DiMarzio chopper... Pair with what?

[BlueParfait]

I got a DiMarzio chopper, planning to get an IGNO

I'm still thinking. For a HSS guitar with 2 rail pickups, what should I be getting?

Another Chopper? Fast Track? Cruiser?

Or do I get a Pro Track and put the Chopper in the middle? Lol

 

[SonVolt]

I went AT-1 bridge and Cruiser (bridge) in Middle & Neck, ala Andy Timmons.

 

[BlueParfait]

I went AT-1 bridge and Cruiser (bridge) in Middle & Neck, ala Andy Timmons.

Nice

I've had the AT-1 twice and I've had dual Cruisers once, but in different guitars

 

[Shreddy Mercury]

This warms my heart to see another member of the Dubbel Kreem Krew exercising his God given rights to own and install DiMarzios.

 

[IHateRap]

Don’t hang out too long on the other pickup. Get to the Chopper.

 

[JohnnyGtar]

This warms my heart to see another member of the Dubbel Kreem Krew exercising his God given rights to own and install DiMarzios.

 

[BlueParfait]

So it's Igno and 2x Choppers

 

[Dan Gleesak]

Damn this is a timely thread. I’ve been racking my brain thinking about new pickups for an HSS I have and this reminded me I’ve had an at-1 kicking around my parts bin for the last 15 years or so
I remember thinking it was sorta dull in a Jackson dinky so I wrote it off, but the Strandberg it might go in is snappy as all get out

 

[BlueParfait]

Damn this is a timely thread. I’ve been racking my brain thinking about new pickups for an HSS I have and this reminded me I’ve had an at-1 kicking around my parts bin for the last 15 years or so
I remember thinking it was sorta dull in a Jackson dinky so I wrote it off, but the Strandberg it might go in is snappy as all get out

Nice

 

[vertigo08]

Just on the AT-1, according to Larry Dimarzio it's very close to the EBMM EVH bridge pickup. Good summary of that here from the article that came out after Ed passed:

https://www.thegearpage.net/board/i...all-music-man-evh-design-and-pickups.2227164/

 

[BlueParfait]

I never felt that they're that close ngl

Other people said that the Tone Zone is really close, as in a winder told me the Tone Zone is a Dual Resonance version, and the Axis was 2x of the Tone Zone's hotter coil

But idk I found the Axis to sound less muffled and boxy

 

[heath]

I never felt that they're that close ngl

Other people said that the Tone Zone is really close, as in a winder told me the Tone Zone is a Dual Resonance version, and the Axis was 2x of the Tone Zone's hotter coil

But idk I found the Axis to sound less muffled and boxy

There are so many variations I have read on the ToneZone/Axis/AT-1/AirZone pickups and what the differences are. I have tried pretty much all of them at this point.

Thoughts on the different theories...
- AirZone is basically the ToneZone with an air gap between slugs and magnets on both sides. Too soft and a little thin sounding.
- AT-1 is a great pickup, but not all that close to the Axis. Sounds GREAT in my PRS Starla bridge.
- Two of the ToneZone weaker coil with an air gap on one side. This sounds SUSPICIOUSLY like the AT-1.
- Two of the ToneZone hotter coils with an air gap on one side. Sounded good but was really bassy. Kind of reminded me of a Steve's Special that I had that I had stuffed an Alnico 5. It did not do the volume rolloff stuff as well as I would have hoped.
- ToneZone with air gap on one side with standard A5 mag. This sounded great and lived in my Wolfgang for years.

The closest I have gotten to the mythical Axis pup was a half-aired ToneZone with an Alnico II magnet. The A2 magnet softened the upper mids and cut some of the super low bass.

The only theory I have heard that I have yet to try is the standard Norton with an Alnico II and maybe an air gap. I will get to it eventually.

Lately I have been using Suhr humbuckers in nearly everything. The Woodbucker and Thornbucker II are great!

 

[BlueParfait]

Alright. Here we go

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[Yeahthat]

Alright. Here we go

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Looks great! What do you think? Did you go with 2 choppers ? I love that pickup! I have some of those Gotoh trems as well and they’re amazing!

 

[BlueParfait]

Looks great! What do you think? Did you go with 2 choppers ? I love that pickup! I have some of those Gotoh trems as well and they’re amazing!

Yep I did

Positions 2 and 4 are split. I love them. Sound a lot less plastic than the Cruiser for sure

 

[BlueParfait]

Really cool

 

[Uzi Nein Millimetah]

More people need to know da Choppa.

I've got the Chopper / Cruiser / Tone Zone in my San Dimas Mod III USA (factory pickups) with mahogany body + maple cap and rosewood board. This guitar came with a super cool Win switch (mini toggle), which instantly takes you to bridge pickup + full volume + bypassed tone control no matter how the other controls are set, so I get a direct comparison of the Tone Zone with/without being strangled by the tc! No comparison, it has a very noticeable uptick in aggression/cut when the tc is bypassed. I'll probably bypass it completely later, but the switch will still be useful.

 

[BlueParfait]

More people need to know da Choppa.

I've got the Chopper / Cruiser / Tone Zone in my San Dimas Mod III USA (factory pickups) with mahogany body + maple cap and rosewood board. This guitar came with a super cool Win switch (mini toggle), which instantly takes you to bridge pickup + full volume + bypassed tone control no matter how the other controls are set, so I get a direct comparison of the Tone Zone with/without being strangled by the tc! No comparison, it has a very noticeable uptick in aggression/cut when the tc is bypassed. I'll probably bypass it completely later, but the switch will still be useful.

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I swapped mine out just last week lol

Doing Fast Track 1-Chopper-IGNO