One thing Ive noticed about Seymour Duncan>Dimarzios.......

[Beyond Black]

It's a character from 'It's always sunny in Philadelphia'. Danny DeVitos best role ever.

Best post of the thread.
Frank Reynolds rules.

 

[Uzi Nein Millimetah]

Seymour Duncans give that sound in your head vibes....... don't know what it is but a familiar sound......



And Dimarzios are okay but offer no "sound in your head vibes"......



Being a WestCoast dude...... always initially tried to dig Dimarzios...... because that's what even my friends on the WestCoast would say is the best...... None in my circle really cared for Duncans and I always rotated around Dimarzios as the best...... even though the same WestCoast guys would pick Ernie Ball over Daddario..... they picked Dimarzio over Duncans for the most part.....



But in general and me personally not so much of a WestCoast thing but in general everytime I try a Duncan it provides that "sound in your head vibes" much like Gibson pups too.... just a real, familiar, classic tone and hard to explain.



Seymour Duncans simply get that vibe Dimarzios never can or could for me......


But YMMV

 

[Speeddemon]

I can't deal with Dimarzio. The top end is simply missing on most of them.

Then you probably never played a Norton, Evo or a Breed Neck. Plenty of high-end zing on those.

Sure, the usual suspects (PAF Pro, Super D, Air Norton, Tone Zone) are on the thicker/smoother side of things, but plenty of Dimarzios with articulate top-end.

I use both and I do agree that Dimarzios sometimes can have this 'mid/chonk' tone, whereas most Duncans are on the more neutral or brighter side of things. But hey, could also be that good ol' Seymour is just more deaf than Larry and he compensates his pick-ups for that.

 

[Uzi Nein Millimetah]

Then you probably never played a Norton, Evo or a Breed Neck. Plenty of high-end zing on those.

Sure, the usual suspects (PAF Pro, Super D, Air Norton, Tone Zone) are on the thicker/smoother side of things, but plenty of Dimarzios with articulate top-end.

I use both and I do agree that Dimarzios sometimes can have this 'mid/chonk' tone, whereas most Duncans are on the more neutral or brighter side of things. But hey, could also be that good ol' Seymour is just more deaf than Larry and he compensates his pick-ups for that.

My fave Dimarzios overall are the D Activators, which are some of the brightest they currently make.

And I do think long term hearing loss affects the choices of musicians/producers in their later years. For example, I think EVH probably couldn't fully understand how fizzy 5150s were since his hearing was already blasted by then.....

 

[Rackman]

Then you probably never played a Norton, Evo or a Breed Neck. Plenty of high-end zing on those.

Sure, the usual suspects (PAF Pro, Super D, Air Norton, Tone Zone) are on the thicker/smoother side of things, but plenty of Dimarzios with articulate top-end.

I use both and I do agree that Dimarzios sometimes can have this 'mid/chonk' tone, whereas most Duncans are on the more neutral or brighter side of things. But hey, could also be that good ol' Seymour is just more deaf than Larry and he compensates his pick-ups for that.

That is the thing with pickup makers - unless you have insane time on your hands, there's no chance to really try everything. I know of a few pickups in various genres that I like - Seth Lovers, Alnico Pro IIs, PRS \m/, EMG T52s, EMG 81/60 run 18v+, BK Hold Divers, Fralin "dominoes" etc. And I know some like JBs and Super Distortions that I'm neutral to or dislike. But to try to cover the whole of any one make's catalog? No chance.

 

[Fiesta Red]

I just tried a Duncan JB Rails.

Very cool pickup

 

[Uzi Nein Millimetah]

I just tried a Duncan JB Rails.

Very cool pickup

What would you say jumped out at you, if anything, vs the classic JB?

 

[The~Kid]

I like stuff like Duncan Hot Rails, Cool Rails or their Single Coil sized Buckers over the Dimarzios too.....


The Duncans sound like actual buckers and to me the Dimarzios sound neither like a single or bucker and kind of like P90ish but noiseless

 

[Fiesta Red]

What would you say jumped out at you, if anything, vs the classic JB?

Not as peaky or shrill. The mids sit better. It's an Alnico 8 which I don't normally care for, but liking this one so far. It seems a bit hotter too.

 

[DanTravis62]

That is the thing with pickup makers - unless you have insane time on your hands, there's no chance to really try everything. I know of a few pickups in various genres that I like - Seth Lovers, Alnico Pro IIs, PRS \m/, EMG T52s, EMG 81/60 run 18v+, BK Hold Divers, Fralin "dominoes" etc. And I know some like JBs and Super Distortions that I'm neutral to or dislike. But to try to cover the whole of any one make's catalog? No chance.

So i've done maintenance, setups, and repairs on peoples guitars for many years

And one of the benefits after installing pickups on hundreds of people's guitars, I've gotten to try a truly astronomical number of pickups that most people wont ever have the time to shoot out

I don't think it's a coincidence that i'm much more critical of pickups than I am on say, fretwork or something like that

But because of that, I've tried an enormous swath of pickups even from makers I dislike (BKP, dimarzio) even though I would never actually spend money on them myself

 

[Uzi Nein Millimetah]

So i've done maintenance, setups, and repairs on peoples guitars for many years

And one of the benefits after installing pickups on hundreds of people's guitars, I've gotten to try a truly astronomical number of pickups that most people wont ever have the time to shoot out

I don't think it's a coincidence that i'm much more critical of pickups than I am on say, fretwork or something like that

But because of that, I've tried an enormous swath of pickups even from makers I dislike (BKP, dimarzio) even though I would never actually spend money on them myself

Some pickups only work in certain guitars, that's for sure. And to an extent with certain rigs. The ones that have been popular for 40-50+ years are that way for a reason.

