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mooseherman « Very good metal pickup, nothing more. »
Published on 11/29/10 at 10:51This is a Dimarzio humbucking pickup. It is a seriously particular sounding pickup. It is fantastic for people who like heavy amounts of distortion, primarily metal soloists. I would only use it in an appropriate guitar like a Jackson JS or an ESP. These have no place in Les Pauls or Teles, obviously.
I must say that I don't like most pickups that aren't versatile. These pickups are very singular in their design. I should get it out of the way that if you need a thick, singing clean metal tone for solos, this may very well be the exact pickup you are looking for. It sounds pretty great for this purpose in both the neck and bridge positions. I once had these pickups in a B.C. Rich guitar, and they certainly made that guitar more capable of fat, fantastic solo tones for my metal band. However, the rhythm tones weren't nearly as nice. In fact, they were far too thick to be heard. Granted, I didn't care as much about rhythm playing in those days, but that's still a problem for people looking for versatility.
Forget about clean tones, or even light overdrive tones. There aren't any to be found. Playing this guitar clean is painful, as it absolutely sucks the soul clean out of the guitar. Light overdrive sounds still provide a ton of sustain and they distort the tone, giving you no pop, no noise (which is good, I guess), and no bite. They smooth out the tones far too much for me.
Ultimately, these are a one-trick pony, and frankly, that trick has been done to death. Don't get this if you want a pickup capable of some stylistic diversity. They're certainly cheap, and they sound it, too.
I must say that I don't like most pickups that aren't versatile. These pickups are very singular in their design. I should get it out of the way that if you need a thick, singing clean metal tone for solos, this may very well be the exact pickup you are looking for. It sounds pretty great for this purpose in both the neck and bridge positions. I once had these pickups in a B.C. Rich guitar, and they certainly made that guitar more capable of fat, fantastic solo tones for my metal band. However, the rhythm tones weren't nearly as nice. In fact, they were far too thick to be heard. Granted, I didn't care as much about rhythm playing in those days, but that's still a problem for people looking for versatility.
Forget about clean tones, or even light overdrive tones. There aren't any to be found. Playing this guitar clean is painful, as it absolutely sucks the soul clean out of the guitar. Light overdrive sounds still provide a ton of sustain and they distort the tone, giving you no pop, no noise (which is good, I guess), and no bite. They smooth out the tones far too much for me.
Ultimately, these are a one-trick pony, and frankly, that trick has been done to death. Don't get this if you want a pickup capable of some stylistic diversity. They're certainly cheap, and they sound it, too.