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King Loudness « Unleash the Fury! »
Published on 04/18/11 at 18:02The DiMarzio HS-3 was basically designed to give a punchy yet pure single coil esque sound in a "stacked" configuration, which made it noiseless like a humbucker. The pickups were developed in the early eighties and a young hotshot guitarist named Yngwie J. Malmsteen picked up on them and, as they say, the rest is history!
Being a longtime fan of Yngwie's, I decided around December of 2007 to build a project Strat in homage to him. I knew that I wanted to use DiMarzio pickups, so when a deal came up locally for a loaded Strat pickguard with two DiMarzio HS-3 pickups (the same configuration that Yngwie used up until the development of his YJM signature pickup from DiMarzio), I jumped on it. I spent the next few months sourcing and building the guitar. Sadly, it didn't turn out very well. However, the one aspect that blew me away was the tone. The DiMarzio HS-3 pickups were exactly what I was looking for in a punchy pickup... perfect for the neoclassical shred I was aspiring to play at the time.
I had two of them installed, one at the neck position and one at the bridge, with a dummy coil in the center. Of the two, I definitely preferred the bridge pickup. It was very responsive to pick attack and dynamics, and though it didn't have a whole lot of output, it took to high gain settings quite well and produced a thick yet biting rhythm and solo tone that cut through very well in the shred project I was playing in at the time. The neck pickup had the same sort of thick yet biting characteristic to it. At first I really liked this, but once I got a chance to try the YJM, my opinion did change and I realized why the Maestro had switched to this combination. I find that the HS-3 in the neck position is almost a little bit TOO trebley and harsh. It can be tamed but it's worth noting that the YJM in the neck provides a much better contrast to the HS-3, at least in my opinion.
All in all I feel that this is a killer pickup that does the neoclassical vibe quite well. Because of its lower output nature, it does work great for classic rock and blues too. Definitely worth looking into if you want a killer sounding noiseless Strat pickup that will cut through the mix, or even if you're just a fan of Yngwie's early tone and want a piece of the fury.
Being a longtime fan of Yngwie's, I decided around December of 2007 to build a project Strat in homage to him. I knew that I wanted to use DiMarzio pickups, so when a deal came up locally for a loaded Strat pickguard with two DiMarzio HS-3 pickups (the same configuration that Yngwie used up until the development of his YJM signature pickup from DiMarzio), I jumped on it. I spent the next few months sourcing and building the guitar. Sadly, it didn't turn out very well. However, the one aspect that blew me away was the tone. The DiMarzio HS-3 pickups were exactly what I was looking for in a punchy pickup... perfect for the neoclassical shred I was aspiring to play at the time.
I had two of them installed, one at the neck position and one at the bridge, with a dummy coil in the center. Of the two, I definitely preferred the bridge pickup. It was very responsive to pick attack and dynamics, and though it didn't have a whole lot of output, it took to high gain settings quite well and produced a thick yet biting rhythm and solo tone that cut through very well in the shred project I was playing in at the time. The neck pickup had the same sort of thick yet biting characteristic to it. At first I really liked this, but once I got a chance to try the YJM, my opinion did change and I realized why the Maestro had switched to this combination. I find that the HS-3 in the neck position is almost a little bit TOO trebley and harsh. It can be tamed but it's worth noting that the YJM in the neck provides a much better contrast to the HS-3, at least in my opinion.
All in all I feel that this is a killer pickup that does the neoclassical vibe quite well. Because of its lower output nature, it does work great for classic rock and blues too. Definitely worth looking into if you want a killer sounding noiseless Strat pickup that will cut through the mix, or even if you're just a fan of Yngwie's early tone and want a piece of the fury.