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When I was younger, I spent a lot of time around the Sunset Strip during the days of the "hair metal" bands. One of the compulsory tools of the trade at the time was a B.C. Rich guitar. At the time they were producing all sorts of neon colors and wicked body styles. More to the point of this review, one of the standard pickup complements of a B.C. Rich guitar "back in the day" was a DiMarzio Super Distortion in the bridge and a Super 2 in the neck. On the Sunset Strip, this was THE sound of Rock 'n Roll. I always wondered how those B.C. Rich guitars always sounded far better than anything going when set to the neck position. Fast forward a decade or two, Al Gore invents the internet, and we now know the secret. The Super 2 was really just a Super Distortion with the EQ curve compensated for being in the neck position. At first glance, you might look at the EQ curve (Bass=4, Middle=6, Treble=8) and say, "No way! That thing's gonna sound terrible." However, it does just the opposite. Think of the glassy, treble-heavy EQ curves of some of the greatest Strat pickups out there in the world, then combine them with the output of a Super Distortion (425 mV) and you've got yourself a recipe for an incredibly clean, bright, and powerful neck position tone. Of late, I've noticed that DiMarzio has reduced the output of the Super 2 to 400 mV--maybe they found something a little more magical in the roll-off. What I DO know is that every guitar that I have that has a Super 2 in the neck position takes on a whole new persona. You get that wonderful, round, glassy strat-type tone without having to use a pedal, but with gobs of output to allow that great tone to sustain for days. It works well clean as well, producing extremely clear clean tones and nice gritty blues tones.

The other B.C. Rich "go-to" neck pickup is the PAF PRO but at only 300 mV output, the PAF PRO doesn't hold a candle to the Super 2. As a side note, I know people who have used the Super 2 in the bridge position with good results. I can't imagine that with such a pronounced treble curve, akin to the Humbucker from Hell, but it may be worth a try. According to the Dimarzio site the Super 2 works well in either the bridge or the neck, but I've received the best results with the Super 2 in the neck and a Super Distortion in the bridge. Give it a shot... and don't forget the sweeps!!