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Hatsubai « Air Norton in a single coil size »
Published on 03/24/11 at 11:53After 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.
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.