View other reviews for this product:
Hatsubai « Fatter Super Distortion »
Published on 03/23/11 at 13:24DiMarzio released the Super 3 around the same time as the Super 2. People were looking for a variation of the Super Distortion that was fatter and had more output. The pickup features adjustable allen head bolts on both coils and comes standard with four conductor wiring, just like nearly all DiMarzio pickups.
The Super 3 is quite a handful of a pickup. If you’re in need of something that’s extremely fat sounding with outrageous output, this is your pickup. Despite it having tons of bass and output, the pickup isn’t overly muddy like certain other pickups out there. Since the treble is chopped, you’ll probably be turning up the treble and presence on your amplifier. This will actually result in a slightly different distortion character and feel, which could be for the better or worse. The midrange in this pickup is cranked quite a bit, so it’s going to compress the amp fairly hard. Note clarity is only average with this pickup given its specs. If you’re looking for note clarity, there are better pickups out there for you to try out. Split tones on this are pretty cool, though. It reminds me of a fat single coil.
I recommend this for very bright guitars that lack low end compared to other guitars out there. Neck-thru guitars are a good candidate for this pickup since most of the construction is maple. Another good candidate would be an all maple body. However, keep in mind that these are just general sound specs. Every piece of wood out there sounds different. Some all maple guitars sound dark, believe it or not. You need to listen to what your guitar needs and decide that way. If you’re looking for a lower output pickup ,this obviously won’t be the pickup you’re looking for. It’s also a pickup that’s a bit hard to tame given the output.
The Super 3 is quite a handful of a pickup. If you’re in need of something that’s extremely fat sounding with outrageous output, this is your pickup. Despite it having tons of bass and output, the pickup isn’t overly muddy like certain other pickups out there. Since the treble is chopped, you’ll probably be turning up the treble and presence on your amplifier. This will actually result in a slightly different distortion character and feel, which could be for the better or worse. The midrange in this pickup is cranked quite a bit, so it’s going to compress the amp fairly hard. Note clarity is only average with this pickup given its specs. If you’re looking for note clarity, there are better pickups out there for you to try out. Split tones on this are pretty cool, though. It reminds me of a fat single coil.
I recommend this for very bright guitars that lack low end compared to other guitars out there. Neck-thru guitars are a good candidate for this pickup since most of the construction is maple. Another good candidate would be an all maple body. However, keep in mind that these are just general sound specs. Every piece of wood out there sounds different. Some all maple guitars sound dark, believe it or not. You need to listen to what your guitar needs and decide that way. If you’re looking for a lower output pickup ,this obviously won’t be the pickup you’re looking for. It’s also a pickup that’s a bit hard to tame given the output.