Dimarzio humbuckers

[Guitarnobody]

What Dimarzio humbucker pickups sound closest to a Suhr Aldrich or SSH+? I can't make heads or tails from their website. lol. Let me point out that I do not like the Super Distortion they make. The bottom end is too flubby for me.

 

[Badronald]

I've got two or three guitars with Dimarzio Super Distortions. No flub here.
What kind of amp are you using?

I've got a couple with Suhr Aldrich as well. I've never played a Dimarzio that sounds like the Aldrich. Maybe others have.

 

[bish0p34]

I've got a few Super D's as well. No flu here either.

 

[Guitarnobody]

I'm playing modded Marshall's, Mesa Mark series amps through custom shop Charvels with alder bodies and maple necks. I've had tons of super distortions and they sound like shit to me. Sorry, but that's my opinion. Problem is that Dimarzio has the double cream trademark (still wondering how they got away with it) and I need some double creams and the only one I can get to do it is Duncan...but I don't want any more Duncan pickups.

 

[paulyc]

Duncan WON'T do it...Suhr pickups are made by DiMarzio, so they get a pass.

 

[shred4Him]

They used to be made by DiMarzio. I think those were the JST pickups. Suhr has been making their own for years now. The DS and SS variants are pure Suhr, as well as their singles. I think their old noiseless pickups were DiMarzio.

The SSH+ was based off of the Duncan JB. Their own take on it. The Aldrich model is a further refinement of it. The closest thing that DiMarzio has to a JB is the AT-1. I have no idea how it compares to the Suhr pickups.

 

[Guitarnobody]

I'll check out the AT-1, although I'm not a fan of the JB.

 

[Oblivion DC]

I'm playing modded Marshall's, Mesa Mark series amps through custom shop Charvels with alder bodies and maple necks. I've had tons of super distortions and they sound like shit to me. Sorry, but that's my opinion. Problem is that Dimarzio has the double cream trademark (still wondering how they got away with it) and I need some double creams and the only one I can get to do it is Duncan...but I don't want any more Duncan pickups.

Is it possible that you've got the pickup too close to the strings? Not trying to be insulting, just trying to help.

 

[Guitarnobody]

I'm playing modded Marshall's, Mesa Mark series amps through custom shop Charvels with alder bodies and maple necks. I've had tons of super distortions and they sound like shit to me. Sorry, but that's my opinion. Problem is that Dimarzio has the double cream trademark (still wondering how they got away with it) and I need some double creams and the only one I can get to do it is Duncan...but I don't want any more Duncan pickups.

Is it possible that you've got the pickup too close to the strings? Not trying to be insulting, just trying to help.

Thank for the question. I'm familiar with humbuckers and how to set them up. Ceramic magnet pickups I tend to set lower. With that said, I use a marked screwdriver and I use it to count how many turns I make when adjusting pickups. For example, if I find a good spot and I want to tinker from that point, I may move one side a whole turn and the other a 1/2 turn, etc. It seems like s tough question I posed.

 

[nigelpkay]

Bass is not flubby on a Super Distortion, but it is super powerful so you have to dial it back on the amp.
But yes it's not for everyone.

Bare Knuckle will do double cream, because they are in the UK the trademark doesnt apply to them. (At least Dimarzio has never gone after them after all these years). Try the Holydiver if you want something similar and tighter.

Wolfetone, Motor City, and other boutique winders will do it.

 

[Guitarnobody]

Bass is not flubby on a Super Distortion, but it is super powerful so you have to dial it back on the amp.
But yes it's not for everyone.

Bare Knuckle will do double cream, because they are in the UK the trademark doesnt apply to them. (At least Dimarzio has never gone after them after all these years). Try the Holydiver if you want something similar and tighter.

Wolfetone, Motor City, and other boutique winders will do it.

I've tried the SD in many guitars and have always felt to bottom and was too loose and blurry. Maybe it's that I just don't like it. I honestly wish I did. I've tried MCP stuff and had an Afwayu which had way too much bottom end. I currently have a Garuda, but it doesn't work in this guitar. I know Wolftone stuff, but I've never tried his hotter pickups. I've also tried Manlius pickups and haven't found what I like.

