DiMarzio DP219 D Activator Neck

A few years ago Dimarzio wanted to make a pickup that sounded like the most popular EMG active pickups. What they came out with was the D Activator line of pickups. I dont know what EMG's Dimarzio had but this pickup does not sound very good. They might have mixed up their EMG's because this sounds more like an 81 than anything you would want to put in the neck. I am pretty sure that is what they did. Instead of copying a normal EMG neck pickup like an 85 or 60 they just copied the 81 twice and put one in the neck. This was not a good idea. This pickup is very bright and harsh in its tone. Similar to the Humbucker from Hell but at least that pickup is useable. This pickup really has no beef to it. It is pretty thin and shrill. If they had copied the 85 for the neck position they would have had a super fat and powerful pickup that was still clear. Maybe they couldnt do it without going active and the 81 was the only one they could get close to. It is interesting that they would pick this one to do. If you were only playing high gain leads and had a very dark sounding guitar and a dark sounding rig this might give you a useable sound but otherwise it is too thin and bright to be useful. It is hard for a passive to replicate the sound of an active. If it wasnt hard it would have been done long ago. The active preamp in an active pickup provides a unique sound that is hard to replicate. When you see passive pickups claiming they sound like active pickups you would be weary. Some people have managed to make these work obviously or no one would have purchased them. If you are looking for a super bright neck pickup for some reason I guess this would be a good choice for you.

The DiMarzio D Activator Neck is DiMarzio’s attempt to replicate an active sounding neck pickup while remaining passive. It’s a very hot neck pickup with four conductor wiring, adjustable pole pieces on both coils and a ceramic magnet.

This pickup is BRIGHT. I can’t stress that enough. It has this searing bright quality. They pulled it off successfully with the Humbucker From Hell, but I think they really dropped the ball with this. I can only assume they were trying to emulate an EMG 81 in the neck. DiMarzio claims that this pickup isn’t thin sounding, but I got a few guitars that’ll beg to differ. That, or we hear things quite differently. I especially like how they mention it makes a good bridge pickup. I highly disagree with that, but I’m sure some out there can make this thing work in nearly any rig. Chris Broderick uses this pickup, and he gets a cool lead tone out of it.

I’ve never tired this thing split simply because of how bright it is. I should have tried it in parallel, but I didn’t keep it in my guitars very long. I wish they would have emulated the EMG 85. I love that pickup in the neck. It’s very fat and smooth sounding while still remaining tight and powerful. The good thing about this pickup is that it does have a lot of harmonics. If you’re looking for something like that in the neck, this’ll probably be a good choice. I don’t recommend this for any dense, hard woods like maple or walnut. It’ll just be too much for those. This pickup seems to work best in mahogany for obvious reasons.

Overall, if you’re looking for an active kinda sound, I think the D-Activator X Neck is a better choice. However, if you always feel the neck pickup sounds muddy, this pickup could be for you. It all depends on your tastes.

microphone mounted for 5 months on a Lag Roxane basswood, replacing the original pickups enough drafts.

in the register saturated this neck pickup is interesting, with mediums for out of the mix quite easily. the high level of output has nothing to envy to the most impersonal active pickups. harmonics come easily

clean sound? the little that I tested seemed to me satisfactory, quite side slamming approaching a strat. these microphones are sensitive to the violin, and will sound differently depending on whether it is mounted on mahogany, lime or wood pallet.
I would do this choice without hesitation.

For how long have you been using it?

I used a Jackson Warrior Alder During 6 months
3 months and since I use it on an Ibanez Iceman ICT700 mahogany

/! I have the impression that the D Activators change a lot of grain according to the LUTHERIE ... On my guitar Alder, D activator neck sounded rather less hot, less round, and my iceman, mahogany appears very good, we feel that the mic is warm, the sound more focused on serious .. sweeter ..

Did you try many other models before getting this one?

Yes, Di Marzio Evolution Several EMG, SD, ETC ....
What thing do you like most/least about it?
Most: The Sound good round, sounds pretty hot .. the clean is pretty good for a mic has high output ..

The Witness: Some people find a lack of personality, may be happening everywhere ...