Dimarzio Tone Zone-Hearing opposing descriptions, help!

[glassjaw7]

K, my buddy is willing to give me a Tone Zone to try in the bridge of my Schecter. The guitar is mahogany body, maple cap, neck-thru, string thru bridge and rosewood board.

The JB that's in there is ok but it's not a great match for this axe. It's stuffy and a bit brittle and hollow sounding. I'm not a JB hater - the one in my alder bodied G&L Invader absolutely slays! It's just not the right pup for this guitar, probably due to the neck thru and string thru bridge design. I want something rich and juicy that will have a pleasant but not muffled top end, and be very solid in the lows and mids.

My friend says this pup is extremely harsh/articulate in the highs and too glassy, and similar to an Evo (which I have in an LP copy and definitely DO NOT want in this axe) but the description on the dimarzio site says anything but. It's described as not very trebly and having lots of lows and mids and a good replacement for a pup that sounds like "mosquitos".

So what's true? Will it compliment this type of guitar?

 

[rupe]

Your friend has it wrong (although perhaps thats what it sounded like in his guitar). The TZ has clear highs and a ton of mids and lows...its a fat sounding pickup in most cases.

 

[gtr31]

I think it will I use one in my Ibanez rg custom
It's not harsh a all
Darker warm thicker a lot of mids
Nice sustain

 

[glassjaw7]

Thanks guys, I think I'll give it a shot. I just don't want to go through the trouble if it's going to sound like shit.

 

[Filter500]

It doesn't sound anything like an EVO. It sounds very fat, which would be too much for me in a Mahogany guitar, but you may like it if your sound is too thin with the JB.

 

[MrDan666]

I use a Tonezone in my Charvel SoCal, which is an Alder body and Maple neck/fretboard. It is very clear and articulate in the highs, but not harsh IMO. The low mids and low end are really chunky and it can really help with a guitar that needs a bigger/fatter low end. It's not a pickup with a particularly smooth/warm top end, but since the EQ is very bass heavy.. It makes the pickup seem darker than it really is.

I personally like using the Tonezone with it set really close to the strings, as it sounds bigger that way (to my ears) and gives a fuller sounding top end.

 

[gtr31]

Jon levin from dokken has them in all his guitars
As mentioned not harsh
I would say the opposite problem could happen depending on
Setup speakers , amps ,it could get muddy
Or be on the dark side

 

[EyesOfTheSouth]

I recently tried the TZ for the first time in an all mahogany Carvin single cut. It lasted about 10 minutes as I couldn't stand the mid Q and overwhelming lows. I didn't find the highs harsh at all though. I had a JB in the same guitar and liked it much better. I eventually popped in a DP160 Norton and I love that one.....tighter lows, more natural sounding mids, and similar high end.

I suppose I could see the TZ working in a lighter bodied, trem guitar. But I don't know if I could ever gel with those mids.

 

[glassjaw7]

Thanks a lot guys! The guitar doesn't sound thin, but it just sounds like it's not breathing and has a weird spike somewhere in the high range. Not a nice "sizzle" but more like the mids are cut and muffled and then the high mids are spiky in an unpleasant way. It might just be that the guitar is too resonant? I mean it's a thick slab of mahogany with the maple cap and the neck-thru design and strings-through bridge might just be creating too many contrasting frequencies or something... I got very used to my G&L's bite and snappy, yet chewy tone. Come to think of it, I get a little overwhelmed with my LP too and it seems tubby and too fat sometimes, despite the fact that I still love the guitar. The G&L is "my" tone.

Not sure if I should try the TZ if it could become muddy...

Edit: Eyes, you still using the Weber Legacies? The 65watters are my main speakers now. I may try the Norton instead, or possibly an Anderson (love the H2+ in some guitars) or something else?

 

[Filter500]

That upper mid spike is a characteristic of the JB. The Tone Zone is not what you want either IMO.

 

[glassjaw7]

That upper mid spike is a characteristic of the JB. The Tone Zone is not what you want either IMO.

That's what I've heard but I think it depends on the wood and build of the guitar. My G&L is one of the best sounding/feeling guitars I've ever played and it has a JB. It sounds amazing! Perfectly balanced, no fizz, spike or hollow mids. Tight chunky low end balanced mids and highs that cut through and are thick and rich with nice bite and chewy tone.

 

[Filter500]

That upper mid spike is a characteristic of the JB. The Tone Zone is not what you want either IMO.

That's what I've heard but I think it depends on the wood and build of the guitar. My G&L is one of the best sounding/feeling guitars I've ever played and it has a JB. It sounds amazing! Perfectly balanced, no fizz, spike or hollow mids. Tight chunky low end balanced mids and highs that cut through and are thick and rich with nice bite and chewy tone.

Yeah it does. For example, I love the Super Distortion is basswood, but in a mahogany/maple combo I find the top end rough.

 

[rcm78]

I just replaced the pickups in my alder body Hamer Diablo. The original pickups were JB's bridge and neck. I dont get the JB. Every guitar I've had it in I always pulled it out. In this one the bridge JB had a distorted character kind of like what music sounds like if you boost 250k on an EQ. I replaced both pickups with a set of Aldrich's and didnt care for those either.

I put a Tone Zone in the bridge and a Liquifier in the neck and now this guitar rivals my favorite Wolfgang. The Tone Zone (in this guitar) is very hi fi and articulate. It's a big sound but with impressive note separation and crazy harmonics!!! This guitar now has a 3-D quality to it no matter what amp I play it through.

Id at least try it in your guitar. DiMarzio recommends the AT-1 for mahogany if you dont like it...

 

[glassjaw7]

Thanks!

 

[PBGas]

These all came as stock in my 3 Ibanez J Customs. Not one of them has them anymore for good reason. I just did not like the sound of them.

 

[ZMAN]

if you try out the TZ and dont like it , try out the Seymour Custom Custom . Alnico II magnet smooth and tight . I have one in a mahogany Ibanez (RG 520 QS) mahogany body , quilted saple top (veneer I think) but really sounds great for a bridge .

Z

 

[Michi]

I'd definitely try the Tone Zone in your guitar.

Our other guitarist has it in his Charvel SoCal Pro Mod and Charvel 3dr as well, and as someone here said it gives the guitars a nice 3D quality no matter what the amp is. And by no means harsh or hollow to my ears.

 

[TeleBlaster]

The Tone Zone works great for beefing up very bright guitars. I have it in a couple maple neck, ash and alder body 25.5 scale guitars. I do not like it in dark sounding guitars however, gets a little too muddy.
Great sounding pickup with a lot of character and harmonics, works very well in the right application.

 

[polaris20]

I had one for years, and couldn't really get into it in my basswood RG. The Evo in there now suits it much better. However, the TZ in my mahogany-bodied SC sounds great. I think it likes mahogany better.

 

[SFW]

I just put a Tone Zone in my Schecter Omen 6 Extreme. The guitar has a mahogany body with a maple cap. Maple bolt neck with a rosewood board. I really like it in this guitar. The tone is warm and fat with nice round highs. I wouldn't call them dull, just fat in the highs. It really brought this guitar to life. I love the JB, but the JB does not love my 5153 at all. So I've actually been going back to DiMarzios in my guitars, as they tend to have a rounded top end. Give it a shot, at worst, you've wasted 10 minuted souldering it in the guitar. At best, you've just found a great pickup for your guitar...