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Hatsubai « Mix between an X2N an D-Activator »
Published on 03/26/11 at 12:26The DiMarzio D Activator-X is kinda like a reinvention of the well known X2N but quite a bi tmore versatile. This pickup has the two huge blades that the original X2N had, four conductor wiring and a ceramic magnet shoved inside it.
The X2N is a very well known pickup, and quite a few people have tried it. DiMarzio seems to have wanted to develop a more modern take on the pickup, and I think they did a pretty good job at it. For one, it has a ton less output compared to the original, but it’s still powerful enough for easy legato runs. The pick attack is very focused and has this upper mid thing going on, which is really cool. The bass on this is powerful enough to where it sounds fat but doesn’t get muddy like so many other neck pickups. The treble is also pushed back a touch to help the midrange sing a bit more.
This pickup works nicely in any wood combination out there, so there shouldn’t really be an issue when it comes to matching it with specific guitars. It sounds nice split, and the parallel tones are pretty neat too. It looks like it’s suited more towards metal, and I’d agree, but it can actually do some good clean tones if you watch your gain levels. Despite it being more suited towards rock and metal players, the pickup is fairly open sounding but with some sweet touch of compression going on to keep everything nice and tidy.
If you’re looking for a neck pickup to go with your X2N, or if you already have the D Activator-X, this is probably one of the pickups you wanna check out. It’s still fairly new, so it might be a bit harder to find on the used market, but that’ll change soon.
The X2N is a very well known pickup, and quite a few people have tried it. DiMarzio seems to have wanted to develop a more modern take on the pickup, and I think they did a pretty good job at it. For one, it has a ton less output compared to the original, but it’s still powerful enough for easy legato runs. The pick attack is very focused and has this upper mid thing going on, which is really cool. The bass on this is powerful enough to where it sounds fat but doesn’t get muddy like so many other neck pickups. The treble is also pushed back a touch to help the midrange sing a bit more.
This pickup works nicely in any wood combination out there, so there shouldn’t really be an issue when it comes to matching it with specific guitars. It sounds nice split, and the parallel tones are pretty neat too. It looks like it’s suited more towards metal, and I’d agree, but it can actually do some good clean tones if you watch your gain levels. Despite it being more suited towards rock and metal players, the pickup is fairly open sounding but with some sweet touch of compression going on to keep everything nice and tidy.
If you’re looking for a neck pickup to go with your X2N, or if you already have the D Activator-X, this is probably one of the pickups you wanna check out. It’s still fairly new, so it might be a bit harder to find on the used market, but that’ll change soon.