Dimarzio ToneZone 7 - a bit "muddy" on chords

[cyndicate]

Just bought a RG1527 with a Tone Zone 7 in the bridge and just recently swapped out the neck for a Air Norton. The lead sounds at the moment are great, fat and smooth sounding, however when playing chords I feel it's a bit muddy. The body is basswood.

Seems the TZ7 is a bit more bass heavy, any thing I can do to balance it a bit? Stock wiring currently has a 330pf cap on the volume. Will removing or dropping this value brighten up the guitar a bit?

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

No you have to increase the pot to a 500 if you want to brighten it. Also note that those pickups are more bass heavy. They are great for bright guitars though. What is that RG1527 made of? I had an alder strat which sounded a bit meh with an air zone (which is voiced similarly but less gain than tone zone) and this particular alder seems darker than my other strat types. Anyway, i had an alder/koa top guitar which is bright as all hell and spanked with everything. It really works with the Air Zone. I would think the same applies to people using ash bodies or alder that get custom customs for that VH vibe. Mahogany bodied guitars might sound too bass heavy and flat with a pickup like the TZ. This is just my opinion and experience but i almost got rid of the air zone until i tried it in my spanky strat. The bottom line is, same types of wood can vary in tone. Go instead by what your ears tell you. In this case clearly the pickup is too bassy for you. So go something with less bottom end. Try an air classic bridge or AT-1 (dimarzio) or PAF Pro is still a classic and a killer pup. I have one in an ash strat. Cuts.

Sorry just noticed you said a 330pf cap and not the pot value. That might be there to retain the highs when you turn the volume down. I am not sure though. I would say a diff pickup is your best bet because that one is voiced heavier in the bass.(if i remember the tone chart correctly)

 

[cyndicate]

No you have to increase the pot to a 500 if you want to brighten it. Also note that those pickups are more bass heavy. They are great for bright guitars though. What is that RG1527 made of? I had an alder strat which sounded a bit meh with an air zone (which is voiced similarly but less gain than tone zone) and this particular alder seems darker than my other strat types. Anyway, i had an alder/koa top guitar which is bright as all hell and spanked with everything. It really works with the Air Zone. I would think the same applies to people using ash bodies or alder that get custom customs for that VH vibe. Mahogany bodied guitars might sound too bass heavy and flat with a pickup like the TZ. This is just my opinion and experience but i almost got rid of the air zone until i tried it in my spanky strat. The bottom line is, same types of wood can vary in tone. Go instead by what your ears tell you. In this case clearly the pickup is too bassy for you. So go something with less bottom end. Try an air classic bridge or AT-1 (dimarzio) or PAF Pro is still a classic and a killer pup. I have one in an ash strat. Cuts.

Sorry just noticed you said a 330pf cap and not the pot value. That might be there to retain the highs when you turn the volume down. I am not sure though. I would say a diff pickup is your best bet because that one is voiced heavier in the bass.(if i remember the tone chart correctly)

I have the AT-1 in my Fat Strat, love that pickup

Yeah on the tone chart it's mid & bass heavy for the TZ7. I love how the leads sound, but I just want to balance it out a bit so I can get a better tone for rhythms. Just don't like how it sounds on lower strings, no clarity to it at all, maybe i'm just not a fan of how it sounds. I guess if I can't figure it out I'll try another bridge pickup.\

 

[M.Axel]

I had a tonezone in my J-Custom and hated it. Whatever i tried, it always sounded muddy and nasal. It was good for lead on upper frets because it almost sounded like a neck pickup lol.

 

[cyndicate]

What other pickup would you guys recommend? Evo 7, Crunchlab 7, D Sonic7, Blaze 7?

The EVO 7 looks like a sweet pickup

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

There ya have it.. it just isn't for you. Dimarzio is hit or miss.. they can sound flat or over processed but then there are the ones that are raw and really nice. So far I like the Air Classic bridge in neck position and the paf pro. Air zone is good on bright guitar but was flat and uninspiring in anything else for me.

 

[_actual time_]

yeah--the TZ7 has a very low rep on sevenstring.org, for this same reason. to most people in most body woods, it sounds mushy and indistinct. very different than you'd expect from knowing the 6-string Tone Zone.

the Evo7 is pretty bright and aggressive, if that's what you're after. the Blaze is somewhat bland IMO--not muddy like the TZ7, but not really excelling in any particular way. the Blaze Custom is a bit brighter and might be a better choice.

you might check out the forums on sevenstring.org and search for 1527 or RG6720 or 7621 or 7420/7421 [they all had basswood bodies] and see what opinions people had of the other DiMarzios in basswood. those guitars are/were so common, and the stock pickups so lame , that tons of people upgraded to after-market ones.