I had a Holy Diver and didn't like it at all. Waited like 3 months to get it... :0(

 

[shred4Him]

You might also want to look into this little trick that Duncan does. They will use double cream when they have a cover on the pickup. That way, you can take off the cover and they are not violating the trademark since it was sold with the cover attached. Suhr might do the same thing.

 

[Guitarnobody]

You might also want to look into this little trick that Duncan does. They will use double cream when they have a cover on the pickup. That way, you can take off the cover and they are not violating the trademark since it was sold with the cover attached. Suhr might do the same thing.

Thanks for the response.

I have plenty of double cream Duncan pickups. I have a double cream distortion, JB, custom (a simple magnet change makes it 3 different pickups) Just looking for something with more upper mids.

 

[Badronald]

You've tried all those pickups and none of them work for you?
You know that you may need to re-eq your rig with different guitars and pickups, right?

Anyway, good luck.

 

[Guitarnobody]

You've tried all those pickups and none of them work for you?
You know that you may need to re-eq your rig with different guitars and pickups, right?

Anyway, good luck.

Yeah, I adjust for each guitar I use. I was simply looking to find something close to the Suhrs but made by Dimarzio. Seems nobody knows or they don't make anything. I still need to check out the AT-1.

 

[moltisanti]

the Aldrich is very close to the JB, just a slightly smoother top end, a little more refined, but the core tone is almost identical.

FWIW i only recently got my first Super Distortion and it's one of the best pickups i've ever had

 

[JamesPeters]

Thank for the question. I'm familiar with humbuckers and how to set them up. Ceramic magnet pickups I tend to set lower. With that said, I use a marked screwdriver and I use it to count how many turns I make when adjusting pickups. For example, if I find a good spot and I want to tinker from that point, I may move one side a whole turn and the other a 1/2 turn, etc. It seems like s tough question I posed.

I've used the Super Distortion in several guitars and I don't think its bass is flubby either, so I get where these folks are coming from. That doesn't mean to you it doesn't sound flubby, just out of personal taste or for how it works in your particular guitars (and with your playing style etc.)

Have you tried the Dominion? I get the impression you might like it.

 

[BMoore77]

Thank for the question. I'm familiar with humbuckers and how to set them up. Ceramic magnet pickups I tend to set lower. With that said, I use a marked screwdriver and I use it to count how many turns I make when adjusting pickups. For example, if I find a good spot and I want to tinker from that point, I may move one side a whole turn and the other a 1/2 turn, etc. It seems like s tough question I posed.

I've used the Super Distortion in several guitars and I don't think its bass is flubby either, so I get where these folks are coming from. That doesn't mean to you it doesn't sound flubby, just out of personal taste or for how it works in your particular guitars (and with your playing style etc.)

Have you tried the Dominion? I get the impression you might like it.

I have Dominions in my Ibanez Prestige..tighter lows and pretty good mids....However, I just installed a Tone Zone in my other Ibanez after removing an Aldrich. All different guitars, woods mentioned above, but for me, I think it might be a little more consistent with different amp combinations...I A/B them recording them into Pro Tools to get an idea. A buddy of mine has Aldrich pickups in his LP and that guitar sounds ripping. Just didnt work for me. Might dump the Dominions and throw in another Tone Zone or maybe try the Transitions. So many to choose from. The pickup market is as ridiculous as the OD pedal market is! Good luck.

 

[Fuego]

Ever tried emgs? I've gone thru all of em and keep coming back to emgs. I know some don't like them but maybe u will. I just can't get that pow from other pickups.

 

[cardinal]

I wish pickup makers would cut some of the marketing BS and try to relate their pickup designs to each other. For example, it's well known that several Duncan pickups use the same coils but different magnets (Jazz/Alnico Pro II; all the different Customs) and poles (Custom/Full Shred). So if you'd played one if those, you can actually understand how the others might sound. I suspect that other designs are similarly derivative.

And that's not a bad thing. How many times have we wished for "something like X but with more/less of Y". Just be upfront about these things, and we'd be able to actually figure it out instead if sorting out whether a pickup with "smooth mids" or "high-mid crunch" is what we actually want relative to what we're tried.