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Hatsubai « Close to the original Air Norton »
Published on 03/28/11 at 14:15The DiMarzio Air Norton 7 is probably one of the more famous pickups in their line, thanks in part to John Petrucci and Ibanez using them throughout most of the J-Custom line. This pickup features DiMarzio’s “air gap” technology which basically means there’s a space between the pole pieces and the magnet. It features slugs on one coil, adjustable pole pieces on the other, a ceramic magnet and four conductor wiring.
If you’ve ever wanted a fat, silky smooth, compressed lead tone, this is your pickup. I can’t recommend this pickup enough for those wanting that awesome Petrucci-esque lead tone. The midrange on this is heavy but not boxy, the low end on this is huge without sounding too woofy, and the treble is pushed back to keep the treble strings from getting too piercing. Split coil sounds are absolutely wonderful, and it sounds really good in parallel, too.
If you’ve ever heard Dream Theater, you’ve heard this pickup being used. John used this throughout most of his career, and his current neck pickups are just tweaked versions of this. It works in any wood out there, but I find it sounds best in basswood. There’s just something about an Air Norton 7 in basswood that makes everything seem “right.”
If you’re in need of a fat neck pickup, this should be your primary choice. They’re very abundant on the market, so they should be easier to find than the current variants of this pickup. While it’s struggling to stay relevant with DiMarzio’s recent LiquiFire 7, it’s still an awesome pickup. The biggest issue with this pickup is that it has a ceramic magnet. Because of that, it doesn't sound quite as "gooey" as the original Air Norton does. However, it does sound close, so it shouldn't be too big of a deal.
If you’ve ever wanted a fat, silky smooth, compressed lead tone, this is your pickup. I can’t recommend this pickup enough for those wanting that awesome Petrucci-esque lead tone. The midrange on this is heavy but not boxy, the low end on this is huge without sounding too woofy, and the treble is pushed back to keep the treble strings from getting too piercing. Split coil sounds are absolutely wonderful, and it sounds really good in parallel, too.
If you’ve ever heard Dream Theater, you’ve heard this pickup being used. John used this throughout most of his career, and his current neck pickups are just tweaked versions of this. It works in any wood out there, but I find it sounds best in basswood. There’s just something about an Air Norton 7 in basswood that makes everything seem “right.”
If you’re in need of a fat neck pickup, this should be your primary choice. They’re very abundant on the market, so they should be easier to find than the current variants of this pickup. While it’s struggling to stay relevant with DiMarzio’s recent LiquiFire 7, it’s still an awesome pickup. The biggest issue with this pickup is that it has a ceramic magnet. Because of that, it doesn't sound quite as "gooey" as the original Air Norton does. However, it does sound close, so it shouldn't be too big of a deal.