I've been using the Tone Zone for about ten years on a Lag Rockline Metal Master with Floyd Rose tremolo. I won't repeat the qualities of this pickup in bridge position: it already has a very good reputation. But I want to talk about an experience I had with this pickup. Although it seems I'm not the only one who did.

I changed the Tone Zone with a Seymour Duncan '59 that was originally mounted in neck position. It's amazing! I was not impressed by the '59 because I already knew it sounded great in bridge position. But the Tone Zone in nack position is awesome (especially if you are a shredder). The response has too many lows for rhythm parts but it is excellent for solo parts. I added a capacitor to the volume pot to filter the lows. When decreasing the volume, the sound clarity increases while the presence of the pickup is kept. For clean sounds, I get a great jazzy tone. To get a smoother sound I just split the pickup. The sound is warm and present. For more twang, I decrease the volume to emphasize the highs. The sound reminds me of a Start's single coil. It's surely not versatile, but I wanted a guitar with a lot of punch. The distortion is stunning. Warm, precise, exquisite!

I was looking for a powerful and warm neck pickup with not too many highs but a lot of presence. And I found it! The only disadvantage is the overemphasized lows that limit its versatility. Now, I'm looking for a bridge pickup to compete with it and add a bit of versatility.

Originally written by halmyar on Audiofanzine FR.