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Hatsubai « Air Norton's older brother »
Published on 03/25/11 at 13:04Steve Morse collaborated with DiMarzio to create his own signature pickups way back in the early 80s. The goal was to create a pickup that was balanced but has strong midrange. The pickup features adjustable pole pieces on both coils, four conductor wiring and a ceramic magnet.
The Steve Morse Neck model is a pickup that’s generally overlooked in the DiMarzio line for whatever reason. I’m not sure if it’s because it’s a signature pickup or what, but the amount of people who don’t use it is somewhat alarming considering how nice it sounds. This is quite a bit different from the bridge pickup, actually. It’s much fatter, has a good bit less output and is very smooth sounding. I like to think of this as the first version of the Air Norton in some ways.
The bass and treble on this are pushed back just a touch, while the midrange is kicked up a notch. This allows the pickup to sound smooth, yet clean. The pickup is fairly open thanks in part to its lower output, and the ceramic magnet keeps everything tight. Split coil sounds are wonderful, and it sounds really cool in parallel.
This pickup works in just about any wood you can think of, and it mates with most pickups out there on the market. If you’ve tried the Air Norton before, think of this as its more vintage little brother. The smooth tones are very reminiscent of the Air Norton, and the focused sound is a reminder of how things were back in the 80s. It’s definitely a pickup that more people need to try out. If this pickup were renamed, I think it would be a bigger hit. I’m assuming most people don’t try it either because they don’t know who Steve Morse is, or they’re not fond of using signature pickups.
The Steve Morse Neck model is a pickup that’s generally overlooked in the DiMarzio line for whatever reason. I’m not sure if it’s because it’s a signature pickup or what, but the amount of people who don’t use it is somewhat alarming considering how nice it sounds. This is quite a bit different from the bridge pickup, actually. It’s much fatter, has a good bit less output and is very smooth sounding. I like to think of this as the first version of the Air Norton in some ways.
The bass and treble on this are pushed back just a touch, while the midrange is kicked up a notch. This allows the pickup to sound smooth, yet clean. The pickup is fairly open thanks in part to its lower output, and the ceramic magnet keeps everything tight. Split coil sounds are wonderful, and it sounds really cool in parallel.
This pickup works in just about any wood you can think of, and it mates with most pickups out there on the market. If you’ve tried the Air Norton before, think of this as its more vintage little brother. The smooth tones are very reminiscent of the Air Norton, and the focused sound is a reminder of how things were back in the 80s. It’s definitely a pickup that more people need to try out. If this pickup were renamed, I think it would be a bigger hit. I’m assuming most people don’t try it either because they don’t know who Steve Morse is, or they’re not fond of using signature pickups.