View other reviews for this product:
Hatsubai « Somewhat dated single coil »
Published on 03/25/11 at 19:22The DiMarzio FS-1 is a regular single coil (meaning no hum canceling technology) that’s designed to be fatter and more powerful than regular single coils. It features staggered pole pieces, two conductor wiring and an Alnico 5 magnet.
The FS-1 was designed to be a replacement strat pickup for those wanting a fatter, more powerful sound but still retaining a single coil sound. It doesn’t have the old school vintage sound going on but more of an overwound, hotter vibe. The pickup is fairly balanced with a decent treble bite, and it’s not super hot so it works in every position. Paul Gilbert used this pickup for awhile as his middle pickup in his Ibanez guitars.
The pickup does cleans fairly well, but it really shines in the higher gain department. It’s fairly open, cleans up nicely when you roll the volume down and delivers a good overall punch. It’s basically one of those “do all” single coils on the market. It doesn’t matter what wood combination your guitar has. This pickup will most likely mate with it in any situation.
However, therein lies the problem -- I find it to be a bit bland overall. It works in every position and nearly ever wood, and it delivers a good sound. It just doesn’t deliver a great sound like the Area pickups that DiMarzio offers. The Area pickups are newer, so it kinda makes you wonder what relevance the FS-1 has in DiMarzio’s current line up. It’s a 70s pickup, after all.
If you’re looking for a regular single coil sound, I recommend the Area series. They sound more alive, have a better tone and offer more options than the FS-1. However, if you want that famous tone that many shredders had back in the day, the FS-1 could be worth looking into.
The FS-1 was designed to be a replacement strat pickup for those wanting a fatter, more powerful sound but still retaining a single coil sound. It doesn’t have the old school vintage sound going on but more of an overwound, hotter vibe. The pickup is fairly balanced with a decent treble bite, and it’s not super hot so it works in every position. Paul Gilbert used this pickup for awhile as his middle pickup in his Ibanez guitars.
The pickup does cleans fairly well, but it really shines in the higher gain department. It’s fairly open, cleans up nicely when you roll the volume down and delivers a good overall punch. It’s basically one of those “do all” single coils on the market. It doesn’t matter what wood combination your guitar has. This pickup will most likely mate with it in any situation.
However, therein lies the problem -- I find it to be a bit bland overall. It works in every position and nearly ever wood, and it delivers a good sound. It just doesn’t deliver a great sound like the Area pickups that DiMarzio offers. The Area pickups are newer, so it kinda makes you wonder what relevance the FS-1 has in DiMarzio’s current line up. It’s a 70s pickup, after all.
If you’re looking for a regular single coil sound, I recommend the Area series. They sound more alive, have a better tone and offer more options than the FS-1. However, if you want that famous tone that many shredders had back in the day, the FS-1 could be worth looking into.