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Hatsubai « Somewhat irrelevant today »
Published on 03/25/11 at 11:49The DiMarzio Air Classic Neck is a neck pickup that DiMarzio invented for the more vintage PAF market. The goal was to create a pickup that sounded like the old PAFs of yesterday but have more updated technology to them. DiMarzio did this by using some of their signature pickup building methods, adding four conductor wiring and using an Alnico 5 magnet.
The Air Classic Neck is a fairly low to medium output humbucker that sounds similar to the old PAFs found in the 50s Gibsons. DiMarzio claims that the Alnico 2 magnets are muddy and undefined. I disagree with that wholeheartedly. A good quality Alnico 2 magnet can help create an awesome vintage tone. To make their Alnico 5 act like an Alnico 2, they added an air gap between the magnet and the coils. This weakens the overall pull and allows it to create some more interesting overtones. They do it successfully in other pickups, but I can’t say I’m a huge fan with this one.
The pickup is a fairly even pickup, so it’ll work in most any wood combination out there. There’s a slight dip in the midrange that allows it to be clear but still sound big. The neck tone is smooth, vowely and pretty cool, but I can’t help but think the 36th Anniversary pickup that DiMarzio has out beats it in nearly every way. The 36th Anniversary has more touch sensitivity, sounds more vintage and gets you the tone they were really aiming for, in my opinion.
If you’re looking for a classic PAF sound, I recommend you try out the 36th Anniversary Bridge pickup instead. You’ll be getting more bang for your buck in nearly every way. However, if you want to try out this pickup, you most likely won’t be disappointed. It’s still a good pickup. I just feel that there are better ones out there today.
The Air Classic Neck is a fairly low to medium output humbucker that sounds similar to the old PAFs found in the 50s Gibsons. DiMarzio claims that the Alnico 2 magnets are muddy and undefined. I disagree with that wholeheartedly. A good quality Alnico 2 magnet can help create an awesome vintage tone. To make their Alnico 5 act like an Alnico 2, they added an air gap between the magnet and the coils. This weakens the overall pull and allows it to create some more interesting overtones. They do it successfully in other pickups, but I can’t say I’m a huge fan with this one.
The pickup is a fairly even pickup, so it’ll work in most any wood combination out there. There’s a slight dip in the midrange that allows it to be clear but still sound big. The neck tone is smooth, vowely and pretty cool, but I can’t help but think the 36th Anniversary pickup that DiMarzio has out beats it in nearly every way. The 36th Anniversary has more touch sensitivity, sounds more vintage and gets you the tone they were really aiming for, in my opinion.
If you’re looking for a classic PAF sound, I recommend you try out the 36th Anniversary Bridge pickup instead. You’ll be getting more bang for your buck in nearly every way. However, if you want to try out this pickup, you most likely won’t be disappointed. It’s still a good pickup. I just feel that there are better ones out there today.