey. I actually went for the Norton over both the Duncan JB and SH-11 CC, because I find those two too damn spongey for tight riffing in a Les Paul.
I still have the stock JB lying around from my ESP NT-II as well as an Alnico 8 mag, so I may give that a go one day.
 
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