Installed 36th anniversary Dimarzio PAF's Wow!

[harddriver]

I finally got around to installing a set of aged nickel covered 36th anniversary PAF's in my Korean Epi Goldtop LP. I replaced all the electronics in the guitar, new pots, Switchcraft switch, Sprague caps CTS pots. I was going to install an Aldrich but wanted to go PAF so I pickup these 36th anniversary's with all the hype. They seem really cool, I know they are potted but they almost seem to not be, If I hold a note long enough they get really sweet feedback even at pretty low volumes with my amps.


All in all I'm pretty impressed with these pickups and I am far from being a Dimarizio guy. It's always been Seymour duncan for me mostly but I do give the Aldrich P/U an nod for a great sounding pickup for warmer woods like mahogany, poplar or basswood. They have a nice clarity but bite when you dig in, when you lighten up they clean up, I guess they succeeded in getting close to a Gibby PAF in those respects!

For the money these pickups are quite a value IMO! We'll see how my long term evaluation goes the longer I have them!

 

[racerevlon]

Always liked those pickups -- great tone!

 

[RockNRun]

I've read that these don't sound so great in a guitar with no tone pot (too bright)...wonder if there's anything to this? Would love to put one in the bridge of a Charvel Pro Mod.

 

[EyesOfTheSouth]

I've read that these don't sound so great in a guitar with no tone pot (too bright)...wonder if there's anything to this? Would love to put one in the bridge of a Charvel Pro Mod.

I don't think that would sound too good. The 36th pickups are very bright and clean/sterile sounding.......especially the bridge. I liked my set in a LP at first, but quickly grew tired of that sound. I actually like the Air Classics much better. Even though they have less output, the bridge model does not sound as sterile to me.

 

[RockNRun]

I've read that these don't sound so great in a guitar with no tone pot (too bright)...wonder if there's anything to this? Would love to put one in the bridge of a Charvel Pro Mod.

I don't think that would sound too good. The 36th pickups are very bright and clean/sterile sounding.......especially the bridge. I liked my set in a LP at first, but quickly grew tired of that sound. I actually like the Air Classics much better. Even though they have less output, the bridge model does not sound as sterile to me.

Hey, thanks. "less output" is actually what I'm after...I'll look into the Air Classic now. Thanks again.

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

Be careful with no tone pot.. bright city! If you have a maple top, it may not be the pup in the bridge that suits the guitar best if the guitar is bright to start with. Was too bright in my patriot..i preferred the air zone. Also consider the amp you play though.. I found it more forgiving with a thicker amp like my jcm800 vs. my lynchbox which cuts a bit more. Kept the neck in though!Juicy.

 

[50MkII]

No tone pot or bypassing it, watch your cap values. Played the 36th Anniv in the neck postion on an Fender Murray sig strat that I thought sounded pretty good but not great. I do not like DiMarzio pups and do not play through them, but this was the best of the lot I have played. If you are going PAF I would certainly recommend you look elsewhere and you will be rewarded with better results. Good luck!

 

[polaris20]

I'm going to be tossing one of these in the neck of my SC420, along with a TZ I've already got. I can't wait!

 

[boost]

I have one in the bridge of my strat. I have to roll off the tone control to 8 to tame the high end a bit on the higher strings. Sounds good there, but I think I might be looking for something different in there. Maybe a Fralin.

Just picked up a LP Standard and thought about a set of these for a moment, but decided against them. Really wish they would work in there as they are priced right. I know they would be too bright in this guitar.

 

[Vrad]

Great pickups. I second the tone pot. Smooth and even. Terrific pickups I love them.

 

[IntenseJim]

No tone control: alder and maple. It sounds a tad bright but not harsh or unpleasant. It has a nice midrange honk and cuts through the mix quite well. ...Splits nicely, too.

 

[harddriver]

I read some of the comments and some I agree with and some I don't. I don't hear any extremely harsh highs or excessive brightness coming from the pickups in the guitar I have these in, all the pots are CTS and each pot is truly measured 500K or slightly above, with technical wisdom that should make them overly bright but the aren't. I do hear a nice clarity and snap to the tone, again these pickups seems to resonate with the guitar body resonance more than my Duncans and Aldrich pickups which have a more mid present attack and are i bit tighter but they also anywhere from 12K to 17K resistance versus the 8.9K of the Dimarzio.

I wanted closer to actual PAF tone for this guitar.

Maybe I just lucky with the body wood combination of which I am still unsure. It's a 96 Epiphone Korean 57 goldtop with a four piece soild wood body with a top cap wood that isn't maple for sure. My luthier said he's doubt it is mahogany but probably some local species of wood, it's not extremely heavy but it's not light but the acoustic resonance of the body is quirky to say the least. It's not a 3500 dollar gibson but not bad for the money!

I never really played a PAF pickup, I don't know how to compare to any modern equivalents.
The only of pickup maker of PAF type that interest me is Motorcity. For right now the 36th's don't seem to bad to my ears.

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

I have one in the bridge of my strat. I have to roll off the tone control to 8 to tame the high end a bit on the higher strings. Sounds good there, but I think I might be looking for something different in there. Maybe a Fralin.

That's the thing.. I didn't like it on the high strings, felt it thinned out a tad for me and could be a tad thin and spikey. Again, this will all depend on your guitar. In a real LP with a nice thick heavy body, they prob rock, for most of us that play knock offs, I'm going to assume that they "might" be a bit high endy.