DiMarzio DP180 Air Norton S

It's funny. There are three versions of the Dimarzio Air Norton pickup: The original Humbucker-sized Air Norton, the Strat-sized Air Norton S, and the Telecaster Air Norton T. Now, I've got all three installed in different guitars. I liked the Air Norton when I originally installed it in the bridge of an Ibanez ARX300, but I REALLY like the Air Norton S and T packages. I don't know what happens when they shrink the form factor of this pickup, but it's something magical. Now I prefer the S and T models over the original.

Having said that, I've got the Air Norton S installed in the bridge position of a Squier strat that I modified and WOW!! It's not over-the-top like the Super Distortion S; it provides a good bit more crunch than a standard strat pickup (280 mV output, 11.21K DC Resistance). The BMT EQ curve of 6.5/7/4.5 is tight, focused, and has an excellent growl about it. Four-conductor wiring means you don't have to sacrifice your position 2 tone, and what's more, when paired with the Dimarzio RWRP True Velvet Middle (as it is in this guitar) you get a cool out-of-phase tone that just screams Bohemian Rhapsody. Even though the output is just below that of a standard PAF, plugged straight into a high-gain head you can easily get the impression that this could be a boosted standard strat pickup. Most prominently, however, is the absolutely fabulous Rock ‘N Roll tone of this pickup. You know how everyone raves about the classic rock tones like a Les Paul plugged straight into a Marshall, etc. When I play this guitar with this pickup, just about anything I plug into with this guitar seems to ooze that crunchy, gritty, old-time Rock ‘N Roll vibe. It doesn’t push so hard that it puts you into “Metal” territory, but you can go anywhere from the 60’s to the 80’s with ease. It would be very easy to say that the Air Norton S is something like a PAF, but it just has something MORE. I guess you’d call it the “X” factor. Whatever it is, the Air Norton S has it. Give it a try, rock the house, and see for yourself.

After many years, DiMarzio finally released their Air Norton in a single coil sized housing. It features the standard blade rails like so many other single coil humbuckers and four conductor wiring. However, this pickup has a ceramic magnet instead of the Alnico 5 that the original has.

The original pickup has pretty much gained its popularity thanks in part to John Petrucci of Dream Theater and Ibanez’s J-Custom line. The original gave a warm, fat and super smooth tone in the neck position, and this single coil variant delivers pretty much the same signature tones we’ve all grown to love. The treble is pushed back so it never gets harsh, and the midrange and bass are pushed to the forefront to allow for a very fat, liquid sustaining tone. If you always thought your neck pickup was bright, this is the pickup you’re looking for. Split tones are nice, and parallel tones deliver a really neat sound. It’s has the designation of “air” because of the gap between the magnet and polepieces. However, this pickup actually doesn’t have that gap.
The differences with the single coil variant are that it doesn’t sound quite the same. For one, it’s not the full sized humbucker. That alone will change the tone a bit. The lack of the air gap and the ceramic magnet also make this pickup a bit different than the original. Whether it’s for the better or worse is up to the user. Personally, I find that it sounds a bit smaller and a little less alive than the original.

If you’re looking for a warm, fat humbucker in a single coil sized form, this is pretty much what you’re looking for. If you already know what the DiMarzio Air Norton sounds like, don’t expect this to sound the exact same. It should sound close enough to where it’ll still put a smile on your face, however.