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Hatsubai « Beefy single coil »
Published on 03/25/11 at 19:35The 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.
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.