DiMarzio DP111 SDS-1

Dimarzio is a modern pickup maker most known for this modern humbuckers used by modern guitar players. Players like Steve Vai and Joe Satriani have been using Dimarzios for years and are pretty much the definition of modern guitar players. Being viewed as such a modern pickup maker Dimarzio isnt as well known for their single coils. Most of their single coil pickups are really just humbuckers shrunk down to fit in the space of a single coil. They have a few true single coil pickups and the SDS-1 is one of them. Since this is a true single coil and not a small humbucker you will get all the hum and noise that you typically get with single coil pickups. To get the true real single coil sound you pretty much have to have the noise and the hum unless you completely change the pickup design like they did with Lace Sensors. With this pickup Dimarzio chose to take the true single coil tone in more of a P-90 direction. The pickup still has the twang and clarity of a single coil with just a little more warmth. They used a set of weaker magnets but with adjustable poles. So you can get them closer to the strings without as much string drag. String drag is where the magnetic pull of the pickup magnets actually lesses the sustain of the strings by preventing them from vibrating freely. The eq on these pickups is more for warmth than for single coil twang. The high end is cut back a bunch and there is a bit more low end. This is not really the pickup you want if you want a ultra twangy country sound. This is a more modern sounding true single coil. If you are looking for a true single coil from Dimarzio with a little bit of a warmer tone this fits that perfectly.

The DiMarzio SDS-1 is a pretty beefy single coil. It’s unlike most single coils in that it actually has adjustable pole pieces. You almost never see that on single coils today. The pickup has two conductor wiring and comes with a ceramic magnet which helps make it sound very huge.

The SDS-1 is mainly a pickup for those wanting overall power. DiMarzio says it’s a bridge pickup, but it can actually work nicely in the neck if you have a powerful humbucker. DiMarzio claims that this is similar to an Alnico soapbar pickup, but I honestly don’t have a way to compare them. It simply sounds like a fat single coil to me. The bass is boosted a bit with the treble pushed back a notch. If you put it in the neck, it’ll give a fairly round sound. If you put it in the bridge, it’ll actually sound fairly even with a little bit of chunk. This pickup works in just about any wood you can think of, so there’ll be no problems installing it in alder, mahogany, basswood or whatever other combination of woods you may have.

Keep in mind that this is a regular single coil. If you install it in your guitar, you will get the standard hum found in most single coils out there. If that bothers you, you’d be better off looking into the Area series. In fact, I think you’re better off looking into the Virtual Solo instead of this pickup. The Virtual Solo is fairly similar to this except it has more mids and a touch more output. It’s also a lot quieter than this pickup.

Overall, it’s a pickup that’s kinda losing its relevancy in the DiMarzio line, but if you’re looking for something a bit different, it’s worth checking out. The adjustable pole pieces are probably the coolest thin gabout this pickup. You never see that with today’s single coils.