 

[PeteLaramee]

TZ7s blow dog.

...but if anyone is interested I have one for sale on ebay.

 

[chunktone]

IMHO this is a characteristic that's common with their offerings. This is one of the reasons I do not use them anymore. Too many other options.

 

[cyndicate]

TZ7s blow dog.

...but if anyone is interested I have one for sale on ebay.

IMHO this is a characteristic that's common with their offerings. This is one of the reasons I do not use them anymore. Too many other options.

Do you mean for all Dimarzios? I actually like a lot of the other Dimarzio pickups but some are like hit or miss What other 7 string pickups would you recommend?

 

[Chris O]

The PAF 7's in my mahogany body K7's and Apex 1 have (had) great clarity. 7's don't need high gain pickups, and I always found the TZ muddy even on 6 strings.

 

[Chris O]

Love the Full Shred in 6s...bet they're awesome in 7s.

 

[chunktone]

TZ7s blow dog.

...but if anyone is interested I have one for sale on ebay.

IMHO this is a characteristic that's common with their offerings. This is one of the reasons I do not use them anymore. Too many other options.

Do you mean for all Dimarzios? I actually like a lot of the other Dimarzio pickups but some are like hit or miss What other 7 string pickups would you recommend?

I generally do not like ceramic magnet's, as they tend to provide a harsh, gritty and sometimes shrill high-end. But I do like the Duncan Invader7 in my all Mahogany Schecter 7 string.

 

[Mustaine-who?]

Lower the body of the PuP down...and raise the pole pieces up closer to the string. Thats a know "de-mud" for the TZ. If that plus a 500K wont work...a different PuP is in order...

 

[cyndicate]

Lower the body of the PuP down...and raise the pole pieces up closer to the string. Thats a know "de-mud" for the TZ. If that plus a 500K wont work...a different PuP is in order...

Sorry just saw this, this actually did de-mud it for the most part, however I still hate the pickup. Not as muddy now but still isn't balanced enough. Too much low mids going on, I can tweak some out but just not a fan Going to find a new 7 string pickup to throw in here.

 

[fek]

I pulled the TZ in my SoCal very quickly for the same reasons posted above. I just don't like that pickup. It was replaced with a JB.

 

[Shask]

I pulled the TZ in my SoCal very quickly for the same reasons posted above. I just don't like that pickup. It was replaced with a JB.

I am thinking about pulling the one out of my So-Cal. I actually don't mind the bass, but the mids/highs have this fizzy/fuzzy/cocked wah type thing going on that is bugging me. It totally clashes with my typical Tubescreamer into high gain amp tone.

I don't know what I want in there though I am thinking maybe a Duncan Custom.


As far as 7 strings... I dunno, mine all have EMG 707s

 

[PBGas]

I pulled all of the Tone Zones from all of my J Customs. It's one of those pickups that you really have to like and I wasn't happy with it. I've installed an Evo2 in one of them and a Evo in the other. Perfect for both guitars.

 

[glpg80]

Had the same problem in my RG1570, took the TZ out and replaced it with a JB and i normally hate JB's with a passion and it sounds great in that guitar. FWIW though mine is not basswood, its mahogany.

not sure if a 7 string version of the JB exists, but if that did not work i would actually recommend a BKP pickup - they sound great on 7's, imho for 6's though there are wiser/better choices.

 

[Fred the Shred]

The TZ7 is my most frequent bridge pickup on 7-strings, and I love it to bits. It is worth mentioning it's not a big fan of guitars with little acoustic snap, as it won't really bring anything new to the attack while adding richness to the midrange. I was never a big fan of it coupled with Ibby basswood guitars, especially with a floating trem, as they don't tend to have a quick response to the attack. On more "mid-rangey" guitars, I use the Crunchlab instead.

One thing worth mentioning is that the TZ7 LOVES 1Meg pots, which work like a charm on the AN7 as well, and the 500K pots I had in guitars with this combo in them gave way to 1Meg pots because of this. I'd give it a shot, although it can also be the case that it simply doesn't work for your taste, of course.