« Tone Zone is a good choice »

Wasn't sure what to expect with this one. I usually gravitate towards boutique pick-ups like Suhr and Motor City but this was on sale at Guitar Center so I figured it was worth a try. I put it in a Charvel So Cal and was pleasantly surprised. I have to say the mids are near perfect with this pick up. You get a great mid-range grind like your favorite 80s hair metal song. Great response and articulation of the notes. Harmonics fly off of the fret board, almost the perfect pick up if you like 80s hair metal and even harder stuff. Lead tones are great and it really cuts through in a live mix. Some pick-ups get lost in the rhythm section but not the Tone Zone. Definitely has a bit of a pissed off characteristic to it which I find the most appealing feature. Whatever the mid frequency range is, I wish I could merge that with the bass of something like the suhr Aldrich bridge pick up. The only issue I can see is the bottom is a bit flubby to me. Definitely has the chunk but it is a loose sound. If that could be tightened up somehow, this would be a perfect pick up. That being said it runs pretty good with my Mototrcity Detroiter and Suhr Aldrich to the point where I have not taken it out. I have played this before in a buddy’s Les Paul and I recall feeling the same way, that something on the bottom wasn’t quite working perfectly. Bottom line is that for the price this is a damn good pick up, not perfect but very good and for the price almost can't be beat. I would say as far as stock pickups go, this and the JB do the job pretty well. This seems to be a bit hotter than the JB which I like. Go get one, you won’t be disappointed overall for the price.