 

[Floyd Eye]

Agreed and that was weird and creepy af.
Kid, seriously, WTF is wrong with you?

He wants attention and it doesn't matter to him if it's positive or negative.

 

[Speeddemon]

... I know of a few pickups in various genres that I like - Seth Lovers, Alnico Pro IIs,

You think Alnico Pro II's are fine, but Dimarzios are too dull/dark/smooth?
M'kay.
Note to self: Rackman's opinions can be filed in the cilindrical temporary storage 'cabinet'.

But to try to cover the whole of any one make's catalog? No chance.

Not suggesting to try them ALL. Yet you're suggesting ALL of them are meh. My suggestion : either try just one of the few I suggested, or just refrain from making uninformed broad stroke statements.

 

[VonBonfire]

Some pickups only work in certain guitars, that's for sure. And to an extent with certain rigs. The ones that have been popular for 40-50+ years are that way for a reason.

I always try them a couple different ways before I write 'em off. Raised with the pole pieces lowered, lowered with the pole pieces raised up, and sometimes I'll even try them in a different position if I think it might make them useful if they aren't working in the spot they are at the moment. Seems like certain pickups really change their form factor when you tweak pole pieces but IME it usually means spending 45 mins to an hour with a cranked amp and a screwdriver.

 

[Uzi Nein Millimetah]

I always try them a couple different ways before I write 'em off. Raised with the pole pieces lowered, lowered with the pole pieces raised up, and sometimes I'll even try them in a different position if I think it might make them useful if they aren't working in the spot they are at the moment. Seems like certain pickups really change their form factor when you tweak pole pieces but IME it usually means spending 45 mins to an hour with a cranked amp and a screwdriver.

I think some of the alleged cool kids on the internet say you "shouldn't" adjust pole pieces, but I'm a born rebel, so I don't listen to 'em. I only have one guitar (a 7-string) that I think needed it on the low B and high E, so I tried it and it woke those strings up!

 

[VonBonfire]

I think some of the alleged cool kids on the internet say you "shouldn't" adjust pole pieces, but I'm a born rebel, so I don't listen to 'em. I only have one guitar (a 7-string) that I think needed it on the low B and high E, so I tried it and it woke those strings up!

There is another forum I frequent with a pro player who has gone through dozens of guitars and is constantly venting his frustrations with instruments yet one day admitted he had never adjusted the pole pieces on a pickup before. Smh I got a chuckle out of that but dude kind of lost my respect as a player after that cause that is some clown level stuff. I've never owned a guitar that didn't require at least some minimal adjustments for optimization.

 

[DanTravis62]

There is another forum I frequent with a pro player who has gone through dozens of guitars and is constantly venting his frustrations with instruments yet one day admitted he had never adjusted the pole pieces on a pickup before. Smh I got a chuckle out of that but dude kind of lost my respect as a player after that cause that is some clown level stuff. I've never owned a guitar that didn't require at least some minimal adjustments for optimization.

That is 100% clown level.

It's one thing if you're a marty friedman who just doesn't CARE about tone and gear shit

But it's a quite another if you join forums to talk about the finer points of tone, and are THAT inept

 

[S̷͖͑m̵͎͂á̵̺s̸͚̈́h̴̬̑]

There is another forum I frequent with a pro player who has gone through dozens of guitars and is constantly venting his frustrations with instruments yet one day admitted he had never adjusted the pole pieces on a pickup before. Smh I got a chuckle out of that but dude kind of lost my respect as a player after that cause that is some clown level stuff. I've never owned a guitar that didn't require at least some minimal adjustments for optimization.

I have been fortunate to not have to do a lot of pole piece rasing. But when you tilt the pickup a certain direction and play, you may hear certain notes with muted volume, or too much gain. You can lower the whole thing then raise a few of the pieces to give one a lower position for that one string. You can play a chord and notice one not not popping. I don't understand how you don't hear it and want to adjust

 

[VonBonfire]

That is 100% clown level.

It's one thing if you're a marty friedman who just doesn't CARE about tone and gear shit

But it's a quite another if you join forums to talk about the finer points of tone, and are THAT inept

Surprise, he's seemingly never happy with his stuff. In his most recent rant he said Gibson can't make a Les Paul anymore; that they are all made out of mystery mahogany otherwise they wouldn't be able to make sub 9lbs LP's without weight relief cuts blah blah. I'm not sure what you say to someone like that. He's adept enough on the guitar that his ears seem completely closed to any helpful input even from people there he respects. I do not think his tone is very good either for all the stuff he's owned, which also doesn't come as a surprise.

I have been fortunate to not have to do a lot of pole piece rasing. But when you tilt the pickup a certain direction and play, you may hear certain notes with muted volume, or too much gain. You can lower the whole thing then raise a few of the pieces to give one a lower position for that one string. You can play a chord and notice one not not popping. I don't understand how you don't hear it and want to adjust

One of the most sensitive pickups I ever dialed in was a Lollar DB, which is a blade pickup. The height adjustment could take it anywhere from high output metal to 57 classic-esque. I put a lot of time in getting it where I wanted it but it delivered.

 

[DanTravis62]

Surprise, he's seemingly never happy with his stuff. In his most recent rant he said Gibson can't make a Les Paul anymore; that they are all made out of mystery mahogany otherwise they wouldn't be able to make sub 9lbs LP's without weight relief cuts blah blah. I'm not sure what you say to someone like that. He's adept enough on the guitar that his ears seem completely closed to any helpful input even from people there he respects. I do not think his tone is very good either for all the stuff he's owned, which also doesn't come as a surprise.

Well he's retarded then because Gibson (famously) has had excellent QC and has come out with great new models and specs the last few years

My LP classic is like a 2021 or something and is well under 9 pounds, as are like half of the Les Pauls I pick up